Introducing Bots
Things Fortnite Got Right in Chapter 2
For most of Chapter 1, Fortnite players were all thrown into lobbies at random. There was no skill rating system at play, and matchmaking started to struggle to fill games with 100 players as the install base began to fall from its dizzying heights around the Season 5-era.
Introducing bots was a risky move on the part of Epic Games. In theory, its argument was sound. By implementing a skill-based matchmaking system, those at the top of the skill curve could face-off against one another and bots would seldom be seen. Newcomers and those of a low skill level would be thrown into a game together and bots would populate any empty spots.
If Epic failed with the execution, however, it could be a disaster. Particularly if bots felt very ‘dumb.’
Well, they kinda do, but not to the extent that it’s game-breaking or not enjoyable to fight against them. There’s still some way to go to make them act more like human players, but at least they drop evenly around the map and prevent players from spending minutes at a time not coming across anyone else as they move in towards the circle.
As a training tool, bots are great, and we can’t wait to see them develop in intelligence as time goes by. For now, though, we’re happy to say Epic’s implementation has been solid, and nothing you need to worry about.
