Epic dropped a huge patch for Fortnite that will dramatically scale back the effectiveness of the controversial B.R.U.T.E. mechs that players have complained about since their addition in Season 10. The adjustment shows that Epic listens to fan feedback but still believes in the viability of the mech concept in gameplay.
When Epic's huge Season 10 Fortnite patch dropped at the beginning of August, it brought some new mechs for players to pilot called B.R.U.T.E.. Two of the large mechanical suits drop in random places at the beginning of each Fortnite match and they require two players to pilot them properly. The mechs have proven difficult to take down and give an edge to the players who find them.
Players immediately took issue with the addition of B.R.U.T.E. to Fortnite. They criticized the hulking monstrosities for being way overpowered and removing the skill factor from the game. Folks piloting them easily dominated matches. Games became a race to the mechs and players who missed out felt like they didn't have a chance. Many fans demanded the mechs get severely nerfed or removed entirely.
At first, Epic defended the B.R.U.T.E. with a statistical analysis that claimed the machines didn't have a measurable effect on the way Fortnite matches played out. But now, it seems that the fan outcry has forced Epic to make some big changes to the mechs. In a post on their website, they detailed a patch that has already gone live in Fortnite.
The patch has, on average, scaled back the B.R.U.T.E. effectiveness in Fortnite by half. Starting with rockets, The BRUTE can now only fire 6 on a single charge rather than 10. Also, the rocket fire rates has dropped by 56%, which Epic claims will balance the back and forth between the mech and its opponents. Finally, the radius of the rockets' explosions has reduced by 40%, which Epic hopes will preserve the weapon's effectiveness against structures, but lessen the effectiveness against opponents.
The team has also made some mobility changes to the B.R.U.T.E. The machine's air velocity gain has decreased by 33% and the dash cooldown has increased from 3 seconds to 5 seconds. Epic hopes this will force B.R.U.T.E. players to make more strategic decisions when piloting the machines. They want to curtail the mech's ability to quickly close the gap between it and the opponent. Epic also scaled back the spawn rates for the B.R.U.T.E.
For the sake of balance, Epic did give the mech one small buff. Because of the more strategic approach mech pilots must take with the new adjustments, they decided to raise the damage value required to take the machine down. The B.R.U.T.E. now has a health of 1250, up from 1000.
It always feels good to see a developer respond directly to player concerns about a feature. Hopefully these changes will quell the fan outcry and the rage quitting that happen as a result of Fortnite's B.R.U.T.E.
Fortnite is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
Source: Epic
