Embark Studios has rolled out Update 1.6.0 for The Finals, marking a significant mid-season development. This update brings a host of enhancements and introduces the Steal the Spotlight event. As Season 1 reaches its midpoint, the game has experienced varying degrees of success and challenges since its initial launch. The studio's commitment to maintaining and evolving the game is evident through regular bug fixes, weapon balance adjustments, and the introduction of fresh content. The limited-time Solo Bank It mode, a highlight of Season 1, has paved the way for innovative gameplay, a trend continued by the latest Steal the Spotlight event.

Update 1.6.0 Brings Steal The Spotlight And Major Game Enhancements

Update 1.6.0 has replaced Solo Bank It with Steal the Spotlight, transforming the Las Vegas map into a darker, more treacherous battleground with tripwires and turrets guarding the cashout machines. Players are challenged to navigate these hazards using premade loadouts, with the aim of earning the dazzling cosmetic bundle. The update also introduces balance changes to various maps and gadgets, including the Vanishing Bomb, Dome Shield, and Zipline. Additionally, Recon Senses have been adjusted to have a capped range, alerting players when detected. The update doesn't stop there; it includes a comprehensive sweep of bug fixes, improvements to UI, VFX, and settings, and the addition of 10 new levels to the career rank rewards.

Despite these updates, recent data indicates a decline in The Finals' player base, with the Steam version seeing an approximate 80% drop from its peak in December. This has raised concerns about the game's longevity, especially with the upcoming release of new games in 2024. However, the introduction of Steal the Spotlight and the continuous efforts to enhance the gaming experience reflect Embark Studios' commitment to retaining and growing its player base.

For a detailed insight into everything new and improved, the full list of changes and enhancements in Update 1.6.0 offers an extensive overview.

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The Finals Mid-Season Update 1.6.0 Patch Notes

Balance Changes

  • Gadgets

    • Dome Shield

      • Dome Shields will now use squad colors if the ‘Use Enemy Squad Colors’ setting is enabled

    • Vanishing Bomb

      • Increased the invisibility interrupt grace period for teammates from 0.65s to 0.8s (+)

      • Increased the invisibility interrupt grace period for the player from 0s to 0.35s (+)

      • Increased the duration of Vanishing Bomb invisibility on teammates from 5s to 6s (+)

    • Zipline

      • Improved placement validation for ziplines, making them easier to deploy

  • Maps

    • Las Vegas

      • General

        • Added some cover to the side of kitchen trolleys to make them easier to use

        • Replaced the zipline between Eastwood and Decora with a jump pad

        • Moved various cover pieces to avoid gaps in cover

        • Moved various chairs to make traversal easier

        • Removed Turrets & Tripwires map variant in Quick Cash, Bank It, Tournament, and Ranked Tournament modes while we fix various bugs and re-evaluate the gameplay design

      • Argon Casino

        • Removed some of the monitors in the casino so some doors are easier to see

        • Added an extra door to make traversal easier

        • Updated some Vault spawn locations and added cover to some of them

      • Eastwood Casino

        • Updated exit points on various ziplines to make it easier to access rooftops

        • Added decals to some windows to make the glass more visible

        • Rearranged the aircon units to create more cover on the roof

        • Adjusted the position of some cashout locations

      • Glamora Casino

        • Removed some chairs so it's easier to jump in and out of cashier booths

        • Removed some chairs and railings in the theatre to make traversal easier

        • Various other small fixes and balance tweaks

  • Specializations

    • Mesh Shield

      • The Mesh Shield will now use squad colors if the ‘Use Enemy Squad Colors’ setting is enabled

    • Recon Senses

      • Added a range limit to Recon Senses set to 30m. Players outside of this range will not be detected

      • Players detected by Recon Senses will now see ‘Detected’ warning text on their HUD

        Dev Note: Recon Senses have become much more common in the meta than we intended and can cause confusion for some newer players. The reduction in range and the warning given to detected players will bring the ability’s power back in line with other Specializations

Content And Bug Fixes

  • Animation

    • Fixed some small issues with the LH1 reload and Goo Gun inspect animations

    • Updated reload animations when aiming down sights to add slightly more movement to them

  • Audio

    • Updated footstep audio and mix for the player, teammates, and enemies

      • Dev note: It should now be clearer for players to tell friendly players apart from enemies and their own footsteps

    • Fixed an issue where the spawn sound effect could be cut off when respawning

    • Updated various VO lines

    • Various VO bug fixes

  • Career Rank

    • Added 10 more levels to the Career Rank along with additional rewards. Max rank is now 50.

  • Characters

    • Fixed an issue where characters could have their legs bent backward on some screens

  • Controller

    • Added Gyro aiming options for PS5 DualSense and PS4 DualShock controllers

    • Fixed an issue with aim assistance sensitivity reduction that caused almost no sensitivity reduction to be applied to targets closer to the player than 20m

    • Reduced input latency on PS5

  • Emotes

    • Fixed an issue that prevented the player emoting while crouched

  • Gadgets

    • Defibrillators

      • Fixed an issue where player statues could not be targeted for revives when lying in foliage

      • Fixed an issue where player statues could not be targeted for revives when carried

    • Fixed various issues with placement distances on deployable Gadgets

    • Fixed an issue where turret parts could collide with each other, causing strange behavior when placed on barrels

  • Game Modes

    • General

      • Added ‘Steal the Spotlight’ event mode

      • Added the ability for 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 number of rounds required to play Ranked Tournament from 60 to 45 (-)

        Dev note: With the improvements we’ve made to fair play and banning, the threshold required to enter Ranked Tournaments doesn’t need to be quite so high.

    • Solo Bank It

      • Disabled the experimental Solo Bank It mode

  • Maps

    • Monaco

      • Made night and night storm weather conditions slightly less dark on Monaco for OLEDs

      • Tweaked LOD settings on some trees in Monaco to reduce popping on low settings

  • Movement

    • Fixed an issue where players could become stuck in encroached spaces

    • Fixed an issue where players would fail wall jumps if they pressed and held jump too early in a vault sequence

    • Fixed an issue where the player would cancel a slide if aiming down sights was triggered from toggled crouch

  • Security

    • Made various improvements to security and cheat detection

  • Settings

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

  • UI

    • Added Career Rank screen where players can see rewards earned by gaining rank

    • Added new tournament overview screen to tournament modes

    • Added additional item tutorial videos for the following 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

    • Updated the size of ranked icons

    • Fixed wrapping issues on Contracts during the end-of-round sequence

    • Decreased duration of Vault objective markers on round start

    • Made various improvements to contextual ping accuracy, making them more accurate

    • Various bug fixes to the UI

  • VFX

    • Added new impact effects when friendly players shoot each other, instead of the coin effects, as this could cause confusion for players

    • Updated collision on coin death effects to reduce the number of coins that can fall through floors

    • Various polish improvements to coin death effects

    • Optimization pass on the gas canister explosion effects

  • Weapons

    • Increased the size of various grenade projectiles, to make them easier to see in combat

    • Fixed some issues where AoE damage could be wrongly invalidated, causing no damage to be done

    • Fixed an exploit where melee weapons could be swung faster than intended

    • Fixed an issue that prevented C4 and Mines from being picked up when placed on a throwable object that had been picked up

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