"Latency is a b*tch": Fortnite player showcases how latency can affect gameplay

Fortnite, much like any other online game, has many different moving pieces when it comes to its mechanics and gameplay. These sophisticated aspects, while serving their purpose in-game, can also make for hindrances for players and even lead them to an untimely demise. Such is the case with a recent Reddit clip shared by u/homeless_cat_burner, where the player lost a Ranked match due to latency issues.

In the Reddit clip, the player can be seen wearing the Odyssey outfit in a Zero Build match in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2 and navigating a top 3 situation. As the match dwindled down to a 1v1, the player rushed towards the remaining enemy and jumped to avoid any incoming fire. However, despite their efforts, the enemy player was able to swiftly eliminate u/homeless_cat_bummer with a sniper shot.

While this is an extremely common occurrence, especially with the one-shot sniper rifle meta, the twist comes in the fact that the player was not in the path of the sniper bullet and the game registered their in-game avatar to be mid-air still, leading to their loss. The Reddit clip has attracted attention from the Fortnite community, with Reddit user u/Positive-Ad7513 coming forward to simply exclaim:

"Latency is a b*tch."

Comment byu/homeless_cat_burner from discussion inFortNiteBR

Comments from the community (Reddit/homeless_cat_burner)

Other members of the Fortnite community took to the comments to give their own opinions on the clip, with Reddit user u/Meowreen1 expressing their disbelief at what they saw unfold in the Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2 clip, highlighting how it doesn't make sense. Reddit user u/vecnaterra, on the other hand, joked about how the sniper bullet hit the player due to a skill-based system.

Reddit user u/real_B0NY_HAWK recounted a similar experience where they were seemingly shot through a wall, with their body and head entirely behind cover. Highlighting the latency issues in Fortnite Build experiences, Reddit user u/tarairis_dresicie commented:

"I think I remember when I played with builds before. You can put up a wall and still be hit and die because of latency."

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How do latency and ping impact gameplay in Fortnite?

Still mad over this ranked loss.... Look at his sniper bullet 🙄 byu/homeless_cat_burner inFortNiteBR

Latency and ping can essentially be classified as the same thing in the game. According to Epic Games themselves, latency can be defined as the time it takes for a data packet, which includes data pertaining to your character's in-game behavior, to travel from your PC or console to the game's servers and then back to your system.

The presence of latency does have the potential to complicate things for players. If a player has a high ping (>100 ms), then it will take 0.1 seconds for their input to register in-game. While that in itself does not seem like a huge deal, it can make all the difference during a battle, as perfectly highlighted in the Reddit clip shared by u/homeless_cat_burner.