Fortnite: LazarBeam proves why Season 4 is 'pay-to-win' in under 10 minutes

Fortnite guidelines clearly state that the in-game cosmetics provide no ‘additional’ advantage to players. While the statement stands its ground, for the most part, players have now discovered new tactics that blow Epic’s fair gameplay rule out of the water.

As is the case with every new season, Fortnite Season 4 has introduced new meta(s) that can alter the gameplay experience for a majority of its player base; that’s if a player is aware of it. Popular Fortnite content creator and YouTuber LazarBeam recently uploaded a video titled ‘Fortnite is pay to win’ which has amassed a whopping 8 million views in less than a week.

Lazar highlights how Fortnite’s meta has shifted rapidly with most of the cosmetics now bearing a tactical advantage of sorts. While most of these are fun and may not pose a serious threat to the gameplay, others could end up ruining the competitive integrity of the game; that’s if players abuse it.

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The Fortnite Season 4 ‘Pay to win’ scheme

As the video begins, Lazar can be seen wandering the Battle Royale island as ‘Mystique’, one of many Marvel superheroes to have made their way in-game this season. The YouTuber equips a simple yet effective strategy where he turns himself into a ‘Stark Robot’ and waits for unsuspecting players to come running his way.

Fortnite Season 4 'Stark Bots' (Image Credits: Lazarbeam)

Lazar’s efforts do not go to waste as shortly after he plans the façade, a player can be seen bounce-padding his way towards him, off guard and unwary. The YouTuber picks off a quick elimination while the opponent is left trying to figure where the bullets came from.

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Silver Surfer and Dooms Domain combo in Fortnite Season 4

While this may not be a game-breaking technique, it still ends up helping LazarBeam score a few eliminations in the game. For the strategy to work, players have to equip the Silver Surfer skin and land on top of Dr. Doom’s statue located at the center of Dooms Domain.

Lazarbeam spots an unsuspecting player at Dooms Domain (Image Credits: Lazarbeam)

Surfer’s shiny textures meld effortlessly with Doom’s statue, making it near impossible for players to spot you unless they are paying close attention. As previously mentioned, the glitch may not always work but could still prove beneficial since most of the player base will never see it coming.

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The ‘Groot’ camouflage – An impeccable hiding strategy

Although it may not be as overpowered as the ‘Stark Robot’ technique, LazarBeam demonstrates how Fortnite Season 4 skin ‘Groot’ could be your go-to skin if you prefer a more passive style of gameplay. For this to work, players will need the skin itself along with an emote that doesn’t involve a lot of movement, much like ‘Prickly Pose’, a 200 v-bucks uncommon rarity emote.

LazarBeam camouflages as a tree while wearing the Groot skin (Image Credits: LazarBeam)

Soon after hopping off the Battle bus, LazarBeam finds a tree to begin his show business (That’s if anyone can actually see him). Unsuspecting players pass right by him, with one player trying to ‘farm’ him under the impression that he is a tree.

While most of these are methods may not ‘break’ the game or shift the meta drastically, it still brings into question whether Fortnite still stands by their ‘no cosmetic advantage’ statement. At the moment, it remains unclear whether a nerf to the aforementioned items is coming to help balance out the inconsistencies.