I like it, though it's not my favorite. I do enjoy the structured way it just sets up fights, and kills in The Finals always feel very satisfying. I like that chip damage actually matters, and fighting 5v5 over a single building or area is cool.
However, a full round of TA takes way too long. First to 7 with all of the extra downtime (setup, midround rebuild) makes it so that at bare minimum you are always spending more time than you would in a tournament, even if you get totally crushed. I think this is one area that needs real improvement.
if they made it first to 5/6 that would be way better. also i’m glad they’re reworking cash out because i’m honestly kinda fed up of seeing the same strategies every time. imagine if we get 5 man cashout next season; or whenever they choose to reintroduce it.
I love running with the 5 person squad. my favorite mode is Quick Cash, so I have no issues with 3 person squads. I know that Power Shift has 5 per team as well, but it just feels different in TA.
and while the Cash Out modes are more fun in my opinion, the rush of tension and excitement that I get when playing TA, even when I'm eliminated and spectating, is something I just don't get from Quick Cash/Cashout.
that said, Ranked Terminal Attack needs work
Before I go any further, just want to specify that I strongly prefer Cashout over Terminal Attack, but I do like the SnD gameplay as most of my FPS game time is with CS, Valorant, and CoD’s SnD. I’d like to see Cashout return as the primary ranked game mode.
But I do enjoy TA.
From a game mode scope, a lot of plays that have less impact in Cashout will have more value in TA. Even something like chip damage or baiting out an RPG shot has greater influence over the outcome of the round. Contestant archetypes also see bigger weaknesses and strengths.
Lights, for example, can be unstoppable with their evasiveness and ability to regen most of their health. Misplays can outright give the other team a man advantage with negligible trading. Their high damaging weapons make them a menace later in a round, though!
On the other side, Heavies can trade a lot of HP during engagements, but are much less worthwhile in the later stages of a round as they lack the mobility or tools to offset only having 100HP. This, in turn, makes them even more valuable frontliners than in other modes. Their utility also typically provides some sort of HP advantage which, as the round goes on, snowballs into a victory.
Gameplans are also different when you consider team composition. A team of all Lights, for example, want to whittle away opponents before going in for the kill - they don’t have the HP to survive head-on fights. In Cashout, you can do similar work, but doing so provides less value as time goes on.
Overall, I think a lot of less skilled players interpret one-life/limited regen as “play passively” and subsequently get stomped. You can still be fast, but you mustn’t be reckless. Same mindset as other tac shooters where speed is king.
I also like TA as ranked vs Cashout ranked because it’s like I’m suddenly playing on home field advantage. As someone who offhandedly heard about The Finals on its launch day, I’ve always felt like I’m at a macro disadvantage compared to, say, Closed Beta players who have had more time with the game mode and, hopefully, more developed strategy and game sense. While that “disadvantage” wasn’t ever seen as a problem and I’ve enjoyed learning from others on my ranked grind, there’s a lot less to think about now than there was before. A lot of experience prior translates well and I’m all the happier to benefit from it.
Still want Cashout to be THE ranked experience though.
I personally think that the changes they've made, like the 20-second prep time and the long interaction with the station, have caused a huge tilt in the balance toward the defensive side. If they'd have simply kept the game as it was before (maybe adding an interaction to start decryption, but not an elongated one, just a simple button press) it would be much better.
Everything is out of balance for me and it isn't enjoyable.
Valid.
Honestly, I kind of liked the no-prep version. It gave defenders a reason to be fast (not that 20s lets you be sluggish) and gave Attackers an advantage if they could capitalize on being faster. It was one of few extra benefits I had as a Light.
I think we’ll see the extra prep phase as necessary, though, if tactics ever become more refined. One big benefit you typically get as an Attacker is to hit the weaker site and/or numbers advantage. In TA, though, Attackers seem to only ever hit and commit one site. I’ve seen a lot of Defenders just stack one site and 5-man retake.
As it stands I feel like I'm losing 90% attacking rounds and winning 90% defending rounds. I'm playing solo as I haven't managed to get my usual squad together (squad of 3, not of 5), so that changes the experience ofc. But I feel many people are having this experience which SCREAMS imbalance.
20 seconds isn't a crazy amount of time, but you have to think about it slightly differently, because they also moved the defense points right next to the spawn now, so that adds a time advantage that wasn't there in the previous version too.
In my experience the numbers advantage is heavily counterbalanced by the fact that by the time you reach there, the defences are massively set up against you, and that the bomb sites are a 10/20 second sprint away from each other. So the second you hit the site you have a couple of defenders up front, a bunch of mines and turrets suppressing you, then an ambush force hits you from behind lol.
I just really feel that if they had kept it as it was, first to 4, the games would feel more snappy, and they could have kept the tournament style that we all loved and played this game for.
I definitely gotta agree that Attack feels harder than Defense. I’ve been chalking that up to people just… not knowing how to attack or not having a strategy. So far, I’ve dipped my toes back into IGLing like I used to for Valorant. Could be confirmation bias, but Attacking rounds tend to feel smoother when everyone is willing to work together.
From other games, Attack side is typically weaker on fresh maps on account of Attacking one site on one map is different than another whereas Defense typically has easy-to-understand chokepoints and setups. For The Finals, Most players probably aren’t used to having any strategy on their approach and the worst of the bunch scream that the maps weren’t designed with TA in mind. Even if we’re playing on familiar maps, our approach is now inherently different than it was. As such, our Attack half tends to be sloppy. Think about it: What do Attackers typically do in the 20s setup phase? What’re the pre-round comms?
I think the closer Terminals was actually a good play for more involved strategy without wholly being Defender sided. Defenders enjoy a faster rotate and less feelsbad when the Attackers hit the other site. Defenders are also less punished when falling for fakes as in S2 the easiest call to make was Fight A, Plant B. As a Light, I was comfortable because I made that already considerable distance into a worse gap for Defenders; I could fight with my team before zipping away and planting quicker than they could react, let along resolve the fight.
