Based on recent leaks, Wall Kicking is expected to to be an upcoming new movement mechanic in Fortnite. As mentioned by leaker Wensoing, players will be able to 'kick' themselves up walls. To elaborate, the 'Wall Kicking' movement will be initiated by sprinting, jumping, and then jumping again next to a wall (presumably once halfway up).
With Epic Games implementing a lot of real-world physics into their popular battle royale title, it seems that the player's distance from the wall will play a huge role when 'Wall Kicking.' Furthermore, the strength of the 'Wall Kick' will also depend on the horizontal/vertical velocity of the player.
How will 'Wall Kicking' function alongside other mechanics in Fortnite such as Mantling and Hurdling?
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While it's still unclear what exactly 'Wall Kicking' will look like in-game, Wensoing has provided a video for reference. As seen in the tweet, players 'should' be able to scale walls or clear them using a 'Wall Kick.'
That said, as mentioned by the leaker and taking reference from real-life inspiration, players will only be able to 'Wall Kick' after initiating a Sprint. This will help build up the momentum that's required to perform the run-jump.
Once you're halfway up, players will have to jump once again to clear the wall. This is where Mantling comes into play. However, the movement mechanics will function a bit differently to allow the player to complete the 'Wall Kick' sequence. This will occur as the 'Wall Kicking' mechanic overrides the Mantling feature.
In general, the entire process could take roughly two seconds to execute. This mechanic would be extremely useful in certain POIs such as Mega City and Anvil Square, enabling players to get to high ground far more efficiently.
As for Hurdling, while there are situations in which it could be paired with 'Wall Kicking,' the mechanic has remained disabled since Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1. Due to a glitch/bug that sends players flying into the stratosphere, it's yet to be reactivated, with the developers reportedly still investigating this issue.
When will 'Wall Kicking' be added to Fortnite Chapter 4?
For the time being, there's no information as to when 'Wall Kicking' will be added to the game. With so many features/mechanics in the pipeline, there's certainly a lot on Epic Games' plate at the moment.
With Unreal Editor for Fortnite, better known as Creative 2.0, set to arrive on March 22, 2023, developers are undoubtedly focusing all of their resources on this new feature. Furthermore, with the first-person mode yet to be activated in-game, that will be the next thing that players can expect to see.
Based on the above information, it's likely going to be a long time before 'Wall Kicking' is officially added as a mechanic in Fortnite. Judging by the timeline of things, it could be launched at the start of Chapter 4 Season 3. Then again, all of this depends on what stage of development the mechanic is currently at.
Given that Hurdling was deactivated soon after being introduced in Chapter 4 Season 1, the developers will want to avoid a similar situation at all costs. It's better not to have a specific movement mechanic in-game than add one that's broken. Nevertheless, with 'Wall Kicking' in the game's files, players can rest assured that this new movement mechanic is in development and will eventually arrive in-game.