Another Fortnite update arrives with more weapon changes

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Fortnite gold weapons
Shotguns are weaker but damage traps are back!
Photo: Epic Games

Epic Games is rolling out another Fortnite Battle Royale update with big weapon changes.

It is the second patch to arrive this week after bouncer traps and other weapon tweaks were introduced on Wednesday. This release focuses on reducing shotgun damage for both the pump and tactical variants, and reversing the decrease recently made to trap damage.

Epic has also confirmed it will be sending the jetpack to the vault this month.

We’ve gotten used to regular Fortnite updates that add new content, tweak gameplay, and improve performance — but we normally get only one each week. This week, Epic has rolled out two patches in as many days. Its latest is now available across all platforms, including iOS.

Shotgun damage reduced

Shotguns are a big focus in this update. “For a while we felt that Shotguns promoted healthy close quarter gameplay, however with the recent equip time changes, Shotguns are being used more often than we like,” Epic explains in its patch notes.

“It’s something we’ve been keeping an eye on, but broadly speaking we feel Shotguns are a little too strong in their current state.” So, that state has been changed.

Epic has reduced pump shotgun damage from 90/95 to 80/85, while the headshot multiplier has dropped from 2.5 to 2.0. The headshot multiplier for the tactical shotgun has also been reduced from 2.5 to 2.0.

Epic has also (finally) acknowledged that while the shotguns may be strong, they can also be incredibly inconsistent. So many players feel the urge to break things when they hit someone with a pump up-close, only to take away 9 damage.

“Shotgun consistency across the board is also something we’re looking into and aim to improve,” Epic says. “We want to make it more apparent when you hit or miss a shot. In addition to that, making sure the accuracy is more consistent and improving other odd behaviors with the weapon is a top priority.”

Trap damage increased

Epic has reversed its decision to decrease trap damage to 75, so traps now deal 150 damage again as they did before. This should make it a lot easier for those who are still trying to complete the trap challenge for week four of season four.

The reduction in trap damage “was done in an effort to better understand the impact traps have throughout a matc,” Epic explains. “The change sparked a great deal of excellent discussion about traps and we are going to lean more into improving their effectiveness.”

Increasing damage back to 150 certainly helps.

The jetpack is disappearing

The jetpack, introduced to Battle Royale in late May, has been fun to play around with. However, most players would agree it’s a little overpowered — especially when combined with a rocket launcher. As a result, the jetpack is going into the vault on June 11, Epic has confirmed.

Epic may bring the jetpack back later after some tweaks, it says, but for now it’s disappearing.

You can read Epic’s complete patch notes for both of this week’s updates on the Fortnite blog.

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