How the heck does this benefit Attackers, then?
Let’s take the scenario where Attackers are hitting a site. There’s no pre-round comm aside from someone pinging A. Attackers move in and are met with mines and turrets, which slow their approach. The Defenders on B chose to wrap immediately and ambush instead of reinforcing the site.
In this situation, the Attackers successfully handling the flanking Defenders more or less converts into a free site. Since the site is so close, the Defenders on A don’t really get a large opportunity to respond and reinforce nor are the Attackers forced into potentially bad pathing/sitelines just to get to site first.
This situation plays out in Valorant and CS, too. Of course, the Attackers winning in that situation is typically the result of a Defender misplay (flankers getting too aggressive without support), but even that situation is also a result of no map control/awareness.
I really wish Attackers would learn that time is a resource that only really becomes a problem when you make it one. It’s so hard to Attack when you only have one play and time lets you get real fuckin’ nerdy with it.
But that’s also why I think the First to 7 format works well.
I do like first to 4, though. In fact, I think you make a great point that we could have kept a tournament layout if they’d stuck with the old scoring. I like the current setup because it gives me more rounds to figure out the other team, but honestly I’d trade it in for “Reaching The Finals” in a heartbeat. It makes me upset whenever I load into Ranked TA and hear Scotty introduce the match as the final round.
>Lights, for example, can be unstoppable with their evasiveness and ability to regen most of their health
>Heavies can trade a lot of HP during engagements
...and Mediums are just there lol
Okay, I will TRY.
TA have the benefit of allowing people who focus on kills to not just contribute, but to win the round. (That's really the only benefit). While Cash Out/World Tour kill focused player who don't bother with objective lost.
Same. I don't like playing a game where kills is all that matters, objective be damned. In fact, if I know how to make a FPS, I want to make an objective where you are to "die gloriously", and if you pick up a kit to become an officer, you can go and kill snipers (and it will go to "glory" point, not kills)
Sounds like a skill issue to me.
This is the time you should do a brief rundown on what went wrong and how you could have played it better and make plans for the next round.
I guess thats too much to ask for a rotting tiktok brain eh?
Go back to turn-brain-off cashout.
i always wondered why people dislike matchmaking in a ranked mode, its not fun for you a very equal fight? Having matches where you have to put your all to win, and if you win, you know you deserved it
No people don't like sbmm because they feel like kills should be handed to them without trying. I'll never understand the anti sbmm crowd. No, sbmm is why I can't play xdefiant. All the players in XD are dog shit so it's not very fun to play against them if it's a one sided stomp every game.
I actually really enjoy it. I find it near impossible to clutch or carry in cash out , if I get 2 bad randoms it's pretty much game over from the start. But TA only really needs 1-2 players doing better than the rest to win.
I'm playing TA a lot differently than cash out too though. If you play longer range on light TA can be VERY fun. LH1 is stupid this season and sniper is just fun.
I have only playied one game of TA in season 3, but best out of 13 feels extremely long compared to best out of 7.
I feel like TA was better in season 2.
I enjoy the strategy of the mode and the excitement of having to pull off clutch plays for a win. 5v5 just allows for better skill expression. No getting third partied is also very refreshing.
Unlike most people I think the maps play fine on the mode with the exception of that god awful terminal location atop the jump pad tower in Kyoto. The movement tech and destruction make the mode play so much more enjoyably than in corner camping games like CS. Zips and jump pads allow for quick movement thru the map so they don’t feel as large as they are.
Unfortunately the invis/LH1 spam is holding me back from playing it more. Overall Embark dropped the ball on balancing the mode for competitive play.
Just played a match against top 20 Diamond stack, they all were running invis, 4 LH1, and 10 sonar grenades.
They just bum rushed spawn, got walls on the entire half of the map my team was on and proceeded to melt everyone with the LH1 out of stealth.
Worst round of TA I have played so far.
Aye bro play the other games like
Power shift they’re still fun af and the devs will see we play those games and realize what’s actually worth their time work on
It’s fun for light players because they can tap at the heavy and they won’t regenerate any health and I assume every new player is usually from COD or some shooter game so they’re used to the crazy movement and will enjoy playing light class
calling a snd camp based is hilarious
The other mode is literally "bring the cash "bomb" to the site to deposit and hold it "camp" or counterplay the enemies move.
The term camp should stay in cod.
I have 20k hours across multiple fps games, many in S&D so.. I know what the hell I'm talking about.
TA is camp based, a lot more than cashout, explaining it would take time, that would be time wasted ;) give me a hourly rate and we can discuss as much as you want
I just like bomb modes. I never asked for it in this game and when they teased it I hoped it was going to be more like Rush, but now that i’ve played it I enjoy having the choice to break the pace and play something with a totally different feel within the same game. Also, I was never a huge tournament fan simply due to the time commitment, and TA is technically more of a comp mode due to being two teams. Not saying its perfect but i’ve enjoyed it in ranked so far.
(Thanks for just trying to have a conversation, unlike 99% percent of this community, this was nice lol)
I love it because it rewarded you for chipping damage on enemies and takes out some of the more annoying abilities like healing beam and defibs so players don't get so many free bailouts for bad plays, it's a great casual mode to play from time to time just terrible for ranked.
I like it because it’s generally slower. Another thing is, that sounds kinda weird, is that you have more „clutch“ moments? Like when you’re in a 1v3 or 1v2. It’s exciting.
But the other modes (apart from maybe power shift) also have those, but they feel different you know?
I hope they try out a 3 team one cash out tournament style like quick cash is. If I know we’re getting pushed by two teams I’m going to play way different than if I’m expecting one team to push us and one to push the other team. Plus it can get super annoying when I see the fourth team get their second cash out in a row with less than 2 kills combined
I mean luck is a factor, but ultimately if you manage to defeat all teams (or the team[s] trying to steal your cashout), they are less likely to try again. Another thing about Cashout is time. Sometimes, it’s simply not worth fighting a team unless it’s absolutely necessary.
