Free Fire: check out what’s new in the February update

After being postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Free Fire update should take place between February 25th and 26th, with great expectations from the community for impactful changes. In this case, among the main novelties is the exchange of maps, which will occur with the removal of Purgatory and the inclusion of Kalahari. The justification given by Garena to carry out the exchange is the community's desire to have a map capable of yielding more action, in addition to Purgatory being considered very similar to Bermuda, the first map launched by the developer.

Kalahari is the new map that will be introduced in Free Fire. (Image: Garena)

In addition, the update will also include numerous additions such as new items in ranked matches, the arrival of the Shield Weapon, a new weapon different from the traditional one; the introduction of a new item called an inhaler; the new functionality that will make it possible to silence allied players; new emotes, team code system and Bomb Squad mode. Finally, there will be the addition of the new character Steffie, in addition to Kelly Ventania and the new item of the AWM weapon, named as Piercing Ammunition.

Despite the different and important introductions, there will also be the correction of some problems, such as the bug in the skill of the character Alok, which made him stop while using the skill, and the changes in the weapons XM8 and AN94. The first one will take more damage, fire speed and movement while aiming. However, you will lose ammo, range and accuracy. The second, on the other hand, will achieve a higher rate of fire, greater range and better stability in retreat, but will suffer reductions in damage and power of the mouth.

XM8 was one of the weapons changed in the update. (Image: Garena)

Change of maps

As expected by the community, the Purgatory map, extremely criticized for being similar to Bermuda, will be removed from the classic (casual and ranked) mode to give entry to Kalahari, which promises to be different from the previous ones. Overall, the map seeks to add more challenges in different fields involving landscapes and items, which tends to make players study and explore new areas.

Kalahari is a desert map. (Image: Garena)

Furthermore, Kalahari is a desert map and, therefore, requires players to have another type of gameplay. Each area has its own style, which may vary from point to point. Therefore, it can and should be considered a map of survival rather than frank exchange. The developer's goal is to balance the map so that players can reach and understand the expectations of the emergence of a new location in the game.

New Shield Weapon

As previously disclosed by Garena, the shield weapon will act as a protective shield that gives a certain advantage to the player who is equipped with it. Therefore, just as the name says, the weapon has a damage softener that creates a protective shield in blue color and, if the player receives any shot from the opponent at the time he is shooting, he will suffer less damage.

In a nutshell, the Shield Weapon will cause the player to take less damage when exchanging shots. However, it is worth mentioning that the item only works while the user is aiming. So, for example, the moment you are running, the player will be unprotected.

New Bomb Squad mode

Very similar to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Bomb Squad mode involves the “police and thief” style, in which a team plants a bomb and its opponents defend it. Altogether there are two teams with four players each, in a very similar way to the Contra Squad mode. In this case, the winning team will win the most matches in seven rounds.

Arrival of the character Steffie

One of the main novelties of the update, the character Steffie is a professional graffiti artist who has the Abrigo de Tinta skill, with a graffiti that reduces the damage of explosives and damage of shot in the cooldown of 45 seconds. The skill in question is exclusive to Steffie and cannot be used by other characters. Specifically, the new character is exactly the opposite of Alvaro's strength and very similar to Andrew.

Steffie will arrive with the Free Fire update. (Image: Garena)

New items and weapons in ranked matches

In the group of items and weapons that will be included in the ranked matches are: VSS Bullet Saw, which is one of the least used weapons of Free Fire and will cause the enemies affected by it to bleed, in addition to causing more damage; Kar98 Biometric Sight, another very little weapon used by the community and which will have an accessory for the exclusive use of the sniper rifle, which will identify any living thing that appears on the map; Core of the M14's Rage, which, unlike the previous examples, is a weapon widely used by the community with the item as permission to fire more accurately, besides increasing the rate of shots fired; Ice Pistol, which allows you to create walls of ice even from a long distance, and Double Cartridge, an item that allows players to reload their weapons more quickly. It is worth mentioning that the last two will be available only on AirDrops.