The Finals Aim Assist Buff Could Save It

For this game, we're going to cover that in today's article, but without further ado, let's go ahead and start talking about it. Bark Studio's decision to Nerf an assist in the finals was a very controversial one and had a lot of back and forth. At least from what I have read on Reddit now, in case you are just completely oblivious, an assist is a feature designed to aid controller players in aiming, and it's always been a contentious topic.

It doesn't matter what article game you go to if it's a first-person shooter and there is a cross-platform component where PC and console players compete together, or even if you use a controller on PC, there is going to be a debate about aim assist, and the recent changes in season 1 back around January aimed at reducing Zoom snapping and camera magnetism have raised questions about the correlation with a drop in player engagement in player count, which the finals are also suffering from, so let's go ahead and understand why an assist was even nerfed in the final and it was actually introduced in the patch.

14.1, And it targeted its specific aspects, such as zoom snapping, angular velocity, camera magnetism, and key remapping. Programs, like Zoom snapping now guide a controller player's reticle towards an enemy's head or body, and it is capped to prevent rapid turns and remove certain weapons like sniper rifles and shotguns.

Overall, not a bad call. In my opinion, camera magnetism is responsible for the stickiness of aim and has been reduced by 15% aiming to lower controller accuracy. This is where it gets a little bit tricky. CU, you know, all you can use are your thumbs. Additionally, measures were taken to detect and disable aim assist for players using key remapping programs to simulate controller input, which was definitely something that needed to happen as mouse and keyboard players were exploiting it and able to use assist, which is just stupid now.

The question is, is there an impact on player engagement and player count based on the assist? Because it was met with mixed reactions from the community, some players appreciate the effort to level the playing field between controller, mouse, and keyboard. Others argue that it made the game less enjoyable for controller players and also for the casual player base that just wants to pick it up and feel like you know they're kind of good at the game, and yes, you can use the argument of getting good, but most console players or even just the general casual player base that enjoy these types of games don't necessarily want the hardest challenge possible.

The decline in player engagement and player count following the assist Nerf does raise concerns about its role in shaping the game's overall appeal because, if you do look at the Steam charts, it did start to see a more rapid decline. After these changes were implemented, you can go ahead and look on Steam right now, and even though we just got the brand new season 2, there is a significant decline in the finals player base.

The game experienced a peak in player numbers shortly after its release but has since seen a continuous decrease in numbers. There are factors such as slow movement mechanics, server maintenance issues, and feedback from prominent gamers like Shroud that may have actually contributed to the downward trajectory.

However, like I said earlier, I think the impact of an assist Nerf on player retention cannot be overlooked, and now we have to talk about whether or not reverting the assist changes is a good idea. What are the pros and cons? Because there's always going to be benefits and there are going to be drawbacks, regardless, reverting to the previous am assist settings could affect Ace Controller players and possibly lead to a resurgence in player engagement.

However, it could also alienate mouse and keyboard players who welcome the aim assist adjustments. Balancing the interests of both player groups and maintaining a fair competitive environment remains a challenge, and it will forever be a challenge because, as gamers. I don't think we'll ever agree, especially when it comes to different inputs, and there are some alternate strategies to increase the player count.

I will say Embark has already done an amazing job with content updates, introducing new maps, weapons, game modes, and customization options that can renew interest and attract new players, but I feel like they've already done that as much as they can possibly do it. Community engagement, It might actually be a good idea to organize some tournaments and community events and incorporate player feedback into the update.

Fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among players. There was a really fun event last season where we all had to get, I think, $250 billion in cash outs. Something like that happening again would be fantastic. Get us all behind one common goal, or even have some content creators host some tournaments.

The big one is probably marketing and promotion. Nexus said that they wanted to go ahead and do a full marketing campaign, but I'm going to be honest, I have not seen them do too much in regards to hyping up season 2. I hope that the publisher takes big steps because the finals are an absolutely fantastic game and deserve a ton of recognition and a chance to grow very, very big.