Cutthroat Competition

Cutthroat Competition is one of Traxus's earliest contracts in Marathon, introducing Runners to the corporation's philosophy through a salvage acquisition mission in Dire Marsh. Vulcan tasks you with hunting down Enhanced-quality or rarer Rod Salvage from the Maintenance and Complex areas of the map. Rod Salvage in these tiers is not commonly found in standard loot containers; you will likely need to clear enemies, loot Runner backpacks, and check high-value container spawns to reliably find what Traxus wants. The contract name reflects the wider commercial war Traxus is waging on Tau Ceti IV: every piece of valuable salvage recovered is one fewer item available to competing interests.

Cutthroat Competition does not end when you collect the required Rod Salvage. You must successfully extract from the map with the items in your possession to complete the contract, meaning a well-stocked loadout and a solid exfil route are essential. The contract rewards include a V22 Volt Thrower, Volt Battery, a random material, 1,500 Credits, and 150 Faction Reputation. The Volt Thrower reward makes this one of the more gear-relevant early Traxus contracts, giving Runners a useful weapon as well as the reputation needed to progress toward the faction's higher-tier upgrades.