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THE FINALS 11.6.0 buffs AKM and returns Orbital Hitters

THE FINALS 11.6.0 buffs AKM and returns Orbital Hitters. Orbital Hitters returns as AKM, Dagger and Guardian Turret receive buffs while M11 and KS-23 lose.

Contestants fighting inside a destructible arena in THE FINALS
Official gameplay screenshot from THE FINALS Credit: Embark Studios.

THE FINALS 11.6.0 brings back Orbital Hitters, the Sledgehammer-only limited mode built from Heavy Hitters. The August 20 update also makes a broad balance pass across weapons and specializations, launches the two-week Deep Signal reward wheel and reverses bans caused by a faulty gyro-controller anti-cheat rule.

THE FINALS 11.6.0: confirmed details

The AKM rises from 20 to 21 damage, Guardian Turret health moves from 280 to 300 and Dematerializer cooldown falls from 20 to 15 seconds per charge. Dagger, Dual Blades, Riot Shield and Spear receive melee improvements. The M11 gains substantially more recoil and dispersion, while the KS-23 begins losing damage at 12 metres instead of 18.

What changes for players

Medium players gain faster Dematerializer cycling and a sturdier turret, while Light loadouts must reconsider the M11 at range. Deep Signal awards up to three wheel tickets per day and converts a duplicate result into a Golden Ticket that guarantees a new item on the following spin. Orbital Hitters gives the revised melee system an unusually direct test.

Timing and wider context

Embark upgraded the game from Unreal Engine 5.3 to 5.7 and fixed crashes, map collision, social menus and several weapon edge cases. The studio says gyro is a legitimate supported input and is reversing affected bans automatically, so players caught by that false positive do not need to appeal.

The feature list and timing above reflect the developer’s announcement published on August 20, 2026. Future hotfixes can adjust balance or availability, so live values should be checked against the current client.

For THE FINALS, the practical checkpoint is the live client: confirm the installed version, platform notes and regional rollout before relying on a scheduled feature. Store availability, maintenance windows and certification can create timing differences even when the developer announces one date for the wider release.

Source: official announcement. All release dates, named features and numerical values in this report come from that primary source; the analysis is our own.

More live-service context: Apex Legends Showdown explained, Marvel Rivals Season 3 and Helldivers 2 Into the Unjust.

Editorial note

Facts and mechanics were checked against the linked primary sources before publication.

This article was reviewed on August 20, 2026.

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