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  "description": "Marathon lets two players queue together, but there is still no dedicated duos playlist.",
  "path": "/marathon-duos-status-what-exists-now-and-what-doesnt/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-07T09:58:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://allthings.how",
  "tags": [
    "@KingGodsu"
  ],
  "textContent": "Marathon supports duo play, but not in the way most players mean when they ask for duos. You can queue with one friend, yet that pair is still placed into the regular trio matchmaking environment unless you use crew fill and add a third player.\n\n**Quick answer:** Yes, you can play Marathon as a duo, but no, there is not currently a dedicated duos playlist that matches two-player teams only against other two-player teams.\n\n🎮\n\nIf you queue as a duo with crew fill off, expect to face full three-player squads.\n\nImage credit: __Bungie (via YouTube/@KingGodsu Marathon)__\n\n* * *\n\n### Marathon duos matchmaking right now\n\nThe current setup is simple. Solo players can enter solo lobbies, and crews can form up to three players. A two-player party is valid, but it does not get its own protected queue.\n\nParty setup | What happens | What you can expect\n---|---|---\nSolo with crew fill off | Solo lobby | You face other solo players\nDuo with crew fill off | Regular trio matchmaking | You can run into full three-player squads\nDuo with crew fill on | Team fills to three | You play with one random teammate\nFull trio | Regular trio matchmaking | You enter as a complete three-player squad\n\n* * *\n\n### How to tell if duos exists as a separate mode\n\nThe clearest sign is matchmaking behavior. A real duos playlist would keep two-player teams in two-player-only matches. Marathon does not do that right now.\n\nIf you and one friend queue without crew fill and still see full squads in your matches, that confirms you are not in a dedicated duos queue. That is the current state of the feature.\n\nMarathon does not keep two-player teams in two-player-only matches only currently | Image credit: __Bungie (via YouTube/@KingGodsu Marathon)__\n\n* * *\n\n### What Bungie has acknowledged about duos\n\nBungie has already recognized feedback around duo-dedicated lobbies during its Server Slam recap. The request has been logged and shared with the team, alongside other gameplay topics like TTK, healing economy, UI, performance, and movement feel.\n\nThat matters because it confirms duo-only matchmaking is under consideration. It does not mean a duos playlist is scheduled, and there is no official timeline for when it might be added.\n\n* * *\n\n### Why players keep asking for a dedicated duos playlist\n\nThe main complaint is not that two-player parties are impossible. It is that duo parties are often forced into fights against coordinated trios. In an extraction shooter, that changes both combat and resource pressure. A third player means another gun, another body to hold space, another revive angle, and another inventory.\n\nThere is also a social reason. For many players, finding one friend is easy and finding two is not. That makes duos a more natural way to play than full trios, especially for people who do not want to rely on random fill.\n\nSome players also argue that a duo queue could create a different rhythm by increasing the number of teams in a lobby. Others want a softer solution, like prioritizing duos versus duos when possible instead of making a strict, separate playlist.\n\nImage credit: __Bungie (via YouTube/@KingGodsu Marathon)__\n\n* * *\n\n### Why a dedicated duos playlist is not automatic\n\nThe case against it is mostly about balance and matchmaking health. Marathon is built around three-player squads, and several players point out that class utility, team ability combos, and general encounter balance feel strongest in trios.\n\nThere is also the queue-splitting problem. Adding more playlists can stretch the player population across more matchmaking buckets, which can lead to longer wait times or worse connections in lower-population regions.\n\nThat is why the current position is cautious. A duos playlist is being considered, but it is not treated as a guaranteed feature.\n\n* * *\n\n### Can you still win as a duo in Marathon\n\nYes. Players have already had successful 2v3 runs, and the game’s low TTK means a well-coordinated pair can still erase a full team quickly. That does not remove the built-in disadvantage, but it does make duo play viable in practice.\n\nThe important distinction is viability versus parity. Duo play works. It just is not equalized through a dedicated queue.\n\n⚠️\n\nA duo win does not mean duos matchmaking exists. It only means the current trio environment can still be beaten with clean coordination.\n\n* * *\n\n### What to expect if you queue as a duo now\n\nIf you want to play with exactly one friend, you have two real options. You can turn crew fill on and let the game add a third teammate, or you can turn crew fill off and accept trio lobbies as a two-person team.\n\nYour choice | Tradeoff\n---|---\nUse crew fill | You get a full team, but the third player may not match your pace or goals\nTurn crew fill off | You keep full control of your duo, but you enter matches at a numbers disadvantage\n\nThat is the full decision tree right now. There is no separate playlist you can pick to avoid both compromises.\n\nYou can turn crew fill on and let the game add a third teammate, or you can turn crew fill off and accept trio lobbies as a two-person team\n\n* * *\n\n### Is Marathon getting a duos playlist\n\nPossibly, but nothing official is locked in. Bungie has acknowledged the request and is evaluating it. No launch-era confirmation has turned into a firm release window, and no official next date for a dedicated duos playlist is currently confirmed.\n\nIf you are waiting specifically for duo-only matchmaking, the right expectation is patience rather than assumption. Marathon already supports playing as two. It does not yet support protected duos matchmaking, and that is the part players are still waiting on.",
  "title": "Marathon duos status: What exists now and what doesn’t",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-07T09:58:55.406Z"
}