Marathon Season 2 Weapon Tier List

Season 2 dropped on June 2, 2026. Two new close-range weapons entered the sandbox. Shotgun-only runners are now on notice. The Marathon Season 2 weapon tier list has been redrawn: again. The meta doesn’t care about your feelings.

THE STATE OF THINGS

Season 2 adds two weapons designed to solve a problem Bungie finally admitted existed: shotguns ruled close-range and nothing else mattered. The KKV-9SD SMG and D54 Battle Pistol are the fix. Whether they’re actually better than what you were running or just different garbage is for you to find out.

The best weapons in Marathon Season 2 are not necessarily the newest. The WSTR Combat Shotgun still deletes runners at bad breath range. The Longshot still turns corridors into obituaries. New doesn’t mean better: it means options. Use them correctly or don’t use them at all.

NEW SEASON 2 WEAPONS

KKV-9SDS2 NEW: The fastest fire rate Bungie has ever shipped on a weapon. 1200 RPM. Integrated suppressor. Takes pistol optic and magazine mods. Built for shredding shotgun rushers in Night Marsh. Its Prestige mod, Flechette Drum, heals you when breaking a hostile’s shield. Running a Marathon KKV-9SD build is now a legitimate strategy rather than a cope.

D54 Battle PistolS2 NEW: Fully automatic, 3-round burst handgun with an integrated red-dot optic. Designed to sit between pistol and magnum archetypes. Exceptional in 1v1 duels. Ideal as a swap weapon when your sniper or shotgun is reloading and the enemy is still alive and annoyed. High A-tier at launch.

Weapon	Type	RPM	Damage	Range	Mag
KKV-9SD	SMG	1200	8	17m	23
D54 Battle Pistol	Pistol	—	—	mid	—

Both weapons ship with the new Folding Stock mod: folded improves hip-fire accuracy; unfolded improves ADS. Toggle mid-run. It is a mechanic that rewards preparation and punishes tunnel vision.

FULL TIER LIST

Tier	Weapon	Class	Verdict
S	WSTR Combat Shotgun	Shotgun	Still the apex close-range instrument of regret.
S	BR33 Volley Rifle	Precision Rifle	Burst-fire. Lands both shots, you win. Simple math.
S	V85 Circuit Breaker	Precision Rifle	Zero recoil, massive range, high DPS. Potentially OP.
S	Longshot	Sniper	Semi-auto sniper. Two body shots or one headshot. End of conversation.
S	BRRT SMG	SMG	Close-range dominance, low recoil. The baseline you get compared to.
S	M77 Assault Rifle	Assault Rifle	Integrated scope. 450 RPM. Viable at any distance. Boring. Effective.
S	Misriah 2442	Shotgun	168 DPS at point-blank. Your enemies will not appreciate its nuance.
A	D54 Battle PistolNEW	Pistol	Strong 1v1 dueling, excellent quick-swap companion. High A at launch.
A	KKV-9SDNEW	SMG	1200 RPM close-range destroyer. The shotgun counter Season 1 needed.
A	Bully SMG	SMG	Does exactly what the name implies. No notes.
A	Magnum MC	Pistol	2.1x precision multiplier. Highest-range pistol. 33 damage per shot. Reliable.
A	Outland	Sniper	120 damage, 6 rounds. You only need one. You’ll use all six.
A	Twin Tap HBR	Assault Rifle	Handles distance better than the M77 at the cost of fire rate.
A	V99 Channel Rifle	Precision Rifle	Mid-to-long range with excellent recoil control. Underrated.
B	Hardline PR	Precision Rifle	Consistent. 275 RPM, 28 damage, 69m range. Competes with better options now.
B	Stryder M1T	Precision Rifle	Was S-Tier in open beta. The field caught up. Still decent.
B	Overrun AR	Assault Rifle	Received a horizontal recoil buff in S2. Watch it. May climb.
B	V00 Zeus RG	Railgun	Multi-shot railgun. Hard to master. Deadly when you do. A liability when you don’t.
B	Demolition HMG	LMG	Respectable DPS at mid-range. Destroys UESC Bots at higher variants.
C	Conquest LMG	LMG	6.4-second reload. You will die waiting. Stationary play only.
C	V75 Scar	Assault Rifle	Outclassed. Exists. Marginally.
C	Retaliator LMG	LMG	Decent suppression. Modest damage. Reload will betray you.
C	V22 Volt Thrower	Energy	Niche energy weapon. Situationally fine. Broadly forgettable.

META BREAKDOWN

The Marathon Nightfall weapon meta is built around two lethal pairings. If you’re running Sniper + Shotgun, you’re playing the dominant late-game loadout. The Longshot handles anything past 50 meters; the WSTR handles everything that gets past your reaction time. The new D54 Battle Pistol is designed precisely to fill the swap slot in this combo: fast swap, strong 1v1, no wasted reload time.

Loadout: The Classic

Longshot + WSTR Combat Shotgun. Sniper for distance, shotgun for when they close gap. D54 as sidearm. Feared in Season 1. Still feared.

Loadout: Night Marsh Aggressive

KKV-9SD primary with Folding Stock + Magnum MC. Built for Night Marsh’s dark corridors. Suppressed, fast, terrifying.

Loadout: Mid-Range Bully

V85 Circuit Breaker + Bully SMG. Precision at distance, SMG if they close in. Covers most engagement windows.

Loadout: Budget Runner

Magnum MC + M77 AR. Unlockable early via Season Pass. Effective across PvP and PvE. No excuses for dying.

Season 2’s Marathon loadout meta rewards flexibility. Weapon drop rates shifted: guns that were everywhere in Season 1 are now scarce. Your Season 1 farming routes are outdated. Plan accordingly or spend the run angry.

SEASON 2 CHANGES THAT MATTER

• KKV-9SDNew SMG. 1200 RPM. Integrated suppressor. Flechette Drum prestige mod heals on shield break.
• D54 Battle PistolNew pistol. Full-auto 3-round burst. Integrated optic. Built for quick-swap plays.
• Folding Stock ModNew mod for KKV-9SD and D54. Toggle between hip-fire and ADS optimization mid-run.
• Overrun AR BuffSignificant horizontal recoil reduction. May push it into high B or A.
• CE Tactical Sidearm BuffBetter aim assist, increased projectile magnitude. Worth reconsidering.
• Shotgun Meta NerfTargeted tuning. The WSTR and Misriah survive fine. Weaker shotguns feel it more.
• Weapon Drop Rate AdjustmentsSeason 1 common weapons are now harder to find. Rethink your farming.

The Cradle progression system resets each season and is shared across all Runner Shells. Your S1 builds are gone. Convert old gear for XP, allocate Energy to your preferred stats, and start over. This is fine. This is the plan.

NEW CHIPS: SEASON 2

Season 2 adds 8 new chips for weapon customization. Three confirmed so far:

• Brain Freeze ChipPrecision kills trigger a Frost explosion around the target. Area control through headshots.
• Alarmist ChipAfter briefly ADS, projectile impacts create proximity drone alerts. Psychological warfare.
• Scrapyard ChipKills have a chance to spawn depleted heal items or materials. Marginal. Better than nothing.