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The Finals Combat Guide — Master Every Mechanic

The Finals combat guide covering every mechanic, advanced techniques, and the strategies that separate good players from great ones.

The Finals is a free-to-play team-based FPS built around a fully destructible environment powered by Embark Studios' proprietary tech. Three body types — Light, Medium, and Heavy — offer distinct playstyles with unique abilities and weapon pools. The core game mode, Cashout, tasks teams with stealing vaults and depositing them at cashout stations while defending against other squads. What sets The Finals apart is that every wall, floor, and ceiling can be destroyed, meaning no position is truly safe and creative destruction is the meta.

Combat in The Finals rewards knowledge over reflexes. Understanding how each mechanic works — and how they interact — is what turns a struggling player into a dominant one. New here? Start with our beginner's guide for the basics.

Core Combat Mechanics

1. destruction system

Nearly every surface in The Finals can be destroyed using explosives, weapons fire, or abilities. Floors collapse under sustained damage, walls can be blown open for new sightlines, and entire buildings can be brought down. Smart destruction creates rotation paths, removes enemy cover, and denies cashout positions.

Why it matters: This is the foundation of all combat. Everything else builds on this.

2. cashout objectives

Teams compete to grab vaults from the map, carry them to cashout stations, and defend them during a timed deposit. Other teams can steal the cashout by interacting with the station, creating chaotic multi-team fights. Winning requires both securing vaults and preventing steals.

Why it matters: The most underrated mechanic. Players who master this early have a massive advantage.

3. class-based combat

Light builds are fast with stealth and mobility abilities but have 150 HP. Medium builds at 250 HP balance healing/support with solid DPS. Heavy builds tank at 350 HP with shields, C4, and suppressive fire. Team composition matters enormously.

Why it matters: Unlocks a new layer of gameplay depth once understood.

4. gadget synergies

Each build carries specializations and gadgets that combo with teammates. Heavy's Dome Shield pairs with Medium's Turret for protected suppressive fire. Light's Grapple plus Cloaking Device enables flanking steals. Building around synergies wins more than raw aim.

Why it matters: The tactical edge that separates average players from advanced ones.

5. environmental manipulation

Beyond destruction, you can use Goo Grenades to create temporary cover or block doors, Gas Mines to deny areas, and Jump Pads for vertical mobility. The environment is a weapon — redirecting fire through gas clouds ignites the area.

Why it matters: The endgame optimization mechanic. Small improvements here compound into massive gains.

Mechanic Synergies

Understanding how mechanics interact is where real optimization happens:

destruction system + cashout objectives

Nearly every surface in The Finals can be destroyed using explosives, weapons fire, or abilities. When combined with cashout objectives, teams compete to grab vaults from the map, carry them to cashout stations, and defend them during a timed deposit. This combination is the core of every effective build.

class-based combat + gadget synergies

Light builds are fast with stealth and mobility abilities but have 150 HP. Paired with gadget synergies, each build carries specializations and gadgets that combo with teammates. This is why the tier list favors builds that leverage both.

environmental manipulation as a Multiplier

Beyond destruction, you can use Goo Grenades to create temporary cover or block doors, Gas Mines to deny areas, and Jump Pads for vertical mobility. The environment is a weapon — redirecting fire through gas clouds ignites the area. This system amplifies everything else — the better your environmental manipulation optimization, the more your other mechanics pay off.

Combat by Role

Each role approaches combat differently:

Light Build (A-Tier)

Combat approach: Flank, steal cashouts, assassinate then disengage before the team collapses on you. Key weapons: M60 (Heavy) Primary mechanic: destruction system

Glass cannon focused on flanking, stealing cashouts, and assassinating isolated targets. Full setup in our builds guide.

Medium Build (S-Tier)

Combat approach: Stay with the team, heal the Heavy, revive with Defib, control areas with gadgets. Key weapons: AKM (Medium) Primary mechanic: cashout objectives

The most versatile class with access to the Healing Beam, Recon Senses, and the best all-around weapons. Full setup in our builds guide.

Heavy Build (S-Tier)

Combat approach: Lead pushes into cashout sites, shield the team, C4 floors under enemy teams. Key weapons: XP-54 (Light) Primary mechanic: class-based combat

The anchor of any team with 350 HP, Dome Shield, and devastating close-range damage. Full setup in our builds guide.

Support Medium (S-Tier)

Combat approach: Pocket-heal the Heavy, Defib downed teammates instantly, maintain safe positioning. Key weapons: Lewis Gun (Heavy) Primary mechanic: gadget synergies

Dedicated healing and utility Medium that prioritizes keeping the team alive over personal kills. Full setup in our builds guide.

Aggressive Light (B-Tier)

Combat approach: Close distance instantly with Dash, stun and melee kill, escape before retaliation. Key weapons: FCAR (Medium) Primary mechanic: environmental manipulation

High-risk Light build that uses Dash and Stun Gun to rush enemies directly. Full setup in our builds guide.

Advanced Combat Techniques

Damage Optimization

  1. Match your weapons to your role's stat priorities
  2. Exploit destruction system for maximum damage windows
  3. Chain cashout objectives and class-based combat for combo damage
  4. Use gadget synergies to create openings

Survivability

  1. Learn enemy patterns before committing to attacks
  2. C4 on a ceiling below a cashout station is the single most effective play in the game — the enemy team falls through and loses the position.
  3. Position using destruction system to control spacing
  4. Save defensive options for guaranteed survival, not comfort

Boss Combat

Bosses test your understanding of every mechanic. See our boss guide for fight-specific strategies.

  • Phase awareness — Most bosses change behavior at health thresholds
  • Patience over aggression — One extra hit per opening beats dying to greed
  • Build preparation — Swap gear and weapons for specific fights when needed

Common Combat Mistakes

  1. Button mashing — Committed attacks have recovery frames. Mashing locks you into animations.
  2. Ignoring cashout objectives — This mechanic exists for a reason. Players who use it take significantly less damage.
  3. Wrong weapons for the situation — Check our weapons guide for situational picks.
  4. Not learning from deaths — Every death teaches something. If you don't know why you died, you'll die the same way again.
  5. Overcommitting — Trading hits works in Monaco but will get you killed in SYS$HORIZON.

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