The controversial guided missile launcher weapon will make its return to Fortnite: Battle Royale, Epic Games revealed in a developer’s update video.
The manually-controlled rocket launcher made its debut in the mode last March in the 3.5 update and spawned plenty of videos of cooperative rocket riding and unsuspecting kills. The weapon was vaulted almost a month later after players criticized the strength of the weapon and devolving the end of matches into missile fights from all directions.
“When the guided missile first made its way to Battle Royale, we loved all the fun and crazy moments it provided,” senior designer Andrew Bains said in the video. “But after its release we shared the same concerns as the Fortnite community at large: it’s hard to compete against a near-endless barrage of highly effective explosives.”
Bains explained the guided missile will be used more as a “scouting tool” than a destructive rocket launcher. The returning weapon will have reduced movement speed, turning radius, damage, and damage radius. It will also abide by the current explosive ammo cap at 12 rockets. No exact date was announced for its return, though Bains said it would be slated as the “next item release.”
Bains also gave more insight for the SMG balance changes made earlier this week in the video, saying that the weapon class was designed to be an alternative to the shotgun in close-quarters combat and had outperformed in “damage output and engagement distance.” The studio is also considering changes for the C4 remote explosives with a reduced drop rate and max carrying size.
