The Finals Season 9 Update Now Live via Patch 1.000.119/1.57
The latest seasonal update for The Finals is here with Season 9: Dragon Rising! Console players will see the download appear as The Finals update 1.000.119/1.57, and once again, players can expect a deluge of new stuff to be available for free.
Chief among the new content added is the new map Fangwai City , a new mode in Point Break, the World Tour progression, and a host of balance changes.
Read on for the new content and gameplay-related changes made on December 10.
The Finals Season 9 New Content Includes a New Map and Mode via Patch 1.000.119/1.57
New Map | Fangwai City
Fangwai City is built for spectacle, with elevated walkways, dense apartment blocks, riverfront views, serene gardens and towering structures all blended together for the ultimate variety. This latest addition to the Arena is built from the ground up with smooth destruction, combining everything we have learned from the past two years, to create a battleground that puts Dynamism on the center stage!
Distinct zones with strong individual personalities that draw from multiple real world locations in China, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, create a playground of variety. Explore the vertical routes, the winding pathways, but don’t forget to look up at the electric backdrop of a city that never sleeps.
This megacity is grand, it’s loud, it’s tuned to keep the action flowing, and it’s coming for the crown. Step into your new favorite map!
New Mode | Point Break
Take everything you know about Cashout, turn it up to 11, and add four more players!
Point Break delivers a rolling battle where the fight is always in motion, the stakes rise with every phase, and every decision carries weight. It’s fast, it’s messy, and it brings a new rhythm to THE FINALS.
As you load into Point Break you find yourself as one of eight Attackers or Defenders, each side with a clear goal. Attackers need to gain control of, and destroy, nine Grand Vaults before running out of respawn tokens while Defenders aim to do the opposite. Deplete the Attackers coins and victory is yours, but be vigilant as they gain more coins for each phase they complete.
New Progression | World Tour 2.0
World Tour is now your one stop shop for all game modes! What used to be a single game mode is now a full progression system that tracks everything you do across THE FINALS. Whether you sweat it out in Ranked, push the Platform in Power Shift, or chase eliminations in TDM, every match pushes you toward your seasonal goals!
For fans of the old World Tour Tournament Mode, it’s still here, but now it’s called Cashout!
Your World Tour Badge progresses regardless of what you play and as you advance, you’ll earn Stickers, Charms, Multibucks, and Emerald rewards delivered to you at the start of the next season! Your effort now builds toward one track, making progress simpler, smoother, and more rewarding.
You’ll still earn Ranked Rewards separately, allowing the most competitive Contestants to earn additional rewards for climbing the ranks in Ranked Cashout!
Reward System | Reward Coins
Gone are the days of receiving pre-determined skins at the end of a season! If you’ve had ambitious dreams of an emerald Dagger, that is now your choice to make! Does the thought of a golden Famas make your eyes sparkle? You can pick that, too!
Introducing Reward Coins: the brand new way for you to choose any weapon skin your heart desires, based on your Ranked and World Tour progress.
There are Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Ruby coins earned through Ranked Cashout, and an Emerald Coin awarded for reaching the top Badge level in World Tour.
Sponsors | VOLPE, OSPUZE, and any one you choose!
You can now sign with any Sponsor you like, whenever you like, and swap them at any time. No more being locked in. This update is about giving you freedom, choice, and a reason to mix things up. We are also adding new loyalty tracks for the official Sponsors of Season 9, VOLPE and OSPUZE.
You can go with a Seasonal Sponsor, return to your favorite, or try a little bit of everything. The CEOs are watching, so you can prove your loyalty or leave them wondering if you’ll ever return! The Fans you earn will only go to the active Sponsor you have signed with at any given moment, so make sure you sign before stepping into the Arena. Don’t worry about the fine print!
Cashout Rules | Double Jeopardy
A new rule is coming to Cashout in the form of Double Jeopardy, a condition triggered whenever a second Cashbox is inserted in an already active Cashout Station.
When a team initiates Double Jeopardy, if they are in control of the Cashout Station as it completes, they bank all the money as normal, but if they fail to secure it they lose 50% of their current cash total.
‘Doubling’ is now a high risk strategy, allowing struggling teams to catch up, while increasing the risk for those ahead.
Quality of Life | Expanded Options and Customizations
We’re expanding our privacy options, allowing you to fine-tune how you appear and interact with others, and select which pop ups for friend and party invites you see on screen. We’re also enabling you to send party invites to club members!
You can now “opt-in” to view an Instant Replay, giving you the ability to watch replays only when you choose to with the simple press of a button.
To end on a high note, some highly requested additions, you can randomize between your favorite skins and finally customize your multi-device tablet!
Optimization | Performance Improvements
This season we’ve reworked a lot of our physics meshes for environment and characters to reduce game memory requirements and stuttering, we have also made significant improvements to texture memory usage.
We have made several performance upgrades across the game, starting with smoother Instant Replays supported by a new download system and backend cleanup that reduces shader and state work during matches.
Hard work has gone into supporting 16 players at once in Point Break, and the improvements made will benefit all Game Modes across THE FINALS.
Kyoto has been updated to improve GPU performance. Physics have been optimized, vegetation has been rebuilt for clarity, and the bamboo forest near the Guard and Servants quarters has been refined to run more efficiently. These updates help the map feel sharper, lighter, and more responsive during busy fights.
We’re not done. Significant additional improvements to memory usage are coming soon which will reduce stutter on minimum’ and recommended specs, but will benefit everyone.
