Fortnite is rolling out its latest hotfix today, bringing with it various gameplay tweaks and adjustments. While not a major game patch, fans may be surprised about what today's update introduces, or rather re-introduces to the game: the Tactical Shotgun and Infantry Rifle.
The popular free-to-play battle royale shooter from Epic Games is currently in its sixth season of Chapter 2. Much of Fortnite's conventional arsenal had been vaulted for the current "Primal" season, which introduced a weapon crafting system in addition to Primal and Mechanical (normal) type firearms.
News of the returning fan-favorite weapons comes courtesy of the Fortnite Status Twitter, which provides service update info for the game. Starting today, players will have access to both the Tactical Shotgun and Infantry Rifle in Battle Royale mode. While the shotgun hasn't been seen since Season 5, the gap between appearances of the Infantry Rifle is considerably longer. The last time players saw the mid-to-long range weapon was during Season X of Chapter 1. The Tactical Shotgun is known for exchanging a bit of damage in favor of a faster firing rate versus its Pump Shotgun counterpart, while the Infantry Rifle acts as an Assault-Sniper Rifle hybrid, featuring a single shot per trigger pull for better accuracy.
In addition to the pair of weapons being re-added, the Fortnite hotfix adds several other updated features. The chance of finding Crafting Parts in floor loot has doubled (again,) and Mechanical Parts dropped from cars has increased by 50%, which should make a particular trick for quickly acquiring Mechanical Parts that much more effective. The update also includes improved loot chances for fishing spots, Supply Drops, and Bunker Chests, all of which favor the appearance of Classic (normal) weapons. The new adjustments all seem to favor Mechanical weapons, leaving the fate of the less accurate, yet more powerful Primal weapons in question.
While the Tactical Shotgun and Infantry Rifle are the latest weapons to be brought into Season 6, Fortnite has been busy adding entirely new weapons as well. Beyond things like the explosive projectile-launching Recycler Gun, last week saw the introduction of the new Exotic Unstable Bow. Sold by the Rebirth Raven NPC for 500 Gold Bars, the Unstable Bow has the unique characteristic of transforming into a different fully upgraded Bow after every shot. While the two returning weapons aren't Exotics themselves, both will be available up through Legendary rarity, which should place them high up on this season's weapon tier rankings.
The new update, while small, should satisfy many of the Fortnite players who haven't been fans of the Primal versions of weapons. However, a different, more mysterious update has been sparking recent player speculation. The clock located in Boney Burbs has begun ticking for unknown reasons, leading players to theorize what the noise could mean for the POI or even the map as a whole.
Fortnite is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.