Fortnite: What Casual players can learn from Competitive weapon bans

Games like Fortnite always have two kinds of lobbies: public lobbies and competitive lobbies. While each side may decry the other for being filled with “bots” or “sweats”, these exist to give different players more options for how they want to play Fortnite.

Success in competitive modes should be based on a player’s skill, so some weapons are subject to restriction when they over perform. This gives a great opportunity to play with some real firepower where stakes are low in casual lobbies.

Fortnite: What Casual players can learn from Competitive weapon bans

No one likes losing in a game, and it certainly feels bad when you lose to the same weapon each time. In game design, there should always be a counter-strategy you can employ to combat other strategies. Having enough of these results in a healthy competitive environment, but sometimes weapons come along that warp the game around them. These could make other strategies ineffective, and it can feel like you’re wrong for not playing a certain kind of strategy.

Playing with power is a great way to learn how to play against it. If a weapon is good enough to be banned in any game mode, chances are that it’s still great where it can be played. Prioritizing these weapons for yourself can give you an opportunity to learn the best ways to use a weapon, and the ways a weapon may fall short. As of writing, the Rocket Launcher, Explosive Bow and Cuddlefish have just been banned from Competitive playlists, so you can definitely expect to encounter more enemies using them if you only play in casual modes.

Why not grab a few for yourself? Play with the Cuddlefish and Explosive Bow next time you’re in a casual lobby and figure out what makes them good enough to be banned in higher level play. It’s fun to go on a rampage with these arguably overpowered weapons, but it’s just as good of an opportunity to learn how to counter them.

In the above example, explosive weapons can help you strategize about positioning, both on the attack and when you’re being attacked. The explosion itself often doesn’t matter in terms of damage, but it sure doesn’t hurt. The take away is that you want to force your enemy to make panicked decisions and move where you can take advantage of positioning.

It’s a good philosophy to keep in mind in future seasons, too. Look for what weapons other players are talking about, or take notes of the weapons you frequently die to. Stronger weapons will, of course, keep you in the game longer, letting you hone other skills like aiming or positioning. You’ll be getting better at the game while having fun at the same time.