CyberAcme: Rewards & Quests of the Marathon Faction

CyberAcme is the default starting faction in Marathon, automatically unlocked when players first enter the game, and it anchors the early progression loop through contracts, Vault expansion, and Armory access. Its representative is ONI, an Onboard Navigational Intelligence that supports Runners gathering data on conditions across Tau Ceti IV and the fate of the New Cascadia colony. The faction's upgrade tree focuses on three practical pillars: inventory management, heat control, and looting efficiency. Six Capstone Rank Bonuses layer on top, culminating at 38 nodes with Rook starting every run carrying a Deluxe Backpack.

CyberAcme earns a reputation through completed contracts, runs, successful exfiltrations, TAD activations, and participation in Intercept events. Like all Marathon factions, CyberAcme runs parallel Capstone milestones that gate significant passive bonuses — Capstone II's Treasure Hunter, for instance, adds +20% faction rep from CyberAcme treasures found in the field. Completing the Welcome to Tau Ceti Priority Contract opens the Liaison Contracts for the remaining five factions, so CyberAcme progression is the gateway to the full faction system.

CyberAcme Description

CyberAcme is the industry leader in AI on Tau Ceti IV, providing Runners with fully integrated ONI support during operations. Where NuCaloric builds its faction identity around medical and shield economy — free Patch Kits, Shield Charges, and implants that reduce status effect durations — CyberAcme focuses on the structural conditions of each run: how much you can carry, how quickly you loot, and how long you can sprint before overheating.

The faction's Credit Limit upgrades expand the wallet ceiling from a base of over 9,000K credits at Rank 25, a progression path with no equivalent in the medical-focused tracks of other factions. Traxus specializes in construction and engineering contracts with a different contract cadence; CyberAcme instead offers a dense contract list of 20-plus missions covering combat, data extraction, looting, and TAD activation across multiple zones.

CyberAcme's upgrade materials — Unstable Biomass, Unstable Diode, Unstable Gel, Unstable Gunmetal, and Unstable Lead — sit in a distinct material category from those required by other factions. MIDA draws heavily on combat-oriented progression and rewards tied to field engagements, while CyberAcme's upgrade costs remain almost entirely Credits-based at lower ranks, making early investment accessible without deep looting runs.

I think CyberAcme is the most forgiving starting faction for players still learning the map layouts, since its earliest upgrades — Scavenger.exe Rank 1, Heat Sink.exe Rank 1, and Firm Stance.exe — require only Credits and minimal Unstable Biomass. Sekiguchi gates high-tier unlocks behind specific biological materials; CyberAcme's parallel structure asks for Unstable Diode and Unstable Gunmetal, both available from standard containers across the Perimeter and Outpost zones.

CyberAcme Quests (Contracts)

CyberAcme fields two Priority contracts, six Liaison contracts — one for each of the other factions — and over a dozen Standard contracts covering combat, looting, data cards, TAD use, and consumable recovery. Priority contracts gate further faction introductions: completing Welcome to Tau Ceti unlocks all six Liaison Contracts simultaneously, and completing Return on Investment, which requires salvaging explosives from munitions crates, contributes to early arsenal progression. Standard contracts include recurring objectives like Instant Transfer (finding Data Cards that transfer credits on pickup regardless of exfil outcome), Emergent Opportunities (using TADs to mark and defeat UESC), and Build Meets Craft (locating implants and Runner Cores from bioprinters and Core Storage). Contracts do not need to be completed in a single run unless the contract description explicitly states otherwise — objectives carry over across deaths.

• Welcome to Tau Ceti (Priority) — defeat UESC in Perimeter; scan FTL array at a UESC radio tower
• Return on Investment (Priority) — salvage explosives from munitions crates
• Introducing: NuCaloric (Liaison) — retrieve NuCal ID from tick-infested building; use workstation; find DCON on rooftop
• Introducing: Arachne (Liaison) — deal damage to enemy Runners; down an enemy Runner
• Introducing: MIDA (Liaison) — defeat UESC combat units; smash glass in buildings
• Introducing: Traxus (Liaison) — hack UESC terminal in Dire Marsh; defeat Commander; scan shipping container
• Introducing: Sekiguchi (Liaison) — inject Necrotic Sample in Flight Control; scan shell in Orientation
• Standard contracts — Instant Transfer, Emergent Opportunities, Can't Survive: Can't Fight, Trash to Treasure, Shell Games, Prime Time, and more

The map screen displays a faction-colored contract box next to each zone, marking where relevant objectives can be found. Crewmates benefit from contract completions even without the same contract active, receiving shared reputation when objectives resolve.

