Fortnite underwent a drastic change earlier this month when Epic Games removed one of the battle royale game's most unique, and controversial features. Chapter 3, Season 2 saw the removal of building in Fortnite, a move that sparked all sorts of debate online.
Initial beliefs were that the removal of building was only temporary as part of the story for Chapter 3, Season 2. But as dataminers soon discovered, the no build option could potentially become permanent.
Epic confirmed the speculation this week, officially announced Fortnite Zero Build. The new game mode can be found in the Discover page and features Solo, Duos, Trios, and Squads playlists. It includes all of the same features as the standard battle royale version of Fortnite, minus building, of course. To make up for the lack of building, Epic has added overshields, mantling and a faster sprint speed.
Show off your sharp shooting, sharp thinking, and sharp sense of space as you take on the battle full-tilt! As a defense in the absence of builds, players have the recharging Overshield in Zero Build.
At this point, there's still no building in the main battle royale portion of Fortnite, although the feature is likely to return in the near future. It's still currently available in the competitive, Arena, Creative and Team Rumble modes.
While many have praised Epic's decision to add a no build version of Fortnite, there are some concerns that the additional playlist could fracture the community and result in longer queue times. However, it's equally possible that the removal of building could attract new players who were previously intimidated by the feature.