Fortnite loves to keep it fresh, and the changes in this patch are subtle, yet effective. In this weeks v7.30 content update, there are a few refreshing changes. No meta changes or game breaking items, just a few items that are a nice touch to current gameplay. The items enhance the experience without being overpowered or giving a player too large of an advantage.
Lynx tossing bottle rockets at the enemy // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera
Bottle rockets are a cool item with an interesting effect. With a max stack at 6, bottle rockets rain 45 rockets on the enemy over the course of nine seconds. Dealing 10 player damage and 40 environmental damage per explosion, rockets are not overpowering at all and help for pushes. The rockets are not game-breaking, but do a great job of destroying builds lightly without a boombox effect.
Epic has also limited the use of these to two per player. Since one player cannot spam 6 bottle rockets, it offers a slight advantage while allowing the enemy to still counter. This is an item that Epic needs more of; easy to counter, not overpowering and limited uses per person is a great model for items like this.
Lynx using an environmental campfire to heal // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera
Environmental campfires are a very nice touch. All of the campsites around the map, as well as a few other locations, have cozy campfires. With this update, players can now walk up to these campfires and light the logs inside to activate them. The environmental campfires do the same thing a normal campfire does, except it does not break. So far, this item seems like a convenience change and doesn’t bring too much to the table. The campfire is useful during rotation, but a lot of players will not go out of the way to use it unless there are no heals anywhere.
The change might be very viable in scrim lobbies where people are having all kinds of fights from boxes. Normally players use a regular campfire and it has the potential to get shot out. Environmental campfires do not break, so players can use them without the fear of the fire being destroyed. With only one use, the campfire is an asset late game if a player is near one, so saving that flame for the right time is crucial.
Lynx and Heidi using a launchpad to get to zone faster // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera
For smaller tweaks in the game, the one that stands out is the Launchpad tweak. Launchpads now launch players 28.5 percent higher into the air. This change is pretty big since it boosts performance by over a quarter. With this change, it further supports fans’ plea to get rid of planes and mobility in general. Grapplers and bounce pads are a thing of the past, soon planes might be too.
Rocket ammo is also down, dropping half as much ammo from ammo boxes. From 12 to 6 percent, players will have a much harder time finding rockets. This is a step in the right direction, but rocket launchers seem to be everywhere. Every late game team has at least one rocket launcher, sometimes more. Multiple launchers are very hard to counter and building against them doesn’t always work. With the deagle also being a force in the current meta, it allows for rockets to be easily slipped into builds. Destroying a wall as the rocket enters lets enemies get easy damage on the player, with very few things to counter.
A look at the pop-up cup menu after the update // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera
Not too much is changing with the pop-up cups, but Epic did revert the cups back to normal. Now players are not able to edit other player’s structures. This change is exciting to see since it changes the entire mechanic of the game.
Editing an enemy structure is a strange experience since players have never been able to do it before. It changes late game fights since players are no longer safe in one by ones. With the change finally reverted, Epic has collected enough data on the mode, and thanks the community for the feedback.
Feature Image Courtesy of @_NicholasRivera
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