Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Image

Hi all,

I'm new to posting on this sub but I have gotten a lot of positive feedback on my build and have been asked to provide a guide.

**Notes:**

* AIOStreams is awesome but it can be challenging/intimidating to set up for beginners. I hope this guide is helpful regardless of your experience level.
* I sometimes say "required" or "optional" but technically everything here is optional. When I say "optional" here, I mean that it doesn't really take too much away from the main aspects of the build to omit it. You could probably figure out ways to replicate much of the build without some of the "required" things but I won't offer guidance on every possible combination/scenario in this guide. Feel free to ask in the comments though.
* All prices are in USD and are current as of posting.

**Key features of my build:**

1. Optimized: Fewer points of failure and increased redundancy without sacrificing performance.
2. Minimalist: Put all of the "heavy lifting" in the background so that I can keep the UX & UI as simple and clean as possible.
3. Aggressive language filtering/sorting for higher probability of getting correct audio & subtitles.
* Note that my build prioritizes English since it is my native language. I provide instructions for changing this.
4. All addons are within AIOStreams to keep everything fully customizable.
5. New approaches I have not found on this sub.

At the core of this build is AIOStreams. To have all of the addons in my build, I use [Midnight's instance](https://aiostreamsfortheweebsstable.midnightignite.me/stremio/configure). This will not be an all-encompassing guide to AIOStreams, just how to replicate my build. If you are unfamiliar with AIOStreams or just getting started, you can find great guides by following that link. However, my hope is that even a beginner could replicate this build using this guide (but may not fully understand AIOStreams in the end).

# Prerequisites

* Required - a willingness to accept that this probably isn't the perfect setup for you and you'll probably want to tweak it.
* Required - Stremio installed and running.
* Required - at least one debrid service.
* I recommend having two for redundancy.
* If it's just for you, I would recommend getting Real-Debrid and/or TorBox.
* If sharing with family/friends, I would recommend Torbox and/or Premiumize as they allow for concurrent streams from different IPs (Real-Debrid does not). This is what I have.
* Required - [TMDB API Key](https://developer.themoviedb.org/docs/getting-started) (free)
* Required - [TVDB API Key](https://www.thetvdb.com/api-information) (free)
* Required - [RPDB API Key](https://ratingposterdb.com/api-key/) (free)
* Required - [Trakt](https://trakt.tv) Account (free)
* Optional - [Debridio](https://debridio.com)
* A great scraper (good backup to Torrentio) and has other features.
* The price is $10/yr but I think it's worth it for most.
* Optional - [Google AI Studio](http://aistudio.google.com) (Gemini) API Key
* It's free (with rate limits) so why not.
* I went ahead and upgraded to Paid Tier 1 so I don't get rate-limited with multiple family members. It's dirt cheap and you get $300 credit for first 90 days (I've used $0.16 this month lol).

Pro tip: have all your API keys easily accessible as you're setting everything up (e.g., in your notes app).

# Getting Started

Head over to Midnight's instance of AIOStreams: [https://aiostreamsfortheweebsstable.midnightignite.me/stremio/configure](https://aiostreamsfortheweebsstable.midnightignite.me/stremio/configure)

Once there, make sure you select "Advanced" setup mode and familiarize yourself with the home page if this is your first time using AIOStreams.

Each section will now follow the tabs on the left (desktop) or top (mobile) of your screen on the AIOStreams website.

# Services

**Step 1:**

Click on the services tab (cloud icon) and select the debrid services you use. For Real-Debrid, TorBox, and Premiumize, this is as simple as pasting your API key found on the respective debrid's website. Here, I select TorBox and Premiumize but you can choose what you like (won't really make a difference).

**Step 2:**

Enter your RPDB, TMDB, and TVDB API keys at the bottom of the page.

# Addons

**Step 1:**

On the services screen, you can select "Next" or click the addons tab which has a puzzle icon to move forward to the addons section.

**Step 2:**

To the right of "Installed" click "Marketplace" so that we can install the addons we want.

**Step 3:**

In no particular order, you can search & install the following scraper addons:

1. Required - Torrentio
* Free - keep default settings.
* This is a popular scraper for torrents (files) to stream and will likely be the main source for files unless it's down.
* I include the other scrapers below for redundancy if torrentio is down or if there is a niche title. Most are free so why not have more options.
2. Required - Comet
* Free - keep default settings.
3. Required - Jackettio
* Free - keep default settings.
4. Required - TorrentGalaxy
* Free - keep default settings.
5. Required - TorrentsDB
* Free - keep default settings.
6. Required - StremThru Torz
* Free - keep default settings.
7. Optional - TorBox Search
* Paid - Requires TorBox API key entered in the "Services" section previously. This is included with all TorBox plans so "free" if you already have the service.
* Good scraper, backups others.
* Keep default settings.
8. Optional - Debridio Scraper
* Paid - Requires that you enter your Debridio API Key. Debridio is a paid service (see details in prereqs above).
* Good scaper, backups others.
* Paste API key, keep default settings.

Note that you can include a free popular scraper MediaFusion but I've had problems with it in this build. With how many scrapers I've already included, it doesn't really add much in my opinion.

**Step 4:**

In the same AIOStreams Marketplace from Step 3, search & install the following list/miscellaneous addons. These are all kinda optional and just really provide lists for the homepage. If you already have your own lists setup, feel free to substitute (also see step 5 if you can't find them in the marketplace). In no particular order:

1. REMOVED - AI Companion (can use Rotten Tomatoes instead maybe, config [here](https://7a82163c306e-rottentomatoes.baby-beamup.club/configure))
* EDIT - I can no longer recommend this addon as it seems like it’s down permanently. I will keep the instructions here in case it comes back online though.
* LLM Provider: select Gemini (OpenAI Compatible)
* LLM Provider API Key: paste your [Google aistudio](http://aistudio.google.com) api key here.
* Preferred search language: your language here (I put English).
* Model name: gemini-2.5-flash-lite (highest rate limits and fast).
* Maximum results: 10 (adjust to your liking)
* Keep default for everything else.
2. RPDB Catalogs
* Keep default.
3. Streaming Catalogs
* Select the services you want. Keep default for everything else.
4. USA TV
* Free - Keep defaults.
5. AI Search
* Paste AI studio API key
* If on a paid AI studio tier, turn off AI Response Caching. Otherwise, probably better to keep checked to avoid hitting rate limits on free tier.
* Paste RPDB api key.
* Language: yours here.
* Gemini Model Name: gemini-flash-latest
* Number of Recommendations: 20 (adjust to your liking)
6. Debridio TV
* Paid
* Paste your debridio api key and select what channels you want.
* Keep defaults for others.

