Games

Embark Studios Unveils Latest Update for The Finals

Discover the new Update 1.6.0 for The Finals, featuring the introduction of the Steal the Spotlight event and exciting cosmetic rewards.
Embark Studios Unveils Latest Update for The Finals

Highlights

  • Embark Studios introduces Update 1.6.0 for The Finals, bringing enhancements, bug fixes, and a new game mode called Steal the Spotlight.
  • The update includes adjustments to gadgets, maps, and specializations, along with bug fixes and enhancements to various aspects of the game.
  • Steal the Spotlight plunges the Las Vegas map into darkness, challenging solo players with tripwires and turrets as they strive to earn cosmetic rewards.

The Finals has rolled out the mid-season update 1.6.0, delivering a plethora of enhancements, bug fixes, and a brand-new event known as Steal the Spotlight. As Season 1 reaches its halfway point, The Finals has experienced significant milestones and hurdles since its debut at The Game Awards 2023. Despite initially breaking numerous player records for Embark Studios, the game has encountered occasional bugs and other issues impacting matches.

However, Embark Studios has remained committed to consistently updating the game with fixes, weapon balancing, and fresh content. During Season 1, The Finals featured its inaugural limited-time game mode, Solo Bank It, which offered a unique twist on the traditional format by pitting 12 solo players against each other instead of collaborating in teams. These limited-time game modes, designed to redefine standard gameplay, are expected to become a staple feature moving forward, as evidenced by the release of the latest gameplay innovation alongside the newest update for The Finals.

In a recent announcement, Embark Studios unveiled the availability of Update 1.6.0 for all The Finals players. A significant component of this update is the replacement of Solo Bank It with a new game mode, Steal the Spotlight. This mode transforms the Las Vegas map of The Finals Season 1 by plunging it into darkness, introducing tripwires and turrets to guard the cashout machines. Solo players will be equipped with premade loadouts, requiring them to strategize not only against the traps but also against other players vying for victory. Moreover, this game mode presents cosmetic rewards, referred to by Embark as a 'dazzling cosmetic bundle.'

In addition to Steal the Spotlight, Update 1.6.0 incorporates extensive balance adjustments to all three maps, as well as gadgets such as the Vanishing Bomb, Dome Shield, and Zipline. Following its popularity as a loadout addition, Recon Senses have been modified to eliminate infinite sight, imposing a hard cap on the range, and notifying detected players. This update also includes a comprehensive bug sweep, rectifying issues across nearly every facet of the game, in addition to further enhancements to the game's UI, VFX, and other settings. Lastly, the update introduces 10 additional levels to the career rank rewards in The Finals, offering players more incentives as they engage with the game.

The infusion of fresh content could potentially reinvigorate the player base, as recent reports have indicated a gradual decline since its peak in December. While specific player numbers on console remain undisclosed, the Steam version has witnessed a reduction of nearly 80%, from over 242,000 players to just over 51,000. Despite Embark's ongoing efforts to update the game, the community has expressed concerns about the long-term sustainability of The Finals, particularly with the emergence of highly anticipated games throughout 2024.

The Finals Update 1.6.0 Highlights

Balance Changes

  • Gadgets
    • Dome Shield
      • Dome Shields will now adopt squad colors if the 'Use Enemy Squad Colors' setting is enabled

    • Vanishing Bomb
      • Increased the grace period for interrupting invisibility for teammates from 0.65s to 0.8s (+)
      • Extended the duration of Vanishing Bomb invisibility on teammates from 5s to 6s (+)
      • Enhanced placement validation for ziplines, facilitating easier deployment

  • Maps
    • Las Vegas
      • General
        • Added cover to the side of kitchen trolleys for improved usability
        • Replaced the zipline between Eastwood and Decora with a jump pad
        • Adjusted cover pieces and chair placements to eliminate gaps and ease traversal
        • Removed Turrets & Tripwires map variant in several modes to address bugs and reassess gameplay design

      • Argon Casino
        • Streamlined visibility by removing some monitors in the casino and adding an extra door for improved traversal
        • Updated Vault spawn locations and added cover to some of them

      • Eastwood Casino
        • Improved access to rooftops by adjusting exit points on various ziplines and adding decals to enhance the visibility of glass
        • Enhanced rooftop cover by rearranging aircon units and adjusting cashout location positions

