‘Never Again’ – Why I’m Making It My Mission to Kill Every Rook I See in Marathon

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With the release of Marathon, players are forming strong opinions about the different Shells. Triage is popular in team play thanks to his drones and ability to revive teammates, while Assassin excels when playing alone. Vandal’s speed and agility make her a powerful playmaker. Recon needs improvements, which are planned for a future update, and Thief’s drone is surprisingly effective at stealing loot. The Destroyer is being compared to the Titan class in Destiny 2, appealing to those who enjoy that playstyle. However, the Rook is the most controversial Shell, sparking a lot of debate among players.

If you haven’t encountered the Rooks in Marathon, they’re unique shells for solo players. They let you drop into a game already in progress and grab loot from bags that other players have partially emptied. These stealthy characters can quickly enter, collect a good amount of items, and leave, and they can become incredibly powerful with upgrades earned through the skill tree. A skilled Rook can even defeat a full team, risking only their time by joining a game that’s already underway. Because Rooks are usually at a disadvantage, they need to be cunning to survive, which makes them either incredibly popular or intensely frustrating for other players. I wasn’t sure how I felt about them myself… until a particular event turned me into someone who actively hunts Rooks, driven by a desire for payback.

A Serious Case of Whiplash Had Me Willing to Be a Rook Sympathizer…

Before a particularly bad experience, I didn’t have strong feelings about Rooks. Sometimes I’d get really frustrated when they’d swoop in and steal a win from my team, but other times I’d enjoy watching clips of them working together, like the time they all attacked Pinwheel on Outpost. One friend absolutely despises them and immediately eliminates them, while my fiancee actually thinks they’re cute and tries to befriend them. I was mostly neutral, but that all changed one night when I ended up feeling strongly for and against them.

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Our team was struggling with the last stage of the Traxus contract – getting into the Command Wing of Pinwheel Base, eliminating a specific bot to steal its access codes, and then escaping. It was proving really difficult, so we decided to play a few rounds of Perimeter beforehand to try and get better equipment. During one of those matches, I had a funny encounter with a Rook character that made me rethink my opinion on Shell-type characters. Unfortunately, that change of heart would end up costing my team and me dearly.

The whole thing was surprisingly straightforward. After raiding the station and heading for an extraction point, I saw an enemy player – a Rook – waiting outside. I started shooting, almost killing them, but then I noticed they weren’t fighting back. Curious, I stopped and approached to see if they were friendly. I’ll never know if they would have been, because before I could say anything, they dumped all their loot onto the ground and ran away. Seeing a mountain of colorful items suddenly appear like I’d defeated a major boss in Borderlands was unforgettable. The way they hesitated for a moment before dropping their best gear, then bolted and disappeared, was hilarious. It was a funny 30 seconds that made me want to encounter more Rooks, though looking back, I really wish I’d known what was about to happen!

We might have left the Rook alive – we saw him taking cover in a building as we left the area.

…And Then, The Pinwheel Incident Happened

After equipping ourselves and gaining a bit of an edge from a recent, frightening encounter, we approached Outpost feeling hopeful. We quickly learned our lesson, though, as we were repeatedly defeated. We even started thinking about abandoning the Traxus contract altogether. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily, considering how things turned out), our final attempt was amazing. There’s almost nothing better than a perfect Marathon match – it makes all the previous failures feel worthwhile. Whether it’s collecting a ton of loot, finishing a difficult contract, or getting a high kill count for Arachne, a successful run is a great confidence boost, especially after a string of losses. This particular run was unfolding like this:

  • We were able to get into Pinwheel without a fight, as we’d spawned near the Destroyed Wing and eventually found the five switches.
  • We ran into a pair of Rooks and killed one, with the other forced to run away. (In hindsight, leaving that Rook alive would be our undoing)
  • We ran into a big team fight, taking out two teams in an intense back and forth and getting tons of loot for our efforts.
  • We reached the room we’d been trying to get into for ages with purple shields and weaponry.

