In Fortnite , a major wish of eSport players was fulfilled with the last update, 9.30. The professionals had long seen the weapon “Boom Bow” as a thorn in their sides. It was a “noob weapon” and in their eyes, lowered the skill gap in Fortnite.
These weapons were removed: In the Patch 9.30 last week, 3 weapons were removed from Fortnite:
- the Boom Bow
- the Dual Pistols
- and Dynamite
These weapons went into Fortnite’s “vault”, meaning they are no longer in the active item pool for the time being.
Gone but never forgotten. #Rip ? pic.twitter.com/S0r60HAF7q
— Fortnite Funny (@FortniteFunny) June 18, 2019
That’s why this is a big deal: The reactions to the patch in forums like Reddit are generally positive. Overall, it is said to be “the best patch” in a long time. Apparently, the patch benefits players who play Fortnite “seriously” and “with ambition”.
Especially the removal of the Boom Bow was welcomed in the eSports scene of Fortnite. Because the weapon was seen by some as massively “overpowered.”
The Boom Bow was considered an ideal weapon to shoot from outside into fights. Because a blue dot on the ground could exactly show where the shot would land.
Furthermore, the weapon caused “splash damage”. This means you did not have to aim precisely, but it was enough for the shotgun arrow to hit near the opponents to inflict 100 damage on them.
Enough to kill a player who had no shield active.
This mainly bothered the players: From the perspective of “competitive players”, the eSports professionals and ambitious players, the Boom Bow was extremely lenient towards poor shooters.
Even with missed shots, shooters were hard to locate, the weapon loaded quickly and granted another shot.
The professional players criticized that this bow “lowered” the skill gap and made it easier for “weaker players” to get kills.
Kills with the Boom Bow should rather be achieved with the “heavy sniper rifle”, which would bring more disadvantages, in their opinion.
Many also like this change: The patch also removed the delay when aiming with shotguns if the player only carries a shotgun.
Many see this as a positive change that increases the skill gap again. Because strong players can quickly switch to the shotgun and finish off an opponent instead of reloading another weapon that has been fired empty.
Casual players see it clearly as a weakening for themselves
So others react: What brings joy to one, causes pain to another.
In the Reddit forum, a player complains that Epic removed the “Boom Bow”.
Epic would have succumbed to the will of the “Pro Community”, which would have forced Epic to remove one of the most fun items that they ever created in Fortnite.
That’s what it’s about: Just before the finals of the World Cup qualifiers, Epic once again changes the meta with the patch and complies with the will of the professionals.
Another example that the battle between “pros” and “casuals” in Fortnite is still raging.