How to Complete Welcome to Tau Ceti in Marathon: Quest Guide

Welcome to Tau Ceti runs across two parts, each with distinct objectives that can be completed across multiple runs without resetting on death. Part one requires defeating UESC combat units in Perimeter — three mechanoids of any rank count, including turrets — and then scanning an FTL array at one of the UESC radio towers in the zone. On spawn, a green marker appears on both the HUD and map pointing toward the nearest radio tower; travel there, follow the quest marker to the interaction panel on the structure, and the first part completes. Dying before finishing part one does not reset progress; the objective carries over to the next run. After completing part one, return to the menu to claim rewards, then activate part two before re-entering.

Part two holds a single objective: sabotage a UESC comms antenna at either the North or South Relay in Perimeter. The antenna is a tall, orange spire-like structure; climb to roof level to interact with it. Once the interaction completes, the antenna glows and produces a small explosion — the objective resolves at that point, and exfiltration is required to claim the rewards. Completing Welcome to Tau Ceti unlocks all six Liaison Contracts and opens CyberAcme's full upgrade tree for investment.

CyberAcme Upgrades

CyberAcme's upgrade tree spans six primary tracks plus VIP-gated unlocks, all purchasable with Credits and a small set of Unstable materials. I see the Heat Management and Scavenger tracks as the highest-priority early investments — Heat Sink.exe Rank 1 and Scavenger.exe Rank 1 both unlock at Rank 1 and cost only Credits and Unstable Biomass, delivering immediate improvements to sprint endurance and container looting speed before any significant material farming is required.

VIP Rank 1 gates three additional upgrades: Soundproof.exe reduces noise while looting, Loose Change.exe rewards 25 credits per container opened, and Slider.exe cuts heat generated by sprint slides. The deeper Expansion ranks — four and five at Ranks 18 and 28 — require 30 and 50 Unstable Diode respectively, making them late-progression targets tied to sustained looting across Perimeter's Hauler area and equivalent zones. Early ranking is most efficiently driven by completing Standard contracts alongside regular exfils, since both actions directly contribute to CyberAcme rep without requiring specific material drops.

CyberAcme Rewards (Bonuses)

Completing Welcome to Tau Ceti delivers the first concrete rewards from CyberAcme and unlocks the foundation of the faction upgrade system. The six Capstone Rank Bonuses scale from 5 nodes to 38 nodes, with each milestone delivering a passive or structural benefit.

• Capstone I — Bonus Pay (5 nodes): standard CyberAcme contracts award increased credits on completion
• Capstone II — Treasure Hunter (12 nodes): CyberAcme Treasure reputation gain +20%
• Capstone III — Sponsorship (18 nodes): CyberAcme Advanced Sponsored Kit unlocked for Armory purchase
• Capstone IV — Stipend (24 nodes): Rook starts every run with a small credit allocation in addition to basic gear
• Capstone V — Max Looter (30 nodes): Superior Backpacks (24XS Base Pack) unlocked for Armory purchase
• Capstone VI — Carrier Optimization (38 nodes): Rook starts every run carrying a Deluxe Backpack (16XS Base Pack)

The Armory rotation includes Shield Charges, Patch Kits, Light Rounds, Volt Batteries, Heavy Rounds, standard and enhanced versions of the Overrun AR, V11 Punch, and CE Tactical Sidearm, plus backpacks and key templates. Barter wares cycle Shield Charges, Patch Kits, and the three standard ammo types. Enhanced Weaponry at Rank 5 and Deluxe Weaponry at Rank 15 expand those weapon tiers in the Armory. Carrier and Carrier+ at Ranks 5 and 15 respectively add Enhanced and Deluxe Backpacks for direct purchase, giving runners access to 8XS and 16XS Base Packs without waiting for Capstone VI.

More Marathon Guides

Marathon fields 28 weapons across eight types, and understanding which guns dominate the meta directly affects how long a runner survives each extraction. The Marathon weapon tierlist breaks down current S-Tier picks — including the Bully SMG, Overrun AR, Longshot, BR33 Volley Rifle, and Outland — identifying their effective ranges and the situations where each performs best. Shotguns lead in close-quarters engagements while precision rifles control long-range sightlines, and loadout decisions carry real consequences in a game where gear is lost on death. Faction progression ties directly into weapon access, with certain factions rewarding rare gun salvage through contracts alongside the Liaison system that unlocks all six factions simultaneously.