THE FINALS – Guide to Specializations (Strengths and Weaknesses)

All Specializations: Overview

Specializations are abilities that are available in a contestant’s loadout, and each Build has different specializations available to them.

This allows contestants to further customize their Build to compliment their preferred playstyle.

Specializations are themed around the Build that they belong to:

• Light Builds have specializations that allow for high-mobility and flanking.
• Medium Builds have utility-based specializations with an emphasis on teamplay.
• Heavy Build specializations are focused around securing objectives and environmental manipulation.

Each specialization requires the user to be familiar with it to be effective, and loading into the Practice Range is a great way to practice these powerful abilities!

Light Build

Cloaking Device

The Cloaking Device is a Light Build specialization that has an emphasis on stealth. This specialization pairs well with melee weapons such as the Sword or the Assassin’s Dagger.

• Upon activation, the user becomes nearly invisible for up to 12 seconds.
• Enemies will only be able to see a translucent form of you while moving, making it hard for them to see you, but not impossible.
• Activating the ability makes a unique sound that all nearby contestants can hear, and this sound persists if you are moving while invisibility is active.
• Standing still will make the user completely invisible, and no audio queues will play.
• Attacking or activating other abilities will uncloak the user.
• If the user uncloaks before the 12 seconds are up, the ability will still be available to use for the remainder of the time.
• After uncloaking, the Cloaking Device slowly recharges and may be used again at any time, even if the full 12 seconds have not been recharged.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Cloaking Device can be very useful in an attempt to get behind the enemy, making it easier to eliminate them as they must first turn around to shoot at you. It is a very strong specialization in combination with the Assassin’s Dagger, as it complements the ability to backstab someone, which is extremely effective.

However, the audio emitting by the user can, in some situations, make it easier for the enemy to locate you than without the specialization. Choosing this specialization in a loadout excludes the user from picking other more versatile specializations, and can leave the user without many options for map-traversal compared to other Light Builds.

Evasive Dash

The Evasive Dash is a Light Build specialization focused on quick mobility.

• Evasive Dash has three charges that can be used consecutively or individually.
• After using at least one dash, a cooldown will begin that will recharge all dashes.
• The dashes propel the user in the direction of their movement input. If the user is not holding any movement buttons, the dash will go forward.
• The trajectory of the dash is affected by the direction that the user is looking, i.e., looking up will make the dash go vertically.
• A blue trail of particles is created behind the user when activated, which lingers momentarily.

Strengths and Weaknesses

It enables quick movement throughout the arena, in the air and on the ground. This specialization is commonly used in combination with the Sword, but also has great use for other weapons that benefit from closing in fast such as the M11. It enables freedom of movement, and allows the user to be more aggressive in combat, while also offering the mobility to disengage from a risky fight.

The biggest limitation of the Evasive Dash is its limited use when in large open areas, as well as the long cooldown after the three dashes, making it less reliable when an attack does not reach its climax within the first few seconds. After this, the user could become vulnerable to a counter attack. Furthermore, the Evasive Dash could result in overlooking traps such as mines.

Grappling Hook

The Grappling Hook is a Light Build specialization that allows users to navigate the game’s different arenas with increased mobility.

• It can attach to almost any surface, including walls, floors, building debris, and arena objects.
• The Grappling Hook can be deployed in two ways: tapping the input, and then crouching or jumping to detach, or holding the input, and releasing to detach.
• While the Grappling Hook is deployed, the user can use movement inputs to affect their trajectory through the air; pressing forward will lower your arc through the air, while pressing backwards will give you a higher travel arc, and strafing left or right swings the user laterally, making it easy to travel around corners.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Grappling Hook can be used to reach high places, cross gaps, and escape danger quickly. It can be very useful for reaching high places that enemies may be occupying, surprising them and giving you an advantage in combat. It can be a powerful tool when combined with the .30-06 Sniper, allowing you to easily access distant high ground and provide overwatch on large areas of the arena.

While flying through the air the user will be left without cover, and a slow and high trajectory could make them an easy target. The Grappling Hook might be easy to use, but it is hard to master, and many new users may leave themselves without cover and far from their team.

Medium Build

Guardian Turret

The Guardian Turret is a Medium Build specialization which allows players to deploy a stationary, automated device that fires at enemies.

