Mobility Nerfed in Fortnite Hotfix

A new Fortnite mobility hotfix has hit the game! If you’re jumping into Battle Royale, then you’ll find a key element of the game’s balance has been moved around. The hotfix has nerfed both Shockwave Grenades and Cars. Meaning players are going to be much more grounded going forward.

The Fortnite Chapter 7 update has introduced a pretty limited number of weapons. There’s just basics really, nothing too crazy as the best Fortnite weapons anymore. It’s just the normal ARs, Shotguns, SMG. Which means everyone needs to find something much more minor to complain about, and lately it has been Shockwaves.

An item that’s been around for Chapters now and it’s kind of key to the mobility/builds/combat balance in a lot of Fortnite gams. But since the other mobility item, the Wingsuit, is pretty dully players have turned on the Shocks. They’ve been the source of complaints since the season launched with players unhappy that enemies can get away. With the Fortnite mobility hotfix they’ll be a little less powerful though. This is what’s changed with this little update:

Fortnite Mobility Hotfix Hits Shocks

The Winterfest event in Fortnite began earlier this week, it basically locks in a meta for a couple of weeks. Players get a few free presents. But along with that, the game stays the same in its meta for a few weeks. As we cover the break for Fortnite’s developments, the game stays as is. First though, we’ve seen a little hotfix has come to the game. A Fortnite mobility hotfix to make Shocks and Cars a bit less powerful on the map.

The Shocks will now drop considerably less from any place. Their spawn rate has been reduced by 33%. This is after a similar reduction earlier in the month. The Shocks should be considerably rarer now. Although, the loot pool is still small. So, there will still be quite a few. They can hit the ground from chests, just as floor loot, they come from tons of places so there will always be some out there.

The way they operate won’t change either. Players can still use them to run away if they collect enough of them. With the new Jumping ADS feature, players can shoot as they shock too. It’ll just be a little trickier to find them with the Fortnite mobility hotfix.

Cars Changing Too

The other major change in the Fortnite mobility hotfix is to cars. These have been rarer overall on the new map in general. The cars will use less fuel now, 15% in total. However, the bigger change is to their health. it’s been reduced in every Fortnite mode. Although, there’s still that bug with tracking their health. The game’s new UI doesn’t always work right. For some games the old UI shows up in some areas. In others, the car’s health bar just doesn’t show up. You have to guess based on how damage it looks! Which will be trickier now the car health has been changed.

Cars are going to be much easier to blow up in the game from now on. Between this and shocks, it’s a clear hit at mobility. But not really one that’s big enough to majorly change the meta. Especially considering major Fortnite tournaments aren’t happening this season. Fewer oppertunities to show off those new car skins either.

How Much Will This Change the Meta?

How much will the Fortnite mobility hotfix actually change things? For Shocks, it’s going to be annoying.

Whenever a balance change is to make something rarer, not weaker, it’s frustrating. It just means the players who luck out with RNG will have an advantage that fewer players get. Yet, this is currently Epic’s favorite way to deal with items players don’t like. Just make it rarer, so a small handful of players can dominate.

The cars on the other hand is a more welcome change. Bringing their health back down helps make them a bit squishier again. These were tuned up for what players assumed was a limited time with the car based Fortnite season. But since their extra health, they have felt increasingly overpowered on the map. Which has been felt since they got rarer. Making them easier to destroy again should help things out.

Fortnite will never get rid of mobility entirely. it’s a pretty key part of the game’s meta. Players can move around and get away if they need too. But the storm will pull them all in together later. With the Fortnite mobility hotfix, there will still be ways to get around. it’s just a bit more RNG based.