Cryo Archive Map Guide for Marathon

Cryo Archive Map Guide for Marathon Quick Summary:

• Requirements to access a new map: Runner level 25, all factions unlocked, loadout worth 5000 credits.
• For the first Cryo Archive run, the devs provide a free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit.
• Cryo Archive is a map with a hub area and six interconnected sections, containing seven locked Vaults with endgame loot.
• Vault rewards include golden weapons and equipment, as well as prestige materials for VIP faction upgrades.
• You can complete CyberAcme contracts to get some of the unique Cryo Archive rewards.
• Compiler is a boss, unique to Cryo Archive. Take your best gear, lots of ammo and consumables, and a Triage to fight it.

Cryo Archive offers some crazy valuable rewards, but if you’re unprepared for this run, let our Pros do it for you. Check out our Marathon Cryo Archive Raid Boost and get gold loot today.

 

 

 

Marathon Cryo Archive

Cryo Archive is the first level of a huge UESC Marathon colony ship that drifts in orbit of Tau Ceti IV. It’s a long-abandoned ship that, in the original game, was taken over by a rampant AI called Durandal. The developers have released a video in which some sort of AI invites Runners to try to solve the mystery of what happened in Marathon. Considering this game takes place around 100 years later, and Durandal has already left Marathon, it’s interesting what AI communicates with us. Might it be Tycho, another AI that’s been tracking Durandal ever since the events of the original game? We’ll see. But don’t be in a hurry. To even enter the ship, you need to meet the Marathon Cryo Archive requirements:

• Runner Level 25: Perhaps to avoid multi-account grifting.
• All Factions Unlocked: You need to complete each contract that introduces all six factions present in the game.
• Minimum Loadout Cost: You can’t launch the raid if your loadout value is below 5k credits.
• A Crew of Three: It’s unknown if you’re even allowed to jump into Cryo solo, but anyway, you should find a group, as the experience is tweaked for 3-player parties.

In an act of generosity, the devs let you get a Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit for free one time. In their words, it’s so that you won’t lose your best gear on first death in Archive, so be sure to play carefully and explore the ship as much as you can on your first run.

One important thing to note is that Cryo Archive is only available during the weekends! I wonder if the timer is global and how someone who lives in a completely different time zone would adapt to it, but oh well. The devs said they’ll try to find a way to implement Cryo Archive more without breaking the balance, since the loot that you get in Cryo Archive is much more valuable and costs a lot.

Marathon Cryo Archive Full Map Guide

This section is under development and will be completely remade with new info I get after playing. For now, let me share what I already know about the map’s design.

First of all, the map’s layout is described as a hub with six interconnected zones, each presenting a unique challenge and having frozen Vaults with loot hidden in them. The design of the map is labyrinthian, with claustrophobic pathways into darkness leading into wide-open areas from which you can be attacked.

Another interesting mechanic for this map is Security Clearance. The way it is described is a bit vague. Clearance is sort of a progression that builds during the run when you interact with the ship’s systems and survive long enough. I have two theories on how it might work:

• As in Outpost: If you’ve played this map, you know there are no normal exfils and all good loot is locked behind keycards that you need to find to get in. Security Clearance might work exactly the same.
• Time-Based Upgrades: After reading the devs’ blog post, this is the version I lean towards. Perhaps you need to find a keycard or something that upgrades throughout your run, meaning the longer you stay on the ship, the better it becomes, and more doors are open for you.

If the latter is the case, it creates another unique risk-reward experience, where you might stay a little longer to grab better loot, but also risk losing it all due to your greed. One piece of advice I can give you is to be hungry. The Cryo opens only on weekends, so waiting the whole week to get out with blue gear? Nah, you gotta lock in.

Finally, the Exfils are promised to be something different from planetary ones, which makes sense. They are told to be “less reliable and follow different rules”. I wonder what it could mean, and can’t wait to fail the exfil tonight when I’m full of rare loot. Speaking of loot.

 

 

Marathon Cryo Archive Rewards

In Cryo Archive, there are seven heavily secured Vaults. You can get in only if you have Marathon Vault keys. The keys can be acquired through looting other maps, on Cryo Archive itself, or via Cryo Archive-unique contracts offered by CyAc, more on that later. Opening a Vault is only the beginning, as you’ll need to complete a challenge unique to each Vault to get to its contents. The Vaults have very rare loot and items you can’t find anywhere else in the game. Some of the Marathon Cryo Archive rewards are:

• Unique Prestige Weapons: Expect to find weapons that you can’t get anywhere else, like V00 Zeus RG, V85 Circuit Breaker, or V99 Channel Rifle, as well as normal weapons with gold mods.
• High-Tier Materials: Some prestige materials, like Alien Alloy and Hazard Capsules, which are needed for high-end faction upgrades. You can also expect to find golden backpacks and shields here.