**Step 5:**

AIOStudio addon marketplace doesn't have all stremio addons. However, you can add your own stremio addons by going to the same Marketplace section from steps 3 & 4, scrolling all the way down, and select configure under custom. Then, you paste the manifest url for the addon here (I just keep defaults). Below are the custom addons we'll configure in no particular order:

1. AIOMetadata
* Configure at: [https://aiometadatafortheweebs.midnightignite.me/configure/](https://aiometadatafortheweebs.midnightignite.me/configure/)
* The configuration is pretty straightforward. Add any of the API keys you have and configure the lists/catalogs to your liking.
* Here, I like to include the Gemini API key and integrate my trakt account for nice recs.
* Copy/paste manifest url at the end into the AIOStreams as instructed above.
2. AIOLists
* Configure at: [https://aiolistsfortheweebs.midnightignite.me](https://aiolistsfortheweebs.midnightignite.me)
* Same as AIOMetadata above but this one is easier.
3. IMDB Catalogs
* Configure at: [https://1fe84bc728af-imdb-catalogs.baby-beamup.club/configure](https://1fe84bc728af-imdb-catalogs.baby-beamup.club/configure)
* Just paste your RPDB api key on config site and then paste manifest url into AIOStreams.

**Step 6:**

Sort the lists/catalogs how you prefer. You can toggle individual lists off to hide them from home & discover pages in Stremio.

**Step 7:**

Go to "Installed" and at the bottom of the page, go to Addon Fetching Strategy. Select Dynamic and paste one of the below versions (change the language if non-English):

Version 2.0 (thanks to u/Razzmatazz1414 & u/HeyIntrovert):

This is the most recently updated one, best for most people. It may take slightly longer than V1 on more niche titles (no noticeable difference on new titles).

`((count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(language(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL') 'English') '2160p')))) >= 3 and (count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(totalStreams, '2160p')))) >= 5 or count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(totalStreams, '1080p')))) >= 5) and count(cached(regexMatched(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL', 'WEBRip')))) >= 5) or count(cached(totalStreams)) >= 3 and totalTimeTaken > 7000) or totalTimeTaken > 10000`

Version 2.1:

Use this one if you have a non-English (or English even) language that is not common you want to even more aggressively search for it. It will exhaustively search for your language, meaning if a stream exists with the language, it will find at least one (may not be high quality/resolution though). However, if a stream with your language does not exist, it will keep searching until the timeout condition which means it will take a while. I plan on optimizing this further and making a separate post for our non-English community but I hope this works in the meantime. MAKE SURE TO CHANGE LANGUAGE IF DESIRED.

`(((count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(language(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL') 'English') '2160p')))) >= 3 and (count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(totalStreams, '2160p')))) >= 5 or count(cached(regexMatched(resolution(totalStreams, '1080p')))) >= 5) and count(cached(regexMatched(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL', 'WEBRip')))) >= 5) or count(cached(totalStreams)) >= 3 and totalTimeTaken > 7000) and count(cached(language(totalStreams,'English'))) > 0) or totalTimeTaken > 10000`

Version 1.0:

My original condition. Use this if the above does not work.

`(count(cached(resolution(language(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL', 'WEBRip') 'English') '2160p'))) >= 3 and (count(cached(resolution(totalStreams, '2160p'))) >= 5 or (count(cached(resolution(totalStreams, '2160p'))) > 0 and count(cached(resolution(totalStreams, '1080p'))) >= 5)) and count(cached(quality(totalStreams, 'Bluray REMUX', 'Bluray', 'WEB-DL', 'WEBRip'))) >= 5 and count(cached(language(totalStreams,'English'))) >= 2) or totalTimeTaken > 7000`

This will fire all of the torrent scrapers at once (in parallel) then as soon as there are "enough" files that are "high quality" then all of the searching stops. Often, this just grabs torrentio files and exits immediately. In the end, this makes sure that torrent search is super fast while also being redundant and gets quality streams.

# Filters

These next few sections are the "meat" of the build. Filters is where we tell AIOStreams which streams/files we want to keep/show after searching.

**Step 1:**

Now we move onto the next tab which is filters (funnel icon).

**Step 2:**

In Cache subsection, I like to exclude uncached (this is like excluding RD download). This makes sure I'm just streaming cached files from debrid and I don't have to wait for them to download to debrid.

**Step 3:**

Go to Resolution subsection. I require 2160p through 480p (nothing else with show up).

Select all resolutions in "Preferred Resolutions" then sort to your liking (I do 2160p first to Unknown last).

**Step 4:**

Quality subsection. I exclude CAM, TS, TC, SCR, Unknown.

I setup preferred qualities in the following order: BluRay REMUX, BluRay, WEB-DL, WEBRip, HDRip, HDTV, DVDRip, HC HD-Rip.

**Step 5:**

Encode subsection. I exclude XviD & DivX. I have the preference sorted: AVC, HEVC, AV1, Unknown.

**Step 6:**

Visual tags. Exlcude 3D. My preference order: HDR+DV, DV Only, DV, HDR10+, HDR10, HDR Only, HDR, 10bit, IMAX, SDR, Unknown.

**Step 7:**

Audio tags. My preference order: Atmos, DD+, DD, DTS, DTS-ES, DTS-HD, DTS-HD MA, TrueHD.

**Step 8:**

Language. Adjust this to your liking. My preference order is: English, Multi, Dual Audio, Dubbed, Unknown.

**Step 9:**

Stream Expression. My preference in order is (change language if non-english):

`language(resolution(cached(streams), '2160p'), 'English', 'Multi')`

`language(resolution(cached(streams), '1440p', '1080p'), 'English', 'Multi')`

This lets me put, for example, 1080p content with "for sure" english over 4K content with unknown/other language. This is aggressive and you may want to omit entirely (or change language, of course).

**Step 10:**

Regex. Here I just import Vidhin's regexes as stated on this page. Just go to the bottom of preferred regex patterns, click import, and paste this url: [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Vidhin05/Releases-Regex/main/merged-anime-regexes.json](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Vidhin05/Releases-Regex/main/merged-anime-regexes.json)

**Step 11:**

Size. I like to globally cap at 30GB because I find I get buffering over that. Adjust to your liking or omit.

**Step 12:**

Result Limits. I set global limits to 9 and resolution limit to 3. Then I get, for example, 3 4K streams, 3 1080p streams, and 3 720p streams (assuming all exist). This is plenty for me as I've done a lot of work on filtering and sorting and keeps my stream list minimal and simple. Adjust to your liking or omit.

**Step 13:**

Deduplicator. Enable this.

I keep the rest of the settings in the filters section as default.

# Sorting

Here is where we tell AIOStreams how to sort the streams/files found after filtering. This is the order in which they'll be displayed in stremio.

Set sort order type to global and include the following sort criteria: Library, Cached, Stream Expression Matched, Resolution, Language, Quality, Regex Patterns, Visual Tag, Encode, Size, Seeders.

I sort in the order above. This is aggressive with respect to language. Feel free to move language a bit lower if you care less. I found this is a good order for me.

