If you’re struggling with The Finals’ ever-changing meta, one solid piece of advice that’s always going to apply is this: use the environment and your toolkit. “Arena Carriables” are just another trick of the trade, so let’s look at how to use them efficiently.
Explosive Cannisters
Explosive cannisters travel in a straight line when thrown, exploding about 2 seconds after takeoff. They’re useful in destroying walls and, if you’re good, enemies. Their brief arming window makes them safe to use since they’ll be farther from you when they detonate. Let’s take a look at a few tips on using these effectively:
Spacing and timing are equally important. Since explosive cannisters take a moment to arm, they either need to travel far enough, or be propelled into an object long enough to explode. Head into the practice range via the “Play” menu to get a feel for the spacing and timing. When use correctly, these become deadly, base-destroying missiles that you can send through small spaces to wreak havoc on enemy defenses.
Attachables and explosive cannisters create mini-nukes. If you’re playing Heavy and have C4 unlocked, strapping a couple to the cannister allows you to detonate it early, one-shotting Medium and Light builds with relative ease. Attachments don’t change the trajectory of the cannister, so this is a very cheeky way to get some free kills.
Fire Cannisters
Fire cannisters work a little differently, in that they arm when they impact a surface. Exploding after around 4.5 seconds, these leave a pool of flames in their wake, dealing higher damage than gas in a smaller area.
Fire cannisters can be detonated early if they’re shot or otherwise damaged, so use this to your advantage when trying to move quickly.
Remember: Fire is countered by Smoke. Don’t waste a golden opportunity by chucking a fire cannister into an enemy’s hotbox. Smoke grenades and smoke canisters will quickly quench the flames, so if an enemy team is running hot be sure to keep your eyes peeled for small grey cannisters as a counter.
Gas Cannisters
Perhaps the easiest carriable to do damage with, gas cannisters detonate a whopping 16 seconds after impacting a surface, causing low, steady damage in a wide area. They’ll leak small amounts of localized gas until their detonation, and like fire cannisters can be detonated early with well-placed bullets.
Shoot to kill. If you’re on the offensive, don’t throw-and-go, be sure you “pop” your gas cannister with a bullet so it starts damaging enemies before they can react.
Fire will negate gas. Another rock-paper-scissors interaction, any flames that lick your gas cloud will instantly neutralize it. If you’re aiming to choke an enemy team out, be sure you do so in a fire-free zone.
A Bonus: The Turret Chair
Put a turret or two on a chair. Carry it around. Have fun.
For some more quick tips, check out our Finals Build Guides for Light, Medium, and Heavy classes.
