Update:Epic’s plans have apparently changed. Initially, Epic planned to nerf the Infinity Blade by making it so players who held the Mythic weapon could not build or gather resources. Now, however, Epic has “Vaulted” the Infinity Blade in its entirety. As in, the weapon is no longer available in-game and won’t be returning while Epic is “re-evaluating” its approach to Mythic items. According to Epic, the Infinity Blade is too “overpowered / without good counters, especially in the end game.”
Original story follows.
Changes are coming toFortnite’s current Infinity Blade event. Since December 13,Fortniteplayers have rushed to collect the newly added Mythic weapon, often leading to very quick and bloody rounds in the battle royale. However, complaints have been said about the Infinity Blade’s overall strength and howFortniterounds with the weapon can feel unfair and unfun. Epic has since responded, acknowledging the weapon’s strength and confirming that it’ll be nerfed soon.
Epic’s whole response to the Infinity Blade criticism starts with a defense of the sword. The intent of Mythic weapons, includingThanos' gauntlet, is to “shake up normal play across default modes” and Epic plans to protect that idea with the Infinity Blade and future Mythic weapons. However, Epic also admits that the Infinity Blade was intended to provide a mix of power and inherent risk, a level of risk it feels is not currently implemented.
To solve the issue, Epic plans to change the Infinity Blade so that the wielder can no longer harvest or build. This way the wielder can still use all of theInfinity Blade’s powers, can still chop through players like they’re made of butter, but must also deal with clever opponents' defenses along the way. Of course, the Infinity Blade wielder can just chop through those, too. But at least it’ll be more thematically on point.
In addition to announcing the forthcoming Infinity Blade changes and talking about the idea behind Mythic weapons in general, Epic also made another promise with regards to transparency. According to Epic, the company plans to provide expanded insight into its “competitive philosophy” regarding future changes toFortnitesuch as the addition ofnew weapons, events, and updates. This insight is said to be coming at the start of next week, though just how deep they’ll delve into the discourse isn’t clear.
There is at this point no confirmation regarding when Epic plans to push the Infinity Blade changes to the live servers, though Epic’s comments insinuate they’ll go through soon. Perhaps the changes will be delivered alongside their “competitive philosophy” update next week.
Fortniteis available now in early access on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
