THE FINALS – Getting Started Guide

Intro

In the world of THE FINALS, you’re a newcomer to the ultimate virtual game show, plugging into hyper-realistic arenas of some of the most iconic places on earth. 

Team up with old friends and new to crash through walls, destroy anything and everything in sight, and build bridges and barricades. Every moment is electric. Every game, legendary. 

Fame, glory and history await. Let’s get going!

Creating Your Account

First things first, you’ll need an Embark ID to play THE FINALS.

Your Embark ID will not only store your contestants, progress and cosmetics, but allows you to seamlessly switch between Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S without losing progress. You’ll also be able to play with fellow contestants on any of those platforms.

To create an Embark ID, simply follow the prompt when you first load the game. You’ll also have the option to link an existing Embark ID, if you already have one.

Welcome to the Show!

Before you enter the arena, our ever-cheerful mascot Nama Tama will introduce you to some of the most crucial pillars of the show: vaults, cash boxes and cashout stations.

Right after, you’ll be set loose in our dedicated Practice Range, where you can throw canisters at walls; bounce off jump pads to your heart’s content; and put the structural integrity of our arena to the test in just about any way imaginable!

Whenever you feel you’ve gotten the hang of things, let’s head to the Backstage! You’ll be able to return to the tutorial and practice range at any time.

The Backstage

Can you hear the crowds cheering? The Backstage screen is your last stop before the delightful chaos of the arena, where you’ll be able to make all necessary preparations to face the spectacular challenges ahead.

Here, you can customize your contestants; pick your weapons and gadgets, and team up with friends.

Creating a Contestant

Every time you plug into the show, you do so as one of your virtual contestants. Whether you prefer to zipline onto rooftops; charge straight through walls; or defibrillate your teammates: there are many ways to get ahead of the competition and wreak havoc in the arena.

To create a contestant:

1. From the Backstage, navigate to the Contestants menu
2. Select one of your empty contestant slots in the top-left of the screen

You can create up to six different contestants, letting you cater your roster to your choice of strategies and assorted mayhem.

Body Builds

When creating a contestant, the first choice to make is their body build. This represents your contestant’s physical frame, and greatly affects their strengths and weaknesses: 

• The Light build is exceptionally fast and agile, but has low health. It’s good for executing hit-and-run tactics, and specializes in stealth and evasion.
• The Medium build is a jack-of-all-trades, and excels in mid-range combat. It specializes in healing, scanning and providing support.
• The Heavy build is here to bring the roof down – literally. It has the highest health of all, but its slow movement can make it an easy target. It specializes in demolition and fortifications.

In addition to their health and speed, your contestant’s body build also affects the specializations, weapons and gadgets they have available.

Your Loadout

Your custom loadout contains the equipment you have on hand as you plug into the show: one specialization, one weapon, and three gadgets. You may switch between them at any time while in the arena, so experiment with the right combinations to suit your style! 

In addition, your dedicated reserve holds four additional pieces of equipment. You won’t have these on hand while in the arena, but may switch them into your loadout at specific moments in the show, such as after an elimination or in between tournament rounds.

More equipment will need to be unlocked with VRs, which you gain by playing.

Specializations

You can pick one specialization for each of your virtual contestants: from grappling onto roofs to healing teammates, and from raising fortifications to some real covert reconnaissance.

Changing your contestant’s specialization can only be done from the Backstage.

Weapons

Weapons are your primary method of dealing damage to your opponents and the arena – you may recognize them by their delightfully harmonic boom!, slam! or ra-ta-ta! sounds.

There’s a wealth of different weapons for you to experiment with: some fire bullets, others launch rockets or throw flames, and some just bonk heads with tremendous flair.

Gadgets

Weapons are great, but they’re of little use when you’re eliminated. Gadgets provide you with a wide range of tricks to outsmart your opponents, whether it’s raising smoke screens; putting up ziplines; instantly reviving fallen teammates; or revealing a hidden ambush.

Playing Your First Round

All geared up? If you’re ready to set foot in the arena, the Quick Cash game mode drops you right into the action.

In teams of 3 contestants, your goal is to be the first to earn 20 000 in cash. You can do so by depositing cash boxes into cashout stations – but be careful; opposing teams can steal a cashout in progress. Whoever holds the cashout station when the timer runs out, keeps the cash.

And don’t worry if you’re eliminated: it happens to even the most fabled of contestants. In this most forgiving game mode, you have infinite respawn credits, which allow you to respawn after a short amount of time. And if they’re quick enough, one of your teammates may even be able to revive you!

You’ll find Quick Cash by navigating to Play > Quickplay > Quick Cash. To play with specific friends, see Playing with friends.

Accessibility and Button Remapping

THE FINALS includes a range of accessibility options, including colorblind modes, adjustable button mappings and customizable subtitles.

To adjust your accessibility settings, select the gear icon in the top-right of the screen, then go to Settings > Accessibility

Colorblind mode

Colorblind mode can be enabled from the accessibility screen. The game currently supports adjusted color schemes for deuteranopia, tritanopia and protanopia.

Subtitles

Subtitles can be enabled through the accessibility screen. If necessary, legibility can be further improved by adjusting the background opacity and text size.

Button remapping

Button mappings can be adjusted to your preferences, including to account for permanent, temporary or situational motor impairments.

Controller

If you’re playing with a controller, navigate to Settings > Controller > Controller Bindings to remap your controller bindings.

Mouse and keyboard

For players using mouse and keyboard, navigate toSettings > Mouse and Keyboard > Key Bindings to adjust your key bindings.