Fortnite just got its biggest patch in weeks, and there are lot of changes and improvements for players to look forward to in version 9.40.
Highlights include new, more powerful variants of the tactical shotgun, and the reintroduction of the bolt-action sniper rifle. Epic Games has also added support for Bluetooth microphones on iPhone and iPad.
Epic employees recently enjoyed a two-week vacation, so only minor Fortnite content updates were rolled out over the past few weeks. Now they’re back, bigger weekly updates have resumed.
Fortnite 9.40 doesn’t disappoint.
Look out for Fortnite’s new tactical shotguns
Battle Royale players will now find new epic and legendary variants of the tactical shotgun. With a higher maximum damage of 83/87, these versions of the weapon better compete with the combat and pump shotguns.
The new variants fire 1.5 shots per second and hold eight shells at a time. They have a headshot multiplier of 2.25, and can be found in chests, supply drops, loot carriers, vending machines, and on the floor.
The bolt-action sniper rifle has now returned to Battle Royale following a brief appearance during the 14 Days of Fortnite event. It’s available in rare, epic, and legendary variants, and it replaces the suppressed sniper rifle.
This week’s biggest gameplay changes
There is a long list of gameplay changes that Fortnite players will need to adjust to this week. But as far as I can tell, they’re all good changes that are mostly designed to fix frustrating issues in Battle Royale.
Here are some of the biggest ones:
- Picking up an item that fills a stack and creates an overflow will no longer result in the currently equipped item being dropped.
- Instead of causing the currently-equipped weapon to be dropped, the overflow will be dropped.
- Players will now automatically pick up a consumable if it is already in their inventory and not maxed out.
- If the auto pickup fills a stack, the overflow will be dropped.
- Players can now pick up items more easily when standing on top of them.
- Bushes no longer block players from being healed by a Chug Splash.
- The Chug Splash now properly auto-sorts to the rightmost inventory slot when picked up, like other consumables.
- If a player using a Shadow Bomb enters a vehicle, the Shadow Bomb effect will no longer remain active after the effect should have ended.
- Fixed an issue in which players would experience abnormally slow gliding after using a Rift-to-Go.
- Consumables associated with a bar (Shield Potion, Med Kit, etc.) are now consistently usable by players riding a Zipline.
This week’s mobile improvements
In addition to all these changes, there are some nice improvements on mobile. A new Edit from Touch settings lets you enable or disable editing from touches, and Bluetooth microphones are now supported for voice chat.
The complete list of changes is too big to list here, but if you’re interested in reading through it, you can find it on the official Fortnite blog. The version 9.40 update is available now across all platforms.