Expanded Visuals | Smooth Destruction upgrade
Visual destruction is getting a major improvement this season. Objects remain attached when structures come down, giving you more realistic destruction that also provides new ways to traverse and climb through the rubble!
We’ve reworked our destruction effects to better reflect the shape and material of whatever you destroy. Walls now break apart with debris that resembles real fractured pieces, much like the way windows already shatter. These changes bring more clarity, more character, and a more satisfying hit when the Arena comes crashing down.
Major changes have come to Monaco, which has complete Smooth Destruction across the whole map! Expect more as the season continues!
The Finals Season 9 Balance Changes
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Added aim snapping to the following weapons:
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- .50 Akimbos
- BFR Titan
- CB-01 Repeater
- Cerberus 12GA
- KS-23
- M26 Matter
- Model 1887
- R .357
- Recurve Bow
- SA1216
- SR-84
- .50 Akimbos
- Increased the cooldown on aim snapping from 0.5s to 0.7s
- Added a 1.5s cooldown for aim snapping with sniper rifles
- Added a 1s cooldown for aim snapping with shotguns, revolvers and grenade launchers
- Aim snapping now scales with distance, meaning it no longer gives a stronger effect at longer ranges
Gadgets
Breach Charge
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Decreased cooldown from 30s to 20s
Dome Shield
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Added the ability for Dome Shields to block the Winch Claw
Dev Note: The Winch Claw has been dominating the Heavy meta and this adjustment is an effort to offer some more counter-play.
Frag Grenade
- Increased outer radius from 5m to 5.5m
- Increased max damage radius from 2.5m to 2.75m
Gas Grenade
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Decreased cooldown from 30s to 24s
Gateway
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Decreased max range from 70m to 50m
Glitch Grenade
- Decreased ammo count from 2 to 1
- Decreased cooldown 20s to 12s
Goo
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Increased explosive damage multiplier versus goo from 2.0 to 2.25
Pyro Grenade
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Decreased cooldown from 30s to 24s
Pyro Mine
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Decreased explosive damage from 80 to 55
Thermal Bore
- Decreased fuse time from 2.5s to 1.75s
- Decreased cooldown from 45s to 35s
- Decreased the amount of lingering smoke, making it easier to see after it detonates
RPG-7
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Increased damage from 100 to 110
Game Modes
Cashout Mode (including Ranked Tournaments)
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Introduced Double Jeopardy mechanic. If a team ‘doubles’ a Cashout, i.e. puts a second Cashbox into an already active Cashout Station, if that team does not own the Cashout Station at the point the cashout concludes, they will lose 50% of their cash total.
Ranked Tournaments
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Cashboxes will no longer despawn when overtime begins, as they would previously
World Tour
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Renamed World Tour to Cashout
Progression Systems
Ranked Tournaments
- Increased the overall accuracy of Ranked Score (RS) calculations, which will result in slightly smaller RS changes from match to match
- Re-balanced RS calculations to make first round losses in tournaments less extreme, especially for highly seeded teams
Specializations
Mesh Shield
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Increased max health from 750 to 850
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Added the ability for Dome Shields to block the Winch Claw
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Dev Note: This Winch Claw has been dominating the Heavy meta for a while now, so this adjustment should offer some more counter-play to it. It also should increase the viability of the Mesh Shield.
Winch Claw
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Decreased the max stun duration from 0.65s to 0.5s
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Decreased the minimum stun duration from 0.35s to 0.2s
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Added functionality where, if the clawed victim is far away from the initial point of collision, the Winch Claw will break. This addresses an issue where the Winch Claw could sometimes appear to grab players around walls
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Winch Claw now retracts as soon as it hits an object it can’t latch onto, reducing time spent lingering in the air
Dev Note: These changes aim to address some of the more common frustrations players experience when facing the Winch Claw, which has become quite dominant in the meta across multiple modes. The hope is to bring the Heavy’s Specializations more in line with each other in terms of viability/impact.
Weapons
93R
- Decreased damage from 26 to 24
- Decreased the damage fall-off start range from 32m to 30m
- Decreased the damage fall-off end range from 40m to 37.5m
- Increased the damage fall-off multiplier at max range from 40% to 50%, meaning it does slightly more damage at long-range
BFR Titan
- Decreased environmental damage from 130 to 95
- Decreased the rate of fire from 85 RPM to 82 RPM
Dual Blades
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Increased the damage of the the third attack in the attack sequence from 65 to 100
KS-23
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Decreased bullet dispersion across all stances when aiming down sights (ADS) by approximately 30%, making the weapon more precise
Lewis Gun
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Increased damage from 22 to 23
M134 Minigun
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Decreased bullet dispersion slightly when crouching or standing still and aiming down sights (ADS), making the weapon more precise
M60
- Decreased the amount of vertical recoil during the first 8 bullets of the firing sequence, making the M60 slightly easier to control
- Slightly increased the amount of vertical recoil after the 30th bullet in the firing sequence, making the M60 slightly harder to control during sustained firing
Model 1887
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Decreased tactical reload intro animation duration from 2.2s to 1.5s, meaning the weapon reloads faster
V9S
- Increased the damage fall-off start range from 10m to 15m
- Increased the damage fall-off end range from 15m to 25m
- Increased the damage fall-off multiplier at max range from 62% to 65%, meaning it does slightly more damage at long-range
For the comprehensive list of bug fixes applied, check out Embark’s in-depth channgelog for it.
Outside of The Finals, Embark’s other game, ARC Raiders, will be receiving its last content drop of 2025 in Cold Snap next week.
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