Olivia R. August 16, 2019
Fortnite fans and pros alike are not happy with Epic Game's reasoning for keeping the B.R.U.T.E. vehicle in competitive game modes.
Epic decided to address fans that were dismayed over the developer's decision to keep the B.R.U.T.E. present in the Fortnite Championship Series, despite it being viewed as overpowered and imbalanced. On August 15, Epic Games told players that the powerful mech was added at the start of Season X with one mission in mind: Help less skilled players get eliminations.
“The mission of Fortnite is to bring players of all skill levels together to have a fun experience where anyone can win. For example – everyone having a shot at that first elimination or Victory Royale moment, and the satisfying feeling that comes with it. Right now, we know there are players out there who have never had that opportunity," Epic said.
The decision to keep the B.R.U.T.E. present was further supported by elimination and usage statistics that Epic shared. But the numbers weren't quite enough to convince competitive players, who felt low-level players should have to invest hours into practice if they want to compete with better players, instead of just jumping in an oversized vehicle and launching missiles at their more skilled opposition.
Fortnite creative director Donald Mustard also stood up for the developer's decision after the continued outcry. He noted that the game is "constantly evolving," something players should understand by now.
"You never know what might happen next… but just about anything is possible. That is what we are trying to make," Mustard said.
Competitive Fortnite players argue against BRUTE mechs
Team SoloMid pro player Ali "Myth" Kabanni argued against this concept on Twitter.
“I don’t even know what to say about the most recent post Epic made. I don’t want items in the game just for the sake of keeping things ‘fresh.' I’m not a game dev, but I’m not sure if turning out content that’s unproductive is a good plan for the long term," he tweeted.
He then agreed with a fan who said that the B.R.U.T.E. wasn't keeping the game fresh, and was instead making the game "stale," since it makes every game revolve around finding or avoiding mechs.
Popular Fortnite streamer Tim "TimTheTatMan" Bettar also took to social media to joke that he'd be moving back to Overwatch.
"I love Fortnite, but these choices with the mech boggle my mind. Hope that some balance is found soon... hard to enjoy the game at the moment," he tweeted.
Other competitive players weren't as calm in their disdain for the B.R.U.T.E. Sypher "SypherPK" Ali told his fans during a Twitch live stream that the mech was simply overpowered.
“If you added a gun in the game that has a button that randomly one person in the game dies, without a chance of counterplay, that button would still exist, right? And you can say that the button only accounts for one percent of deaths in the game," he ranted.
"It doesn't matter," Sypher continued. "Every kill or death with the B.R.U.T.E. is one too many. It has very limited counterplay. It allows players who don't usually get kills to have that opportunity. This shouldn't mettle with competitive. Champion-ranked players don't need extra eliminations."