      • Glamora Casino
        • Facilitated movement by removing chairs, particularly around cashier booths and the theater
        • Implemented various minor fixes and balance adjustments

  • Specializations
    • Mesh Shield
      • Mesh Shield will now utilize squad colors if the 'Use Enemy Squad Colors' setting is enabled

    • Recon Senses
      • Imposed a 30m range limit on Recon Senses, ensuring players beyond this range remain undetected
      • Players detected by Recon Senses will now see a 'Detected' warning on their HUD Dev Note: Recon Senses have become more prevalent in the meta than intended, potentially causing confusion for newer players. The reduced range and warning for detected players aim to recalibrate the ability's potency to align with other Specializations

Content And Bug Fixes

  • Animation
    • Rectified minor issues in LH1 reload and Goo Gun inspect animations
    • Enhanced reload animations when aiming down sights to introduce more movement

  • Audio
    • Revised footstep audio and mix for players, teammates, and enemies
      • Dev note: The update enhances the distinction between friendly players and enemies, and their respective footsteps

    • Addressed a spawn sound effect issue that could be cut off during respawning
    • Updated various VO lines and resolved VO-related bugs

  • Career Rank
    • Expanded the Career Rank by 10 levels, offering additional rewards and raising the maximum rank to 50

  • Characters
    • Resolved an issue where characters' legs could appear bent backward on certain screens

  • Controller
    • Introduced Gyro aiming options for PS5 DualSense and PS4 DualShock controllers
    • Rectified an aim assistance sensitivity reduction issue, ensuring appropriate sensitivity reduction for targets within 20m
    • Reduced input latency on PS5

  • Emotes
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from emoting while crouched

  • Gadgets
    • Defibrillators
      • Rectified an issue where player statues in foliage or when carried could not be targeted for revives

    • Addressed various placement distance issues with deployable Gadgets
    • Resolved a collision issue with turret parts, preventing unexpected behavior when placed on barrels

  • Game Modes
    • General
      • Introduced the 'Steal the Spotlight' event mode
      • Enabled players to customize their contestant Loadout for all Weapons, Gadgets, and Specializations during the match lobby at the start of each match in all game modes

    • Ranked Tournament
      • Lowered the round threshold for entry into Ranked Tournaments from 60 to 45 (-) Dev note: With the improvements to fair play and banning, the threshold to enter Ranked Tournaments has been adjusted accordingly

    • Solo Bank It
      • Deactivated the experimental Solo Bank It mode

  • Maps
    • Monaco
      • Reduced the darkness of night and night storm weather conditions on Monaco for OLEDs
      • Adjusted LOD settings on some trees in Monaco to minimize popping on low settings

  • Movement
    • Addressed issues where players could become stuck in enclosed spaces
    • Rectified an issue causing players to fail wall jumps if they prematurely pressed and held jump during a vault sequence
    • Resolved an issue where aiming down sights would cancel a slide triggered from toggled crouch

  • Security
    • Implemented various security and cheat detection enhancements

  • Settings
    • Increased default FOV from 71 to 81 (new installations only)

  • UI
    • Introduced a Career Rank screen for players to view rewards earned through rank progression
    • Added a new tournament overview screen for tournament modes
    • Included additional item tutorial videos for various items:
      • APS Turret
      • Gas Grenade
      • Glitch Grenade
      • Glitch Trap
      • Goo Gun
      • Motion Sensor
      • Pyro Grenade
      • Smoke Grenade
      • Sonar Grenade
      • Thermal Vision

    • Added new Event Contracts to the Contracts screen
    • Adjusted the size of ranked icons
    • Resolved wrapping issues on Contracts during the end-of-round sequence
    • Reduced the duration of Vault objective markers at round start
    • Implemented various improvements to contextual ping accuracy for enhanced precision
    • Addressed multiple UI-related bugs

  • VFX
    • Introduced new impact effects when friendly players shoot each other, replacing coin effects to avoid player confusion
    • Enhanced collision on coin death effects to minimize coins falling through floors
    • Polished various aspects of coin death effects
    • Optimized the gas canister explosion effects

  • Weapons
    • Enlarged various grenade projectiles for improved visibility in combat
    • Rectified issues causing invalidation of AoE damage, ensuring damage is appropriately inflicted
    • Addressed an exploit enabling faster swinging of melee weapons
    • Resolved an issue preventing the pickup of C4 and Mines placed on a throwable object that had been picked up

Tags:
Share:
Recent News