Fortnite Update Nerfs Rocket Spam

Fortnite's latest update added a new grenade item and another Limited Time Mode but also nerfed rocket-based weapons in a big way.

Under the Weapons + Items section of Update v4.4, there weren't many changes to be seen with just the one new item – a Stink Bomb – and the rocket nerfs. Those nerfs aren't changes that you'll want to sleep on though seeing how they change the late-game stages of Fortnite tremendously. From nerfed reload speed to the more important cap on unloaded rocket ammo, here's everything that happened to rockets and Rocket Launchers in the recent update.

• Increased the reload time of the Rocket Launcher based on rarity.
  • Rare from 2.3 seconds to 2.8.
  • Epic from 2.185 seconds to 2.66.
  • Legendary from 2.07 to 2.52.
• The maximum number of unloaded Rocket Ammo that can be held has been changed to 12.

Don't be fooled by the word "increased" that might make Fortnite Battle Royale players pass over the first part and think that it's a buff, because it's not. Rocket Launchers across the board now take longer to reload regardless of what rarity you're using. This is the smaller of the two ways that Epic Games is reducing rocket spam, the more important one being the capped ammo supply.

If you ever made it to the final stages of a match, you've probably been spammed by rockets at least once be them from a Grenade Launcher or a Rocket Launcher. Players could hold ungodly amounts of unloaded rockets that allowed them to shoot one after another in hopes of landing one to take down an opponent's structure, or better yet, splatter them all over the inside of it. If players found a wealth of rockets before the late game and made it till the end, you could bet that at least one player would be spamming everyone else with rockets. That's no longer possible though with players able to hold only what's in the weapon and 12 unloaded rockets, a drastically different ammo count than the one before.

Players have been suggesting the ammo cap nerf for a while now, so it shouldn't be too surprising that Epic Games nerfed the ammo if you've been frequenting the forums. Within the games' subreddit where Epic Games often pops in to comment, players have been suggesting the nerf for months now, often met with variations of "git gud" or "just build." Players can still work around the nerf if you're in a team-based mode and can get your teammates to hold some ammo for you, but solo players will have to find something else to spam.

Fortnite's v4.4 update is now live, and you can read about the biggest changes here.