The Finals devs need to revert nerfs for “A-tier gun” that is now useless

Weapon and gadget balancing has been a constant bane amongst The Finals community. Recently, Embark temporarily removed an OP gadget so they can develop a rework, and, in update 5.8.0, the developer delivered some big weapon buffs and nerfs. It’s impossible to please all fans when it comes to balancing, but there is a nerfed “A tier gun” that The Finals fans agree needs to be reverted as it now feels useless.

The Finals fans beg Embark to revert Model 1887 nerf

On Reddit, The Finals fans are pleading with Embark to revert nerfs for the Model 1887. This is a popular shotgun for the Medium class.

Per the OP, CheesyDipster, this is a weapon that “went from an A tier gun to almost unusable” thanks to Embark’s balance changes. There’s no specific update referred to by the OP, but it’s presumably the changes from update 4.5.0 that delivered the Halloween event. Below is the nerfs Embark delivered for the Model 1887 back at the end of October 2024:

• Increased inner pellet radius from 0.45 to 0.65, making the weapon less accurate at longer ranges
• Increased outer pellet radius from 1.3 to 1.7, making the weapon less accurate at longer ranges
• Decreased damage falloff multiplier from 65% to 60%, causing the weapon to do less damage at range

In the patch notes, Embark basically explained that they nerfed the weapon because it was dominating the meta. Embark explained, “we’ve seen a large uptick in usage, mostly in higher-skill tiers which has led to the gun being very prevalent in matches and leading to a somewhat stale meta”. With the nerfs, Embark wanted to “disrupt this trend, without making the weapon weaker than its nearest competitors when it comes to effectiveness (i.e. the AKM, Famas and Pike-556)”.

Whether Embark’s intentions were right in the first place, a lot of fans are not happy with the Model 1887’s current status. Most of the comments agree that its fire rate is too slow, that the range isn’t good enough, and that the damage is woeful.

One of the many comments on Reddit says, “I tried it out recently and it deals like no damage,” while another comment bemoans “it went from S+ tier to unusable, the gun was godlike”. There is also a comment that says, “Nerfs that kill one weapon to make you use a new one is gross. Buffing the Cerberus was fine, but the Model really didn’t need to feel this a** to use”.

Hopefully Embark buff the Model 1887 in their next update full of balance changes. In patch 5.9.0, Embark said, “Starting with Season 6, we’re shifting to a roughly 3-week balance update schedule [which] should create a better experience for both players and our dev team, allowing for more consistent refinements”.

For more The Finals, check out our guide to the best weapons in the game ranked, and we also have a guide to the best gadgets. In addition, we have a guide to the best FPS settings to help you win matches along with a ranking of the best classes in the game.