Marathon: How to Play as Assassin

There are six Shells to choose from in Marathon, each with its own unique abilities and traits. Depending on who you decide to choose, you will decide your playstyle during a match. Each Shell acts completely different from one another.

For example, the Assassin is perfect for players who like to take a more stealthy approach to combat, rather than going in with brute force like the Destroyer. The Assassin is one of the best Shells in the game, but only if you fully understand how the Shell works. It can be tricky to understand, but with practice, you will become a force to be reckoned with.

If you are interested in playing as the Assassin Shell in Marathon, this is the guide for you. Read further to learn how to play as Assassin in Marathon as this guide will explain its abilities, the best strategies to focus on, and the best team composition.

Assassin Abilites, Explained

The Assassin is skilled at evading detection, allowing you to attack unsuspecting enemies and escape combat encounters. When you play as the Assassin in Marathon, opposing players will have to be extra cautious against you to prevent you from flanking them and taking control of the battle. You can find a detailed explanation of Assassin's abilities below.

• Invisibility Systems (Tech): Active Camo and synthetic smoke deployment allow for unseen strikes or the perfect cover during hostile engagements.
• Smoke Screen (Prime): Throw a smoke disc that emits a line of smoke fields in front of you, disrupting the optics of those who step inside.
• Active Camo (Tactical): Activate your shell's camouflage systems, pulling a shroud of invisibility over yourself. Performing offensive actions, taking damage, and using abilities or consumables briefly disrupts your invisibility.
• Shadow Dive (Trait): Activate while airborne to slam a smoke disc into the ground, deploying a smoke field.
• Shroud (Trait): Your shell automatically activates its camouflage systems when entering any smoke field, making you invisible. Invisibility persists for a short time after leaving the smoke field.

Assassin's ability to use camouflage and smoke to distract other players and AI enemies make this Shell valuable to any team. However, to maximize Assassin's efficiency during a match, you need to use its abilities at the appropriate time. Learn more in the next section as we explain the best Assassin strategies.

Assassin Strategies

In order to play correctly as an Assassin in Marathon, it's very important you understand the best time to use the Smoke Screen and Active Camo abilities. Simply put, you want to take a tactical approach to combat.

The absolute best time to use a Smoke Screen is when you're reviving a teammate or when you need to escape a firefight to find cover. If a teammate gets downed in the midst of battle, opposing players are going to either continue shooting at the downed player to knock them out completely, or target you to prevent you from reviving them. The Smoke Screen makes it very difficult for them to see you, allowing you to find time to revive said teammate.

You can also test your luck by shooting through the smoke and attempting to land shots on an enemy. To do this, you'll have to take note of the enemy's exact location before using the Smoke Screen since it also blinds your vision.

If you find yourself in an open area with no cover and the UESC or opposing players begin shooting at you, it's best to use Smoke Screen to give you and your teammates an escape to get out of the enemy's line of sight.

Active Camo can also be used to escape the enemy's line of sight when caught in the open, but the best time to use it is mid-combat. The strategy I use involves me getting behind cover, activating the camouflage, leaving cover, and making my way around to flank the enemy team. Doing this right will result in the enemy thinking you are still behind cover, while you're really sneaking from the rear to take them out.

Best Team Comp

The best Shells to pair with the Assassin in Marathon are Triage and Recon. The former is a must for any team as it essentially acts as a healer and keeps your team alive, while the former can be used to compliment Assassin's ability to use camouflage and smoke screens.

Having Triage on your team is pretty self-explanatory. Its ability to keep your health bar high through its Med-Drones results in you having to use fewer health kits and shield rechargers, while its Reboot+ ability makes it easier to get revived when down.

On the other hand, Recon comes equipped with the ability Echo Pulse, which sends out radar pulses that ping any nearby hostiles. This makes it easier for Assassin to find enemies and other players to kill while camouflaged, which is important since the camouflage doesn't last a very long time. Plus, Recon pings an entire team if he executes a finishing move on one of them.