Fortnite vaults a fan-favorite weapon in Chapter 4 Season 2

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 is coming to an end, but even before things can truly wrap up, a fan-favorite weapon has been vaulted ahead of schedule. A few hours ago, Epic Games vaulted the Kinetic Blade (aka Katana) and disabled it from all modes. This is very similar to how the Shockwave Hammer was vaulted last season ahead of schedule, but it hasn't been done without reason.

According to an official statement from Epic Games, due to an issue detected during gameplay, the weapon and all Reality Augments associated with it have been disabled. Additionally, all weekly Kinetic Blade-related Challenges/Quests have been replaced with alternatives. Syndicate Quests related to the Kinetic Blade have been auto-completed.

While the vaulting of the Kinetic Blade is unfortunate, Epic Games is yet to mention the exact reason behind this move. Nevertheless, thanks to the community and other prominent members, it appears that a simple in-game glitch seems to have led to the decision. This allowed players to abuse the Kinetic Blade's power in the most unusual way and be capable of eliminating entire Squads with ease.

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The Kinetic Blade became a powerful offline weapon in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2

Exploiting weapon glitches in-game is nothing new. Players have done this for years, and it's even become a norm when the chance arises. That said, this glitch is a bit more complicated than usual. Players using the Kinetic Blade would locate a group of opponents and disconnect from the internet. With the game now being offline, everyone in the match except the person playing would be stationary.

Once this occurs, they would approach the group of opponents and deal damage using the Kinetic Blade. After reaching the threshold of 250 damage, they would then use the Kinetic Blade's Dash ability and rotate to safety before turning on the internet connection. Once the connection was reestablished, the damage inflicted using the Kinetic Blade would register, and opponents would be knocked down instantly.

Although this glitch does not exploit any third-party software, Epic Games had to remove the weapon to avoid hampering the gameplay experience. In fact, given how powerful this glitch was, several users have been banned for abusing it in-game. Those found guilty of using it several times have been banned for a day. This may lead to players wondering if the Kinetic Blade will be unvaulted in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3.

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Will the Kinetic Blade be unvaulted in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3?

This depends on two things: How fast Epic Games can fix the issue and whether or not there will be a dedicated melee weapon in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3. Since each season in Chapter 4 has had a dedicated melee weapon, the pattern is likely to repeat in the next season as well. However, for the time being, leakers/data miners haven't been able to uncover any information as such.

Thus, there is still a chance for the Kinetic Blade to be unvaulted next season, but it all depends on how fast this glitch can be fixed. Given that certain glitches are far more technical than others, this could take a while. Nonetheless, the weapon should become available in Fortnite Creative Mode soon. If nothing else, players can use it to their heart's content in a custom game.