• The turret can be placed on walls, floors, ceilings, and objects.
• When placed on an object, the object can be picked up by contestants, effectively mobilizing the turret.
• It has a detection line-of-sight of 180°* unless attacked from behind, in which case it will turn to face the attacker.
• The turret has a limited range*.
• The turret will be destroyed if it takes enough damage.
• When an enemy contestant enters the turret’s line-of-sight, the turret will continuously shoot the enemy and track their movement until line-of-sight is broken or the turret is destroyed.
• Turrets are solid objects and therefore can block a contestant’s movement and projectiles.
• Turrets can be temporarily disabled by Glitch Grenades.
• Only one turret may be active at a time for a single contestant. Placing a turret while one is already active will simply move it to the new location.
• After placing a turret, the ability enters a long cooldown* during which the turret cannot be placed in another location. Getting close to your active turret and holding the “Interact” button will pick up the turret and reset the cooldown of the ability.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Guardian Turret can be very effective at area denial, controlling choke points, and dealing high amounts of damage to enemies. It can be deployed in unexpected locations to surprise and attack enemies.

The turret has limited range and slow rotational speed, which may allow players to get behind it from a distance or run closely around the turret exploiting the slow rotation. Any melee weapon can take down the turret in a moments notice but the Assassin’s Dagger is able to destroy the turret in one hit.

Healing Beam

The Healing Beam is a support-style specialization for the Medium Build.

• Activating this ability equips a two-handed device that emits a beam that snaps onto an allied contestant.
• The target must be within 15 meters and in line-of-sight of the user to be initiated.
• The beam constantly heals the targeted contestant.
• The beam briefly persists after the target moves out of the user’s line-of-sight.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Healing Beam is a very strong tool to keep a team alive and healthy for prolonged periods of time. Its self-snapping feature is also very useful. It is notably strong in combination with a Heavy Build ally because of their large heath pool.

While this specialization might seem overpowered at first, the supporting role of the Healing Beam leaves the wielder defenseless while using it, and it is fairly easy to disrupt this specialization if an opposing team focuses on the Medium Build rather than the team member who is being healed.

Recon Senses

Recon Senses is a Medium Build specialization. It is an optical enhancement that enhances visibility and reveals the positions of enemy contestants.

• Using Recon Senses highlights enemies in a faint red color, allowing you to see them through structures, foliage, and smoke.
• The highlight effect weakens as distance increases.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This specialization can give players a tactical advantage by allowing them to track the movements of enemies and plan their attack or defense accordingly. It is most effective when used in combination with good communication and teamwork.

Players who are not able to communicate with their team will not be able to share the location of highlighted enemies through structures, which means this specialization may not be as beneficial to the team as the Healing Beam or Guardian Turret.

Heavy Build

Charge ‘N’ Slam

The Charge ‘N’ Slam is a specialization for the Heavy build. This specialization compliments a juggernaut-style and destruction-focused playstyle.

• When used, the player charges forward, destroying objects in their way and dealing significant damage to any enemy contestants who get hit.
• If used while airborne, the player slams to the ground when landing, resulting in a ground-pound with a reasonable area of effect that can cause notable damage to enemy contestants and the environment.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The primary strength of the Charge ‘N’ Slam is the sheer destructive potential of a single charge. Secondly, it can make descending an additional opportunity to take down enemies directly below.

Its weakness lies in the lack of protection it brings with it. Though a Heavy build has a reasonable amount of health, it cannot withstand continuous hits and the Charge ‘N’ Slam can leave you overextended and lacking cover, making you a fairly easy target from medium to long ranges.

Goo Gun

The Goo Gun is a specialization for the Heavy Build that enables powerful environmental manipulation. Activating the ability will equip the Goo Gun, allowing the user to shoot blobs of Goo.

• Once the shot Goo blob touches a surface, it sticks to it and expands rapidly and solidifies.
• Blobs of Goo block all projectiles and bullets, and therefore are commonly used as cover.
• Fire quickly destroys Goo, and spreads to adjacent Goo clusters.
• Goo can be used to block the line of sight of turrets, effectively disabling them.
• Blobs of Goo can displace Cashout Stations upon expansion.
• It has a maximum capacity of 14 Goo blobs before it needs to be reloaded.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Goo Gun is a powerful tool for objective control. Creating cover for a team can be a key element of an effective defense, and can force opponents to think on their feet. When on the offence, disabling turrets could make the difference between a team wipe and a game-winning Cashout steal.

Using the Goo Gun leaves the user unable to use a normal weapon while it is equipped. Goo is countered by Fire, which will quickly destroy it and may leave the team exposed to attack.

Mesh Shield

The Mesh Shield is a Heavy Build specialization in the form of a monodirectional shield with 750 HP. It can be used to mitigate any damage in the direction the user is facing and can be deployed at any time.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The shield has large health pool, and can be very useful to push an objective where opponents are bunkering down and holding sightlines. The shield can be held indefinitely, as long as its health does not reach zero.

Its main weakness is the relatively long animation to deploy it, as well making the user vulnerable to flanks from other directions. Furthermore, whilst the shield is active, the user cannot equip any weapon, which means they are more dependent on their team to protect their flanks and deal damage. A Glitch Grenade can disable the Mesh Shield for a period of time.