The gun that broke Fortnite

Older Fortnite players will remember the ‘overpowered’ Combat Shotgun that was added to the game back in Season 9.

The gun was available in the Rare, Epic and Legendary variants and could hold up to eight bullets at a time. It had a spread of ten pellets and could reload two pellets at the same time. Further, what effectively made the weapon so overpowered was that it initially allowed players to deal damage from a distance of over 100 meters.

Of course, the gun was later nerfed and could only deal damage up to a distance of 60 meters. The Combat shotgun had a tight bullet spread, which meant that 'beginner' Fortnite players took time to adjust, especially for short-range shooting. However, for medium-range shooting, the tight bullet spread of the gun allowed for accurate and deadly shots.

An idea of the effectiveness of the ‘Combat Shotgun’ in Fortnite can be gauged by a mere glance at its stats.

Image Credits: Fortnite Wiki

Combat Shotgun- The gun that broke Fortnite

The Combat Shotgun’s effectiveness took most Fortnite players by surprise. Various notable Content Creators were seen commenting on the gun and wondered whether it would be nerfed in the future. The list included Ninja, who claimed that the gun did not work like a shotgun at all and was lethal for medium-range shooting. You can watch the Ninja clip below.

Another player, Daequan, looked baffled and said that the Combat Shotgun ‘did not make sense’. Of course, even when nerfed, it was easily the best shotgun in the game and acted as a great backup to Assault rifles. Once players get used to its tight bullet spread, the gun could be lethal for short-range shooting as well.

The new shotgun is broken in a bad way. I knew somethin wasn't right sometimes 🤣🤷🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/5u173m6plp

— Daequan (@TSM_Daequan) May 10, 2019

Of course, it was only a matter of time until the Combat Shotgun was vaulted, which happened in September 2019. While some users speculated that it happened due to the end of Fortnite’s John Wick crossover, others opined that it was the sheer ‘overpowered’ nature of the gun that forced the game's developers to vault it.

Since then, the gun has returned, but it has been nerfed considerably and is only a shadow of its former self now. The new variants have considerably worse stats than before, as you can see in the picture below. While many Fortnite players were fond of the gun and loved its effectiveness, it had to be nerfed down for the overall betterment of the game.

Image Credits: Fortnite Wiki