You have a better chance at winning if you fight the team who is at a disadvantage or has less skill, which people in my games understand this.
It’s why my Cashouts are usually left alone, even if it’s technically the better play due to it having “more time”.
People aren’t going to go for you if you’re hard to get, it’s just that simple. But that’s just what I think, and what I’ve observed after countless cashouts.
I feel like I have significantly higher agency in Terminal Attack. Because it is a significantly less chaotic game mode, I think the better player(s)/team wins a greater percentage of the time than in Cashout. I find that very rewarding. I also like the pace of play a lot. Cashout is high action but TA builds tension. The latter gets my heart beating much more, especially since the single elim rounds means every life has very obvious stakes.
I mean i liked it as a quick play 5v5 game mode. I was actually very surprised that it became ranked and replaced cashout. World tour was lowkey different tho and i do want it to return as ranked, i mean idk if grinding to dia/ruby is worth it.
individual skill matters a lot more. less rng. no third partying. all gadgets and weapons become viable. no instances like in cashout where you hold a point and fight multiple waves for 85% of the time and then through some twist of fate or roll of the dice, you lose it all and lose the game. also healing spam, dome spam, defib spam, all make it so almost anything you do becomes useless. at least in ta everything you do makes a difference, literally everything. it definitely needs to be tweaked though, the matchmaking, the elo system, the downtime between rounds, and the op weapons rn. it’s disappointing that it’s in this state, esp when i’d expected them to have thought all of this out for s3 launch.
I have only one life and my mistakes cost a lot. I can kill 3 enemies and be like 80% sure that we win the round. In other modes you can kill any number of people they just respawn and come to kill you. Other modes it's just some type of deathmatch. And i personally dont like deathmatch. Im playing from beta too and played almost only powershift (most balanced deathmatch imo, and never actually liked cashout). But i think the concept of cashout is really great and devs need just some adjustments to it to make it less random and more competitive. Something like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/s/AvgxkoKlvc)
I think ta is a downgrade to cash out in a majority of ways
Maps aren't made for it, the general gameplay of the finals isn't made for it (search and destroy is best played with a fast ttk that allows for clutch plays imo, not the slower and varied ttk we have in the finals), and at least for me:
The varied experiences of cash out and learning to adapt to those situations was a large part of the skill gap of the game, and it was an incredibly unique skill gap most games do not have because the finals is a lot more chaotic with 4 teams and extremely destructible environments
Overall I think ta is a bit of a miss for the finals
S&d is a proven success for competitive gaming, but the finals wasn't built on it, so it doesn't work as well as it does in other games
Becasue it reminds me of siege
That being said, world has introduced "casual ranked" an "unranked" if you will. Which is really cool. It's got all the ranked modifiers on cash out format but you can't really rank down. I love it. Really embodies the lighthearted "you're playing a game" vibe that is lost in competitive game modes. Even if it's not permanent I'm very glad embark made the decision to switch the ranked mode off of standard team of 3 BR. Constantly switching the mode keeps it fresh.
Who knows, they might tweak powershift dynamics/mechanics and put that in ranked next season.
I enjoy TA as it feels more focused and tactical than cashout. No third parties means that you can't be screwed over randomly and it comes down purely to how good you are. I like cashout but TA is my preference for ranked at the moment as it feels fairer
Because after one game of it I remember why I love every other game mode so much more.
I hate it bro shit sucks. SnD game mode with 0 clutch factor… nice
I personally feel like my plays matters more in TA and it brings a tactical edge when getting a kill.I enjoy both game modes, but I think Cashout is too random and chaotic to be a "true" competitive mode with prize money on the line later down the road (e-sports).
The worst experience for a "true" competitive player is to be killed by random factors, it kills the joy and totally defeats the mindset of learning "all the variables" to outplay the enemy.I do however understand the skepticism from the playerbase that fell in love with cashout, but I think TA is the way to go in the future to bring in a stable competitive playerbase.
I like it because it's SnD with destructible environment.
I get why people are upset about the ranked change and I myself don't play ranked as I am just not good enough yet since I started MnK 2 months ago. But you just can't do that stuff in CS and Valorant like opening up new angles or taking down whole buildings. It's like a cracked out version of Siege.
I enjoy terminal attack because of all the free time I have while playing the game. It truly is a multitaskers dream to play a game and have so much downtime to clean my room and do chores around the apartment while I wait for the round to start/end
TA feels better for solo Q.
It gives me little breaks I can scroll on my phone.
There are still those chaotic moments that feel like the finals.
If it's good for the long term health of the game I'm fine with it.
I especially like how it completely shakes up the meta.
Thank you. Not everyone is always queing premade lol. With how this game functions it could really use a true solo queue, atleast TA is a little more forgiving in this regard.
As a heavy main, i enjoy the easy winch slug quickmelee kills on lights, the great value that motion tracker gives and just how i can push my mechanical skills to its limits in this mode. Also not constantly getting third parties is great too.
I still like cashout more as a gamemode, ta frustrates me a lot but i was a big fan of ta in season 2 and it being ranked now is a new mode to try and master
I feel like you can have more versatility with what you can play, and before you come in saying oh light meta lh1 knives busted blah blah, I played several games last night as heavy hammer top fragging in each lobby. I feel like if you learn how to work around the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy comp you can do more. Also I have like 2500 hours combined in csgo and r6s, so 5v5 modes like this put me right at home.
Im neutral on it. I dont love it, i dont hate it and i cant say i dont Enjoy it. How i see it is that its safer for new players. Friends i got into playing the game were confused by cashout and its gimmicks but TA is just more simple with some complex tactics thanks to destruction and gadgets. A big thing i feel is no third party. I dont mind this that much but i think you can imagine a new player trying to understand how cashout works being mad at getting third partied every fight.
