The Finals nerf has “killed the fun this weapon had” for many fans

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The Finals recently received its biggest patch since the launch of Season 3. This provided a boatload of buffs and nerfs to weapons, as well as tweaks and changes to game modes such as Terminal Attack. As with every multiplayer game, balance changes can either make or break a weapon, and there is one particular weapon The Finals fans believe is no longer fun thanks to a significant nerf.

Make sure to check out the update 3.4.0 patch notes to see all of the changes included. Unfortunately, the patch is still not on Xbox consoles, and Embark have apologized for the delay with fans blaming Microsoft. As a consequence of this patch, Embark has also confirmed they are looking to fix a bug that emerged on PC.

Update 3.4.0 was the biggest patch since the launch of Season 3, much to the delight of the community. While most of the update has been received well, many in The Finals community believe nerfs to the CL-40 have killed the weapon.

The Finals CL-40 nerf has “killed the fun this weapon had”

The following changes were made to the CL-40 in The Finals update 3.4.0:

  • Decreased minimum damage applied at outer edge of explosions to 0
  • Increased damage radius from 2.6m to 3m
  • Set damage fall-off to scale linearly from the max damage radius to the outer radius

In addition to the above, Embark noted, “As with the AoE Gadgets, our AoE weapons have also been updated to get more consistent feeling damage fall-off”.

Unfortunately, these changes have not been well received by fans. Since the 3.4.0 patch, numerous Reddit threads have been posted complaining about the nerf to the CL-40.

One of the posts shows the difference in damage before and after the 3.4.0 patch. You can see the comparison in the embedded Reddit post below:

Replying to the video comparison above, one of the top replies explained, “Considering that you rely 99% on splash damage when using CL-40, this can be considered a nerf because now there will be more cases where the enemy survives with 5 hp. Trying to land accurate shots is hard enough, and most of the time you hit about 1 meter away from the target, and now the damage will be even less”.

Another Reddit post screams, “The new CL-40 is atrociously bad and totally fubar“. This post argues, “Having been playing with it [CL-40] for the last two days I can surely say that it’s not about the AoE, it’s about the consistency. Pre-3.4.0 it used to be like this: you do a fwomp, you deal damage – more damage from a direct hit, less damage the further from the player model. But now it’s just all over the place”.

Reacting to this post, one of the top replies said, “CL-40 has been my main weapon since closed beta. I admit sometimes one could rack up huge amounts of kills and 1 or 2 nerfs were needed to balance it out… But this last nerf killed the FUN this weapon had left”.

Another comment said, “The CL-40 was one of the things that drew me to the game. It felt really good to use, and was effective without being overpowered. Since I’ve started playing it’s been nerfed twice”. Another comment said, “Embark hates the cl40. When’s the last cool skin you’ve seen?,” and another reply claimed, “Feels like we’re being forced into using AR’s but I don’t want to use AR’s”.

Embark listen to the community so it’s possible the changes could be reverted, but nothing is officially happening as of writing. While lambasting the nerf to the CL-40, disgruntled players are now trying to main other weapons such as the 1887.

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.

About the Author

Callum Smith

Callum Smith is a freelance gaming writer for Videogamer. He covers news for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, and he has over five years experience covering the video games industry.

The Finals

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Action, First-Person Shooter, Shooter

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