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In the recent patches, nerfs were introduced for some weapons in The Finals, and many players have noticed that this is ruining the gameplay. The Finals gunplay was one of the best aspects that set the game apart from its contemporaries, among other things. Every gun in the game felt different when used, they all had strengths and weaknesses, and some were stronger than others. But this was all to be expected in an FPS game.
Additionally, balancing weapons was bound to come sooner or later. As is the case with every shooter’s weapon balancing, some weapons got nerfed while others got buffed. Nevertheless, this type of balance changes always changes the game’s overall experience.
Are Weapons Nerfs Ruining The Finals Gameplay?
Balancing weapons in a game is usually seen as a good thing – the more a game is balanced, the more engaging and fun it is for all players. The Finals community has noticed that over the last couple of patches, many of the guns in the game simply got nerfed. This made the guns feel bad to use, as noticed by Crowbar_Freeman in their recent Reddit thread.
Many in The Finals Community agree with Crowbar_Freeman’s thread that some of the weapons in the game feel awkward and bad to use after their recent nerfs. Especially the two weapons that suffered the most in a few previous patches, the FCAR and the Lewis Gun.
This was best described by himarmar in the same thread: “Shooting the FCAR used to feel like butter, one of the best shooting experiences I’ve had recently in an FPS game— now every time I use it I get an “ugh” feeling because some of these unnatural jumps force you to do these twitch adjustments mid spray… feels awful.”
Balancing the game is a delicate thing, and sometimes nerfing a weapon can bring the needed balance. On the other hand, nerfing one aspect of the weapon, like recoil, simply makes the weapon unreliable and feels bad. Moreover, these kinds of nerfs can harm the game in the long run. Specialist-Poet4005 explained it nicely: “Embark thinks the insane visual recoil in this game makes The Finals unique when in reality it only drives away casual players that can’t handle it AND competitive players that don’t want to deal with it.”
Was Lewis Gun and FCAR Nerf needed?
For a long time, FCAR and Lewis Gun were the dominant weapons in the game. With that said, yes, the guns might have needed some nerfing. Nevertheless, as stuballinger-art said: “If they’re gonna nerf guns, just touch the damage numbers. I don’t need them messing with my muscle memory. If I learn a recoil pattern, I should be rewarded for the effort.”
On the other hand, there might have been another solution as III_Celebration3408 said on Reddit: “The thought of buffing rather than nerfing to balance elements of the game needs to be a priority.”
Buffing other weapons rather than nerfing guns that feel great to use in the game sure sounds like a great idea. Hopefully, Embark Studios will continue to listen to its community and we will see positive changes in the future.
If you want to know more about The Finals, here you can find other articles from our team on How to Use Arena Carriables in The Finals, 7 Best Tips to Get More Wins in The Finals, and Best ways to use the Flamethrower in The Finals.