In Fortnite: Battle Royale the shotgun “Pumpgun” has been removed from the game and has been replaced by a new pump called “Combat Shotgun”.
What is the new shotgun? Since Update 9.0 the new Combat Shotgun has been in the game. The weapon has the rarities “Rare”, “Epic”, and “Legendary”. So it’s not found at every corner.
It deals 73/77/81 damage and has a headshot multiplier of 1.7. This means that it can deal a maximum of 138 damage with a headshot. That’s significantly less than the old Pumpgun. The old one dealt 200 damage on a headshot and thus resulted in insta-kills.
However, the new weapon can shoot faster, has less spread, and a larger magazine that can hold 10 rounds and always loads 2 shells at a time.
What happened to the old shotgun? In return, the old Pumpgun was removed from the game. It was at most “Rare”, shot slower, and dealt a maximum of 200 damage on headshots.
This led to absurd kill rates in the statistics. 26 percent of all kills are said to have been credited to the Pump.
Therefore, Epic has now taken action and removed the Pumpgun from the game. The new Combat Shotgun essentially replaces it.
Fans find Epic’s decision stupid
This is how the community reacts to the removal of the Pumpgun: As soon as it became clear that the shotgun was out, there were angry reactions from fans. The Pumpgun was a legendary weapon from the beginning, and its disappearance was a slap in the face for many.
On our site MeinMMO users are complaining about the situation:
- User Kevko Bangz says: “First, bring back the dumbest weapon of the spray-and-pray meta (yes, I know it was the community) and then remove pumps. I don’t get where Epic wants to go.”
- Sentcore says: “The first significant weapon change that really pisses me off… “
Also on Reddit the mood is tense:
- I woke up to play Season 9, saw that in the patch notes, and went back to bed immediately!”
- “Hopefully, we can choose to get the old weapon back later!”
- “Pumpguns are gone? Epic is completely losing it now!”
Rather, many fans had wished for the tactical shotgun to be removed from the game. Instead, their favorite, the Pumpgun, was kicked out.
Even professionals like Zayt and Chap could not believe that the shotgun was removed, especially ahead of the World Championship, which will still take place in Season 9 and will certainly be held without the Pumpgun.
How is the new shotgun received by fans? The new shotgun, on the other hand, is viewed with great anger by many players on Reddit. The damage is poor, and you can no longer score insta-headshot kills.
Is the new weapon really that bad? That remains to be seen. Because right now, many fans are simply still baffled and angry about the removal of the old pump. However, some players have already found advantages of the new weapon.
The range of the weapon is indeed very strong. As seen in a video from Reddit, it can still reliably demolish cover at long distances.
The combat shotgun range is actually insane from r/FortNiteBR
Other fans on Reddit praise the large magazine and the fast follow-up. With the new weapon, you can reliably farm kills. You just need a new strategy and can’t rely solely on a good headshot as a lucky shot.
It will still be seen how the new weapon finds its place in the meta or if Epic has to change everything back.
The new shotgun is not the only controversial weapon. The returned drum gun is still present in Season 9 and divides the players.