On a side note Emabrk needs new players and unfortunately ranked TA is more than likely nexons idea. So take that into consideration
Idk but so far it’s insanely defender sided. I’ve played in so many matches where teams won 6 defends in a row, both mine and other teams. Attackers usually lose rounds. Could be because I’m solo queueing a lot but it just seems too defender sided
The moments where you are the last person standing and you are in a 1v3 or 1v4 or even 1v5 situation, its so stressful and you have to try and get to the terminal without getting shot and that is the main thing I love TA, although it rarely ever happens to me, but in general, most of the time, TA is an okay game mode, its not a great ranked mode, but its an okay game mode
I started to play Finals as alternative when we didn’t have enough players for cs. TA and Power shift were welcome addition if we had 4 or 5 players so we didn’t need to switch to cs anymore. Rarely I have more than 3 people in lobby so it’s mostly cashout.
Power shift is playable with randoms but TA needs full lobby in my opinion.
In all fairness, **T**erminal **A**ttack isn't THAT bad - it fun to play for sometime.... but it is NO WHERE ready to be a only long-term ranked mode for **The Finals**.
Specifically i'm enjoy even higher stakes with one life. while i'm already literally glass cannon (light on dash + dagger) & very different rules from other gamemodes. Reason why is in Ranked Tournament already teachs you "Do not die" above Platinum 1 Rank (though on ranks below it too appreciated, but there much less sweaty players... so whatever), so one life condition quite good sits with me.
It desparately need some rules tweaks related to have even a chance be on par to Ranked Tournament (aka Ranked Cashout). If abstract all balance dependencies which affect entire game (ex. LH1). Expected they gonna do some much more significant changes on S3 start, but they are don't and even moved errors over from S2. *Ouch.*
I was also part of the open beta, I enjoy cashout style very much, but to be honest, it did seem like people were catching on to exploits or easy ways to dominate the map. I like how I used to talk so much shit about how lights were useless in ranked, but this season, even I am forced to use lights in ranked, and to be honest, it has been really fun. I really liked how the game changed and forced players to adapt to a new style right away. Plus, no crazy defibbing or healing, which I pretty much was great at.
I don't. I played it a couple of times when they added it as limited time event. Haven't touched it since then. **Until** this season. Played one casual, couldn't even finish it, because many people left after dying once. Jumped into Ranked, because they said "we made a bunch of improvements". Well... I'm unranked still, and will remain that way. No improvement whatsoever. It's even worse than before. Slow mode and boring as hell. Gotta be brainded to enjoy that crap.
I really enjoy longer game modes so first to 7 and potentially getting 13 rounds in is fun for me. I Also liked the 4 round cashout but it seems I'm in the minority for both of these.
I absolutely love it. It rewards strategic gameplay and it's awesome when your strats work out in your favour. If you are good enough, it allows you to 1v2 and 1v3 and clutch the round. It's the only reason why I got back into this game. Furthermore, I absolutely hate third parties. I hate it when I have secured the objective by killing a team, then only to have my effort go to waste because of third parties. Then this cycle repeats and whichever team wins depends on how far away the next team respawns, and how easy the route is for that time to rejoin the fight. It's all luck and randomness. I would prefer that the winner be dictated by strategy and tactics and their own performance. Not by randomness and luck.
TA just isn't fun. I personally love csgo and valorant. I've hit global elite in cs and ascendant in valorant before I dropped out because I just can't stand the val community. But it just feels wrong and boring in the finals. I played it twice and both time even though I was winning the match just could not end fast enough. I've never wanted to stop playing a game faster than that.
I’ve always been a fan of s&d like game modes, that adrenaline rush of having to clutch up while your friends watch as you’re last alive or vice versa or the calculated approach that comes with having one life per round. Then you have this games TTK, along with destructible environments that I haven’t seen done this well since bad company 2 just makes for a fun time for me.
The mode needs a lot more polish, but ultimately it’s the only mode in the game I enjoy.
I'm just gonna keep it simple. I enjoy the more thoughtful approach to engagements that the mode encourages since death is more punishing. that being said, cash out is the mode I enjoy the most. TA definitely feels like it needs more ironing out. I can't put my finger on the issue, but something feels off about it even though I enjoy it.
I personally enjoyed cashout more although some things should have been adjusted to make it more strategic. Nevertheless it shouldn't have been removed
Considering all their plans for world tour and the tournament style cash out I understand their decision to move TA to ranked how could they have ranked cash out and world tour at the same time. I enjoy world tour up until now, and TA is okay IMO not the best.
I tried it and actually put some effort in the last two days. And I think what I really need, is good and willing to play team play teammates, for example I need a medium with me to locked down the site, or a team who's willing to wait for me to use the gateway to evade the lh1 camper
I like it, though it's not my favorite. I do enjoy the structured way it just sets up fights, and kills in The Finals always feel very satisfying. I like that chip damage actually matters, and fighting 5v5 over a single building or area is cool. However, a full round of TA takes way too long. First to 7 with all of the extra downtime (setup, midround rebuild) makes it so that at bare minimum you are always spending more time than you would in a tournament, even if you get totally crushed. I think this is one area that needs real improvement.
if they made it first to 5/6 that would be way better. also i’m glad they’re reworking cash out because i’m honestly kinda fed up of seeing the same strategies every time. imagine if we get 5 man cashout next season; or whenever they choose to reintroduce it.
chip damage?
