Epic isn’t planning on resting on its laurels. The developer has just announced a brand-new Fortnite SMG nerf to introduce more balance to one of the battle royale’s set of most overpowered weapons. Both the Compact SMG and the Drum Gun have been effected by the hotfix balance update, with a considerable nerf being delivered for each weapon. We’ll go through them in detail below and have a quick look at how that affects the game and you, the player.
Fortnite SMG Nerf: What’s Changed in the New Balance Update?
For this, it’s best to relay the official patch notes from the Epic website:
Compact SMG
- Reduced damage from 22/21 to 21/20
- Reduced magazine size from 50 to 40
Drum Gun
- Reduced falloff range damage from 80% to 70% at 3500 units
- Reduced falloff range damage from 65% to 55% at 5000+ units
- Added environmental damage fall off matching player damage fall off
- Decreased jumping accuracy by 5%
- Decreased targeting accuracy by 10%
- Reduced spawn rate from chests and floor loot by 40%
While the Compact SMG hasn’t dwindled too much in terms of pure firepower (which may upset a few Fortnite purists), the same can’t be said for the Drum Gun, which has taken a considerable nerf.
Falloff damage has dropped by 10 percent, with the accuracy while moving and aiming also taking a hit. The biggest change, however, is that there are just going to be far fewer Drum Guns in the game. A whopping 40 percent drop in the spawn rate means the Drum Gun will become quite the commodity, despite its reduced effectiveness.
When Does the Fortnite SMG Nerf Go Live?
While this isn’t an official update from Epic, the Fortnite SMG Nerf, as well as a few changes to building in-game, has just gone live. You won’t need to update anything or download a hotfix for these additions to be included in your game. Happy hunting for that Drum Gun – you’re gonna need it!
