Fortnite Rail Gun fixes major flaw from Season 4

I’ve made it so secret that I disliked Chapter 2 Season 4. Even as a Marvel fan, I didn’t like how omnipresent the crossover was. It was integral for the season, obviously, since it was all Marvel based. Appearances aside, the season had some innovative weapons that I’m excited to see return: the rail gun and the pulse rifle.

Fortnite Rail Gun fixes major flaw from Season 4

How do you unvault a crossover weapon? In C2S4, they were known as Iron Man’s Unibeam and the Stark Industries Rifle. With so much of their identity tied to the Marvel franchise, I was worried I’d never see them again. Fortnite often gets weird weapons to coincide with various crossover event, and the Marvel themed season had them in spades. The Unibeam was a favorite of mine, since it could shred through structures and get some decisive kills if you could aim it properly.

Unfortunately, having the Unibeam as a normal loot drop seems to have upset the balance of the game, especially in competitive playlists. In C2S4, this weapon’s destructive capabilities came at a cost: you could only get it by defeating Iron Man, a formidable boss enemy in his own right. Now, scoring this effect from a chest seems to have made it dominate the upper tiers of competitive.

In casual lobbies, the rail gun is still here, along with the pulse rifle. It functions exactly like how the Stark Rifle did, shooting rapidly with normal fire or slower and more precisely when aiming down sights. With the much loved Infantry Rifle vaulted since last season, this is a suitable replacement.

The alien invasion theme was a perfect opportunity to bring back some of the weirder weapons and Epic Games seized the opportunity. To me, this is a way of correcting a mistake and turning it into something great. My only qualm here is that the rail gun is a Mythic level weapon that’s far too common right now. If the rail gun returns in later seasons I’d want it to go the way of the rocket launcher, with only Epic and higher rarities available.