In my opinion, Light is the most fun class in The Finals because you get to be really quick, get really fun weapons and Gadgets, and have to learn how to outsmart your opponent. If you’re struggling to play Light or just want to know what the best build is, you’ve come to the right place.
How to play Light in The Finals
To become a pro at Light, you need to always be moving, be good at hiding, and excel at your build’s niche. While Heavys provide a shield and raw damage and Mediums provide healing, Lights provide speed and stealth which works by sneaking up on enemies to eliminate them before they know you’re there, reviving teammates, and starting and protecting Cashouts.
Related: Best ways to unlock weapons and gear quickly in the Finals
One of my favorite parts about The Finals is there is a surprising amount of viable builds that make use of different Gadgets, weapons, and Specializations. In this guide, I’ll highlight the Light build I use primarily which performs extremely well, but I’ll also point out some other builds that are arguably better and also fun.
Best Light playstyle in The Finals
- Best
- Swiss Army Knife Grappler
- Other great options
- Shotgun Ninja
- Flashbang Assassin
The best Light build in The Finals in my opinion is what I call the Swiss Army Knife Grappler. The playstyle of this build is to have a lot of useful Gadgets at your disposal that work well in any given situation. To be good at this build, you need to master the Grappling Hook.
For example, you should be able to swing around buildings while two squads are fighting in it while dealing damage to both and reviving your team at the same time. Not only is this extremely fun, but it’s also very useful in defending a Cashout because you’ll zip in and out to defend but never be under fire. You’ll be first at a Vault and first to Cashout. You’ll also be able to quickly revive your team to keep your squad in the fight.
The only downside to this build, and all Light builds, is you are fragile. You will not find success playing Light if you approach a fight head-on. Use your toolkit to flank and surprise your enemies. Even when you are successful, you’ll likely die often because there’s not much you can do when you run head-to-head against a Heavy.
Currently, the meta Light build is the Cloaking Device, Smoke Grenade, Thermal Vision, and Goo Grenade to confuse the enemy and eliminate them extremely quickly. The Flashbang Assassin is similar, but you’ll use the Sword and Flashbang to sneak right under your enemy’s nose (literally) and defeat them before they know you’re there.
Best Light Weapons in The Finals
- Best
- V9S
- Other great options
- Sawed-Off Shotgun
- M11
- Sword
For this build, the best Light weapon is the V9S which is the suppressed pistol. The V9S is extremely versatile because it has a great range to poke at enemies from afar but also shreds enemies up close, which keeps with the Swiss Army theme. It takes about eight bullets to get a kill and the gun has 20 bullets per magazine, plus reloading doesn’t take long, which means you can get two kills before reloading.
If you go with the Shotgun Ninja build, Sawed-Off Shotgun is the obvious choice. I really like the M11 and must admit it is the best close-range Light weapon with the fastest time to kill, but the V9S is better all-around. Finally, the Flashbang Assassin build excels with the Sword.
Related: Best Weapons in The Finals Ranked
I’ve seen many Light players experiment with Throwing Knives and I’m not convinced they’re that good. The Assassin’s Dagger is okay, but the Sword is better. I would avoid the snipers altogether, but there is a case for making a great sniper build. I just don’t like sniper builds because it removes you from helping your squad in the heat of battle.
Best Light Gadgets in The Finals
- Best
- Glitch Grenade
- Breaching Charge
- Vanishing Bomb
- Other great options
- Thermal Vision
- Flashbang
- Stun Gun
- Smoke Grenade
For this build, the necessary Gadgets are Glitch Grenade, Breaching Charge, and Vanishing Bomb. With these Gadgets, we have tools for every situation. The Glitch Grenade is amazing for disabling your enemy’s abilities (and is one of the best ways to counter Shields), Breaching Charge is excellent for creating holes for you and your team to attack and defend better, and Vanishing Bomb helps you and your team get the drop on enemies.
If you want to try out the Shotgun Ninja build, you need the Smoke Grenade, Thermal Vision, and Goo Grenade. Again, Shotgun Ninja is definitely the strongest Light build currently, but it’s not as fun as the main build outlined in this guide. The Flashbang Assassin requires the Flashbang — the only caveat there is you can flash yourself and your team if you’re not careful. The Stun Gun is also an extremely good Gadget; I recommend using it with the Cloaking Device Specialization.
Best Light Specializations in The Finals
- Best
- Grappling Hook
- Other great options
- Cloaking Device
- Evasive Dash
Last but not least, the Specialization of choice for this build is the Grappling Hook. I love a game with a good Grappling Hook mechanic, and The Finals has got it down. What I love to do to really wow my friends is to use the Vanishing Bomb to go invisible to slip in between a full team, grab their totem, crash out of the skyrise’s window seemingly falling to my death, and then turn around mid-air and grapple to the roof. I then find a corner and revive them while they are shouting, “Dude, that was epic!”
Cloaking Device is the best Light Specialization in the game right now. It has an extremely generous cooldown and is used with the Shotgun to blast away any enemy. It’s ridiculously overpowered. Evasive Dash is the least best Light Specialization right now, but hopefully it gets better in the future.
