This player was able to take advantage of the rapidly changing meta in Fortnite to qualify for the Fortnite World Cup. Here’s how he did it.
Which player are we talking about? The French professional player Duong “Kinstaar” Huynh qualified for the Fortnite World Cup 2019 in both solo and duo modes. He plays for the top French team Solary. It was an advantage for him that Fortnite frequently changes the meta.
These meta changes during major tournaments usually cause frustration among professionals.
The website Dotesports interviewed the pro Kinstaar.
This is how Kinstaar leveraged the changes to his advantage: Kinstaar played a lot of Fortnite to understand how the changes impact the game. He anticipated patches that would completely overturn the meta.
After each patch that altered the meta, he played a lot of matches. It was important for him to fully understand what a new patch meant for Fortnite. He prepared intensely for the new situations in the game.
“It doesn’t surprise us that Epic adds or removes items and weapons during the tournament. It is frustrating nonetheless,” says Kinstaar. “The updates usually came on Tuesdays or Thursdays, which meant we had less than a week to learn the new meta.”
- Two days before Week 5 of the Fortnite World Championship, there were major changes, when Epic Games put the Pump Shotgun in the Vault
- Shortly before Week 6, Epic was forced to disable all vehicles in competitive modes (including the World Championship qualifiers)
When the vehicles were disabled, Kinstaar saw his chance.
“That was the moment I understood that I had to seize my chance. Because I practically never use vehicles in the game, and I should give it my all,” says Kinstaar, recalling that he was still missing 8 points for qualification in Week 5.
By Week 6, Epic Games had not resolved the issues with vehicles. In Week 6, he played with his duo partner Coretin “Hunter” Tardif. The two realized that their chance had come to qualify for the finals.
“We’ve been playing this game since the beginning. It’s our playground, especially without vehicles.” So for them, the meta change came at just the right time, Epic was playing into their hands.
Did Kinstaar make it to the finals? The two players finished fourth as a duo in Week 6 of the European qualifiers with 89 points. Thus, they are now in the duo finals of the Fortnite World Championship.
A week later, Kinstaar also reached the finals of the World Championship in solo ranking. He qualified with 59 points. The vehicles were back in the game by then.
The meta is currently almost perfect, says the pro. “The semi-auto sniper and the burst SMG should go into the vault,” he adds.
Kinstaar and Hunter had a strong finish in Week 8, taking first place and taking home $10,000.
“Epic should pay more attention to the community”
This is the problem: Despite the chaotic item changes during the tournaments, Kinstaar was able to qualify for the World Cup. It is always challenging for players to adjust to such significant changes during ongoing tournaments.
Suddenly, vehicles that were crucial to their tactics are missing from the game. Or weapons they practiced extensively with are unexpectedly removed. Because Epic felt like it and believes they don’t fit the meta. Kinstaar thinks that Epic could do more to avoid the chaos.
This would be his solution: “They should pay more attention to the community,” says Kinstaar, adding that professional players should be the focus for Epic.
After all, it was also the professionals who first noted that the Kugler was far too strong. Epic then recognized the issues and lowered the Kugler’s hit points.
As a solution for the chaotic patches, Kinstaar suggests there should be different rules for professional and casual matches.
The meta is currently almost perfect, says the pro. “The semi-auto sniper and the burst SMG should go into the vault,” he adds.
