Marathon: How to Play as Vandal

There are six unique Shells in Marathon, which is the game's version of classes. Each Shell comes equipped with three unique abilities: Tech, Prime, and Tactical. Additionally, each Shell has its own traits that grant them certain strengths during a match.

Vandal is a great choice for players who are looking for a speedy playstyle. Her abilities and traits help her move across the battlefield more quickly compared to other Shells, making her great at escaping combat, reaching the Exfil site quickly, and reaching hard to reach locations.

However, playing as Vandal can be tricky, especially if you are just starting out on your journey in Tau Ceti IV. Read further to learn about Vandal in Marathon, such as a detailed explanation of her abilities, the best strategies to utilize while playing as her, and the best team composition that makes her shine.

Vandal Abilities, Explained

Vandal has increased movement speed, allowing them to get around the map faster and evade enemies much easier. It's all thanks to her abilities and traits that make Vandal a force to be reckoned with and a huge pain in the butt for any player going against it. Below we go into detail about Vandal's kit in Marathon.

• Enhanced Movement (Tech): Amplified movement abilities help cover ground at incredible speeds, changing any encounter in their favor.
• Amplify (Prime): Overcharge your movement systems, reducing the heat generated from your movement abilities while increasing your movement speed and weapon dexterity.
• Disrupt Cannon (Tactical): Transform your arm into a cannon and fire a high-powered energy projectile that deals damage and pushes targets away. Overcharge your arm cannon to greatly increase the size and damage of the blast.
• Powerslide (Trait): Grants a supercharged slide that generates additional heat.
• Microjets (Trait): Activate while airborne to perform another jump at the cost of generating additional heat.

Out of all Shells in Marathon, Vandal arguably has the most important and beneficial kit. Since this game is all about getting to the best loot and extracting as fast as possible, being able to move quickly is a must and can be the saving grace you need to get out alive with all your gear. This is especially true considering the heat (stamina) bar in Marathon is very punishing and fills up generally quickly.

Vandal Strategies

Just like all other Shells in Marathon, having a good match as Vandal means you are utilizing her abilities in the best way possible. Remember, there is a cooldown for each ability, so it's essential to use them at the right moments.

First, we have Vandal's Powerslide and Microjets Traits. These two traits work together in unison to allow Vandal to get the upper ground or escape combat when in a pickle.

Powerslide can be helpful to cover great distances and get behind cover, while Microjets can be used to jump to higher ground, opening up the opportunity to attack enemies from above. Remember, having the higher ground gives you the advantage against other players.

Also, Powerslide and Microjets can help you flank other players while they are distracted by your other teammates. I find myself constantly powersliding around combat encounters, getting behind my opponent, and unloading from the rear. This strategy has helped me win plenty of close fights and even led to me taking out an entire squad.

The Disrupt Cannon is a great way to deal damage to players behind cover or knock them away when they are getting too close. One of my favorite strategies is to shoot the Disrupt Cannon into a window of a building where an entire opponent's team is firing from, dealing damage to everyone inside. Remember to hold down the charge button to increase the blast radius and damage.

The Disrupt Cannon can also be a great way to get around enemy shields. Making the blast land to the side of the shield will cause the enemy to stagger, removing the shield and allowing you to deal more damage.

Lastly, Amplify will help you outrun the opponent, cover more ground during combat encounters, and get to an Exfil site as fast as possible. It should mainly be used to escape other players when you are out of ammo and rush to an Exfil site if you have rare loot or if the time limit of the match is about to expire.

Best Team Comp

While all Shells would work with Vandal and there is no wrong answer, there are two Shells that seem to do the best when paired with her: Destroyer and Triage.

Destroyer and Vandal are pretty much complete opposites, and while you may think that is a bad thing, being opposites can actually help big time during combat encounters.

Destroyer comes equipped with the Riot Barricade Tactical ability, which allows it to summon a shield that blocks all incoming fire. This allows Destroyer to approach enemies from the front, while Vandal can use her speed to flank and attack from behind. Coordinating this strategy with your teammates allows you to cover all angles of a combat encounter and can overwhelm the other team.

As for Triage, well, every team needs a Triage. If you want to survive a match as long as possible, you'll want access to as much healing as possible. The Triage makes this happen through its Damage Mitigation and Reboot+ abilities.

When a Triage uses the Damage Mitigation ability, it summons a drone that gradually heals your team, allowing you all to stay in the fight longer. As for Reboot+, this ability allows Triage to revive teammates from far away, rather than having to approach and potentially go into the line of fire.

Simply put, the Triage is essential to have on your team and significantly increases your chances of extracting alive.