Epic Games continues to nerf shotguns in Fortnite Battle Royale
By Ben Sundock
The development team at Epic Games has clearly been listening to the grumbles of the Fortnite Battle Royale community in regards to shotguns and their register rate and damage. With the release of update v5.0, the shotguns in the game have again received a nerf.
After making some slight tweaks to the rate of fire of the pump shotgun and the ammo picked up with it during Season Four, Epic has again made changes to nearly everyone’s favorite weapon. The new shotgun delay will change the way players now play even more than it did just days ago.
The full description of the changes in the v5.0 Patch Notes stated the following:
"“After firing a shotgun, another shotgun cannot be fired for a very short time. Shotguns will now indicate how many pellets hit, visible within the reticle.”"
These two changes to the weapon category make a lot of sense and shouldn’t have too many players upset when they see how exactly the guns function in game. The first change is a more drastic step to stop players from using two shotguns or more specifically, the double pump.
Instead of being able to switch back and forth between slots shooting your pump shotgun like an AA-12, a ring will appear in the middle of the screen showing the time before the weapon can be fired again. This delay is somewhere between a second or two.
Now, while the double shotgun option may still viable for some players, here is what you will soon notice.
Due to this change, from what I’ve experienced while playing and watching streamers play the game, the new META for players is a shotgun paired with either the Drum Gun or an SMG better than a gray.
The Drum (or as I call it, the Thompson), is now a more viable option in close counter fights than the pump because of its rate of fire and lack of recoil. The pump seems to be the gun of choice when flanking an opponent or using in combination with the two rapid-fire weapons I mentioned.
The other change to the shotgun department is the icon that appears when hitting a shot. Now, players can tell how many of the pellets from their gun hit their opponent, making the use of these powerful weapons less about chance and all about skill and aim.
Much like I wrote a few weeks ago, the heavy is the new go to if you want to still run with a close quarter gun that can kill enemies quickly. The number of pellets in each shot was increased from five to ten with no change or delay made.
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There is no longer a need to complain about the game being unfair or not registering a shot in a shotgun battle. This category has seen significant improvements and tweaks over the past several months and this might be the best and biggest yet.
The use of the pump, tactical, or heavy shotguns will now be entirely preference based. If you enjoy the ability to hit an opponent once and take off the majority of their health, this is still going to be your choice. But, if you like using a weapon with a high rate of fire, the SMG or Drum Gun should be your new pump shotgun.
Go out there and try out the new map and the recently altered shotguns to see what you think!