Everything had been going smoothly until our teammate – who always eliminates Rooks and never lets them escape with us, even if they’re already down – needed a moment to handle something else. We were running out of time, with only four minutes left to escape, so my partner and I initiated lockdown. We defeated the enemy bots, protected our teammate, and secured the item we needed. However, as we approached the exit, we spotted a Rook on the other side of the laser grid. Usually, facing a Rook now would fill me with excitement for a fight, like the tension before Darth Maul appears in The Phantom Menace. But this situation felt different. This Rook, named Ronin, was communicating through proximity chat and seemed friendly, even doing a celebratory ‘teabag’ and jumping. Perhaps the pressure of the clock, our teammate being unavailable, or a change in perspective from an earlier match influenced us, but we unfortunately trusted them.

When Ronin arrived, we didn’t attack him, even though we were worried he might betray us. He didn’t seem hostile, and our friend, who dislikes Rooks, also let him live, probably just relieved we were finishing a long and difficult job. As a thank you, and to use some access codes I’d saved, we opened a valuable storage room conveniently located near our escape route. Ronin seemed eager to share the rewards, excitedly pacing by the door, and we all went inside to collect the loot – a decision that ultimately led to the destruction of my team.

Looking back, we should have known trouble was brewing. We’d already killed one of the Rook’s allies, the room was tiny, and we made the mistake of all looting at once. As we quickly grabbed items, filling our bags with gear, I recognized the telltale sound of claymores – my fiancé loves using explosives. In moments, Ronin had placed claymores behind us, instantly eliminating my teammates and leaving me critically wounded. Before I could react, Ronin finished me off, taking us down just as I tried to revive myself. Just like that, our flawless run was ruined. We failed to complete the Traxus contract we’d been striving for, and all the loot we’d gathered – plus what was still in the locked room – was left for the Rook to collect. They were just steps away from escaping with everything. We paid the price for trusting a random player, and it’s a mistake we won’t soon forget.

The Aftermath of Our Embarrassing Rook Failure

My fiancee felt terrible about what happened, especially because it was the first time she’d been hesitant about taking on a Rook – something I should have noticed as a warning sign. My friend was incredibly angry, saying he would have finished off the Rook if he hadn’t been briefly disconnected when we encountered him (we might have even left before the final boss, Ronin, showed up). I was just embarrassed that I hadn’t been able to defeat the Rook myself and save our game. We all went through a rollercoaster of emotions when we returned to the main menu. First, there was stunned silence, then a lot of yelling – I think someone even growled! – followed by nervous laughter (we had to find a way to cope). Finally, we made a pact: we would never let another Rook survive. Ronin had made us all ruthless, and if we ever hear his name in voice chat while playing Marathon, we’ll be out for revenge.

Ever since the disastrous events of April 8th – an incident we’ve come to call the Pinwheel Incident and will likely remember for years to come – we’ve been relentlessly hunting Rooks in the game. I’ve even changed my in-game name to “Rick, The Rook Ravager” to make it clear how much I dislike them! The Pinwheel base, especially that loot room, still haunts me, and I’m pretty sure our near-perfect run ending in failure has left a lasting impact. Now, I try to get back at every Rook I encounter, even though they weren’t involved in what happened to us.

We still make memes about what happened, a handful of which can be seen below.

We were incredibly disappointed by what happened – we haven’t gone back to that particular Marathon contract since – but it’s actually made me love the game even more. It really highlights how special Marathon is. We struggled through difficult AI and player battles, almost finishing a tough contract, only to lose everything due to a surprising social interaction. While it was our biggest failure, it was a huge win for Ronin, and though I’m still frustrated by his clever tactics that cornered and defeated us, I have to respect his strategy. I love Marathon, even when it’s infuriating, and this experience is a big reason why. Just to be clear, though: if you’re a Rook, I’ll be coming after you, and I won’t fall for that trick again.

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2026-04-11 23:36