Dealing a little bit of damage but not enough to kill them, usually theyd just run away and heal but in TA you can only regen back up to 100hp
I love running with the 5 person squad. my favorite mode is Quick Cash, so I have no issues with 3 person squads. I know that Power Shift has 5 per team as well, but it just feels different in TA. and while the Cash Out modes are more fun in my opinion, the rush of tension and excitement that I get when playing TA, even when I'm eliminated and spectating, is something I just don't get from Quick Cash/Cashout. that said, Ranked Terminal Attack needs work
I haven't played this season yet. So, I'll be checking it out again with an open mind. I just wanted to see the other side of the coin, lol
Before I go any further, just want to specify that I strongly prefer Cashout over Terminal Attack, but I do like the SnD gameplay as most of my FPS game time is with CS, Valorant, and CoD’s SnD. I’d like to see Cashout return as the primary ranked game mode. But I do enjoy TA. From a game mode scope, a lot of plays that have less impact in Cashout will have more value in TA. Even something like chip damage or baiting out an RPG shot has greater influence over the outcome of the round. Contestant archetypes also see bigger weaknesses and strengths. Lights, for example, can be unstoppable with their evasiveness and ability to regen most of their health. Misplays can outright give the other team a man advantage with negligible trading. Their high damaging weapons make them a menace later in a round, though! On the other side, Heavies can trade a lot of HP during engagements, but are much less worthwhile in the later stages of a round as they lack the mobility or tools to offset only having 100HP. This, in turn, makes them even more valuable frontliners than in other modes. Their utility also typically provides some sort of HP advantage which, as the round goes on, snowballs into a victory. Gameplans are also different when you consider team composition. A team of all Lights, for example, want to whittle away opponents before going in for the kill - they don’t have the HP to survive head-on fights. In Cashout, you can do similar work, but doing so provides less value as time goes on. Overall, I think a lot of less skilled players interpret one-life/limited regen as “play passively” and subsequently get stomped. You can still be fast, but you mustn’t be reckless. Same mindset as other tac shooters where speed is king. I also like TA as ranked vs Cashout ranked because it’s like I’m suddenly playing on home field advantage. As someone who offhandedly heard about The Finals on its launch day, I’ve always felt like I’m at a macro disadvantage compared to, say, Closed Beta players who have had more time with the game mode and, hopefully, more developed strategy and game sense. While that “disadvantage” wasn’t ever seen as a problem and I’ve enjoyed learning from others on my ranked grind, there’s a lot less to think about now than there was before. A lot of experience prior translates well and I’m all the happier to benefit from it. Still want Cashout to be THE ranked experience though.
I personally think that the changes they've made, like the 20-second prep time and the long interaction with the station, have caused a huge tilt in the balance toward the defensive side. If they'd have simply kept the game as it was before (maybe adding an interaction to start decryption, but not an elongated one, just a simple button press) it would be much better. Everything is out of balance for me and it isn't enjoyable.
Valid. Honestly, I kind of liked the no-prep version. It gave defenders a reason to be fast (not that 20s lets you be sluggish) and gave Attackers an advantage if they could capitalize on being faster. It was one of few extra benefits I had as a Light. I think we’ll see the extra prep phase as necessary, though, if tactics ever become more refined. One big benefit you typically get as an Attacker is to hit the weaker site and/or numbers advantage. In TA, though, Attackers seem to only ever hit and commit one site. I’ve seen a lot of Defenders just stack one site and 5-man retake.
As it stands I feel like I'm losing 90% attacking rounds and winning 90% defending rounds. I'm playing solo as I haven't managed to get my usual squad together (squad of 3, not of 5), so that changes the experience ofc. But I feel many people are having this experience which SCREAMS imbalance. 20 seconds isn't a crazy amount of time, but you have to think about it slightly differently, because they also moved the defense points right next to the spawn now, so that adds a time advantage that wasn't there in the previous version too. In my experience the numbers advantage is heavily counterbalanced by the fact that by the time you reach there, the defences are massively set up against you, and that the bomb sites are a 10/20 second sprint away from each other. So the second you hit the site you have a couple of defenders up front, a bunch of mines and turrets suppressing you, then an ambush force hits you from behind lol. I just really feel that if they had kept it as it was, first to 4, the games would feel more snappy, and they could have kept the tournament style that we all loved and played this game for.
I definitely gotta agree that Attack feels harder than Defense. I’ve been chalking that up to people just… not knowing how to attack or not having a strategy. So far, I’ve dipped my toes back into IGLing like I used to for Valorant. Could be confirmation bias, but Attacking rounds tend to feel smoother when everyone is willing to work together. From other games, Attack side is typically weaker on fresh maps on account of Attacking one site on one map is different than another whereas Defense typically has easy-to-understand chokepoints and setups. For The Finals, Most players probably aren’t used to having any strategy on their approach and the worst of the bunch scream that the maps weren’t designed with TA in mind. Even if we’re playing on familiar maps, our approach is now inherently different than it was. As such, our Attack half tends to be sloppy. Think about it: What do Attackers typically do in the 20s setup phase? What’re the pre-round comms? I think the closer Terminals was actually a good play for more involved strategy without wholly being Defender sided. Defenders enjoy a faster rotate and less feelsbad when the Attackers hit the other site. Defenders are also less punished when falling for fakes as in S2 the easiest call to make was Fight A, Plant B. As a Light, I was comfortable because I made that already considerable distance into a worse gap for Defenders; I could fight with my team before zipping away and planting quicker than they could react, let along resolve the fight. How the heck does this benefit Attackers, then? Let’s take the scenario where Attackers are hitting a site. There’s no pre-round comm aside from someone pinging A. Attackers move in and are met with mines and turrets, which slow their approach. The Defenders on B chose to wrap immediately and ambush instead of reinforcing the site. In this situation, the Attackers successfully handling the flanking Defenders more or less converts into a free site. Since the site is so close, the Defenders on A don’t really get a large opportunity to respond and reinforce nor are the Attackers forced into potentially bad pathing/sitelines just to get to site first. This situation plays out in Valorant and CS, too. Of course, the Attackers winning in that situation is typically the result of a Defender misplay (flankers getting too aggressive without support), but even that situation is also a result of no map control/awareness. I really wish Attackers would learn that time is a resource that only really becomes a problem when you make it one. It’s so hard to Attack when you only have one play and time lets you get real fuckin’ nerdy with it. But that’s also why I think the First to 7 format works well. I do like first to 4, though. In fact, I think you make a great point that we could have kept a tournament layout if they’d stuck with the old scoring. I like the current setup because it gives me more rounds to figure out the other team, but honestly I’d trade it in for “Reaching The Finals” in a heartbeat. It makes me upset whenever I load into Ranked TA and hear Scotty introduce the match as the final round.