# Formatter

Under Formatter Selection, select Custom. Then, paste this into name template:

`{stream.resolution::exists["{stream.resolution::replace('2160p','4K')}"||"NA"]}{service.cached::isfalse[" Download"||""]}`

Then for description template:

`{stream.seasonEpisode::exists["{stream.seasonEpisode::join('')}{tools.newLine}"||""]}{service.shortName}{service.cached::isfalse[" | ⬇️ {stream.seeders}"||""]}{stream.size::>0[" | {stream.size::bytes}"||""]}{tools.newLine}{stream.languages::exists["{stream.languages::join(', ')}"||"Language Unknown"]}{tools.newLine}{stream.resolution::=2160p::or::stream.resolution::=4K["★★★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=1080p["★★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=720p["★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=2160p::or::stream.resolution::=4K::or::stream.resolution::=1080p::or::stream.resolution::=720p[""||"★"]}{stream.quality::=WEB-DL::or::stream.quality::=BluRay::or::stream.quality::~REMUX["★"||""]}{stream.uLanguageCodes::~EN::or::stream.languageCodes::~EN["★"||""]}`

Here is an example of what it looks like:

https://preview.redd.it/l84vnht3s0bg1.png?width=2868&format=png&auto=webp&s=da9626fa8c4fff3d0557074fa5d9fec0b5da8aa7

I have also been experimenting with replacing the language with quality. Here is the description template for that:

`{stream.seasonEpisode::exists["{stream.seasonEpisode::join('')}{tools.newLine}"||""]}{service.shortName}{service.cached::isfalse[" | ⬇️ {stream.seeders}"||""]}{stream.size::>0[" | {stream.size::bytes}"||""]}{tools.newLine}{stream.quality::exists["{stream.quality}"||""]}{tools.newLine}{stream.resolution::=2160p::or::stream.resolution::=4K["★★★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=1080p["★★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=720p["★"||""]}{stream.resolution::=2160p::or::stream.resolution::=4K::or::stream.resolution::=1080p::or::stream.resolution::=720p[""||"★"]}{stream.quality::=WEB-DL::or::stream.quality::=BluRay::or::stream.quality::~REMUX["★"||""]}{stream.uLanguageCodes::~EN::or::stream.languageCodes::~EN["★"||""]}`

# Proxy

I leave everything as default here.

# Miscellaneous

I just enable pre-cache next episode (just a safety measure) and auto play. Keep everything else as default.

# Save & Install

Create a password and write it down (seriously). Click create and write down your UUID (very seriously). The only way to access/tweak this configuration in the future is via this UUID and Password combo.

Click install and import into Stremio as you normally do with addons!

# Final Notes

Under this build, the only addons I have in Stremio are Cinameta, Local Files, Trakt Integration, OpenSubtitles Pro, and AIOStreams (that we just configured). I personally delete the other addons and also use [this Addon Manager](https://stremio-addon-manager.pages.dev) to remove the popular Cinameta lists (removes from search and home page) and also remove the Trakt lists (we have these elsewhere).

This guide was requested by u/Fwhy_ u/DrZakarySmith u/[Equivalent\_Hawk\_9769](/user/Equivalent_Hawk_9769/) u/[BilgeMongoose](/user/BilgeMongoose/) and others!

Edit: Forgot to add my template to the post, dang! I couldn’t figure out how to get AIOStreams to accept the URL so unfortunately you have to download manually to use it (or copy/paste the json into a text editor for safety). Also idk if it fully works but you can always read the json file. Please let me know if there are problems. [https://drive.proton.me/urls/YYBWZGNXP0#QccY8og0POBf](https://drive.proton.me/urls/YYBWZGNXP0#QccY8og0POBf)

Edit 2: thank you for the amazing feedback, support, and awards! You all are truly who make this community what it is. I’m trying my hardest to respond to everyone’s questions! If I miss you on accident, feel free to DM me!

The CL-40 was nerfed in Season 3 — complaints dropped. Then it was buffed in Season 4 — complaints **tripled**. They calmed down. Then it was buffed *again* in Season 6 — and complaints tripled *again*. A perfect buff→backlash→calm→buff→backlash cycle, visible across 247,453 Steam reviews. The Sword? Complaints have *doubled* since Season 3 despite multiple nerfs — and 27 players independently suggested the same fix: "just remove it." One 247-hour veteran couldn't take it anymore: *"GET THE LIGHT SWORD OUT OF THE GAME!"* (I feel his pain). Meanwhile, 135,000 players called this game "fun and addictive" — the most praised aspect by a landslide.

I downloaded every single Steam review for THE FINALS (247,453 total, 15 languages, 9 seasons), fed them through a two-stage AI pipeline, and built a [15-page interactive dashboard](https://aryzhkin.github.io/the-finals/) to let you explore it all yourself. Buff cycles, hidden patterns, 440K specific complaints and praise — the entire AI analysis that uncovered all of this cost **$9.30**. Here's what 247K players are actually saying — not 10 Reddit posts, but a quarter million data points.

---

### What I did

- Scraped all 247K reviews via the Steam API (15 languages, Seasons 0 through 9)
- **Stage 1**: AI classified each review into 42 categories (30 negative, 12 positive) — cost: $3.30
- **Stage 2**: AI extracted 440,481 specific complaints, suggestions, and praise — cost: $6.00
- Normalized everything against a database of game entities (weapons, gadgets, abilities) from THE FINALS Wiki
- Parsed 106 patch notes (470 balance changes) from THE FINALS Wiki and mapped them to player complaints
- Built a [15-page interactive dashboard](https://aryzhkin.github.io/the-finals/) — [completely open source](https://github.com/aryzhkin/the-finals)

**Total cost of the entire AI analysis: $9.30.**

---

### Community's Top Pain Points

What do 247K players actually complain about? Here's the all-time ranking alongside a comparison of the last two "three-season windows" (S4–S6 vs S7–S9), normalized per 1,000 reviews:

| # | Issue | Total | S4–S6 /1K | S7–S9 /1K | Trend |
|---|-------|-------|-----------|-----------|-------|
| 1 | Cheating / hackers | 8,327 | 18.9 | 15.0 | ↓ 21% |
| 2 | Matchmaking (skill disparity) | 5,472 | 32.1 | **36.2** | **↑ 13%** |
| 3 | Server crashes | 2,656 | 6.1 | 5.7 | — |
| 4 | Light class: overpowered | 2,249 | 9.5 | 10.1 | ↑ 6% |
| 5 | Server latency / lag | 1,850 | 7.0 | 8.2 | ↑ 17% |
| 6 | Heavy class: overpowered | 1,587 | 3.2 | 3.2 | — |
| 7 | Server disconnects | 1,333 | 1.9 | 3.7 | ↑ 95% |
| 8 | Game design: unbalanced | 1,180 | 4.4 | 4.3 | — |
| 9 | Cloaking Device: overpowered | 1,071 | 0.9 | 0.0 | fixed |
| 10 | Anti-cheat: ineffective | 955 | 2.5 | 1.6 | ↓ 36% |

The all-time ranking is misleading — cheating dominated at launch (5,395 complaints in S1 alone!), but it's down 21% in S7–S9. Cloaking Device — fixed. But **matchmaking keeps climbing** (+13%) and is now the clear #1 issue by a wide margin. Server disconnects have nearly doubled, lag is up too — network infrastructure is losing ground.

