Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about some major changes we’ve made to the shop. I left Lane a nice present in the form of new Bubbles equipment before we left on our trip to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. That’s not the only character we’ve been fiddling with however! Finn’s got a few new tricks in his ship too.

Meet the Leader

The new Finn weapon set has been designed from the ground up to emphasize the leadership role he plays within the group. In order to do that, Finn’s been equipped with extremely powerful abilities that can change the course of a fight drastically. These abilities allow him to organize a strategy around the activation of his gadgets. It’s important for Finn to choose wisely though! His gadgets have long cooldowns, so they’ll need to be used at opportune moments. His playstyle is built with the idea of creating high moments of huge impact at the expense of higher vulnerability when they are down.

Finn’s cannon fires four bullets: two in the center, and two angled upwards and downwards from the center. The cannon deals pretty solid damage when all the bullets connect with a target, so expert play will involve positioning closer to enemies when possible to deal the maximum damage.

Turret Training

Finn’s first gadget, activated using the left trigger, deploys a fast-firing turret directly in front of his ship. This turret lasts a maximum of 3 seconds, but its time active is decreased when it takes damage from enemy collisions or projectiles. Finn’s turret has a wealth of possibilities, both offensive and defensive.

Finn can use the turret to tank enemy bullets for him, creating a wall of safety for a short time. It can be placed in more dangerous parts of a level to continue to deal damage while the team attacks from a more protected area. The turret can fiercely destroy grouped enemies, clearing a path for ships to slip through. Or, you can just use it to deal more damage. Hey, you’re the leader; you call the shots!

Finn’s Rally Cry

This idea of Finn giving the orders becomes even more literal with his second gadget. This flexible part inspires his team with powerful buffs, turning the underwater tides of any fight when used well. Finn’s got a couple shouts pre-installed in his mobilizing megaphone:

Increases the team’s rate of fire significantly for a short time.

Decreases damage taken by team over a short duration.

Obviously, these buffs can be used in a variety of ways. See the Biggest Baddest Turret’s weakpoint is open? Rally your team for extra damage. Huge line of missiles coming your way? Command a defensive stance from your team. Communication with your fellow teammates make this gadget even more powerful. For example, you could coordinate with a tank to have him/her protect the team temporarily when a Laser Grunt fires, and mount a quick counteroffensive with an offensive shout to deal with it when it’s vulnerable.

Rally Cry works with the Turret Deploy as well!

Both of these gadgets can be changed in impactful ways in between levels by buying augments in the shop, ranging from new shouts for the Rally Cry to a larger, tankier turret.

How do you feel about the Finn changes? Miss aspects of his older kit? Let us know what you think in the comments on this blog, tweeting at us on our Twitter, or commenting on our Facebook page!