'Fortnite' Is Adding Epic and Legendary Pump Shotguns

Epic Games is adding two more Pump Shotgun variants to Fortnite with an in-game message confirming Epic and Legendary versions of the weapon are on the way.

Fortnite players noticed that the game's message system which alerts people of new and upcoming content had been updated to say the more powerful versions of the Pump Shotgun are coming. The text with the image below didn't impart any more information aside from confirming the Epic and Legendary variants would be added, but it appears the new takes on the Pump Shotgun are modeled after the real-life Spas-12 that players will recognize from other games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Legendary Pump Shotgun in news! from r/FortNiteBR

No release date for the new shotgun variants was given, but it's expected that they'll be added in the game's next update. Fortnite has no shortage of different types of shotguns with other weapons like the Tactical, Heavy, and Double Barrel Shotgun all in the game, so there's a chance something could be vaulted to make way for the two new Pump Shotgun variants. Either the Heavy or Double Barrel Shotgun being vaulted seems like the most likely options, if anything is even vaulted at all, but there's always the chance these guns could make a return if they are indeed taken away.

Pump Shotguns have been some of Fortnite's more controversial items with players at times using them to great success by bypassing the "pump" part of the gun when they switched to a second Pump Shotgun. More recently, players have had concerns about how effective the weapons were, but Epic Games already has plans for Pump Shotguns in the next update.

Eric Williamson, design lead for Fortnite Battle Royale, said on Twitter around a week ago that the 6.31 update would include a Pump Shotgun rebalance to make the weapons more effective. With those changes and the new Pump Shotgun variants, players should prepare to see many more Pump Shotgun users when the next update releases.

The upcoming 6.31 update will include a Pump Shotgun rebalance to improve effectiveness: damage will increase in close quarters and range will be reduced slightly. Additionally, ALL shotguns will have a minimum damage of 3 pellets (even if only 1 or 2 hit).

— Eric Williamson (@erwil9) November 20, 2018

A release time for the 6.31 update hasn't been announced yet, but Epic Games should share the information for the scheduled downtime sometime before the update is released.