Fortnite data miner claims aim assist was nerfed, no word from Epic

Olivia Richman Published 29/05/2020

Keyboard and mouse Fortnite players on Windows and Mac may possibly have reason to rejoice. 

Trusted Fortnite data miner Lucas7Yoshi has found some new information that could potentially mean aim assist is being nerfed on PC. He said that a simple restart of your game should apply the changes uncovered. 

Even though he admitted he wasn’t quite sure what the new values mean, he noticed that the values were “decreased,” meaning they were made weaker. While Lucas7Yoshi may not be able to verify this officially, the code does say “AimAssist,” meaning he is most likely correct that it’s meant to negatively affect controller players’ aim assistance.

It’s perplexing that Epic wouldn’t officially announce this change since competitive players have been arguing about aim assist for years. But it could be argued that Epic’s blase attitude towards competitive would mean they didn’t find this important enough to discuss on its own. Either way, if it’s true, this is a very big deal for the pro Fortnite scene and casual players alike. 

Fortnite community continues to clash over controller players and aim assist

Fortnite is one of the few competitive games that allows cross-platform play, meaning that controller players on popular consoles and keyboard and mouse players on PC can compete in the same matches. This has led to a lot of drama over the last few years, with keyboard and mouse players calling on Epic to nerf the aim assistance given to controller players. 

Epic initially provided aim assist to controller players since they are at a natural disadvantage. Their movements can’t be as quick and accurate as someone using keyboard and mouse, meaning that they can’t react to incoming damage as quickly or build as efficiently. Aim assist allows them to follow enemies’ movements closer, which Epic hoped would even the playing field.

Instead, many pros have voiced concern over aim assist, even after it was nerfed in the past. Fortnite World Cup winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf called aim assist “hacking.” Mixer superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has been quite vocal about how OP he thinks aim assist is, even when playing with Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff, one of the best controller players in the game. 

“You get the top 100, and 10 of those kids are controller players, and because one of them’s in the top 10, everyone’s got a fucking problem with it,” Nickmercs argued back at Ninja during one heated debate. 

Other pros have been very outspoken about their disdain for aim assist in recent months, which may have been what finally drove Epic to listen to these growing concerns. 

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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