Marathon Runner Shells Tier List in 2026

Marathon Runner Shells Tier List Quick Summary:

• This guide is split into two separate tier lists: for solo players and for squads. You can jump to the section you’re interested in and see how your favorite Runner Shells is ranked.
• Recon and Assassin are the best Runners for solo because they’re perfect at flanking, gathering intel, and can retreat from a fight if something goes wrong.
• Triage, Destroyers, and Recon are the strongest picks for playing in squads. They combine healing, revives, scouting, and make your frontline fights stronger in general.
• Rook is included in a solo tier list because it’s a fully playable Runner Shell and remains a great option for beginners to learn the game without risking their loot.

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Runner Shells Tier List for Solo Players

There are only two S-Tier Runner Shells in Marathon for me, and they’re Recon and Assassin. They’re built to be played on your own, and you have all the tools to sneak behind your enemy and take them down before they even realize that. Let’s look at a full Runner Shells tier list for solo players in Marathon:

I’ve been playing Recon for dozens of hours, and I find this class so smooth and built just right for me. But Assassin with the Active Camo ability is also nice when I want to play fully sneaky. This allows you to get into a fight with an advantage, and that can help you win most of them even if you’re a complete beginner. But both characters have quite a high skill ceiling, and you’ll need to adapt to their playstyles to win matches further.

S-Tier

I would say that both Recon and Assassin are the best Runner Shells in Marathon for solo players. They give you the two things that matter most when you’re alone in an extraction shooter. I’m talking about information and control over the situation. You decide when to enter the fight, the perfect angle, and you also have options to retreat. You can always avoid bad fights rather than relying on your teammates to trade for you or cover flanks.

Recon

Recon is the strongest Runner Shells in Marathon and my personal favorite class. This is the archetype I’ve always liked. Let’s call it the purest solo hunter archetype. You can track players, take fights on your terms, and you’re less likely to get ambushed. All the abilities this character offers are built around playing solo, and this is exactly why Recon is in the S-Tier for me.

I would even say that Recon is stronger than Assassin because you’re technically its straight counterpick. You can reveal targets with Echo Pulse and be alerted with Interrogation when someone aims at you. This is already enough to survive on your own in an extraction shooter. I would say this is the number one pick if you’re into PvP and want to hunt other Runners instead of just looting.

Assassin

Assassin is the best Runner Shell in Marathon because you’ve got the toolkit to survive, attack unexpectedly, and reposition yourself whenever needed. If Recon is the hunter, Assassin is the stalker - that’s how I see it. You decide when to start a fight and, more importantly, when to stop it. You can go invisible with your Active Camo or break line of sight with Smoke Screen when things go wrong. Your strength is in surviving in solo play rather than winning every duel. Here’s what makes Assassin so strong and an S-Tier class in Marathon for me:

1. Invisibility gives you safer rotations and a way to get straight into enemies’ flanks
2. Your Smoke Screen is what saves you when you want to reset your position or simply retreat from a fight you can’t handle
3. This is a strong class for third-party timing because no one expects you to be where you are
4. Patience and positioning matter more than raw aim when playing as Assassin, but this can be a downside for some of you, too

Every time I got shot by Assassin, I sat down saying how unfair this Runner is. I’ve overcome this now, but I still consider this character extremely powerful. Many of the topics I’ve read claim Assassin to be their main or at least people love the way its playstyle is built. That tells a lot.

A-Tier

I’ve put Vandal and Destroyer in the A-Tier not because they’re out of the Marathon Runner Shells meta, but because they’re more situational. And being situational is not what you wanna be when choosing a class for solo. You want to be adaptable and be ready for every situation.

Vandal

Vandal is a classic high-tempo solo Runner you can pick if you prefer to attack with speed, from weird angles, and create chaos. You’ve got Microjets for double jump, Power Slide to slide further and faster. All this makes this class focused on movement more than anything else. This brings me to the conclusion that its high skill ceiling can be a stopping point for many. Yes, you can push, bail out, re-peek from another angle, but that’s not going to be possible if you’re a movement God.

I tried to give Vandal several games, but the tempo it offers is just not for me. I’m not saying it’s a bad Runner Shell, of course, not. You will have to adapt to its playstyle a lot and spend dozens of games before you can actually get the most out of it.

Destroyer

Destroyer is undoubtedly among the best classes in Marathon, and I like it for the unique playstyle it offers. It has a little bit of everything: homing missiles to deal decent damage, a shield to block incoming damage, and even dashes to help you stay mobile. This is a tanky Runner Shell with lots of options to prove itself solo if played right. I liked playing Destroyer for the following reasons:

1. High durability allows you to make mistakes, which is a big plus for beginners
2. Thruster keeps you mobile, and you’ll never feel too slow
3. Your rockets are your primary pressure weapon to kick enemies’ … let’s not say this word out loud here, lol, you got me.

I rate this class as A-Tier just because you don’t have that many tools to generate information or start a fight whenever you want it. But Destroyer is a solid Runner Shell that can survive many of the unwanted fights for sure.

B-Tier

I’ve put Thief and Triage in the B-Tier because these Runner Shells are the ones that depend on a team the most. And of course, there’s Rook, but it’s just a free loadout class you can use to grab some loot without risking losing anything from your inventory. So, yeah, it’s definitely going to be B-Tier just for the company here.

