Editing Update:5.0.0

== '''New Map: Bernal''' ==
As you explore what this season has to offer, your first stop has got to be Bernal, the sprawling new map! Set beneath the imposing Peña de Bernal, one of the largest monoliths in the world, this vibrant town captures the magic and historic charm of Mexico while unleashing the high-octane action of THE FINALS.

This map pulses with energy, inviting you to join in rooftop skirmishes, defend suspended sponsor structures, and conquer the spinning platform that transforms the vibrant colonial plaza into a grand Arena of legendary proportions. Each corner teems with opportunity, offering a stage where the daring and the bold can carve their path to glory.

== '''Game-Changing Firepower: New Weapons in Season 5''' ==
Season 5 raises the stakes with two powerful additions to your arsenal, each designed to reshape the battlefield and your strategies. Prepare to dominate with these innovative tools of destruction:

=== ShAK-50 ===
This heavy-hitting assault rifle is a force to be reckoned with! Tailored for the Heavy class, it fires two bullets per shot. Whether you’re holding down a defensive position or charging headfirst into the fray, this weapon packs a punch that demands respect.

=== Cerberus 12GA ===
For the Medium class, the Cerberus 12GA is a triple-barrel, break-action shotgun that brings the heat…literally. Equipped with incendiary shells, this weapon doesn’t just devastate opponents, it also ignites the environment, creating chaos in its wake. Use it to eliminate your enemies, or simply watch the Arena burn as you claim victory.

Whether you prefer precision or pyrotechnics, these tools ensure no moment in the Arena is ever dull. 

== '''Innovative New Gadgets in Season 5''' ==
We’ve also introduced two groundbreaking gadgets that redefine how you control the battlefield.

=== Gravity Vortex ===
Designed for the Light class, this deployable gadget with a remote trigger unleashes the power of a localized singularity. When activated, the Gravity Vortex pulls everything in its vicinity toward its core: objectives, players, and debris. Use it to disrupt enemy plans, create chaos, or take control of contested areas with a single well-placed trap.

=== Lockbolt Launcher ===
Built for the Heavy class, the Lockbolt Launcher fires an anchor that latches onto the environment and ensnares up to three targets at once. Affected players’ mobility is severely limited, giving you the chance to capitalize on their vulnerability. Whether you’re locking down key locations or setting up for the perfect takedown, this gadget turns control into your strongest weapon.

These tools are designed to give you the upper hand, whether through clever tactics or sheer domination.

== '''New Sights & Reduced Visual Recoil:''' ==
With the release of Season 5 more items will be able to equip alternative sights. Additionally, we’ve significantly reduced the amount of Visual Recoil experienced when aiming-down-sights, causing the bullets to land closer to where your reticle indicates.

The following weapons will be receiving sights in S5:

* M26 Matter
* Cerberus 12GA
* ShAK-50
* 93R
* Lewis Gun
* Model 1887
* LH1

== '''Introducing Clubs: Your Team, Your Rules''' ==
Welcome to '''Clubs,''' the new social system for contestants to team up, dominate, and redefine what it means to play together. Whether you’re a solo star seeking camaraderie or a die-hard team player, Clubs offer a fresh way to connect, collaborate, and crush the competition.

This first version of Clubs comes with:

* '''Club Bonus''': Earn extra XP and Fans by competing as a team
* '''Club Wall''': Stay in the loop with your Club’s latest activities and keep the conversation alive in the chat (PC only at this time) 
* '''Team-Up Requests''': Easily find teammates to join you in your favorite modes
* '''Daily Club Contracts''': Select '''two contracts per day''', complete them, and boost your individual '''Club Rank'''. These contracts are a great way to show your loyalty and dedication to your club! 

Every Club can have up to '''50 members''' and features a '''unique name and tag''' to stand out in The Arena. Get organized with roles: 

* The '''Owner''' leads the Club and sets its direction and information
* The '''Manager''' helps coordinate members 
* The '''Scout''' handles recruitment, bringing in new talent to strengthen the team

This is just the beginning. Team up and show the world what your Club is made of!

=== '''THE FINALS Greatest Hits''' ===
This Season will feature an all-new, banging soundtrack from our maestros on the 3rd floor – it sets the stage for heart-pounding action in Bernal! But we have a whole year of hits under our belt, so the highly-requested '''Jukebox''' feature has been added. It will allow you to pick your vibe, so you can experience something new or take a trip down memory lane! 

Here’s how it works:

* '''Choose Your Soundtracks''': Pick from a curated selection of albums, each representing the music of a specific season of '''THE FINALS'''
* '''Mix It Up''': Select multiple albums to create your own playlist experience. The Jukebox will randomly play a track from any of the seasons you’ve chosen, keeping the audio fresh and exciting every time you log in

Music has always been part of the magic of '''THE FINALS''', and now, you’re in control of the soundtrack to your journey! 

