update · January 29, 2026
THE FINALS Update 9.7.0 Delivers Weapon Tweaks and Point Break Fixes
THE FINALS Update 9.7.0 adjusts automatic weapon performance, reduces Dome Shield health, and introduces constraint zones to Point Break objectives. The patch also deploys long-term map optimizations and mitigates recent DDoS service issues.
Embark Studios has released Update 9.7.0 for THE FINALS, bringing a wide array of balance changes aimed at automatic weapons and defensive equipment. Alongside adjustments to Point Break and map spawns, the patch implements numerous bug fixes and foundational performance improvements.
Weapon Rebalancing and Meta Tweaks
To counter the dominance of extreme poke and brawl loadouts, developers have applied minor adjustments to several automatic weapons. The FCAR now deals 23 damage instead of 22, but its rate of fire drops from 540 RPM to 520 RPM. The P90 gains slightly longer effective range with damage falloff minimum and maximum ranges increased to 18m and 24m respectively. The Pike-556 damage moves from 48 to 49, while the XP-54 rate of fire ticks up from 860 RPM to 880 RPM. The M60 benefits from reduced dispersion when firing from the hip and aiming down sights while standing and moving.
Gadgets and Ability Adjustments
The Heavy's Dome Shield sees its health pool reduced from 300 to 250 to address its omnipresence in double-Heavy compositions. Conversely, the Glitch Grenade receives a buff to utility by returning its ammo count to two, though its cooldown is extended from 12 to 25 seconds to offset the change.
Point Break and Map Adjustments
Point Break receives constraint zones around Grand Vaults to prevent them from moving too far from initial spawn points. Eliminated players in Point Break can now spectate directly from their Revive Statue. Spawn locations and routing have been modified on SYS$Horizon and Bernal to balance distances for attackers, with Bernal also receiving added ladders for improved flow.
Social and System Updates
Display names are now restricted to a more streamlined character set to assist moderation tools, and players whose names violated the new rules can change them without a cooldown. A new option to appear offline has been added, and long-term performance optimizations continue with micro-fixes applied to objects on Bernal, Nozomi, and Seoul.
Why this patch matters
Update 9.7.0 gently nudges weapon viability toward a more balanced state while reining in defensive stalling tactics in Point Break, laying groundwork for future performance gains.