Free Fire nerfs Nero and Oscar in June update; see the changes

Nero, Oscar, Maro, and Nikita receive nerfs in the June update of Free Fire; Chrono and Olivia are strengthened.

By Ronny Rolim
June 17, 2026, at 10:02am — Updated 2 hours ago

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Starting from the June 2026 update, some of the most used abilities in Free Fire undergo significant adjustments. Nero and Oscar appear among the main nerfs, while Chrono and Olivia receive improvements to regain more space in matches.

The changes are part of the character balancing in OB54 and directly affect those who use active abilities to advance, control areas, break Gel Walls, or support the team during combat.

What changes for Free Fire characters

The information appears in the patch notes for Free Fire OB54 June 2026, published by Free Fire Mania on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Garena's focus is to reduce abilities that were delivering too much impact and improve options that have lost space in the meta.

The balance in OB54 reduces Nero's offensive strength and increases Oscar's cooldown time, changing the pace of battles with Gel Walls in Free Fire.

Nero loses damage and becomes easier to destroy

The Nero had already received nerfs in previous updates, but still maintained very high performance by combining consistent damage with blocking Gel Walls. Now, the Cold Mind ability becomes less lethal and more focused on area control.

Nero comparison before and after

• Character health: from 150 to 1
• Damage per second to enemies: from 10 to 6 HP
• Duration of area: 12 seconds
• Flight range: up to 50 m, or 100 m in Battle Royale
• Tracking radius: 8 m
• Dream area radius: 8 m
• Cooldown time: 45 seconds

In practice, Nero continues to prevent the use of Gel Walls within the area, but opponents will have a clearer response: destroy the character. As he now has only 1 health point, the effect can be terminated much more easily.

This reduces the automatic pressure of the ability and forces the user to choose the moment to deploy the character better, especially in open exchanges or advances against players protected by ice.

Oscar receives a nerf in cooldown time

Oscar has also been adjusted. The Insane Impact ability continues moving towards the target, destroying up to three Gel Walls in the way, dealing damage and pushing hit enemies. The difference lies in the cooldown time.

Oscar comparison before and after

• Cooldown time: from 45 to 60 seconds
• Destroys the first 3 Gel Walls in the path
• Deals 25 damage on impact
• Deals an additional 25 damage and pushes encountered enemies

This nerf weighs heavily because Oscar was very versatile. The ability could be used to initiate combat, escape, rotate, break ice, and frequently pressure opponents. With 60 seconds of cooldown, the character remains strong but requires more planning.

Chrono and Olivia receive improvements

Not all adjustments are nerfs. Chrono receives a significant reduction in the cooldown time of the Tuned Shield, which drops from 60 to 45 seconds. The force field continues to block 1000 damage, lasts 10 seconds, and prevents the user from attacking enemies outside the shield.

Olivia has also been strengthened. The Healing Touch ability maintains a 30% increase in healing efficiency but now distributes 90% of the healing from a single target to nearby teammates, instead of 80%. The range also increases from 15 to 20 meters.

Maro and Nikita are also nerfed

The Maro loses part of the distance damage bonus. The Falcon's Wound ability now increases damage by up to 20%, previously 25%, while the bonus against marked enemies remains at 5%.

The Nikita also receives a reduction in the reload speed bonus, dropping from 30% to 20%. The change mainly targets combinations with shotguns, such as the M590, which could excessively reduce the opponent's reaction time.

Turbo Ability can compensate for some adjustments

The update also introduces the Turbo Ability system, which allows players to enhance equipped abilities during matches. In Battle Royale, players accumulate energy by surviving, dealing damage, and eliminating enemies. When the bar fills up, it is possible to choose an enhancement.

The feature will be available for Alok, Koda, Homero, Chrono, Kassie, Skyler, Wukong, and Oscar. Each character will have two boost options, but only one can be chosen per match.

In Oscar's case, the boosts add new possibilities even after the nerf in cooldown time:

• Shadow Impact: increases the range of the charge with a spiritual form of Oscar
• Charged Impact: increases the duration of the charge to 8 seconds, with reduced speed at the start and greater over time

Chrono also receives new options with the Turbo Ability. One boost makes the force field impossible to see through, while the other allows the shield to move with the user, blocking 600 damage.

How this affects the Free Fire meta

The nerf to Nero is expected to reduce pressure in closed areas and provide more chances to respond against Gel Wall blocking. Meanwhile, the adjustment to Oscar may decrease the frequency of aggressive entries, especially in matches where quickly breaking ice decides the confrontation.

On the other hand, Chrono returns as a more interesting defensive option, and Olivia gains more value for team play. The update also opens space to try new combinations with Turbo Ability, especially in Battle Royale modes.

Now, players should observe which characters remain strong after OB54 and which abilities become more dependent on timing. To keep track of other changes from the update, check out the latest news on Free Fire.