Embark Studios shipped The Finals’ 12.0 update, PRIME TIME, on October 20, and the patch notes describe it as the biggest rework of the game’s destruction system since launch. The changes go well beyond physics, though: they add a new Light playstyle, a solo mode, and a set of balance changes that push the two most durable archetypes toward each other.
The centerpiece is Gradual Destruction. Buildings now hinge, sag, bend, and deform instead of settling into a fixed layout after the first collapse. Because structures keep changing shape after the initial impact, cover and sightlines shift during an ongoing fight. Two supporting systems extend that dynamism. Swinging Suspended Structures now hang from physics-enabled attachments and swing on their ropes when nearby destruction occurs. Blast Waves, generated by explosives ranging from Breach Charges and RPG-7s to Orbital Lasers and Meteor Showers, dent walls, snap trees, and send debris flying. Debris piles grow as buildings crumble, and smoke and toxic gas now follow the shape of the environment and can be partially suppressed by explosions.
The new Light playstyle, the Infiltrator, leans into deception. Its True Sight specialization reveals opponents through smoke, including cloaked or disguised ones. Two gadgets complete the kit: the Mimic Device scans an object and disguises the player as it, while the Translocator marks an object and swaps the player’s position with it. The interaction is deliberately self-balancing, because in a mirror match one Infiltrator’s True Sight can reveal another Infiltrator’s Mimic Device disguise.
Solo Showdown, shipping in beta, is a 12-contestant elimination ladder. The four contestants with the least Cash are cut each round, and the one with the most Cash after the final round wins. Each round is drawn from eight rotating mini-modes, from Blast Off and Sniper Standoff to Winch Wars and One and Gunned. It launches without a leaderboard, which Embark says is planned shortly after the season starts.
The balance pass narrows the gap between Heavy and Light. Heavy loses 25 base health, dropping from 350 to 325, but gains movement speed: forward sprint rises from 5.8 to 6.0 meters per second and run speed from 3.8 to 4.35. Light gains 25 health, up from 150 to 175, but loses speed and waits longer before health regenerates, with the delay moving from 7 to 8 seconds. The Dome Shield is a case study in the same philosophy: its health jumps from 250 to 600, but it now deteriorates at 100 health per second, so an untouched shield lasts about six seconds and works as burst protection rather than a durable position-holder.
The update also remasters Monaco, Seoul, and Skyway Stadium, replaces the Low Gravity event with Double Jump, reworks the HUD and Sponsor progression (which now awards Fans instead of World Tour Points), and adds a Premium battle pass with up to 106 rewards and 1,650 Multibucks. Dynamic Commentary, in beta, lets announcer Scotty call contestants out by name, with Anonymous and Streamer modes to opt out. Embark has not announced an end date for PRIME TIME, and both Solo Showdown and Dynamic Commentary remain beta, so their final feature sets are not fixed.
Sources
- Reporting source: GamerHeadlines
- Official patch notes: PRIME TIME Patchnotes – THE FINALS (Embark Studios)
- Official announcement: Welcome to a New Era of THE FINALS (Embark Studios)
