Chaotic and competitive, The Finals is an immensely enjoyable free-to-play experience. At the same time, it can be a punishing one! From three distinct classes of characters to choose from and all the weapons/gadgets you can be smart with, there’s a lot to the game that has a sharp learning curve.
Whether you’re an experienced first-person-shooter veteran who’s had their share of learnings in Battlefield or Overwatch, or someone who’s just testing these waters; there can be a lot to keep in mind when jumping into a match of The Finals.
Speaking of which, jumping, ziplining, or even smashing through rubble; anything and everything is possible in this game. We’re here to make sure that this beginner’s guide keeps you well-equipped before you dive right in.
It’s time to get personal with character builds
The makers of The Finals have been industry veterans who have worked on Battlefield; one of the most popular multiplayer shooters to ever exist. In fact, it’s pretty clear that The Finals’ gunplay, movement, and destructibility may seem extremely familiar to experienced players. This is where customizing your own character makes all the difference.
If you’re someone who’s up for a fast-paced game and thinks better on your feet, playing as Light is an absolute must. These short but deadly characters don’t have much HP but have some of the best weapons and gadgets you can make use of. Try Throwing Knives with a Cloaking Device.
You can be silent and deadly. Or, use the M11 automatic weapon with a Grappling Hook to quickly get from point A to B. As a Light player, your goal can be to distract enemies while your team works together.
If you’d rather play more of a ‘support’ role, Medium and Heavy are here to be your friends. As a Medium player, you can quickly revive players with a Defibrillator or even place Jump Pads or Ziplines for better mobility. In fact, you can skip out on kills and keep your teammates alive with a Healing Beam.
As a Heavy, you’re allowed to cause absolute havoc. Break walls/buildings with your Special Ability or use a Sledgehammer. Or, hold up a shield to guard your teammates and make the best use of your large HP.
Remember, Abilities and Weapons (along with Gadgets) are purchased through VR; an in-game currency. This is earned through playing the game over a period of time. There’s little limit to how far you can customize your character’s build in The Finals.
The Finals’ destructible environments are here to work for you
At its core, The Finals plays like Mirror’s Edge on steroids. You can jump through windows, mantle, slide, and get from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. However, sometimes, big structures may get in the way… but they don’t have to. You can make use of different weapons and explosives to break any sort of tangible object. Go a little more crazy with it, and you can bring down entire buildings.
This can be extremely helpful when being strategic with certain game modes. The most popular mode in The Finals at the time of writing is Quick Cash, where your team needs to retrieve a vault of cash and get to a cashbox in order to make it yours. However, this takes a while to complete, and other teams can steal it if they get to the objective in time.
To prevent this from happening, you can guard your objective with mines (and other explosives), and other gadgets. But, breaking the floor beneath can quickly confuse your enemies and make for an entirely new area. If you’re lucky, the enemy team might lack a Heavy player to break through rubble and hold back from stealing your objective. This strategy can also be useful in other modes.
Furthermore, ziplines and ladders can be broken. Being aware of this in every match can lead to a huge advantage when it comes to securing your location. It’s one thing to be fast, but it’s even better to break your opponent’s mobility.
Throwables and mobility can change the game
There are three major elements in the game that cause chaos. Fire, gas, and smoke. Gas can be deadly, and be caused by canisters breaking or a Gas Grenade throwing at a distance. This can be countered by flame; simply throw an Incendiary Grenade or use a Flamethrower if you’re playing Heavy.
Fire can also be ignited when a Pyro Mine is triggered. Finally, flames can be put out by smoke, even though smoke doesn’t cause any particular damage of its own.
There’s a newfound game-changing element termed, ‘The Nuke’ by the community. All you need to do is find a red barrel (those slim, shiny canisters), attach multiple C4s and/or Mines to it, and throw it at an enemy. Timing is everything here; make sure to trigger the C4s right before it hits them. Next thing you know, buildings are collapsing and team wipes are in the works.
As we mentioned earlier, mobility is the name of the game. If you’re playing Light, you’re already at an advantage. If not, then make the most use of vaults, ziplines, jump pads, and even moving platforms. Furthermore, breaking structures around you can help navigate through the pain of spawn points being far from objectives.
Teamwork makes the dream work
You know it. Deep down, beneath all the kills you’d like to get in The Finals doesn’t feel right. All the hours of Call of Duty and Team Fortress have taught you; that working together will make things better.
Ideally, a mixed team of Heavy, Light, and Medium working together is too good to be true. Instead, make sure that your team has one person doing supportive work (healing, reviving, holding an objective) while the other balances offense and defense.
If you’re playing solo, and matchmaking with randoms, it’s a gamble at finding teammates who are willing to work together. Instead, pick a class like Medium or Heavy that has the potential to hold its own and support teammates when needed.
By default, Mediums make the best pick when going against random players. Recon or Healing abilities can ensure good strategy, or placing Turrets can keep your objective safe from opponents. At least, for a while.
If you’re fortunate to have two other teammates you can communicate with, make sure you discuss your roles in advance. One person can focus on getting to the objective or holding in cash as much as possible. Another teammate can stay on the lookout for enemies and focus on clearing obstacles. The third can provide intel, set up traps or simply heal and revive when needed.
Maps and in-game events
The Finals has a rotating playlist of maps that you’ll play under different lighting and weather conditions. Currently, there are four maps that have distinctive designs and objective points. Skybase is a map that screams ‘game show arena’. You’ll be running between different houses, bridges, and small open areas that feel weirdly attached to one another, at the same time not connected at all.
Seoul 2023 is a gorgeous map that brings out the game’s more modern elements. Tall skyscrapers with moving platforms and frequent jump pads. These buildings have a lot of floors you’ll have to navigate through and can be broken down when the right tools are used. On the contrary, Monaco 2014 is a more traditional-looking map with thin alleyways and residential buildings.
Finally, Las Vegas 2023 is this season’s highlight and marks the bright and densely-packed environments. This one can be a tough map for new players, as there are multiple floors, alleys, and sites to navigate through. However, do know that the ever-evolving nature of The Finals shifts things up when in-game events take place.
At some point in the match, you’ll notice the game’s announcers warning players (and audiences) about an upcoming event. These are:
- Meteor Shower – Parts of the map fall victim to huge destruction, thanks to meteors falling from the sky.
- Alien Invasion – Multiple UFOs start causing laser damage and a massive tractor beam that causes all sorts of destruction.
- Low Gravity – Players and throwables (among other objects) are all victims of extremely low gravity which affects mobility.
- Death Match – Once this is active, killing opponents will earn cash.
- The Dead Go Boom – When a player dies, their body explodes; causing damage to anyone and anything in its vicinity.
- Mega-Damage – Any kind of damage you take or cause is increased.
- Orbital Lasers – If you stand still for a while, a beam from the sky will deal 100 damage to you.
You would have thought that The Finals can be a tough game to get into. Well, it can get a lot more challenging when in-game events cause the very havoc you were trying to. That being said, the game can be extremely fun and rewarding once you get a hang of the basics. Good luck, and make your team proud.
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