---

### Community's Top Requests

| # | Request | Mentions |
|---|---------|----------|
| 1 | More game modes | 1,352 |
| 2 | Region lock | 946 |
| 3 | More maps | 833 |
| 4 | More weapons | 514 |
| 5 | Text chat | 385 |
| 6 | Russian localization | 319 |

Trends: region lock requests **tripled** in recent seasons (S4–S6 → S7–S9), text chat appeared out of nowhere. "More game modes" and "more maps" are declining — and credit to Embark here: TDM was added in S5, maps are updated regularly, and the data shows players noticed. Some requests also shift dramatically depending on playtime — more on that below.

About region lock: if you read the actual reviews, this isn't an abstract request. The vast majority ask for region lock because of cheating on Asian servers. The main voices come from Korean, Japanese, and Thai players. In S1 the request was massive (6.7 per 1,000 reviews), then died down (0.3 in S4), and in S7–S9 it climbed back up — which may indicate a new wave of problems in the region. And an important point: if cheaters are rampant on Asian servers, the anti-cheat vulnerability exists — and other regions are at risk too. This is a systemic problem, not a regional one.

---

### What Players Love (yes, there's a LOT to love)

Before you think this is a hate post — the positive data is massive:

| # | Praise | Mentions |
|---|--------|----------|
| 1 | Fun & addictive gameplay | 135,000+ |
| 2 | Destruction physics | 13,702 |
| 3 | Free-to-play model | 8,298 |
| 4 | Graphics & visuals | 8,033 |
| 5 | Movement system | 6,416 |
| 6 | Gunplay feel | 3,414 |

135K players called this game fun. And what matters: praise is **rock solid** — fun, destruction, and movement didn't budge between S4–S6 and S7–S9. F2P and gunplay even grew (+24% and +17%). The core gameplay loop — destruction, movement, gunplay — is what keeps people coming back. This is the foundation Embark should never touch.

Some of my favorite actual reviews from the dataset:

> *"I was too fat and slow to get to the top of the building to steal the vault, so I just brought the building down to me. 10/10 by far."*

> *"Please, I can't sleep... I can hear someone is stealing my cashout. There is invisible light, Heavy is coming..."* — a 358-hour veteran, probably with PTSD

> *"Just played with my boys for 3 hours straight. Didn't win a damn thing. Had a great time anyway."*

---

### The Juicy Part: Patch Notes vs. Player Complaints

This is where it gets really interesting. I parsed all 106 patch notes from THE FINALS Wiki (470 balance changes across 9 seasons) and mapped them to the actual complaint data. Some patterns are striking:

**CL-40 Grenade Launcher — The Buff-Backlash Cycle**
- S3: nerfed (damage 110→93). Complaints: 7.9 per 1,000 reviews.
- S4: **buffed** (damage 93→117, blast radius 9→30cm). Complaints: **21.0** (+166%).
- S5: no changes. Complaints calmed to 5.7.
- S6: **buffed again** (radius 30→60cm). Complaints: back up to 20.7 by S7.
- A textbook buff→backlash→calm→buff→backlash cycle.

**Sword — Buffs, Nerfs, Rework, and Complaints That Keep Climbing**
- S4: initial buff (lunge ~5m→~6m). Mid-S4 and S6: two nerfs (lunge shortened, secondary damage 140→105)
- S7: major rework — primary damage 74→88, lunge range to 7m, lunge speed +17%
- Despite nerfs, complaints climbed from 29.6/1000 (S3) to **60.7** (S9) — an all-time high
- The S7 rework appears to have accelerated the trend: 32.5 (S6) → 50.8 (S7) → 60.7 (S9)

**Cloaking Device — How a Rework Can Backfire**
- S1–S4: complaints were steadily declining (45.9 → 18.6 per 1000)
- S5: rework — fire and poison no longer break invisibility (previously the main way to reveal a cloaked player) → complaints **surged** to 31.0 (+67%)
- S5–S6: a series of nerfs (duration 133s→27s, increased visibility, added activation delay) → back down to 17.5
- A classic case of "removed counterplay → invisibility became unstoppable → had to roll it back"

**Important disclaimer**: correlation ≠ causation. Complaint changes can also reflect meta shifts, player count changes, or attention shifting to new issues. But when a buff lines up perfectly with a complaint spike, and a nerf lines up with a drop... the pattern is hard to ignore.

You can explore every entity's timeline with patch markers on the dashboard — it's the Patch Notes page.

---

### Newcomers vs. Veterans: Two Different Games

One of the most interesting findings: **what "the community" wants depends entirely on who you ask**.

The dashboard has playtime filters — you can see the data through the eyes of newcomers (0–10h), regulars (50–100h), or hardcore players (500h+). The rankings shift dramatically:

- **Veterans** focus on: balance issues, anti-cheat quality, matchmaking fairness
- **Newcomers** focus on: content variety, server stability, basic accessibility
- The **cohort heatmap** on the dashboard shows approval varying by 10-15 percentage points across playtime brackets

Neither perspective is "wrong." But lumping them together hides the nuance. Retention starts with newcomers — if they quit due to cheaters or confusing UI, they never become veterans. But endgame quality is what keeps veterans engaged.

**"More game modes" — the top request... but which modes exactly?**

"More game modes" is the top request overall (1,352 mentions), but 80% come from players with under 50 hours. Filter to veterans and it drops sharply. And if you read the actual reviews, the picture becomes clear: newcomers come from COD/CS2/Valorant and expect Team Deathmatch. Instead, they find objective-based modes with cashouts and mandatory trios. Typical quotes: *"Why can't I just go team deathmatch and not worry about the money?"*, *"Not friendly to solo players — teammates quit on you"*. They haven't "failed to learn" the modes — they want a **different type of game** inside THE FINALS.

And here's the interesting part: Embark actually did it — **TDM was introduced as an LTM in S5, then made permanent in S6**. What does the data show?

- Requests specifically for "Add: Team Deathmatch" — S1: 54, S3: 12, S5: 9 (some reviews from before the LTM launched). After S5 — **zero**. TDM requests completely disappeared.
- But the general "more modes" request lives on: per 1,000 reviews — S4: 2.7, S5: 2.4, S6: 1.9, S7: 1.8, S8: 1.6, S9: 1.5.
- The downward trend **started long before TDM** (S1: 7.9 → S4: 2.7) — natural filtering: those who didn't accept the game's formula simply left.

Conclusion: TDM solved the specific problem — TDM requests dropped to zero. But "I want more modes" keeps coming, and after TDM was added it's unclear what people actually want — no specifics in the reviews, just a general "more variety." Personally, I think the game has plenty of modes and they're great — but the data says not everyone agrees. If you have ideas about what modes the game actually needs — drop them in the comments, I'm curious to hear.

