FBC: Firebreak patch aims to improve the game's early hours, which 'do not provide a good experience,' Remedy admits

FBC: Firebreak did not live up to the hopes we had for it. But, as we noted in our 60% review, "many of Firebreak's problems are fixable. A thorough balance revision would immediately improve the experience." In an update posted on Steam today, Remedy said that's exactly the plan.

After the usual 'thanks for the feedback, we're reading it all' platitudes, the update gets into specifics, starting with the game's opening hours, which the Firebreak team admits "do not provide a good experience."

"Some of this is down to a lack of onboarding (more about that in a bit), explaining the game’s systems, how to take advantage of the tools at your disposal, and a lack of clarity as to what to do in the Jobs and how to do the work effectively," the team wrote. "In addition, the power fantasy isn’t great in the first hours of the game as starting (tier 1) weapons feel weak, and unlocking higher-tier weapons requires a bit too much grinding.

"We can see from the data and are seeing feedback that players who stick around and unlock more powerful tier 3 weapons and Perks, playing on higher Threat levels and Full three zone Job runs, are having a better time. It’s getting to that point, which is proving to be a struggle for many players. We are not naïve and think this is all there is to it, but getting you to the fun faster, giving you the nice toys quicker, is critical."

The absence of a worthwhile tutorial is indeed one of the big complaints about FBC: Firebreak, particularly for anyone coming to the game without having previously played Control. Having to grind through the game's Clearance system, which requires playing through chunks of levels multiple times in order to get to the good stuff, is also not great because it can lead to level burnout quicker than a straight-up linear playthrough: "By the time you reach the end of a Firebreak mission, you've already seen the bulk of it at least twice," our reviewer Rick Lane wrote. "So once I'd finished a job, I was kind of done with it, even though I'd spent less time in it than if it was a straight run to the finish line."

Remedy also said progression and gear unlocks are too slow: Lost Assets, the in-game currency used to unlock items, are too easy to miss (Remedy said 90% of FBC: Firebreak players have never picked up a single Lost Asset), and have you to finish a mission to collect your rewards: If you quit midway or get disconnected for any reason, you get nothing.

Some of FBC: Firebreak's problems, like the absence of a tutorial, will take time to solve. But a new patch that's out today aims to get the process started through various balance changes, making Lost Assets harder to miss, and changing the Clearance system so new players will start at Clearance Level 3 for the first job, Hot Fix.

"Today’s patch is just the beginning," the dev team concluded. "These are some of the most immediate changes, but we are actively discussing and planning broader improvements to the game based on what we are hearing and seeing."

The full FBC: Firebreak 1.2 patch notes are below.

Overview 

We have overhauled core systems to make progression faster and more rewarding. Economy changes improve how you earn and spend currencies; the Requisition store now separates gear from cosmetics, and Job progression has been restructured to allow players to play full Jobs (all three zones) more quickly.

On top of that, there are many visible and under-the-hood improvements to the game included in this patch.

Read our extensive blog post about what is included in this patch and what improvements we are looking at bringing to the game in the near term.

Economy Changes 

• Upgrade currencies (Lost Assets and Research Samples) are now visually highlighted in the Jobs to make them easier to spot.  
• All unlockable costs have been rebalanced to better match actual player currency earnings.  
• Players will now earn and spend Lost Assets at a healthier pace, enabling smoother progression and gear unlocks. 

Job Progression & Clearance Levels 

• New players now start at Clearance Level 3 (CL3) for the first Job, Hot Fix. 
• Players can still choose to play at CL1 or CL2, but it's no longer a requirement 
• To unlock the next Job, you must complete a full three-zone run at CL3. 
• Completing a Job at CL3 also unlocks the Corruption modifier for that Job. 
• These changes provide faster access to full Job experiences and improve matchmaking and onboarding. 

Requisitions

• The Operational Requisition has been split into two categories: 
• Essentials: Weapons, gear, Improvised Devices, Altered Augments. 
• Expressions: Cosmetic unlocks, like sprays and armor sets. 
• You no longer need to unlock unrelated items (e.g., gloves) to access key gear like weapons or augments. 
• Overall, gear progression is now significantly faster and more focused. 

Balancing

• Decreased the time it takes to build the BOOMbox and Swivel Cannon 
• Increased Hiss Trooper health and stagger threshold 
• The Fix Kit’s Wrench now does damage at every Tier 
• Increased the health pool of Powerful Enemies (the ones with names) 
• The Stapler Corrupted Item is now less elusive and easier to follow 

Audio

• Fixed missing third-person perspective sound effects for Shock enemies that were not being played properly 
• Fixed music transition issues when moving from the Main Menu to gameplay 
• Shield recharge sound effects are now properly audible, with a new implementation for out-of-range scenarios 
• Fixed a bug preventing harmful condition sounds from other players (such as fire effects) from being heard properly 
• Added a sound effect when exiting weapon or grenade selection in Loadout menu, and added transition sounds for lobby Quick Kit selection 

User Interface 

• Fixed Crisis Kit XP level indicators in the Results screen display 
• Fixed player reputation overlapping XP progress in the post-match results screen 
• Fixed a crash issue when inspecting weapons in the Loadout menu 
• Fixed a misleading error message shown when the host leaves or disbands a party. It now correctly indicates that the party was disbanded
• You can now ping ziplines 
• Temporary change: Removing the active Perks list from the top right of the in-game HUD due to performance issues (We will fix this urgently and bring the Perk list back) 

Gameplay & Performance 

• Fixed an issue with the Humidifier where the water level changing was only visible to the player who placed the Humidifier 
• Enhanced DualSense haptic feedback in different parts of the Main and other Menus 
• Jump Kit Impactor Tool can now be charged while sprinting. 

Visuals and Rendering 

• Performance improvements 
• Entering or exiting a teammate’s Resonance Shield range no longer triggers blue screen flashes. 
• Added a glowing highlight to Lost Assets and Research Samples to make them more attractive 
• Improved blood visual effects 
• Implemented distance fade for distortion effects inside fans 
• Freezer Duty – Added a ramp to the top of one of the buildings in Zone 2 so that Hiss can now get there. Sorry. 
• Ground Control – Fixed a wall in Zone 2 so players can no longer see through it 
• Updated various props and environmental elements