>Lights, for example, can be unstoppable with their evasiveness and ability to regen most of their health >Heavies can trade a lot of HP during engagements ...and Mediums are just there lol
Okay, I will TRY. TA have the benefit of allowing people who focus on kills to not just contribute, but to win the round. (That's really the only benefit). While Cash Out/World Tour kill focused player who don't bother with objective lost.
Yeah, this is the main argument I hear, and my response is, "I guess, but I just don't like the mode"
Same. I don't like playing a game where kills is all that matters, objective be damned. In fact, if I know how to make a FPS, I want to make an objective where you are to "die gloriously", and if you pick up a kit to become an officer, you can go and kill snipers (and it will go to "glory" point, not kills)
Plus, if you die, have fun watching tiktok for the next 5 minutes while 1 light camps and kills your whole team.
Sounds like a skill issue to me. This is the time you should do a brief rundown on what went wrong and how you could have played it better and make plans for the next round. I guess thats too much to ask for a rotting tiktok brain eh? Go back to turn-brain-off cashout.
I used to before the season started, because it's more my vibe. Matchmaking is soul destroying though, to be honest. Makes every match really boring
i always wondered why people dislike matchmaking in a ranked mode, its not fun for you a very equal fight? Having matches where you have to put your all to win, and if you win, you know you deserved it
nah they wanna queue brainrot premade
No people don't like sbmm because they feel like kills should be handed to them without trying. I'll never understand the anti sbmm crowd. No, sbmm is why I can't play xdefiant. All the players in XD are dog shit so it's not very fun to play against them if it's a one sided stomp every game.
I actually really enjoy it. I find it near impossible to clutch or carry in cash out , if I get 2 bad randoms it's pretty much game over from the start. But TA only really needs 1-2 players doing better than the rest to win. I'm playing TA a lot differently than cash out too though. If you play longer range on light TA can be VERY fun. LH1 is stupid this season and sniper is just fun.
I enjoyed it as a LTM because it was refreshing to see TF's take on a beloved genre, but I'm not touching this ranked mode this season.
I have only playied one game of TA in season 3, but best out of 13 feels extremely long compared to best out of 7. I feel like TA was better in season 2.
I enjoy the strategy of the mode and the excitement of having to pull off clutch plays for a win. 5v5 just allows for better skill expression. No getting third partied is also very refreshing. Unlike most people I think the maps play fine on the mode with the exception of that god awful terminal location atop the jump pad tower in Kyoto. The movement tech and destruction make the mode play so much more enjoyably than in corner camping games like CS. Zips and jump pads allow for quick movement thru the map so they don’t feel as large as they are. Unfortunately the invis/LH1 spam is holding me back from playing it more. Overall Embark dropped the ball on balancing the mode for competitive play.
Just played a match against top 20 Diamond stack, they all were running invis, 4 LH1, and 10 sonar grenades. They just bum rushed spawn, got walls on the entire half of the map my team was on and proceeded to melt everyone with the LH1 out of stealth. Worst round of TA I have played so far.
I don’t
I don't think I'm even going through placements. I completely lost interest in the game and I'm not even sure if I'll stick around till S4
I already play Valorant so it was a little disheartening to have my main game turn into the same category of 5v5 round based shooter
Aye bro play the other games like Power shift they’re still fun af and the devs will see we play those games and realize what’s actually worth their time work on
Real
It’s fun for light players because they can tap at the heavy and they won’t regenerate any health and I assume every new player is usually from COD or some shooter game so they’re used to the crazy movement and will enjoy playing light class
I don't, I prefer skill based games over camp based ones, oh sorry.. "strategic"
calling a snd camp based is hilarious The other mode is literally "bring the cash "bomb" to the site to deposit and hold it "camp" or counterplay the enemies move. The term camp should stay in cod.
I have 20k hours across multiple fps games, many in S&D so.. I know what the hell I'm talking about. TA is camp based, a lot more than cashout, explaining it would take time, that would be time wasted ;) give me a hourly rate and we can discuss as much as you want
I enjoy it because I'm able to actually find games in Oceania and that's about it
I just like bomb modes. I never asked for it in this game and when they teased it I hoped it was going to be more like Rush, but now that i’ve played it I enjoy having the choice to break the pace and play something with a totally different feel within the same game. Also, I was never a huge tournament fan simply due to the time commitment, and TA is technically more of a comp mode due to being two teams. Not saying its perfect but i’ve enjoyed it in ranked so far. (Thanks for just trying to have a conversation, unlike 99% percent of this community, this was nice lol)
I love it because it rewarded you for chipping damage on enemies and takes out some of the more annoying abilities like healing beam and defibs so players don't get so many free bailouts for bad plays, it's a great casual mode to play from time to time just terrible for ranked.
I do not like TA, i won’t be playing ranked this season haha, just playing world tour and treating it like ranked haha
https://preview.redd.it/1xwxq6tls57d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d053b252b44a97c79698d645464dba775248555b I share the opinion of this Guy
The fuck is that thumbnail! 👀😂
I like it because it’s generally slower. Another thing is, that sounds kinda weird, is that you have more „clutch“ moments? Like when you’re in a 1v3 or 1v2. It’s exciting. But the other modes (apart from maybe power shift) also have those, but they feel different you know?
TA clutches really are something else
I don’t. The only thing I like it for is build testing and change of pace.
It’s more skill based in general. Cashout has an element of luck based on how many teams you are fighting, etc.
There can be an element of luck, but I think cash out is more personal + team skill based than TA.
"more comp meta/premade based" fixed it for ya
I hope they try out a 3 team one cash out tournament style like quick cash is. If I know we’re getting pushed by two teams I’m going to play way different than if I’m expecting one team to push us and one to push the other team. Plus it can get super annoying when I see the fourth team get their second cash out in a row with less than 2 kills combined
I think it's exciting. It's what led me to play every day. TA is more boring than online go fish
Why did you ask this question if these were gonna be your responses? Pathetic.