---

### If I Were Advising Embark (Based on the Data)

**1. Anti-cheat is the #1 priority across ALL player segments.**
8,327 cheating complaints + 955 "anti-cheat ineffective" mentions. It's the top issue for newcomers AND veterans. No amount of new content matters if players feel the matches aren't fair.

**2. Don't touch the holy trinity: destruction, movement, gunplay.**
These three mechanics account for 23,500+ praise mentions. They're the reason 135K people called this game fun. Protect them at all costs.

**3. The Sword keeps getting stronger — and complaints keep climbing.**
60.7 complaints per 1,000 reviews in S9, up from 29.6 in S3. Embark has tried nerfs (S4, S6), but the S7 rework (7m lunge, higher damage) pushed complaints to record highs. The current iteration is the most complained-about version yet.

**4. Servers — a bigger problem than it looks.**
Crashes (2,656) + lag (1,850) + disconnects (1,333) = 5,839 complaints combined. In the table these are three separate rows, but they're really one systemic issue — and it's **bigger** than matchmaking (5,472). Server stability is especially critical for retaining newcomers: if the game crashes in the first few hours, there won't be a second chance.

And a general note on working with data: **listen to different player cohorts separately.** "More game modes" being a top request masks the fact that it's almost exclusively a newcomer ask. Veterans want balance and competitive integrity. Both matter, but they require different solutions.

---

### How It Was Done (for the curious)

- Started with regex-based classification → too many edge cases → switched to AI
- Model: Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite via PayPerQ ($0.07/M input tokens)
- Two-stage pipeline: categorize → extract specific issues
- Game entity data from [THE FINALS Wiki](https://www.thefinals.wiki/wiki/Main_Page)
- ~5 days of work total — 3 days building the pipeline and dashboard, then 2 more days of data quality audits, bug fixes, and polishing (fixing data integrity issues, adding disclaimers, verifying every number)
- **Completely open source** — link below

Fair warning: the dashboard UI isn't perfect — I know there's room for improvement on the design side. But this was a side project that already took way more time than I planned, and honestly I think it turned out pretty decent for a first attempt. The data and the analysis are what matter most here.

The data is current as of the scrape date but I haven't decided yet whether I'll keep it updated going forward. If there's enough interest — I'll set up regular updates and keep the dashboard fresh with new seasons and patches.

---

### What's Inside the Dashboard (15 Pages)

Here's a quick tour so you know what you're clicking into:

1. **Overview** — top-level metrics (247K reviews, approval rate, volume trends), top negative/positive categories with season & playtime filters, review volume timeline
2. **Community Insights** — the granular AI extraction: specific complaints, suggestions, and praise (440K data points), filterable by season & playtime, with optional vote-weighting
3. **Season Health** — approval rate and review volume per season, daily sentiment charts, top complaints/praise per season, recurring cross-season problems
4. **Player Journey** — how sentiment shifts with playtime (0–10h newcomers vs. 500h+ veterans), category heatmaps by playtime bracket, cohort × season approval matrix
5. **Praise vs Complaints** — same game aspects get both love and hate — paired categories show the contrast, plus cohort approval trends across seasons
6. **Entity Tracker** — search any weapon, gadget, or ability and see its mention timeline across seasons with complaint/praise ratio
7. **Category Deep-Dive** — pick any of the 42 categories and see its season trend + playtime distribution + related specific issues
8. **Language Analysis** — approval rates and complaint profiles by review language (15 languages), with deviation-from-global-average charts
9. **Top Reviews** — most helpful and most funny reviews, filterable by season, with a "Random Funny Review" button
10. **Review Explorer** — drill down from any category/issue to read actual player reviews, stratified by playtime bracket
11. **Word Cloud** — visual tag cloud of all categories sized by frequency, colored by sentiment
12. **Review Bombing** — daily/weekly spike detection for negative review surges, worst days table, patch date overlays
13. **Patch Notes** — all 106 patches (470 balance changes) mapped to complaint timelines — the buff→backlash analysis lives here
14. **Methodology** — full transparency on the AI pipeline, model parameters, confidence metrics, and all caveats
15. **About** — data sources, tech stack, credits

---

### Links

- **[Interactive Dashboard](https://aryzhkin.github.io/the-finals/)** — 15 pages of charts, filters, and drill-downs
- **[Source Code](https://github.com/aryzhkin/the-finals)** — scraper, AI pipeline, dashboard, everything

---

**If you were Embark — what would you prioritize first? And if you dig into the dashboard — share what you find, I'm curious what you'll uncover.**

**TLDR - Check out the attached presentation!**

Google just dropped Nano Banana 2 and it is the best AI image model in the world right now. It generates images from 512px to native 4K, supports 14 aspect ratios including ultra-wide 21:9 and vertical 9:16, renders legible text in any language inside images, maintains character consistency across up to 5 characters, pulls live data from Google Search to create accurate infographics, and works everywhere including Gemini, Google AI Studio, Google Flow at zero credits, Google Ads, Vertex AI, Pomelli, NotebookLM, and through third-party apps like Adobe Firefly, Perplexity, Figma, Notion, and Gamma. This post covers 160 use cases, 500 prompts, structured prompting secrets, and every platform where you can access it. It is free for consumer users.

**WHAT IS NANO BANANA 2?**

Nano Banana 2 is technically Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview. It is the third model in the Nano Banana family, following the original Nano Banana from August 2025 and Nano Banana Pro from November 2025. It runs on the Gemini 3.1 Flash reasoning backbone, which means it thinks before it renders. It plans the composition, resolves physics and spatial relationships, reasons about object interactions, and then produces pixels.

On February 26, 2026, it launched and immediately took the number one spot on the Artificial Analysis Image Arena, a blind human evaluation leaderboard, at roughly half the API cost of every comparable model. It is not a minor upgrade. It is a full architectural leap that collapses the gap between Pro-quality output and Flash-tier speed and pricing.

THE 6 CORE CAPABILITIES THAT MAKE IT DIFFERENT

1. It plans the image before rendering pixels. Nano Banana 2 uses a reasoning engine that understands physics, object interactions, geography, coordinates, diagrams, structure, and spelling. It generates interim thought images in the background to refine composition before producing the final output.
2. Real-time web and image search grounding. It can pull live data from Google Search and Google Image Search to create infographics, data visualizations, weather charts, and accurate depictions of real-world subjects. This is exclusive to Nano Banana 2 and not available in Nano Banana Pro.
3. Precision text rendering and translation. It spells correctly inside images. It renders legible, stylized text for marketing mockups, greeting cards, infographics, and posters. It can also translate embedded text from one language to another without altering the surrounding visual composition.
4. Character consistency across up to 5 characters. It maintains resemblance for up to 4 characters and fidelity for up to 10 objects in a single workflow, totaling 14 reference images. This enables storyboarding, product catalogs, and brand asset workflows where characters must look the same across dozens of images.
5. Native 512px to 4K resolution with 14 aspect ratios. Supported ratios include 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9, 1:4, 4:1, 1:8, and 8:1.
6. Flash-tier speed at production-ready quality. Vibrant lighting, richer textures, sharper details. Standard resolution images generate in under two seconds. The API costs approximately $0.067 per 2K image versus $0.134 for Nano Banana Pro.

