Fortnite Hotfix Vaults Combat Shotgun, Nerfs Mechs Again

Epic Games released another sizable hotfix for Fortnite that's taken away two shotguns and has nerfed the B.R.U.T.E. mechs even more. The hotfix was released on Thursday and comes not long after the v10.20 Content Update was released. A quick look at the contents of the hotfix shows that it's taken a swing at several areas of the game players have voiced dissatisfaction with, one of the most notable changes being less mechs stomping around during the later stages of a game.

Before getting to those new spawn rates for the B.R.U.T.E. mechs detailed in Epic Games' patch notes, it's worth acknowledging the weapons that are now vaulted and one weapon which has made a return. Gone are the Combat Shotguns, Drum Shotguns, and Proximity Launchers now that Epic Games has decided to vault those. The Suppressed Assault Rifle which comes in both Epic and Legendary variants has inversely been unvaulted, and the Automatic Sniper now does more damage across each of its rarities.

As for the mechs, players who make it into Storm phases three through six will notice a different spawn rate in all of Fortnite's core modes.

"With this change, we're hoping to reduce the impact of B.R.U.T.Es on late-game scenarios, while retaining their presence in the early game," Epic Games' patch notes said.

Below are all the changes affecting the mechs now that the hotfix is out, but do note that the Arena spawn rates have not been changed.

We released a hotfix containing some balance changes.

For all the details, check out our blog post: https://t.co/qYkXxOuWnj

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) September 5, 2019

Storm phase 3

• New spawn rates
  • 3% chance to spawn 0
  • 3% chance to spawn 1
  • 3% chance to spawn 2
• Old spawn rates
  • 25% chance to spawn 0
  • 25% chance to spawn 1
  • 25% chance to spawn 2
  • 25% chance to spawn 3

Storm phase 4

• New spawn rates
  • 50% chance to spawn 0
  • 50% chance to spawn 1
• Old spawn rates
  • 3% chance to spawn 0
  • 3% chance to spawn 1
  • 3% chance to spawn 2

Storm phase 5

• New spawn rates
  • 4% chance to spawn 0
  • 6% chance to spawn 1
• Old spawn rates
  • 50% chance to spawn 0
  • 50% chance to spawn 1

Storm phase 6

• New spawn rates
• Will no longer spawn.
• Old spawn rates
  • 90% chance to spawn 0
  • 10% chance to spawn 1

Also included in the update was a change that increased the duration of Peppers' effects from 20 seconds to 60 seconds. Acquiring loot from the returned Retail Row is also a bit risker now that Obelisks have been nerfed overall.

Fortnite's v10.20.2 hotfix is live across all platforms, so players can now hop into the game's various modes to see how the changes feel.