Battle Royale Updates - Duos, Supply Drops, and Weapon Accuracy

03.10.2017
Yazar: The Fortnite Team

Hi folks,

Wow, what a great response to Fortnite Battle Royale!  Here’s an update.

DUOS
Duos will release in most regions with this release. We want to make sure that adding a new playlist doesn't make the experience less enjoyable so stay tuned for more updates on the status of Duos in your region.

Bring a friend and let the duos begin!
Duos_Screenshot.png
SUPPLY DROPS
Supply Drops are back! ! We tried once, but couldn’t quite stick the landing. We fixed those issues and we’re excited for them to return.

Supply Drops are more likely to contain rare weapons and items that you want in a pinch. They’re also a hot zone for attention, so planning how to grab one is important. Watch the skies for those supplies.

SupplyDrop_Screenshot.png

WEAPON ACCURACY
Almost all of our weapons are hitscan (Sniper Rifles are the exception). That means when you fire, there is no travel time and the target is hit instantaneously. We initially started with very high accuracy on our weapons. This often led to being shot by someone who you couldn’t see, making crossing open fields too risky. It led to more conservative play, and camping became dominant. 
It also didn’t differentiate the weapons well – if a Pistol can kill people at the same range as a Rifle, were there enough other differences? Engagement strategy is a key component of our combat (including building walls), and if you don’t have time to defensively respond to being shot, we lose out on what Fortnite’s building brings to the table.

Quickly after, we did some iterations with aggressive fall-off damage (as a lot of you have already suggested). There were three main concerns we had with this model:

  1. It felt unnatural to hit a far-away target with a rifle but do far lower damage
  2. It was unclear at what distances your damage would be reduced
  3. It was still difficult to respond since you couldn’t see who was shooting at you

As a result, we set a couple key goals with our combat:

  • Goal #1 – Pistol sniping at long range should not be possible.
  • Goal #2 – Our weapons should have characteristics that encourage a wide range of engagements based on: distance to target, target type, ammo availability, etc.

This meant us