Fortnite fans are fed up with its overpowered mechs
Ifs and bots.
Four days into its fresh season, there's trouble brewing in the Fortnite community.
Fort-building fans are growing increasingly frustrated by the game's new Titanfall-like mech vehicle, the B.R.U.T.E.
In short, the mech is far too powerful for its own good, and the steps Epic has taken in its design to limit its power don't seem to be working adequately enough.
First up, here's an eye-opening video showing some of Fortnite's best players being pummelled into the ground by the dreaded mechs to give you some idea what they're up against.
Note that many of these players (including new world champion Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf) are well cocooned in layers of building when attacked, or frantically placing multiple walls in the mech's way. None of that makes a jot of difference.
Season X is FINE ITS GREAT from r/FortNiteBR
Fortnite has a history of nerfing items and vehicles which have proven too powerful - especially those, in the past, which have dared interfere with the game's building gameplay. The top Fortnite players in the world are those with some of the best building skills - and it's these who are the loudest when something becomes too disruptive.
Case in point, season seven's Stormwing planes, which started their life being able to tear through structures simply by flying into them. Their power was repeatedly reduced, until they became more of a transportation device than an offensive option.
The mechs, from a weekend of gameplay, seem to me already far more overpowered than planes ever were.
Epic's trade-off is that mechs are designed to be two-player vehicles. You can't shoot and walk at the same time - these are two different jobs to be performed by players in two separate positions.
But, clearly, footage of the mechs being shown dominating even in solo play highlights the ease with which players can switch between roles at the touch of a button. It's clearly not much of a trade-off at all.
Fortnite pros have also protested the mechs' inclusion in the game's hardcore Arena playlists - and likened their appearance there to that of Fortnite's dreaded (and very short-lived) Infinity Blade.
The Infinity Blade's all-conquering power could only be held by one person in a match at any time. In contrast, several mechs will spawn at the start of a match - but the ensuing bunfight to get to them still feels similar.
One thing's for sure, though - mechs are not getting pulled from the game entirely (as the Infinity Blade was). Challenges linked to the vehicles exist in Fortnite's season-long Battlepass - so we're not likely to be rid of them until that is over.
Nerfs, however, seem almost unavoidable - either to the ease with which players can switch roles within the mech, or to its overall damage/bulk.
Until any of that happens, we'll just have to live with more scenes like this:
B.R.U.T.E.S in a nutshell from r/FortNiteBR