How To Extract in Marathon

Marathon

Marathon
  • Primary Subject: Marathon (Extraction Guide)
  • Key Update: Marathon extraction uses beacons and fixed extraction points, forcing squads to activate an extract and defend the zone during a countdown.
  • Status: Confirmed
  • Last Verified: January 22, 2026
  • Quick Answer: To extract in Marathon, find an extraction beacon, clear the area, activate it, then survive the countdown inside the extraction circle until the timer ends.

In Marathon, extraction is the last step that makes your loot count, and it’s also the stage where mistakes (especially greedy ones) get punished the most.

Extraction doesn’t work like ARC Raiders’ simple door system, yet it still creates a risky moment where timing and positioning can make or break you.

Rather than a system where players wait for locked routes to open, Marathon revolves around beacons and fixed extraction points, so you can’t extract anywhere and you can’t just escape by surviving.

How To Extract in Marathon

In Marathon, extraction isn’t something you rush early — you typically do it after you’ve collected loot worth protecting, because that’s what locks in your run, and once you’ve got valuable items, quest progress, or gear you can’t afford to lose, it’s time to set up your exit instead of chasing more kills.

Marathon
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Credit: Bungie

Even alpha players point out that extraction beacons spawn around the map, so you have to move to one when it’s time to leave.

Before you activate anything, treat the beacon area like a trap. It’s one of the most predictable places for ambushes because other teams know squads eventually have to extract.

The safest play is to scan nearby cover, hold your angles, and confirm your squad won’t get rushed as soon as the beacon activates.

Once you’re ready, activate the beacon (players say it’s basically just pressing a button), which starts the extraction countdown.

This is the point of no return since extraction is delayed and you must defend the zone until the countdown completes.

When the timer hits zero, anyone standing inside the extraction circle is extracted, meaning your squad can successfully leave together if you all survive the final seconds.

Activating the beacon reportedly sends a beam into the sky, which basically announces your location.

That means other squads can spot it and may sprint over to grief you, steal your loot, or force a fight while you’re stuck trying to finish the timer.

This is why extraction becomes the most dangerous part of the raid. On maps like Perimeter and Dire Marsh, there may be multiple extraction beacons active.

When one gets used, players said another can spawn later after some time. So if you arrive late or someone extracts ahead of you, you’ll often need to rotate instead of forcing the same point, since extracts can be consumed.

Certain extraction beacons are guarded, so using them may trigger enemy NPC spawns.

If that happens, you’re forced to manage PvE pressure during extraction instead of only watching for players, and that’s when you’re most likely to get third-partied.

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