Free Fire OB42 weapon balances and character adjustments

Garena has released the Free Fire OB42 update to Google Play and the App Store. The developer has employed many changes in the latest update, which went live on October 31, 2023. Fans can visit their device’s digital storefront, install the updated version, and try out new Battle Royale items, a new CS Special Mode, a character, Ignis, and more.

In addition to introducing a new character, the OB42 update has also reworked existing ones, such as Nikita, Joseph, and Jai. Further, some firearms, such as XM8, Mini Uzi, and RGS50, have received balance adjustments. This article explores all weapon and character adjustments in the Free Fire latest OB42 update.

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Free Fire OB42 character and weapon updates

All details about Free Fire OB42 character balance adjustments (Image via Garena)

Garena has made significant changes to the existing weapons and characters to provide a more seamless experience to the players. Here’s a detailed overview of all firearms and character changes in the latest OB42 update.

Character Balance

Sonia (Nano Lifeshield)

Sonia and her skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

Sonia gains a 100 HP shield lasting for three seconds after taking lethal damage, which was initially 150 HP. Additionally, this Free Fire character enters an invulnerable and immobile state for 0.5 seconds after receiving lethal damage.

Upon knocking down an enemy while the shield is active, her HP restores equal to the amount of her shield's HP. Nano Lifeshield’s cooldown period is 100 seconds.

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Iris (Wall Brawl)

If Iris successfully hits a Gloo Wall, it will mark enemies within seven meters. Iris can also penetrate the Gloo Wall and deal damage to marked enemies. Wall Brawl will become effective on five walls maximum, in contrast to the prior three. The skill cools down in 60 seconds.

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Nairi (Ice Iron)

Nairi and his skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

When the Gloo Wall she deploys gets a hit, it restores 150 durability per second, which was initially 250. At the same time, her teammates’ HP, who are within five meters, restores by 20 points per second. A teammate can only receive 40 HP from each Gloo Wall.

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Orion (Crimson Church)

Orion's Skill, Crimson Church, replaces EP with 300 Crimson Energy. It creates protection, which deflects damage, and he cannot unleash an attack for three seconds. Additionally, it absorbs 10 HP from opponents within five meters after the update, which was 15 HP before. Crimson Church cools down in three seconds.

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Thiva (Vistal Vibes)

Thiva and his skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

Thiva's speed of helping teammates using Vistal Vibes has increased by 70%. Its cooldown period has been decreased from 90 to 60 seconds. The teammates receiving help recover 60 HP in three seconds.

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Wukong (Camouflage)

Using Camouflage, Wukong transforms into a bush to deceive enemies, and he sees a 5% speed reduction, which was 10% before the update. It lasts 15 seconds and cools down in 200 seconds, which resets after Wukong beats an opponent.

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Dimitri (Healing Heartbeat)

Dimitri and his skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

Dimitri’s Healing Heartbeat skill cooldown period has been increased by 30 seconds from 60 to 90. It creates a healing zone of a 3.5-meter radius, lasting for 12 seconds. Teammates inside the area recover 10 HP per second.

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A124 (Thrill of Battle)

A125 skill Thrill of Battle also received some adjustments. Its cooldown period has been reduced to 50 seconds from 70. The thrill of Battle unleashes an eight-meter electronic wave, cutting down an opponent’s interaction countdown and canceling their skill activation while dealing 25 damage.

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Homer (Senses Shockwave)

Homer and his skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

Homer releases a drone toward the enemies within 100 meters of frontal distance. It creates a pulse explosion of a four-meter diameter, as opposed to the initial three-meter.

The explosion reduces the opponents' movement speed by 60% and the firing speed by 35%. Senses Shockwave lasts five seconds, deals 25 damage, and cools down in nine seconds.

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Character Rework

Nikita (Firearms Expert)

Nikita and her skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

After the OB42 update, Nikita can become an excellent counter for Dimitri, Olivia, and Maxim, who heals their allies. Nikita can inflict such a skill that reduces the healing effect on enemies by 30% and decreases its effectiveness for 10 seconds. Her reload speed has also increased by 20%.

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Jai (Raging Reload)

Jai’s reloading skills have improved in the OB42 update. He can also automatically reload bullets using Raging Reload. After knocking down an enemy, his Assault Rifles, Pistols, Submachine Guns, Shotguns, and Sniper Rifles can automatically reload at 100% bullet of their maximum capacity.

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Joseph (Silver Spoon)

Joseph and his skill in Free Fire (Image via Garena)

Joseph has spent all his fortune on a new skill that increases his movement by 10% for five seconds. Additionally, Moco’s marking, Homer’s drone, and A124’s nano interference cannot affect him. Silver Spoon takes 60 seconds to cool down.

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Weapon Balance adjustments

All details about Free Fire Weapon balance adjustments in OB42 (Image via Garena)

In addition to characters, Garena has also made adjustments to some firearms in OB42 patch updates. After adjusting rifles in the previous update, long-range weapons have received significant balance adjustments in the OB42. It provides more options to players and aims to balance the title. Here are the details:

Rifle: XM8 has been buffed with its magazine capacity and accuracy increased by 20% and damage by 10%.

Pistol: Mini Uzi has been nerfed; this Free Fire weapon's armor penetration has decreased by 66%, from an initial 30 to 10%.

Machine Gun: The machine guns, M249 and M249 X have received buffs. Its crouching damage increased by 100% from the previous five to 10. Moreover, minimum damage while crouching has also increased by 10%.

Shotgun: M1014-I, M1014-II, and M1014-III minimum damage has been reduced by 15%.

Others: RGS50 has been nerfed, and its damage-dealing capacity has been reduced by 25%.

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Disclaimer: Free Fire is banned in India. Therefore, readers in the country are advised to play the Max variant of the battle royale title, which is legal.