Fortnite nerfs Primal Shotgun and buffs Recycler

While leaks hinting at the possibility of the Primal Shotgun being nerfed surfaced earlier today, the latest hotfix update confirms that Fortnite fans are finally getting what they have been asking for since the start of Season 6.

Primal Shotgun nerfed and Recycler buffed by Fortnite developers

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 6 gameplay has a "Primal" theme. Along with the new jungle-inspired skins and the appearance of raptors on the battlefield, the inclusion of Primal weapons was a natural fit.

However, upon their introduction to the Primal Shotgun, Fortnite players immediately began reaching out for the in-game weapon to be nerfed.

PRIMAL SHOTGUN MAY BE MY FAVOURITE SHOTGUN THIS SEASON BUT NERF IT

— #Gamma Slurpy (@Slurpyfishy) April 1, 2021

Just a few weeks into the season, Epic Games has answered the requests of the community by nerfing the Primal Shotgun in all its rarity tiers.

Amidst the release of the Week 4 challenges that require players to do damage with Primal weapons, developers also decided to lower the damage of the Primal Shotgun while increasing its pullout time.

Breaking News: The Primal shotgun has been nerfed and the Recycler splash damage has been buffed and increased by 50% Both much needed changes as the primal shotgun was OP and the recycler wasn’t strong enough @EpicGames @FortniteGame #Fortnite #FortniteSeason6 #FortnitePrimal

— DiamondLynxx (@diamondlynxx) April 8, 2021

Primal Damage Changes:Common: 54 -> 45Uncommon: 57 -> 47Rare: 60 -> 50Epic: 63 -> 52Legendary: 66 -> 55Mythic: 69 -> 57 https://t.co/Dc9MPKYqZA

— HYPEX (@HYPEX) April 8, 2021

While one side of the community is thrilled that the nerf happened, the other side is upset that their weapon of choice has been impacted. This frustration is only increased due to the current Weekly Challenge requirements. This will continue to be a topic of discussion among the community as more challenges requiring Primal weapon usage are released in the future.

While the weapon that has split the Fortnite community down the middle has received a decrease in its abilities, another weapon's performance has been enhanced.

The recently released Recycler gun, which harvests building materials to deal explosive damage to opponents, has been buffed. The speed at which the Recycler can destroy in-game objects has been increased drastically. The damage it can do to structures has also been increased.

This improvement aims to make the battlefield more of a level fighting ground for casual players and sweats alike.

For those that don’t know, this morning a patch came out that buffed the Recycler’s harvest speed and the primal shotgun’s damage got a MAJOR nerf. Nice. #FortnitePrimal

— Warden - Fortnite News (@WardenGg) April 8, 2021

While not every player will have all of their wishes granted during each Fortnite season, the Primal players of Season 6 are thrilled to have some of their concerns addressed.