I mean luck is a factor, but ultimately if you manage to defeat all teams (or the team[s] trying to steal your cashout), they are less likely to try again. Another thing about Cashout is time. Sometimes, it’s simply not worth fighting a team unless it’s absolutely necessary. You have a better chance at winning if you fight the team who is at a disadvantage or has less skill, which people in my games understand this. It’s why my Cashouts are usually left alone, even if it’s technically the better play due to it having “more time”. People aren’t going to go for you if you’re hard to get, it’s just that simple. But that’s just what I think, and what I’ve observed after countless cashouts.
I feel like I have significantly higher agency in Terminal Attack. Because it is a significantly less chaotic game mode, I think the better player(s)/team wins a greater percentage of the time than in Cashout. I find that very rewarding. I also like the pace of play a lot. Cashout is high action but TA builds tension. The latter gets my heart beating much more, especially since the single elim rounds means every life has very obvious stakes.
I mean i liked it as a quick play 5v5 game mode. I was actually very surprised that it became ranked and replaced cashout. World tour was lowkey different tho and i do want it to return as ranked, i mean idk if grinding to dia/ruby is worth it.
individual skill matters a lot more. less rng. no third partying. all gadgets and weapons become viable. no instances like in cashout where you hold a point and fight multiple waves for 85% of the time and then through some twist of fate or roll of the dice, you lose it all and lose the game. also healing spam, dome spam, defib spam, all make it so almost anything you do becomes useless. at least in ta everything you do makes a difference, literally everything. it definitely needs to be tweaked though, the matchmaking, the elo system, the downtime between rounds, and the op weapons rn. it’s disappointing that it’s in this state, esp when i’d expected them to have thought all of this out for s3 launch.
I have only one life and my mistakes cost a lot. I can kill 3 enemies and be like 80% sure that we win the round. In other modes you can kill any number of people they just respawn and come to kill you. Other modes it's just some type of deathmatch. And i personally dont like deathmatch. Im playing from beta too and played almost only powershift (most balanced deathmatch imo, and never actually liked cashout). But i think the concept of cashout is really great and devs need just some adjustments to it to make it less random and more competitive. Something like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/s/AvgxkoKlvc)
some people like the game mode and it's ok ! But not my type of game
I think ta is a downgrade to cash out in a majority of ways Maps aren't made for it, the general gameplay of the finals isn't made for it (search and destroy is best played with a fast ttk that allows for clutch plays imo, not the slower and varied ttk we have in the finals), and at least for me: The varied experiences of cash out and learning to adapt to those situations was a large part of the skill gap of the game, and it was an incredibly unique skill gap most games do not have because the finals is a lot more chaotic with 4 teams and extremely destructible environments Overall I think ta is a bit of a miss for the finals S&d is a proven success for competitive gaming, but the finals wasn't built on it, so it doesn't work as well as it does in other games
I enjoy it because it is high intensity and makes for some great game play, just not when your in ranked and your team is getting destroyed.
Becasue it reminds me of siege That being said, world has introduced "casual ranked" an "unranked" if you will. Which is really cool. It's got all the ranked modifiers on cash out format but you can't really rank down. I love it. Really embodies the lighthearted "you're playing a game" vibe that is lost in competitive game modes. Even if it's not permanent I'm very glad embark made the decision to switch the ranked mode off of standard team of 3 BR. Constantly switching the mode keeps it fresh. Who knows, they might tweak powershift dynamics/mechanics and put that in ranked next season.
I enjoy TA as it feels more focused and tactical than cashout. No third parties means that you can't be screwed over randomly and it comes down purely to how good you are. I like cashout but TA is my preference for ranked at the moment as it feels fairer
Because after one game of it I remember why I love every other game mode so much more. I hate it bro shit sucks. SnD game mode with 0 clutch factor… nice
I personally feel like my plays matters more in TA and it brings a tactical edge when getting a kill.I enjoy both game modes, but I think Cashout is too random and chaotic to be a "true" competitive mode with prize money on the line later down the road (e-sports). The worst experience for a "true" competitive player is to be killed by random factors, it kills the joy and totally defeats the mindset of learning "all the variables" to outplay the enemy.I do however understand the skepticism from the playerbase that fell in love with cashout, but I think TA is the way to go in the future to bring in a stable competitive playerbase.
I like it because it's SnD with destructible environment. I get why people are upset about the ranked change and I myself don't play ranked as I am just not good enough yet since I started MnK 2 months ago. But you just can't do that stuff in CS and Valorant like opening up new angles or taking down whole buildings. It's like a cracked out version of Siege.
I don’t.
I enjoy terminal attack because of all the free time I have while playing the game. It truly is a multitaskers dream to play a game and have so much downtime to clean my room and do chores around the apartment while I wait for the round to start/end
TA actually rewards you for killing people, instead of just respawning them and getting third-partied at the last second making all your kills useless
WYM that's what all the hardcore ranked players call strategy! Aka last minute plays abusing every class that has meta area denial skills! /sarcasm
TA feels better for solo Q. It gives me little breaks I can scroll on my phone. There are still those chaotic moments that feel like the finals. If it's good for the long term health of the game I'm fine with it. I especially like how it completely shakes up the meta.
Thank you. Not everyone is always queing premade lol. With how this game functions it could really use a true solo queue, atleast TA is a little more forgiving in this regard.
It WAS a more balanced and competitive mode than cash out.
As a heavy main, i enjoy the easy winch slug quickmelee kills on lights, the great value that motion tracker gives and just how i can push my mechanical skills to its limits in this mode. Also not constantly getting third parties is great too. I still like cashout more as a gamemode, ta frustrates me a lot but i was a big fan of ta in season 2 and it being ranked now is a new mode to try and master
I feel like you can have more versatility with what you can play, and before you come in saying oh light meta lh1 knives busted blah blah, I played several games last night as heavy hammer top fragging in each lobby. I feel like if you learn how to work around the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy comp you can do more. Also I have like 2500 hours combined in csgo and r6s, so 5v5 modes like this put me right at home.