== '''An Upgraded Console Experience''' ==
Season 5 of THE FINALS brings the destructive mayhem and game show extravaganza to the PlayStation 4 for the very first time, expanding the arenas to a much larger audience! 

For players on newer-generation consoles, Season 5 also introduces 120Hz mode to the PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X. All you need is a 120Hz compatible TV or monitor, and you’ll be able to immerse yourself in THE FINALS’ high-octane competition like never before. 

== '''Time to Play Santa Claus''' ==
We’re introducing '''Gifting,''' a whole new way to spread the love in '''THE FINALS'''! Rewarding your friends has never been easier or more fun. Whether it’s a sleek cosmetic item, an exciting piece of gear, or even the '''Premium Battle Pass''', you can now share the thrill of unlocking something special with your team.

'''How it Works:'''

* '''Gift Limits''': Players can send up to '''5 gifts per day''', giving you multiple chances to brighten someone’s day.
* '''Premium Battle Pass Gifting''': Want to gift the Premium Battle Pass? There’s just one rule—you’ll need to own it yourself first.

'''Why Gifting?'''

With Gifting, you can celebrate milestones, share your style, and make sure your team looks as sharp as they play. Whether it’s for a birthday, a victory celebration, or just because, Gifting lets you make every moment even more memorable.

== '''And There's Even More to Explore!''' ==
Season 5 is packed with exciting updates that make the experience bigger and better than ever. We’ve added a 3v3 Final Round cashout mode to '''Private matches''' and fine-tuned the '''QuickCash''' and '''Ranked modes'''. We added '''optimizations''' for the Kyoto map and more. And you might just spot your name on the '''Billboards'''! Plus, we’ve introduced 30 new '''Career Levels''' and an additional level of '''Item Progression'''. Don’t forget to check your '''Inbox''' for all the latest updates. With so much to discover, Season 5 is ready for you to jump in! 

Finally, if you played in Season 4, Ranked and World Tour rewards are already waiting for you, so you’ll be able to storm Bernal with your hard-earned weapon skins! You can be on the lookout for your Multibucks from World Tour and the Season 4 gift from the winning sponsor coming to you soon! 

Now, what you really came here to see, the Season 5 notes: 

== '''Balance Changes''' ==
'''General'''

* Updated the hit sweeps for quick melee attacks, making them much more reliable when trying to hit targets

'''Gadgets''' 

Defibrillator

* Added ‘revive sickness’ to players revived by the Defibrillator, causing their Specializations and Gadgets to be placed on a five-second cooldown  ''Dev Note: A recurring piece of feedback we receive from players is how frustrating chained Defibrillator revives can be. This change aims to insert a short barrier for such gameplay.''

Jump Pad

* Increased cooldown from 30s to 40s

Proximity Sensor

* Added the ability for Medium contestants to equip the Proximity Sensor

Smoke Grenade

* Added the ability for Medium contestants to equip Smoke Grenades
* Added the ability for Heavy contestants to equip Smoke Grenades

Sonar Grenade

* Decreased active duration from 7.52 to 5.25s
* Decreased time between sonar pulses from 2.5s to 1.75s

Zipline

* Increased cooldown from 30s to 37s

'''Game Modes'''

Quick Cash

* Updated the respawn system to be wave-based   When the first player on a team is eliminated, a respawn timer for the entire team starts to count down. Any other teammates eliminated after this point will join the same respawn timer. When the timer hits 0, the eliminated players can spend a coin to respawn or, if all three team members have been eliminated, the full team will respawn with no additional time added for a team wipe. Any players who die in the last 5 seconds before the timer hits zero will set the timer back to 5 seconds remaining, to avoid immediate re-spawns which can feel jarring  ''Dev Note: This change is an update that aims to reduce the number of ‘long spawns,’ where a team wipe adds extra time until respawning just before a player is about to spend a coin to respawn. We believe this will lead to more fun matches with less downtime and the spawn waves will also help keep teams closer together, aiding teamplay  '' 

* Added the ability to swap your contestant between team wipes in Quick Cash mode  ''Dev Note: We’ve made this adjustment to bring Quick Cash in line with Power Shift mode. Both modes are aimed at more casual play and we believe this change increases the fun by lowering some of the risk/reward elements better suited for competitive modes''

* Updated some of the spawn point selection rules for when teams wipe. These should place teams at a more consistent and reliable distance from the objective

'''Maps'''	

Kyoto 

* Adjusted the map border to improve the flow in the Hillside area
* Redesigned the Bamboo Forest to improve readability and flow, while reducing visual noise  ''Dev Note: One of our main goals when creating Kyoto was to explore how we could bring more natural environments to THE FINALS. Since its launch, we’ve had recurring gameplay feedback for Kyoto around the readability and density of the Bamboo Forest. To improve on this, we have reduced the amount of bamboo trees and vegetation, and increased the amount of hard-cover in that part of the map. Please give it a shot and let us know what you think.''

