Fortnite pro Animal claims building bug cost him a spot in World Cup

Olivia Richman Published 30/04/2019

“Oh my god, this game is so bad. Epic, fix your shit, please, bro, please! Why are there so many bugs? Why? Why can’t you fix things?”

That was the outburst of competitive Fortnite player YourFellowArab, following a live stream in which a bug seemd to cost him a qualifying match for the World Cup Solo Finals. The clip shows him landing near a competitor, where he is then unable to turbo build because of the offending bug.

YourFellowArab was not alone in his experience.

Sentinel’s Owen “Animal” Wright claimed the turbo building bug cost him $50,000 and a qualification spot in the World Cup Solo Finals.

Over the weekend, Animal was in the top 26 during a match in the World Cup’s week three qualifiers. But when he glided down towards the safe zone, the bug made itself known. Upon landing, Animal attempted to start building, but none of his walls were placed. An opponent spotted him, vulnerable and exposed. That’s when he was eliminated.

“The only reason I didn’t qualify was this $50,000 bug right here. I am sad beyond belief, and really feel I deserve a spot because I played very well. Whatever, man,” Animal said on Twitter.

He went on to say he was “fucking devastated,” espcially when he looked back at his loadouts and available materials. His fans were in agreement that his disqualiffication was thanks to Fortnite’s building bug. A bug that cost him a minimum of $50,000. An amount he would have secured even if came in last place at the World Cup Finals in July.

A Fortnite YouTuber began looking into the issue. ImSpeedyGonzales stated that a change made to Fortnite in April’s 8.30 patch is responsible for the bug. He pinpointed it to the added ability to “cycle hotbar items while gliding.” After patch 8.30, ImSpeedyGonzales said that if a player has a wall out and proceeds to click turbo build when landing, the wall won’t be placed.

While ImSpeedyGonzales said he couldn’t prove this was the exact same thing that happened to Animal, he was able to recreate the described bug on his own. The bug is now proven to exist, whether it was the true cause of Animal’s demise or not.

A solution for players who end up affected by this bug would be to let go of their building button and then press it again to reactivate turbo building and place walls. But when it comes to concrete solutions to continuous bugs, Epic seems to offer nothing to its players. Other minor bugs have ben reported throughout the Open Qualifiers, and while Epic addressed them in a later update, the affected players were left to suffer.

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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