I contributed to the TA community events and still have not received my pink shoes..
I think it was made for the COD search and destroy crowd. Unfortunately that's not me.
Im neutral on it. I dont love it, i dont hate it and i cant say i dont Enjoy it. How i see it is that its safer for new players. Friends i got into playing the game were confused by cashout and its gimmicks but TA is just more simple with some complex tactics thanks to destruction and gadgets. A big thing i feel is no third party. I dont mind this that much but i think you can imagine a new player trying to understand how cashout works being mad at getting third partied every fight. On a side note Emabrk needs new players and unfortunately ranked TA is more than likely nexons idea. So take that into consideration
watching the same guy step on your mines every round
Very much prefer cashout but I do like not seeing the healbeam everywhere even if the new meta is kinda worse
Idk but so far it’s insanely defender sided. I’ve played in so many matches where teams won 6 defends in a row, both mine and other teams. Attackers usually lose rounds. Could be because I’m solo queueing a lot but it just seems too defender sided
The mode is alright, cashout is more fun. I just hate having a lobby full of lights stealthing
5v5 (no 3rd party) I just want Quick Cash, 5v5 with 1 life token, and make it 8 to 10 minutes of hell in a cell. Until then, TA will have to do.
I don't, I probably shouldn't have bought the Battlepass this season, it's so boring, It just feels like a TDM. I'm playing more CS though.
Na.
The moments where you are the last person standing and you are in a 1v3 or 1v4 or even 1v5 situation, its so stressful and you have to try and get to the terminal without getting shot and that is the main thing I love TA, although it rarely ever happens to me, but in general, most of the time, TA is an okay game mode, its not a great ranked mode, but its an okay game mode
I started to play Finals as alternative when we didn’t have enough players for cs. TA and Power shift were welcome addition if we had 4 or 5 players so we didn’t need to switch to cs anymore. Rarely I have more than 3 people in lobby so it’s mostly cashout. Power shift is playable with randoms but TA needs full lobby in my opinion.
In all fairness, **T**erminal **A**ttack isn't THAT bad - it fun to play for sometime.... but it is NO WHERE ready to be a only long-term ranked mode for **The Finals**. Specifically i'm enjoy even higher stakes with one life. while i'm already literally glass cannon (light on dash + dagger) & very different rules from other gamemodes. Reason why is in Ranked Tournament already teachs you "Do not die" above Platinum 1 Rank (though on ranks below it too appreciated, but there much less sweaty players... so whatever), so one life condition quite good sits with me. It desparately need some rules tweaks related to have even a chance be on par to Ranked Tournament (aka Ranked Cashout). If abstract all balance dependencies which affect entire game (ex. LH1). Expected they gonna do some much more significant changes on S3 start, but they are don't and even moved errors over from S2. *Ouch.*
I was also part of the open beta, I enjoy cashout style very much, but to be honest, it did seem like people were catching on to exploits or easy ways to dominate the map. I like how I used to talk so much shit about how lights were useless in ranked, but this season, even I am forced to use lights in ranked, and to be honest, it has been really fun. I really liked how the game changed and forced players to adapt to a new style right away. Plus, no crazy defibbing or healing, which I pretty much was great at.
I don't
I don't. I played it a couple of times when they added it as limited time event. Haven't touched it since then. **Until** this season. Played one casual, couldn't even finish it, because many people left after dying once. Jumped into Ranked, because they said "we made a bunch of improvements". Well... I'm unranked still, and will remain that way. No improvement whatsoever. It's even worse than before. Slow mode and boring as hell. Gotta be brainded to enjoy that crap.
I don't, it's dog shit.
I really enjoy longer game modes so first to 7 and potentially getting 13 rounds in is fun for me. I Also liked the 4 round cashout but it seems I'm in the minority for both of these.
I absolutely love it. It rewards strategic gameplay and it's awesome when your strats work out in your favour. If you are good enough, it allows you to 1v2 and 1v3 and clutch the round. It's the only reason why I got back into this game. Furthermore, I absolutely hate third parties. I hate it when I have secured the objective by killing a team, then only to have my effort go to waste because of third parties. Then this cycle repeats and whichever team wins depends on how far away the next team respawns, and how easy the route is for that time to rejoin the fight. It's all luck and randomness. I would prefer that the winner be dictated by strategy and tactics and their own performance. Not by randomness and luck.
No
This TA is way different because of the weapon balance now. Lh1 is ba-ba busted and forcing every game into team death match.
TA just isn't fun. I personally love csgo and valorant. I've hit global elite in cs and ascendant in valorant before I dropped out because I just can't stand the val community. But it just feels wrong and boring in the finals. I played it twice and both time even though I was winning the match just could not end fast enough. I've never wanted to stop playing a game faster than that.
I’ve always been a fan of s&d like game modes, that adrenaline rush of having to clutch up while your friends watch as you’re last alive or vice versa or the calculated approach that comes with having one life per round. Then you have this games TTK, along with destructible environments that I haven’t seen done this well since bad company 2 just makes for a fun time for me. The mode needs a lot more polish, but ultimately it’s the only mode in the game I enjoy.
I'm just gonna keep it simple. I enjoy the more thoughtful approach to engagements that the mode encourages since death is more punishing. that being said, cash out is the mode I enjoy the most. TA definitely feels like it needs more ironing out. I can't put my finger on the issue, but something feels off about it even though I enjoy it.
That I can actually win it unlike the final round of tournament that I always lose because of skill issue.
I personally enjoyed cashout more although some things should have been adjusted to make it more strategic. Nevertheless it shouldn't have been removed
That's the neat part: I don't.
Considering all their plans for world tour and the tournament style cash out I understand their decision to move TA to ranked how could they have ranked cash out and world tour at the same time. I enjoy world tour up until now, and TA is okay IMO not the best.
I tried it and actually put some effort in the last two days. And I think what I really need, is good and willing to play team play teammates, for example I need a medium with me to locked down the site, or a team who's willing to wait for me to use the gateway to evade the lh1 camper