Thief

Thief is arguably the most interesting Runner in Marathon, and maybe the most fun for a certain type of player. Unlike those guys from S-Tier, you’re not focused on PvP fights at all. Instead, you sneak around loot routes, do third-party timing, and get rich without taking any risky fights. Your Pickpocket Drone does all the scouting work, and you can also make other players drop their loot by attacking with it.

Your Grapple is just insane in terms of mobility, and it only gets better as you gather more loot. It’ll have faster cooldown, traveling distance, and so on. And your X-Ray Visor is what allows you to grab loot with no extra risk of being punished. You’ll always see what’s behind those walls and how many enemies are standing there.

But the biggest reason why Thief is in B-Tier for me is the lack of direct fight-winning pressure. You’ve got tons of utility, but it’s not what carries you when playing all alone. Also, its higher skill ceiling will take a ton of time to adapt to.

Triage

Triage comes as the only healer-based class in Marathon, and it can never be bad just for this reason. But again, I’m ranking it for solo players in this part of the tier list here, and this is where it’s actually weak. The healing drone, remote resuscitate, and consumable-sharing effects are fantastic tools, don’t get me wrong. But that’s not what you’re looking for when being on your own in the game.

Compared to other Runners that bring stronger solo kill pressure, Triage is ranked low due to these reasons:

1. Team-focused strengths don’t bring this much value in solo plays
2. Support utility is kinda wasted without allies
3. Weaker offensive pressure than Recon or Assassin from S-Tier

Rook

Rook is the weird one here, but I can’t skip this Runner Shell because it’s not as simple as it looks at first. You can only run it solo, and you inject into matches that are already in progress. You bring in no stash gear and get a provided kit instead. The whole point of playing Rook is to grab something you’ll use later when playing serious classes.

But the tricky part I like about Rook is the AI disguise mechanic that lets you survive and avoid attention. This is how you can slip through dangerous areas and grab the sweet loot you’re after. It’s also a great way to learn the Marathon game before you decide to risk the stuff you already have. When I was just starting, I played Rook a lot, and this is what I recommend for every beginner out there.

Runner Shells Tier List for Squads

Now, you’ll see how things change when you decide to play certain Runner Shells in a 3-man squad mode. Utility and ally-based abilities become more important than raw power and ways to sneak behind your enemies. Check out a complete Runner Shells tier list for squads in Marathon:

Whoops, and Triage moves from B-Tier to S-Tier in the blink of an eye. Surprised? Yes, the positioning changes a lot depending on the mode you go for. When creating these Marathon Runner Shells rankings, I found myself thinking how wonderful this game is in this regard. Your playstyle shifts completely, and this is what I like. Today, I’m having a mood to play as a deadly Assassin, and tomorrow I wanna rescue my teammates and do the healing stuff. All that is possible in Marathon.

S-Tier

Triage, Recon, and Destroyer are the strongest Runner Shells in Marathon for the squad mode. They build a structure for your team to win. Think of that like this: one guy can save you, the other one is your eyes and ears on the battlefield, and the last one is your protection. These three classes are a bliss to play in a squad, trust me. I’ve tried them all and played many games, and they’re just the best.

Triage

Remember everything I said about Triage and how bad it was in terms of playing solo? Now, all the stuff like remote resuscitate, healing, shielding drone, and consumable sharing part are your strengths. This is exactly what your team expects from you. You’ll keep your team alive - you win. Simple as that.

Recon

Recon takes S-Tier again because the intel you gather can win fights before shots are even fired. Marking targets, tracking threats, exposing potions, and helping your team avoid flanks is absurdly valuable in a game like this. Thanks to this guy, you’ll always know when to push or retreat, as well as what angle to start a fight from.

Destroyer

What squad can survive without a tanky Runner Shell protecting their back? No Vandal will survive for long if Destroyer doesn’t protect them. But apart from being just a tanky guy, you’re also mobile and have enough pressure to deal extra damage in fights. Your enemies will be forced to deal with the front line while your squishier teammates are doing the rest.

A-Tier

A-Tier for squads can be situational, and there’s no right decision here. But I’ve chosen Thief and Assassin for this place. They’re amazing in squads, but remain quite situational, especially Thief, lol. Also, both classes’ high skill ceiling makes them harder to master, and not every player out there will have enough time to deal with that.

Thief

Marking targets for teammates is huge in a game like Marathon, and Thief can be valued for this only. You can also create pressure in weird ways by stealing loot off AI or players and forcing awkward reactions. All this allows your squad to attack unexpectedly and destroy the enemy squad before they react back.

Assassin

Your invisibility and smoke are no longer selfish escape tools when playing as Assassin in a squad. You use them as flank and reset tools to let your team get more space. But be ready to die in a few shots if your attack fails or your squad doesn’t support you when needed. Other than that, you’re a perfect tool for creating panic and breaking sightlines, and that can never be extra in a squad play.

B-Tier

Don’t get me wrong here, but the B-Tier Runner Shells are just harder to justify when you have better options. They’re not bad, but not great either. You can go for them if you’re a true master of a specific class or simply want to have fun, but not for a 100% win.

Vandal

The reason I’ve put Vandal in B-Tier is the problem with consistency. You’ve got plenty of options like double jumps, cool movement, fast slides, and all that. But that’s a bit difficult to put into practice when playing in a squad. Your team needs to know exactly when you’re going to push, or the surprise effect Vandal brings is gone. If no one is here for you when you attack, you’re a dead body. This lower teamwide utility is what makes me think Vandal is B-Tier for now, but this can definitely change later.

Read our other Marathon guides:

• Best Weapons Tier List

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