The Finals Update 12.3.0: Burning, Healing Emitter and Dome Shield Changes
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| Author Games & Culture
Update 12.3.0 for The Finals is mostly a Medium patch. Dome Shield loses a third of its health, the Healing Emitter loses a quarter of its output and Shockwave takes three seconds longer to come back. The TGM26 event ahead of The Grand Major (November 27 to 29 in Stockholm) goes live in the same post, with Pick’em, team bundles and an Event Pass.
Last updated November 13, 2026. Source: Embark Studios’ Steam announcement, posted November 12, 2026.
Content
Balance changes in Update 12.3.0
| Item | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Dome Shield | 600 health, 100 decay per second | 400 health, 66 decay per second |
| Healing Emitter | 20 max healing per second | 15 max healing per second |
| H+ Infuser | 10 health per shot, 20 ammo | 7 health per shot, 30 ammo |
| Translocator | 0 s deploy time | 0.3 s deploy time |
| Shockwave | 12 s cooldown, 2 s Glitch, 3,000 building connection damage | 15 s cooldown, 1 s Glitch, 1,000 building connection damage |
| Flamethrower | 30 impact damage, 50 heat per tick | 26 impact damage, 25 heat per tick |
| Cerberus | 3.38 heat per pellet | 8.46 heat per pellet |
| Burning status | 16 damage per tick, 32 maximum | 15 damage per tick, 45 maximum |
Embark also made the oil barrels in Caribbales burn over a slightly larger range, and Solo Showdown now pays Fans and XP for qualifying for the next round.
Why Medium takes the nerfs
Embark’s dev notes tie most of the list to the 12.0 update. The Healing Beam was buffed then to help Medium, and the studio now says the Healing Emitter and H+ Infuser cannibalize too much of its role. The Dome Shield change follows from the same patch. After 12.0 it was still a little too hard to deal with, so Embark cut max health to 400 and decay to 66 per second. Embark says the full duration of an undamaged shield stays the same, and the numbers agree at about 6.1 seconds against 6.0 before, so a given amount of damage now breaks it sooner.
Each H+ Infuser dart now heals 7 instead of 10, and the magazine holds 30 instead of 20. Embark’s note says the change removes burst potential and asks for more sustained accuracy to heal the same amount.
Since gaining the Glitch effect, Shockwave has pulled usage away from the other Medium specializations, according to Embark. A rework that makes the Glitch more skill-based is planned before the end of the season. The Translocator’s 0.3 second delay is only a stopgap, and a small rework of the item is due later this season.
Burning gets a higher ceiling and slower ignition
Contestants now need more heat before they ignite, can burn for one extra tick and take 15 per tick instead of 16. The maximum possible burn damage still rises from 32 to 45. The Flamethrower adds 25 heat per tick instead of 50, so it needs twice as many ticks to set a target alight. The Cerberus goes the other way, from 3.38 heat per pellet to 8.46, roughly two and a half times as much. Flamethrower impact damage drops from 30 to 26. Embark describes all of these as support for its quality-of-life changes to burning.
Breaching gadgets after the destruction rework
Since 12.0, the new destruction system has made C4, Breach Charge and Breach Drill less dependable at punching holes in surfaces, according to Embark. Their environmental damage was raised to fix that, and the Breach Drill’s blast radius and flash radius were re-aligned.
TGM26, Pick’em and the Esport Bundles
The Grand Major 2026 takes place on November 27, 28 and 29 in Stockholm. All 16 teams play in the Arena, and only five reach The Throne on Day 3.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Pick’em | Open from November 12 at 11:00 CET until November 27 at 00:00 CET, one submission per Embark ID. Badges: Silver for completing all three sections, Gold for the top 50% in accuracy, Platinum for the top 25%, Diamond for the top 5% |
| Esport Bundles | One per team in the store: a full outfit, three Equipment skins, a team VFX, an emote, a charm, a sticker, a spray and a player card. Teams: Aimerz+, Alliance, Ape Squad, Elevate, ENVY, Five Fears, FYR, KCP, KingZero, LUMINON, Moon Theory, Nfinite, NTMR, RAD, Take Flyte and Vanguard |
| TGM26 Event Pass | Bought with Multibucks, two pages and 16 levels of rewards, including a Legendary outfit and weapon skins |
| Head Hunter LTM | The top eliminator on each team carries a bounty and drops coins if eliminated; survive to the end of the event and the cash is yours |
| Store sets | CTRL + Z Set and Greater Good Set |
| Twitch Drops | Stream Tangerine: Dagger at 1 hour, CB-01 Repeater at 2 hours, SA1216 at 4 hours, available until November 26, 2026 |
Pick’em asks you to name the five teams that reach The Throne in the order they qualify, predict how the crowns get shared out, then answer ten Hot Seat questions with Scotty and June. Results are revealed from November 27 to 29. Other dates for the month sit on our esports calendar.
For the previous patch, see our Update 12.2.0 breakdown, which covers the FCAR, AKM and Chimera-XB Medium buffs.
Image: Embark Studios / Steam.
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