'''Specializations'''

Cloaking Device

* Updated the Cloaking Device to consume energy based on the player’s current movement speed while cloaked, meaning that standing still drains energy much more slowly than running or sprinting   ''Dev Note: Our aim for the Cloaking Device has always been to encourage a different style of play, one where players could be sneaky and outsmart opponents. However, previous iterations of the device put the focus on using cloaking to ambush or evade enemies in combat, rather than play more stealthily. We believe this change encourages players to avoid and outwit opponents with the Cloaking Device.''

* Removed the ability for burning damage to break the cloaking effect 
* Removed the ability for poison damage to break the cloaking effect '' ''  ''Dev Note: Any regular damage or impact damage from fire-based weapons will still remove the effect''

Mesh Shield

* Reworked the Mesh Shield to make it energy based. The shield has 750 energy in total and loses energy each time it takes damage. A sum of 225 energy is also lost each time the player lowers the shield, with energy only being regenerated when the Mesh Shield has not taken damage for a short time. The Mesh Shield no longer has a cooldown, with energy management replacing it  ''Dev Note: We previously added longer cooldowns to the Mesh Shield to stop ‘juggling’ of the shield (rapid raising and lowering of it) as players reported this was not fun to play against. After some time with the new shield live, we felt these cooldowns were too long and too limiting, reducing player interest in using the Mesh Shield. This change allows ‘juggling’ again, but limits how often the player can raise/lower the shield via the energy cost. We feel this system works much better than earlier versions, in that it encourages more ‘tanking’ behavior but still gives the player some flexibility to juggle the shield in duels.  ''

'''Weapons''' 

93R 

* Increased damage from 24 to 28
* Decreased horizontal recoil after the third burst, making the gun easier to control
* Decreased vertical recoil slightly, to make the gun easier to control
* Increased the damage fall-off start range from 23m to 28m
* Increased the damage fall-off multiplier at max range from 45% to 55%, meaning the weapon will do more damage at a longer range  ''Dev Note: After being somewhat cautious in our buffs of the 93R in previous releases due to some earlier internal testing of higher damage values, we’ve decided to go for a more ‘nuclear’ buff. We hope this finally brings the 93R into the meta in a good way, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on it.''

Dual Blades

* Basic attack
** Increased the speed and duration of the lunge for each attack animation, making it easier to reach targets that are just out of range
* Deflect
** Decreased the dispersion angle of deflected bullets from 2.5 to 1, meaning deflected bullets are now more accurate
** Decreased the damage modifier for direct hits from enemy bullets from 0.2 to 0.1, meaning players will now take less damage when deflecting hits at the center of the Blades' deflection angle
** Decreased the damage modifier for glancing hits from enemy bullets from 0.4 to 0.3, meaning players will now take less damage when deflecting hits at the edge of the Blades’ deflection angle
** Increased deflection angle from 25 degrees to 35 degrees, making it easier to block and deflect bullets
** Decreased incoming melee damage modifier from 0.33 to 0.25, meaning players will take less damage from melee attacks when trying to deflect

R .357 Revolver

* Decreased bullet dispersion when firing from the hip by approximately 20%, making the weapon more accurate

Spear

* Basic attack
** Increased the lunge distance from 6m to 7.5m on basic attacks, making it easier to hit enemies
** Increased the lunge speed by approximately 15%
** Increased the lunge cancel on basic attacks, causing the player to come to rest earlier once they hit the target
* Secondary attack
** Increased the damage of each swing from 100 to 105

XP-54

* Increased ammo count from 30 to 34

'''Weapon Optics'''

* Decreased the amount of animated “visual recoil” significantly on all red dot optics, across all weapons that can equip them, making those weapons easier to aim

== '''Content and Bug Fixes''' ==
'''Animation''' 

* Fixed an issue where the player’s character could deform when respawning
* Fixed an issue where the player could ride ziplines while emoting at the same time
* Fixed an issue where the player would trigger multiple pickup animations when attaching to a zipline while picking up a deployable item
* Improved first-person animations when running with a charged throwable such as a grenade
* Cleaned up some visual noise that could occur in first-person animations when sliding and aiming down sight
* Fixed a minor clipping issue on SR-84
* Fixed an issue where hand gesture animations could play while blocking with the Dual Blades

'''Audio''' 

* Fixed an issue where some player sounds could persist after they are eliminated
* Added an entirely new voice to Dede's face. Keep up, or stay out of the way!

