Embark Studios has released the mid-season update for The finale which introduces a limited-time seasonal event.
The free-to-play squad-based shooter got a surprise launch in December and has been receiving steady updates since, such as addressing balance issues and adding new content like the Solo Bank It mode.
Now, with update 1.6.0, Embark has added another solo event called Steal the Spotlight, which puts the in-game arena in a nighttime setting with more risks.
“In this solo event, you enter the arena at night with a set build and equipment. The lights are off and the pay stations are guarded by turrets and tripwires, and the best path may be the one you make yourself – so keep that RPG handy,” Embark Studios says in the latest news patch notes.
Additionally, playing Steal the Spotlight this week will unlock a brand new, dazzling cosmetic bundle for players to enjoy. However, with Steal the Spotlight being added, this means that the temporary Solo Bank It mode has been removed and it’s unclear when it will be added again.
“Thank you to everyone who played this experimental mode and provided feedback!” said the studio. “We learned so much and we look forward to bringing you more experimental modes in the future.”
Another major update concerns Recon Senses, which now no longer have infinite vision but instead have a “limited range” and also notify the player if they are spotted. You can read the full patch notes below.
The finale version 1.6.0 patch notes:
Balance changes
Gadgets
Dome shield
- Dome Shields now use team colors when the ‘Use enemy team colors’ setting is enabled
Disappearing bomb
- The grace period for invisibility breaks for teammates has been increased from 0.65s to 0.8s (+)
- The grace period for invisibility breaks for the player has been increased from 0s to 0.35s (+)
- Increased the duration of Vanishing Bomb’s invisibility on teammates from 5s to 6s (+)
Zip line
- Improved placement validation for cable cars, making them easier to deploy
Cards
Las Vegas – General
- Added some cover to the side of kitchen trolleys to make them easier to use
- Replacing the zipline between Eastwood and Decora with a bouncy castle
- Various lid pieces moved to prevent holes in the lid
- Several chairs moved to make moving easier
- Removed card variant Turrets & Tripwires in Quick Cash, Bank It, Tournament and Rated Tournament modes while we fixed several bugs and re-evaluated the gameplay design
Argon Casino
- A number of monitors in the casino have been removed so that some doors are more visible
- An extra door has been added to make passage easier
- A number of Vault spawn locations have been updated and cover added to some of them
Eastwood Casino
- Updated exit points on several ziplines to make access to the rooftops easier
- Stickers have been added to some windows to make the glass more visible
- Rearranged the air conditioning units to create more coverage on the roof
- Adjusted the position of some payout locations
Glamor Casino
- Some chairs have been removed to make it easier to get in and out of the cash registers
- Some seats and balustrades in the theater have been removed to facilitate passage
- Various other minor repairs and balance adjustments
Specializations
Mesh shield
- The Mesh Shield now uses team colors when the ‘Use enemy team colors’ setting is enabled
Explore senses
- Added a range limit to Recon Senses set to 30 meters. Players outside this range will not be detected
- Players detected by Recon Senses will now see the “Detected” warning text on their HUD
- Developer Note: Recon Senses have become much more common in the meta than we intended and may cause confusion for some newer players. The range reduction and warning given to detected players will bring the skill’s power back in line with other specializations
Content and bug fixes
Animation
- Fixed some minor issues with the LH1 reload and Goo Gun inspection animations
- Updated reload animations when aiming down sights to add a little more movement to them
Audio
- Updated footstep audio and mix for the player, teammates and enemies – Developer Note: It should now be clearer for players to distinguish friendly players from enemies and their own footsteps
- Fixed an issue where the spawn sound effect could be cut off during respawn
- Updated several VO lines
- Various VO bug fixes
Career rank
- 10 more levels have been added to the career rankings, along with additional rewards. The maximum rank is now 50.
Characters
- Fixed an issue where characters could bend their legs back on some screens
Controller
- Added Gyro aiming options for PS5 DualSense and PS4 DualShock controllers
- Fixed an issue with the aim assist sensitivity reduction causing almost no sensitivity reduction to be applied to targets closer to the player than 20 meters
- Reduced input latency on PS5
Emotes
- Fixed an issue that prevented the player from expressing emotions while crouched
Gadgets
Defibrillators
- Fixed an issue where player statues could not be targeted for revivals if they were in the foliage
- Fixed an issue where player statues could not be targeted while carried
- Fixed several issues with placement distances on deployable gadgets
- Fixed an issue where tower components could collide with each other, causing strange behavior when placed on barrels
Game modes
General
- Added ‘Steal the Spotlight’ event mode
- Added the ability for players to customize their competitors’ equipment for all weapons, gadgets and specializations during the match lobby at the start of each match in all game modes
Ranked tournament
- The number of rounds required to play a Ranked Tournament has been reduced from 60 to 45 (-)
- Developer’s note: With the improvements we’ve made to fair play and bans, the threshold required to enter Ranked Tournaments doesn’t have to be so high.
Solo banking
- The experimental Solo Bank It mode is disabled
Cards
Monaco
- Made night and night storm weather conditions slightly less dark on Monaco for OLEDs
- Adjusted LOD settings for some trees in Monaco to reduce popping at low settings
Movement
- Fixed an issue where players could get stuck in captured spaces
- Fixed an issue where players could not perform wall jumps if they held down jump too early in a jump sequence
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to cancel a slide if down aim was activated from crouch
Security
- Made several improvements to security and cheat detection
Institutions
- Default FOV increased from 71 to 81 (new installations only)
user interface
- Added Career Rank screen where players can see the rewards they earn by achieving a rank
- Added new tournament overview screen to tournament modes
- Added additional item tutorial videos for the following items:
- APS turret
- Gas grenade
- Glitch grenade
- Glitch trap
- Good Gun
- Motion sensor
- Pyro grenade
- Smoke grenade
- Sonar grenade
- Thermal vision
- Added new event contracts to the contracts screen
- Updated the size of arranged icons
- Fixed issues with wrapping contracts during the end-of-round sequence
- The duration of Vault objective markers at the start of the round has been reduced
- Several improvements have been made to the accuracy of the contextual ping, making it more accurate
- Various user interface bug fixes
VFX
- New impact effects have been added when friendly players shoot at each other, instead of the coin effects, as this can confuse players
- Updated coin death effects collision to reduce the number of coins that can fall through floors
- Various Polish improvements to coin death effects
- Optimization passes on the explosion effects of the gas cylinder
Weapons
- The sizes of various grenade projectiles have been increased to make them easier to see during combat
- Fixed a number of issues where AoE damage could be incorrectly invalidated, resulting in no damage being dealt
- Fixed an exploit that could cause melee weapons to be used faster than intended
- Fixed an issue that prevented C4 and Mines from being picked up when placed on a throwable object that was picked up
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