THE STRUCTURED PROMPTING FRAMEWORK

This is the single most important section in this guide. Nano Banana 2 responds dramatically better when you structure your prompt using this pattern.

The formula: Subject -- What is the main focus of the image Composition -- Camera angle, framing, distance, layout Action -- What is happening in the scene Location -- Where the scene takes place Style -- Visual style, film stock, rendering approach, color palette Editing instructions -- When editing an existing image, what to change and what to preserve

Pro tips that separate beginners from experts:

* Write full sentences, not comma-separated keyword tags. Nano Banana 2 is a language model that generates images. Talk to it like a creative director briefing a photographer.
* Name the camera. Saying shot on Hasselblad X2D 135mm at f/5.6 gives radically different results than just saying portrait.
* Direct the light. Specify soft key light from upper left or golden hour backlight through floor-to-ceiling windows.
* Provide the why. Telling it the image is for a luxury perfume launch campaign changes the output mood and quality.
* Use the text distance rule. When adding text to images, specify the exact words, the font style, and the placement relative to other elements.
* Specify resolution and aspect ratio explicitly. Say 4K output, 16:9 aspect ratio at the end of your prompt.

HOW TO CREATE IMAGES AT DIFFERENT ASPECT RATIOS

Nano Banana 2 supports the widest range of aspect ratios of any major image model.

|Aspect Ratio|Best For|
|:-|:-|
|1:1|Instagram feed posts, profile icons, social cards|
|16:9|YouTube thumbnails, presentations, web banners|
|9:16|TikTok, Instagram Reels, Stories, mobile wallpapers|
|21:9|Cinematic concepts, panoramic images, ultrawide banners|
|3:2|Standard photography, print media|
|4:3|Web UI design, classic digital art, presentations|
|4:5|Instagram portrait feed, professional portraits|
|2:3|Phone wallpapers, book covers, magazine pages|
|1:4|Tall infographics, vertical banners|
|4:1|Website headers, horizontal banners|
|1:8|Extreme vertical content, scrolling social infographics|
|8:1|Extreme horizontal banners, ticker-style content|

In the Gemini app: Simply state the aspect ratio in your prompt. Say create this as a 16:9 widescreen image or make it 9:16 vertical for Instagram Stories.

In Google AI Studio: Select the aspect ratio from the dropdown in the right panel. You get all 14 options plus resolution control from 512px to 4K.

In the API: Set the aspect\_ratio and image\_size parameters in the ImageConfig object. Aspect ratio accepts strings like 16:9 and resolution accepts 512px, 1K, 2K, or 4K.

WHERE TO ACCESS NANO BANANA 2 -- EVERY PLATFORM

The Gemini App (Free) Nano Banana 2 is the default model for all users across Fast, Thinking, and Pro modes. Click the banana icon or just ask Gemini to create an image.

Google AI Studio (Free with API Key) Navigate to [aistudio.google.com](http://aistudio.google.com), select gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview from the model dropdown. Here you get full control over aspect ratio, resolution, thinking mode, and search grounding. This is where power users go when the Gemini app is not enough.

Google Flow (Free, Zero Credits) Google Flow is Google's AI filmmaking tool. Nano Banana 2 is the default image generation engine. It costs zero credits for all users. You can select the aspect ratio, choose how many images to generate in a batch (up to 4 at a time with specified resolution), and enter your prompt. This is the best-kept secret for batch generation without burning credits.

Pomelli (Free) Pomelli is Google Labs' free marketing tool for small and medium businesses. The new Photoshoot feature lets you upload any product photo and it generates professional studio-quality product shots in multiple templates: Studio, Floating, Ingredient, In Use with AI-generated models, and Lifestyle scenes.

NotebookLM (Free) Upload your source documents and click Create Slides or Create Infographic. NotebookLM uses Nano Banana to convert your content into visually stunning slide decks or single-page infographics. You can export directly to Google Slides for editing.

Google Ads (Free within Ads) Nano Banana 2 now powers the AI-generated creative suggestions when building campaigns. Performance marketers get higher-quality asset suggestions natively inside the campaign builder.

Third-Party Apps Confirmed third-party integrations include:

* Adobe Firefly: Integrated into the creative suite for image generation and editing.
* Perplexity: Uses Nano Banana 2 for image generation within research and browsing workflows.
* Figma: Tested for iterative design workflows and UI mockups.
* Notion: Integrated for in-document image generation.
* Gamma: Integrated into Studio Mode for generating theme-matched presentation images.
* Whering: Transforms clothing photos into studio-quality product imagery.
* WPP / Unilever: Used for enterprise-scale campaign testing.

HOW TO MAINTAIN CHARACTER CONSISTENCY ACROSS 5 CHARACTERS

This is the workflow that actually works:

Step 1: Create strong character reference sheets. Start with a clear, well-lit headshot or full-body photo for each character. Step 2: Upload reference images. In AI Studio or the API, you can upload up to 14 reference images total (up to 4 character images and up to 10 object images). Step 3: Describe each character consistently. Use the same physical description across every prompt in the workflow. Step 4: Use the multi-image prompt structure. Upload all character reference images alongside your scene description. Step 5: For video workflows, generate character reference sheets showing multiple angles of each character (front, left profile, right profile, etc.) to maintain 100 percent facial accuracy.

TOP 20 USE CASES

1. Live Data Infographics: Use search grounding to create charts based on real-time data.
2. Global Campaign Localization: Update backgrounds, language, and cultural cues for billboards from a single base creative.
3. Physics-Aware Virtual Try-On: Fabric drapes realistically on body models for fashion mockups.
4. Architectural Time Travel: Restore modern streets to their Victorian 1890s counterparts.
5. Text-Heavy Social Media Posts: Quote cards and posters with strong styled typography.
6. Product Photography at Scale: Professional shots from minimal product photos using Pomelli.
7. LinkedIn Professional Headshots: Transform selfies into studio-quality corporate photos.
8. 4K Image Upscaling: Regenerate low-res images into 4K resolution for free.
9. Old Photo Restoration: Restore damaged or faded memories with colorization and feature repair.
10. Action Figures and Collectibles: Turn likenesses into custom branded figurines.
11. Room Design and Floor Plans: Move from 2D floor plans to photorealistic 3D presentation boards.
12. YouTube Thumbnails: High-converting widescreen graphics with expressive subjects and bold text.
13. E-Commerce Catalog Generation: Maintain product fidelity across seasonal themes using reference images.
14. Brand Identity Kits: Complete brand boards including logos, palettes, and typography.
15. Multi-Panel Storytelling: Maintain visual identity across comic strips and storyboards.
16. Data Visualization from Articles: Paste a link to generate a custom infographic from the content.
17. Blurred Photo to Ultra Sharp: Editorial-quality restoration while preserving original composition.
18. Style Transfer: Swap image styles to watercolor, 3D render, anime, or pencil sketches.
19. Whiteboard and Sketch Visualization: Turn concepts into hand-drawn marker sketches.
20. Celebrity Selfies and Fun Photos: Photorealistic selfies in movie sets or absurd landmarks.