'''Career Rank'''

* Added 30 additional career ranks

'''Contracts & Achievements'''

* Fixed an issue that could cause any Contracts that required headshots to complete to progress via backstabs with the Dagger by mistake
* Fixed an issue that caused interrupted decryptions in Terminal Attack mode to not count towards the "As a team, steal a cashout or interrupt a decryption N times" contract
* Fixed an issue where the "Finish the tutorial" achievement would fail to trigger when completing the Cashout Tutorial

'''Controller'''

* Increased default horizontal sensitivity from 160 to 200
* Increased default vertical sensitivity from 130 to 170  ''Dev Note: The two changes above are based on an analysis we did of current controller players’ settings. We feel these new values will give new players a better experience. Current players will maintain their previous settings.'' 

* Increased max horizontal and vertical sensitivity from 500 to 750, giving players more flexibility on what sensitivity they’d like to play with

'''Gadgets''' 

Gateway

* Gateways will now destroy surrounding goo when activated

Gravity Vortex

* Deployable, remote-triggered localized singularity added to the Light class

Jump Pad

* Fixed an issue where players could use and pick up the Jump Pad at the same time

Lockbolt Launcher

* An anchor that latches onto up to three targets added to the Heavy class 

Thermal Vision

* Fixed an issue causing cloaked characters to be overly bright for players using Thermal Vision on the PS5 Pro and on PC, when the TSR Resolution Scaling Method was selected

'''Game Modes'''

General

* Added a warning timer, with a five second wait time, before allowing the player to exit an ongoing match early. Our goal is to reduce disconnect rates, which can ruin matches for other players
* Fixed an issue where the UI would not behave as expected when backfilling into a match
* Fixed a rare issue where players would be unable to spawn when backfilled into a match

Bank It

* Fixed an issue that caused Coins to block projectiles

Power Shift

* Fixed an issue where weapon customization would not get updated when the player swapped contestant in Power Shift mode

Private Matches

* Added Cashout ‘Final Round’ to private matches. This is the 3v3 format from the final round of tournaments 

'''Gameplay'''

* Fixed an issue that caused players on ziplines to not be detached when hitting goo blobs 
* Fixed an issue where poisonous gas could wrongly block various interactions and projectiles
* Fixed an issue that allowed players to pick up objects while emoting

'''Maps'''

General

* Fixed various behavior issues with doors and how they function
* Added two new visual variants of destroyed walls and improved material coverage where buildings have been fractured or destroyed

Kyoto

* Made various optimizations to client performance when playing Kyoto 

'''Performance & Stability'''

* Fixed an issue on the client side that could cause performance issues
* Fixed an issue where volumetric fog could cause ‘ghosting’ around the edges of the screen on Xbox Series S and on PCs with Shadow Quality set to Medium
* Many optimizations for the PS4 and the 120Hz console mode

'''Settings''' 

* Added a new graphics quality setting for Reflections   ''Dev Note: This allows players to tweak the quality of reflection effects separately.''

* Added 120Hz mode for Xbox Series X, PS5 and PS5 Pro  ''Dev Note: The option will show up in the Video Settings if you have a 120Hz capable display connected to your console''

'''Social'''

* Added ‘Incognito Mode’ for players who want to protect themselves when streaming. This feature randomizes the player’s matchmaking queue time to help avoid ‘stream snipers’ and will also hide identifying features such as Rank Score on the player’s own screen 
* Clubs feature added, allowing players to form clubs with up to 50 members, complete daily club contracts, and more
* Added the Inbox, accessible in the top right of the main menu. This feature allows us to send players direct messages about important things happening in the game and in individual accounts 

'''Specializations'''

Evasive Dash

* Fixed an issue where Glitch effects could interrupt an Evasive Dash that was already in progress, changing the length of the dash

Grappling Hook

* Fixed an issue introduced in 4.8 that accidentally caused the Grappling Hook to break glass surfaces rather than stick to them

'''UI'''

* Updated the ‘Play’ button, making it easier to understand where to queue and where to switch modes 
* Fixed an issue in the inventory HUD that caused it to look like the player could equip an item when they could not
* Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause the player to be stuck with Nama Tama hints on the main menu every time they returned to that screen
* Updated the “new” label shown in front-end menus to make it less intrusive

'''VOIP'''

* Overhauled the VOIP system to make it more consistent and reliable, including some fixes to ensure it better respects player settings

'''Weapons'''

Cerberus 12GA

* New triple-barrel, break action shotgun for the Medium Class

General

* Fixed several issues where weapons could end up in a locked state, unable to fire or attack

Glitch Grenade

* Fixed an issue that caused Glitch Grenades to not detonate on impact with Dome Shields and Mesh Shields

ShAK-50

* New assault rifle for the Heavy Class 

Spear

* Fixed an issue with the secondary attack which could cause players within range of the swing not to be hit

== '''Security''' ==

* Hardware restriction capabilities will now be implemented
* New and enhanced Aimbot detection
* New detection rules for unfair gameplay added
* Added additional levels of game (binary) obfuscation