The Finals fans bemoan “murdered gadget” in newest update

Embark has delivered a new update for The Finals. Thankfully, after a few weeks of patches with very little meat on them, the developer has provided some balance changes and fixes. This week’s update has provided a few nerfs and, while most of them are well received, some The Finals fans are bemoaning a “murdered gadget”.

You can check out the update 3.10.0 patch notes to see all of the nerfs, changes, and fixes from Embark. In addition, the developer was at Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live, and they have announced playtests for Arc Raiders, their upcoming other free-to-play multiplayer shooter that looks fantastic.

We cannot wait for the Arc Raiders playtests later this year, but right now we’re more than content with enjoying The Finals. Embark has delivered the biggest update in a few weeks, and, as with all balance changes, there is a point of contention.

The Finals update nerfs Dome Shield

As part of The Finals update 3.10.0, Embark has significantly nerfed the Dome Shield. Below is the Dome Shield nerf along with the developer’s rationale:

• Decreased duration from 12s to 5.5s
  • Dev Note: The Dome Shield was always intended as temporary protection that would synergize well with supportive actions. Over time, its main use case has been as a ‘mobile fortress’ used to steal objectives. We want teams to have to secure the area first in order to steal an objective. To encourage this intended design, we’ve adjusted the Dome Shield’s duration.   

Reacting to the patch notes on Reddit, many fans are upset about the heftiness of the nerf to the Dome Shield. One reply says, “5.5 seconds duration for bubble shield? Murdered the gadget. I don’t know what kind of ‘supportive actions’ they expect with that”.

A more damning reply says, “Total bulls**t on that change… no one fkn asked for it to be murdered in that fashion”. More comment echo the fear that the gadget is dead. There are comments like, “Rip my bubble shield, going from 12s to 5.5 is rough,” and “Bubble shields only last 5.5 seconds now? They are nerfing the support out of heavy now?! Is the purpose for everyone to only play light?”.

A final comment from someone who has played the game post-update says, “Dome Shield nerf is savage. Might as well just use barricades and swap this out for something actually useful as due to how long it takes to deploy the Dome Shield is now almost completely pointless. Honestly can’t foresee a situation where this would be worth putting down”.

While many are upset over the heavy nerf to the Dome Shield, the rest of the update seems to have been well received. Fans are thankful for the nerfs to throwing knives, and many are also happy about the decreased max range for the Winch Claw. It’s a shame the Dome Shield has been so heavily “gutted,” but hopefully amendments will be made in the future.

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.