SECRETS MOST PEOPLE MISS

1. The Thinking Mode toggle changes everything. Enable it in AI Studio for complex layouts; it plans before rendering.
2. Image Search Grounding is exclusive to Nano Banana 2. It searches for visual references (buildings, specific products) before generating.
3. Multi-turn editing is the recommended workflow. Refine your image in follow-up messages rather than one massive prompt.
4. The 512px tier exists for rapid prototyping. Use it to find the best composition at low cost before upscaling to 4K.
5. You can generate up to 20 images in a single batch prompt through the API.
6. Flow generates at zero credits. It is the best hack for unlimited batch generation without a subscription.
7. You can use it as a real-time photo editor. Upload a photo and give natural language instructions to remove objects or change colors.

THE PROMPT LIBRARY -- 50 EPIC PROMPTS

**Professional and Business**

1. LinkedIn Headshot: Transform this selfie into a professional studio headshot. Clean neutral background, soft directional light, sharp focus on eyes, charcoal blazer. 4:5, 4K.
2. Infographic from Live Data: Search top 5 programming languages 2026. Create a 9:16 vertical infographic, flat vector style, icons, percentages, average salary.
3. Product Hero Shot: Matte-black wireless headphone on polished obsidian. 85mm macro, soft key light, reflection. 16:9, 4K.
4. SaaS Landing Page Hero: Landing page for FlowState tool. Headline on left, dashboard screenshot on right, two CTA buttons. 16:9, 2K.
5. Business Card Suite: Embossed matte cards, letterhead, wax stamp envelope on slate. Editorial flat lay. 3:2, 4K.
6. Social Media Content Calendar: 9:16 infographic showing 7-day blueprint for fitness brand. Icons for Reels and Stories.
7. Email Marketing Banner: 4:1 horizontal banner, field of wildflowers, text Spring Collection Now Live.
8. Pitch Deck Slide: Single slide, navy background, headline 3x Revenue Growth in Q4, teal line chart on right.
9. Executive Summary Dashboard: 16:9 infographic showing global sales metrics, heat map on left, key KPI cards on right.
10. Startup Team Mockup: Group of diverse professionals in a glass-walled conference room, futuristic Shinjuku city visible outside.

**Photography and Portraits**

11. Editorial Fashion: Model in vibrant red dress standing in desert, high contrast, blue sky, 35mm film grain.
12. Candid Street: Busy market in Marrakech, warm tones, natural lighting, shallow depth of field.
13. Macro Human Eye: Reflecting a city skyline, hyper-realistic, 8k textures.
14. Black and White Artist: Elderly artist in sunlit studio, high detail on skin and paint textures.
15. Gourmet Food Photography: Burger with steam rising, rustic wood background, professional lighting.
16. Cinematic Hiker: Wide shot on mountain peak at dawn, orange and purple sky, majestic mood.
17. Underwater Fashion: Model in silk dress, ethereal lighting, bubbles, fluid motion.
18. Brutalist Architecture: Concrete building shot from low angle, sharp shadows, dramatic sky.
19. Vintage 1970s Polaroid: Family picnic, faded colors, light leaks, nostalgic feel.
20. Cyberpunk Portrait: Close up of subject with neon light reflections on glasses, rainy city background.

**Architecture and Design**
21. 2D Floor Plan: Modern 2-bedroom apartment, labeled rooms, clean linework.

22. 3D Interior Render: Mid-century modern living room, forest view through large windows.
23. Victorian Street: London street corner, horse-drawn carriages, foggy atmosphere, daytime.
24. Futuristic City Plan: Vertical gardens, floating transport pods, top-down view.
25. Cozy Cabin: Stone fireplace, warm light, snow falling outside window.
26. Glass Beach House: Sunset view, ocean reflections on windows, minimalist decor.
27. Office Lobby: Living moss wall, minimalist furniture, bright natural light.
28. Steampunk Library: Brass pipes, glowing green lamps, infinite shelves.
29. Industrial Loft: Exposed brick, large windows, cinematic moody lighting.
30. Zen Garden: Stone path, koi pond, peaceful atmosphere, high detail.

Creative and Wild
31. Custom Action Figure: Hyper-detailed 1/6 scale figure of person from photo in premium collector box.
32. Whiteboard Sketch to 3D: Hand-drawn rocket engine sketch turned into photorealistic 3D blueprint.
33. Origami Dragon: Made of fire, dark background, glowing embers.
34. Autumn Leaf Person: Character made of leaves walking through city park.
35. Cloud Astronaut: Sitting on a cloud fishing for stars in purple galaxy.
36. Chess Cat: Cat in tuxedo playing chess against robot in Victorian study.
37. Surrealist Strawberry: Melting clock over a giant realistic strawberry.
38. Cyberpunk Tea Ceremony: Traditional Japanese tea ritual in neon-lit futuristic room.
39. Glass Piano Reef: Transparent piano filled with tropical fish and coral.
40. Heart Island: Floating island in shape of heart with waterfalls into clouds.

**Restoration and Editing**
41. Wedding Photo Restore: Turn blurred wedding photo into ultra-sharp editorial shot.
42. 4K Upscale: Take low-res 1990s photo and regenerate at 4K resolution.
43. Color Swap: Change car in image to electric blue with matte finish.
44. Background Replace: Move portrait subject to luxury hotel balcony overlooking Eiffel Tower.
45. People Removal: Remove background crowds from beach photo and extend sand.
46. Professional Lighting: Add studio lighting setup to dark selfie, preserve identity.
47. Watercolor Dog: Turn dog photo into artistic watercolor painting style.
48. 1890s Street Edit: Replace cars in modern photo with carriages and Victorian signs.
49. 3D Animation Style: Change style of photo to Pixar-tier 3D animation.
50. Old Memory Repair: Colorize faded black and white photo, fix scratches and tears.

Bonus Fun:

1. Toast Bread Infographic: How to toast bread, make it wacky and over the top with Rube Goldberg machines and scientific data.
2. Banana Runway: High-fashion show where models are giant realistic bananas wearing Gucci, background motion blur.
3. Jellyfish Concert: Underwater heavy metal concert with instruments made of glowing jellyfish, shark lead singer.
4. Pumpkin Penthouse: Luxury penthouse inside a giant hollowed-out pumpkin, autumn aesthetic.
5. Kitchen Time Machine: Blueprint of time machine made of kitchen appliances and duct tape with nonsensical terms.

