Fortnite Season 3 Patch 13.20 Balance Changes

Today’s Fortnite patch brought with it a few hidden balance changes that could affect how you want to play the game. Here’s a quick breakdown of what weapons are stronger or weaker, and what strategies you can expect to work or not work based in the new patch.

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Fortnite Balance Changes Summary

do you want more patchnotes type thing like this later today? i made something really cool to track loot pools and stuff like that.. also i know the percentages don't make no sense but there are 2 types of marauders now and that's why it adds up to 200%

— HYPEX (@HYPEX) June 30, 2020

For all of you that just want a quick summary of what’s changed, here you go. Fortnite players can expect SMGs to be weaker, Charge Shotguns to be stronger, Burst Rifles to be slightly better, Marauders to be slightly more worth attacking (dependant on playstyle), and for aggressive play styles to be slightly more encouraged. Thanks to @HYPEX and @SypherPK for finding and discussing this information.

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Fortnite Balance Details: SMGs

SMGs have been a strong contender as a close quarters weapon recently and have received a general nerf to their effectiveness as a result. This should put them squarely back in the second place spot for best up-close weapon, after shotguns, but they will still be plenty usable afterwards. All normal SMGs have had their damage reduced by 1 and fire rate reduced by 2, lowering their effectiveness against both builds and players. Additionally, the P90 is currently affected by a bug causing it to deal no damage under unknown circumstances. Compact and Rapid Fire SMGs have received no changes.

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Fortnite Balance Details: Charge Shotguns

OH FORGOT TO POST THIS!- The Mythic burst was buffed (changes in the 1st pic)- The Legendary Rapid Fire was a bit nerfed/buffed too - And all the Charge shotguns' reload time was buffed (third pic) pic.twitter.com/CVBwbDCKQn

— HYPEX (@HYPEX) June 30, 2020

Charge Shotguns are getting a bit of love from the developers this patch as the Epic and Legendary Charge Shotguns now have four round clips just like the Mythic version. This extra round is a 33% increase in ammo from the Rare versions and can mean the difference between winning and losing a confrontation. In addition to this, all Charge Shotguns in Fortnite have had their total reload time reduced, making them a little bit more usable in the middle of a prolonged engagement.

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Fortnite Balance Details: Burst Rifles

2 things I learned so far from this season. 1.) Ocean’s Burst AR is insane. 2.) The Hunting Rifle is one of the best guns right now #NorCalGrind #Fortnite #FaZe #FaZeUp #FaZeClan #FaZe5 #SmallStreamersConnect #SmallStreamerCommunity #SmallStreamerConnect #NClove #FortniteClips pic.twitter.com/P1Unkbfr60

— Goatee Snipez #NorCalGrind (@GoateeSnipez) June 22, 2020

The only Burst Rifle to be changed is Ocean’s Mythic Burst Rifle. It has had its body, headshot, and build damage increased by 2 and its reload time and recoil reduced slightly, making it slightly better in all aspects. Whether or not these changes are enough to place it highly are unknown as, although it is clearly better, the changes aren’t likely to change how players want to play with it.