Fortnite Update Nerfs a Sneaky Skin

Fortnite players who own a particular skin called the Plastic Patroller might find that it’s not quite as useful as it once was when it comes to staying hidden from an enemy. The army green skin that turned players’ characters into toy soldiers offered an in-game advantage in certain areas, according to Epic Games‘ patch notes for the v10.10 update. The skin has now been adjusted so that it’s easier to see it when used in certain areas of the map.

Epic Games’ Art + Animation section of the v10.10 notes outlined the changes being made to the Plastic Patroller skin and why the developer decided to make these changes in the first place. To make it so that the skin isn’t a solid slab of green that could potentially blend in well with certain parts of the map, Epic Games added mud and “wear and tear” to the skin along with a brighter outline. That effect is now live in the game, so anyone who owns the skin will find that their cosmetic has been changed already.

“These changes were added to prevent this Outfit from providing a camouflage effect in certain areas of the map, which was making it very difficult to see,” Epic Games said about the change.

The whole point of these outfits is to change up players’ looks, but not at the risk of offering anyone a competitive advantage, so it makes sense that Epic Games would change this skin. Fortnite’s Plastic Patroller was added back in June though, so it’s taken a while for this change to come through.

For anyone who bought the skin solely so they could take advantage of its unintended camouflaging properties or just liked the look and isn’t happy about its new appearance, you have the option to refund the skin without using one of your remaining refund tokens. That refund option is only available for 30 days starting after the player’s first login now that the latest patch is out, and it only applies to those who purchased the skin prior to these changes.

According to the Fortnite Trello board that tracks community issues, some players aren’t able to refund the Plastic Patroller outfit right away. To fix that, players are asked to play a match at which point the option should be enabled.

Epic Games made changes to another one of Fortnite’s cosmetics recently by removing it entirely. The developer said it would take the Gunner pet out of the game and would refund anyone who purchased it after players called out the fact that it was barely a reskin of an existing item.