Pro Tips for Nano Banana 2

* Use the Text Distance Rule: Specify exact words and placement relative to objects for clean layouts.
* Reference Images: Use up to 14 reference images (4 for characters, 10 for objects) to maintain consistency.
* Thinking Model: Toggle on for infographics or complex diagrams to ensure logical planning before pixels render.

I will post links to the complete library of prompts and use cases in the comments.

Get the full 500 prompt image library free with just one click at [PromptMagic.dev](http://PromptMagic.dev)

# 80,000 NOK ($7,500) drained from my Google Cloud account in 5 minutes — full forensic breakdown of how the attack worked

I want to write this up while it's fresh, because the *mechanism* of the attack is more interesting than the "I leaked a key, oops" headline — and the platform design that allowed it is something every Google Cloud user should know about.

# What happened

* May 8, 2026, evening (CET): I get a billing alert email saying I owe NOK 82,305.36 (\~$7,500 USD) on my Google Cloud account.
* My typical monthly spend: \~100 NOK ($10).
* The spike happened in roughly 5 minutes.
* All charges were on the Gemini API in a single project I'd barely touched (an old "no-code maps" project from 2017).
* An API key from that project was leaked somewhere — I'm still hunting where. Most likely an old GitHub repo or a public webpage from 2018-ish that had Gemini API enabled on its project years later (I think this is what made it exploitable — the key sat dormant, but the moment Gemini got enabled on its project, the dormant key became a Gemini-capable wallet).

# What the attacker actually did (the part nobody talks about)

I pulled the SKU-level breakdown from Billing → Reports. The attacker didn't just hit one model. They ran an automated framework that fanned out across every Gemini variant simultaneously:

* Gemini 3 Pro (text + image generation)
* Gemini 3 Flash
* Gemini 3.1 Flash Image
* Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview
* Gemini 2.5 Pro (text + TTS)
* Gemini 2.5 Flash (short + long context, multimodal)
* Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite
* Gemini 2.0 Flash TTS
* Gemini Embedding-2 + Embedding-001

15+ distinct models in 5 minutes. No human application uses 15 models in parallel. This is the signature of an automated abuse framework, almost certainly a credential-resale operation.

Token volumes:

* 1.09 BILLION input tokens on Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite alone
* 402M image input tokens on Gemini 3 Pro
* 226M text input tokens on Gemini 3 Pro
* 19.4M image output tokens on Gemini 3 Pro Image — kr 21,674 ($2,000) on this single SKU, the most expensive line item

The attacker prioritized image generation because that's where the real money is — image output tokens are 50–100x more expensive than text.

# How they bypassed rate limits (this is the architectural problem)

You'd think rate limits would protect you. They don't — at least not on Google Cloud:

* Gemini 3 Pro: 1,000 RPM
* Gemini 3 Flash: 2,000 RPM
* Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite: 4,000 RPM
* (etc., for every model — *each with its own independent quota*)

There is no per-key aggregate cap across models. If you fan out across 15 models concurrently, you cap at the *sum* — easily 30,000+ RPM combined.

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral all have per-key aggregate caps. Google does not. This is not a policy oversight — it's the core mechanism that makes a single compromised key a 5-minute, 5-figure liability.

Also: Google Cloud does not offer a hard spending cap. No "stop all spend at $X" option. The closest is a budget alert that *emails you* (after the fact), or — and this is the documented "solution" — you can write your own Cloud Function that listens to budget Pub/Sub events and programmatically disables your billing account. Yes, Google's official answer to "how do I stop runaway spending" is "deploy code on the same platform that's billing you." This has been a known gripe for years.

# What logging gave me — almost nothing

I tried every audit log query:

* `protoPayload.serviceName="generativelanguage.googleapis.com"` → empty
* `resource.type="consumed_api"` for the project → empty
* Vertex AI logs → empty

Google does not log per-request data for Gemini API key calls. No caller IP, no user-agent, no request size. The only forensic record that exists is the SKU-level billing report — and that only goes down to "model + token type", not session/request/key.

So I can't tell you who did it, where they were, or what they generated. I just know it was 15 models in parallel and 19M image output tokens.

# What I did in the first 90 minutes

* Deleted all 13 API keys on the affected project (after seeing the alert at \~01:25)
* Disabled [`generativelanguage.googleapis.com`](http://generativelanguage.googleapis.com) and [`aiplatform.googleapis.com`](http://aiplatform.googleapis.com) on every one of my 25+ projects (script via `gcloud services disable`)
* Closed all 3 billing accounts
* Called my bank, blocked the Visa
* Got into Google's billing chat queue, escalated to specialist team within 5 messages
* Case 71021804 opened, 24-48h response window
* Pulled SKU-level forensic evidence

The chat agent confirmed end-of-month billing cycle, so the actual charge attempt won't fire until \~May 28-31. By then either the specialist team has waived it, or the card-block + chargeback dispute kicks in.

# What I'm pretty sure happens next

* \~85% chance: specialist team waives the charge under the compromised-credentials policy. Google has standardized this for exactly this scenario because they know the rate-limit architecture allows it.
* \~10% chance: partial waiver / settlement.
* \~5% chance: they refuse, my bank chargeback wins it under Norwegian Finansavtaleloven (450 NOK max liability for unauthorized card use).

I'm not actually going to pay 80k. The realistic worst case is several months of paperwork.

# Lessons / PSA for everyone running Google Cloud

1. Restrict every API key at creation time. Application restriction (HTTP referrer or IP allowlist) + API restriction (only the APIs you use). An unrestricted key on a project where Gemini happens to be enabled is a wallet.
2. Audit every project for keys you've forgotten about. I had keys from 2017, 2020, 2021 — most predating Gemini's existence. The moment Gemini got enabled on those old projects, the old keys could call it.
3. Disable APIs you don't actively use. Per-project. An enabled API + an unrestricted key = exposure.
4. Set up a budget-disables-billing Cloud Function. The auto-shutdown one. Yes it's stupid that Google makes you write code for this, but it's the only real circuit breaker.
5. Don't trust rate limits. They protect Google's infrastructure, not your wallet. Per-model RPM × N models = no real cap.
6. Don't store API keys in client-side code, ever. Even if you think a project is dead.

# Where the leak came from

Honestly, I don't know yet. The project was created in 2017 (back when Google appended a numeric suffix like `-364317` to project IDs). It had 13 keys accumulated over years. One of them is somewhere out in the wild. I'll be searching GitHub history, old Vercel deployments, Wayback Machine, and screenshots over the coming days. If I find it I'll edit this post.

If anyone has run into the same multi-model abuse pattern recently, I'd love to hear about it — particularly if you have any signals on which credential-resale operations are currently active.

Edit: Will update with specialist team's response when it arrives in 24-48h.

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite will costs $0.10 / $0.40 per million input/output tokens (same as GPT 4.1 Nano).

https://x.com/artificialanlys/status/2027052241019175148?s=46