In a recent developer update for Fortnite, Epic Games has addressed some of the recent changes made to Battle Royale as well as a few items that will be making a return.
Following all of the drama surrounding SMGs, including the most recent Compact SMG, Epic has provided some reasoning behind their most recent nerfs to the weapons.
"The goal with SMGs is to provide a viable alternative to shotguns when it comes to close quarters combat. Unlike the burst damage of a shotgun that rewards timing and precision, SMGs should support a run-and-gun playstyle for those who prefer to hold down the trigger as they track down the target," explained Epic's Andrew Bains. Of course, anyone who played with the P90 Compact SMG on release probably realized how ridiculously overpowered it was. Epic acted swiftly in nerfing not only the Compact SMG, but the standard Submachine Gun as well. If you missed it, you can read all of the changes here. Epic says they'll continue to monitor the performance of SMGs in Battle Royale.
In the developer update, Epic also addressed two controversial explosive weapons. The first is Remote Explosives, which recently received a nerf to its damage radius to structures.
"We've recently reduced the radius at which the charge of remote explosives can damage structures and made a change that requires the charge to stick to something before it can be detonated. With those changes, remote explosives are in a healthier spot but still hitting their goal of providing significant destruction towards structures that comes at the cost of some more forethought and risk of execution," Bains said.
Unfortunately for Remote Explosive lovers, more changes are on the way. Coming as early as update 5.2 (probably on Tuesday), Epic will possibly reduce the drop count and max stack size of Remote Explosives as well as the rate in which they will drop as loot in the game world.
And finally, Epic is finally ready to unleash the newly revamped Guided Missile. According to Epic, the Guided Missile will no longer serve as a "high damage threat," but instead return as more of a "scouting tool." When the Guided Missile returns it will have reduced movement speed, reduced turning radius, reduced damage and damage radius and the ammo cap of just 12 rockets in the game default modes. Epic has also improved the movement control for mouse and keyboard to bring them more in line with the controller experience. It's unclear when Guided Missiles will return exactly, but it certainly seems soon - perhaps with update 5.2 as well.
What do you think of all of the changes made and coming to Fortnite Battle Royale?