The last point in a blog post mentions something vague about a path toward assembling something and uncovering more of Marathon’s secrets. In my understanding, we’ll be finding some lore pieces and a new ARG to unlock a new deck of Marathon.

You don’t always have to exfil to get the high-rarity loot. Another way of getting rare stuff is unique Cryo Archive contracts from CyberAcme that promise high-tier rewards for completing them. Here’s what you need to know about Cryo Archive contracts:

• There are seven types of contracts that you can complete. 
• You can reroll contracts to get the same one for yourself and your crew.
• Completing a contract will remove it from your list of contracts for this week.
• Next weekend, the contracts return and the progress resets.

These contracts might be the only way to get extremely valuable items if you’re very unlucky in your runs. Aside from contracts, you also unlock Codex rewards, including skins for all Shells.

 

 

Cryo Archive Enemies

Other Runners are not the only threat you’ll face during the run in Cryo Archive. UESC forces, the ship itself, and something even more sinister, lurking within the depths of the ship is there to get you. Below is the list of Marathon Cryo Archive enemies you’ll encounter:

Enemy	Stats	Strategy
UESC Ghost	HP: 105. Shield: 40. Can become invisible, breaking the line of sight and attacking unexpectedly.	Relatively easy to kill, but these troops are almost never alone. On Cryo Archive, expect Ghost Commanders and WRAITH Wardens to accompany them. EMP disables their invisibility.
UESC Grenadier	HP: 320. Shield: 60. Launches two grenades, dealing significant damage to your Shell. Tanky.	Try not to fight them in closed areas. Dish out grenades from them, find a safe zone, and as soon as the nades detonate, return fire.
UESC Assault Cmdr	HP: 900. Shield: 80. Assault Commanders are armed with Conquest LMG and have purple shields, which are tough to break.	Nothing special about tactics here. Try to keep a distance, as Conquest LMG is pretty inaccurate.
UESC Ghost Cmdr	HP: 600. Shield: 80. Ghost Commanders are armed with V22 and chew through your shields very fast. Unlike other Ghosts, these seek to close the distance with you fast.	Either shoot them from afar or install mines to break their shields fast. EMP is also great.
TOX Warden	HP: 4800. Shield: 320. The most dangerous Warden out of the three. It’s armed with an M77 Assault Rifle and launches Toxic grenades at you, which inflict Toxin status that severely cuts your healing.	Avoid at all costs, but if it’s not possible, pray you have Mechanic’s Kits with you. Wardens are always surrounded by other troops, which are not immune to toxins, so you can abuse this by baiting the Warden to shoot them with grenades as an Assassin.
WRAITH Warden	HP: 4000. Shield: 320. WRAITH creates copies of itself that distract and attack you. Armed with a BRRT SMG, it’s only able to deal enough damage up close. It can also melee you and inflict Hack status.	Bring OS Debug to get rid of the Hack status, but better yet, don’t come close to it. If possible, take a high point or fight them from afar. EMP works just as well, if not better.
SCORCH Warden	HP: 5200. Shield: 320. Tankiest of the bunch. Has a shield that protects it from all sides, armed with a Demolition HMG that kills you so fast you won’t even have time to respond. If that wasn’t enough, it launches fire from its legs, and if it melees you, you’re as good as dead.	SCORCH Warden is pretty slow, and he shoots a slow LMG that can be easily avoided. I generally do not recommend fighting him, as his shields and HP will make you waste all your ammo. He does drop Prestige rewards, though.

There’s one last enemy I didn’t mention. Compiler. It’s the first Alien enemy in Marathon. The Compiler is the only enemy that returns from the original game so far. There, they were regular enemies, remnants of the S’pht race, taken over by Pfhor, who were the main alien threat in the first game. Interestingly, here Compiler seems to be a much more daunting figure. He is a warden that dwells somewhere within the ship and observes you in his Panopticon, as the devs call it. Panopticon, in case you didn’t know, is a prison where prisoners don’t know when they’re being observed. Spooky. 

Unlike other enemies, including Wardens, Compiler seems to be something like a raid boss. Moreover, if you encounter him aboard the Marathon ship, everyone on the map will know someone’s fighting it. If you decide to fight this alien, take your best weapons. Take lots of heals and status removers and pick Triage, as without him, the first encounter will end in party wipe.

There’s so much more I want to write about in this article, but unfortunately, the map is still unavailable, and the devs definitely know how to keep the information from leaking. As soon as the map drops and I've played enough of it, I’ll return to you with an update on this guide before next weekend. Cryo Archive starts at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET/5 p.m. GMT on 20 March 2026. See you there.

Read our other Marathon guides:

• Best Settings
• Best Builds
• Beginner's Guide

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