Fortnite Battle Royale is all the rage. However, the PvE mode “Save the World” has languished in a niche existence for months and has supposedly seen little improvement. That is changing now quietly, believes our author Schuhmann. The game has now tackled its biggest problem: The progression system with the loot llamas.
Fortnite PvE hype in 2017: Fortnite was briefly a hit in the summer of 2017. “Save the World” stormed onto a barren field. There wasn’t much going on in the gaming summer back then. The wild genre mix of shooting, looting, and building made for some fun hours in co-op. But this hit status didn’t last long.
Fortnite 2017: Loot shooter without loot
Why did it go quiet around Fortnite in 2017? Normally, one would think about a loot shooter that you can acquire items from the world. That is also true for Fortnite, but they do not bring much:
- Weapons you find break quickly. Players cannot repair them.
- Traps you find on the way can only be used once and then they are gone.
The actual loot can’t be found in the game itself, rather you have to earn it through “loot llamas.” These are purchasable loot boxes tied to player progress. The currency for that, the V-Bucks, can be laboriously grinded for free or bought for real money. Many players did not like that.
Fortnite was hot in July, already nearly dead in August
Fortnite had exactly the progression system that players would have almost crucified EA for months before Star Wars Battlefront 2. In Fortnite, such a shitstorm was avoided – Fortnite simply flattened out after a few weeks in July. By August, Fortnite was almost dead. It only became interesting again in September when Battle Royale was released.
How did Fortnite come up with this idea? The Chinese gaming giant Tencent had invested in Epic. Their system for “Free2Play Mobile RPGs” was used for the shooter. The system cost quite a lot for some. We reported back then of a case where someone said: “I spent $1500 and got the wrong hero.”
What has changed now?
- With the comet patch 4.0 Epic has almost halved the prices. What previously cost 100 V-Bucks is now available for 50. Many packages that used to cost 350 V-Bucks have been reduced to 200. To compensate players, they gave them troll treasure llamas. Those who invested heavily beforehand are reported to have opened up to 300 llamas in the end. That certainly took days.
- Additionally, an “Event Shop” was already introduced to Fortnite before, allowing players to purchase loot for in-game currencies. This gives players something to “play toward” so they can securely buy the special item. There are also mythic heroes here that wear popular skins from Battle Royale. Currently, there’s a raven skin available for about 3200 seasonal gold as a hero.
- Moreover, with patch 4.0 the idea has now come that mini-bosses can drop loot, including sketches that players can actually keep.
Fortnite 2018: Save the World significantly improved overall
Save the World is overall improving: Although many complain that “Save the World” stands in the shadow of Battle Royale and not much is happening there, some reasonable changes have indeed come in recent weeks and months:
- They introduced mounts with hoverboards
- Sprinting no longer costs energy
- Players can now carry many more resources
- Regular new quest lines are being added. So fast that one can hardly keep up.
- Additionally, Epic is solving problems in Fortnite “Save the World” just as quickly, consistently, and generously as in PvP.
What is still planned? With patch 4.2 the possibility to reroll weapon perks is coming. This is important to add more depth to the game.
What does the community say: They are pretty happy and thank for all that has happened recently.
What does Epic say? They say on reddit: It clicked after the dragon weapon crisis and they realized what needed to change and be done.
Is Save the World going to be free soon? Save the World is supposed to become free in 2018. A specific date has not yet been set.
