Fortnite is easily one of the biggest video games right now. After Epic Games initial concept fell flat in terms of popularity, they decided to breathe new life into their game by taking the assets and throwing them into a Battle Royale mode, which was already popularized by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Little did anyone suspect that Epic’s take on the genre would end up more popular.
Now, just about everyone knows what Fortnite is. Love it or hate it, it’s an insanely popular concept that is dominating school, internet, and social conversations. Despite how much fun the game is and how much people love it, that’s not to say that its perfect.
As many people are quick to point out, there are several problems that plague Fortnite. It might be fun at its core, but there are several kinks that Epic Games and their partners need to work out if they want to make it one of the greatest video games of all time. While they’ve certainly ironed out a lot of their wrinkles, there are still some problems that need to be addressed if the game is to last in the foreseeable future.
Just because something is popular doesn’t mean that it’s great. That’s why we’re taking a look at 25 things wrong with Fortnite that many players choose to ignore. We’re not saying that the game is bad- just that it has some issues that people tend to gloss over because of how much they enjoy the battle royale experience.
25 Spotty Hit Detection
Fortnite can get pretty intense when it comes down to the final few players. It's in those moments where they have to make every shot count. Unfortunately, the hit detection in the game isn't always fair, leading some people to make a shot and not deal any damage. When they're in the middle of a fight, it can be the difference between victory or defeat. Many people have lost entire games thanks to this inconsistent hit detection. And they weren't too happy about it.
24 Strength of Building
Building is the aspect of Fortnite that makes it different from other Battle Royale games. You mine resources and use them to build structures on the fly. This is helpful if you're getting targeted in an open field or need to get a height advantage on your opponent. However, building is so good in the game that the player who is better at it is almost guaranteed to win. Those who are fast enough can build entire fortresses and win while players who focus more on shooting wouldn't stand that great of a chance.
23 Expensive Cosmetics
Let's all be thankful that Epic Games didn't introduce a pay-to-win system in Fortnite. Instead, you can buy skins and emotes for your character. Unfortunately, those cosmetics are quite expensive when you break it down. If you want to get a skin that's worth anything, you'll have to spend at least $25 to get the 2,500 V-Bucks. The Battle Pass is a great value, but for those who just want to get certain skins, they're going to have to shell out a much larger sum of money.
22 PS4 Cross Play
This isn't a problem on Epic's part, more of a problem on Sony's part. Epic Games has been brilliant enough to allow cross play for Fortnite between PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. The only platform not along for the ride is the PS4. Players who have all of their stuff on PS4 are forced to stick with it and play against others who are using the same console. Unless Sony changes their attitude, Sony players won't be able to party up with friends on other platforms.
21 Frequent Bugs
Just recently, Fortnite's challenges of the week involved driving an ATK or a shopping cart through flaming hoops scattered around the map. Unfortunately, many players couldn't do the challenge because there was a bug with the vehicles that caused Epic to temporarily remove them for almost a full week. There are lots of bugs with Fortnite that can lead to some interesting results. Players have reported getting stuck with their only option being quitting, as well as other objects causing problems within the game.
20 YouTuber Culture
Fortnite was one of those games that got popular thanks to the people of YouTube giving it a shot. However, YouTuber culture has drastically affected Fortnite and YouTube, arguably in a negative way. Dozens of videos are made when a single weapon is introduced to the game. On top of that, if a popular YouTuber decides to make a certain spot on the map popular, you're almost guaranteed that players will suddenly decide to go there. Now, if you want to go back to that area, you'll typically find a bunch of players trying to emulate their favorite streamers, which always goes wrong.
19 Daily Quests Not Attainable
Daily Quests are a nice boost for those who are looking for ways to get a few extra stars to upgrade their Battle Passes. However, it's incredibly frustrating when you get a quest that makes you need to survive other players in Squads, only to find out that you either have no one to play with, or none of your friends are on (playing with randoms is certainly not an option). It's common to get a quest that you can't immediately start. Sure, you can re-roll one quest a day, but it's also likely to get a similar type of quest where you need more people that you can't immediately do on your own.
18 Ridiculous Special Challenges
Season 5 of Fortnite has had some interesting special challenges introduced every week. What can be frustrating is that some of those challenges are much more tedious than anything else. There was one where players had to have the Basketball emote, then go around the map and shoot the ball in many different hoops. It wasn't the kind of thing that could be completed in one game. Then there was the clay pigeon quest, which was way more difficult for most than it had any right to be. Those challenges aren't fun, but for those that want the special rewards, they have to be completed.
17 One Map
The entire draw of Fortnite is that 100 players are thrown on a big map as they're all forced to survive until the last man is standing. However, the game has been out for quite some time and players are still dropping on the same map. While the map has gotten some revisions several times, many players have expressed the desire to be dropped on a new map. While it might complicate special challenges, it would bring a whole new level of variety that might keep current players invested in the game. It would also force a lot of the experts to re-learn their surroundings, putting many people on an even playing field.
16 Frequent Updates
Not everyone can play Fortnite each day, but it's really satisfying when they finally get a group of four friends and go to play some Squads. However, most people have to sit through an update that could take up to an hour before they get anywhere. Fortnite is updated constantly, and that means that more storage is being eaten up and more time is spent sitting around while the game updates. Because the game is cross-platform, this is an issue that every platform goes through at the same time.
15 LTMs That Don't Stick Around
Epic Games introduced Limited Time Modes to Fortnite to break up the stress of playing through solo. Some great modes have been introduced, like Infinity Gauntlet, Blitz, and 5 teams of 20. Despite how great these modes are, though, they haven't stuck around. Epic constantly rotates the LTMs out to make room for others. Spoiler alert: they're not all created equally. What's worse is that the good modes are rarely used again and don't stay as long as the familiar 50 v 50 does.
14 Not Enough Variety
When you boot up Fortnite, you're typically greeted with solo, duos, squads, playground, and some limited time mode. The first three are essentially the same mode, just with a slightly different amount of people. Playground is just for messing around with your building skills, and the limited time modes are hit or miss. The problem is that there isn't enough variety with Fortnite to keep some players invested for the long haul. Why not have a capture the flag mode? What about a king of the hill? Maybe they could even bring back a juggernaut-style mode like Infinity Gauntlet.
13 Pointless Without Internet
The entire draw of Fortnite is only there if you have internet access. If you're unfortunate enough to not have it, then you're out of luck. You could get the "Save the World" game and enjoy that offline to get familiar with how the game's mechanics work, but that gets boring after a little while. Epic may want to consider having a local play mode where friends can take on bots or even add a tutorial that can be accessed offline so newer players can get the hang of the game on their own.
12 No Cosmetics Without Money
When you start Fortnite, you're given a basic skin that is far from good-looking. The only way to end up with anything different is to actually shell out money. If you don't spend anything, you're drastically limited to the cosmetics you can get. Sure, you might get a loading screen and some minor emotes, but forget about getting any skins. Those cost V-Bucks, which can only be obtained if you purchase them outright or get yourself the Battle Pass and work for them. Those who don't have the extra funds have to deal with looking bad.
11 Overpowered Weapons
There is a clear tier-based system with the weapons in Fortnite, their effectiveness measured by the color they are. However, as you go up the ladder, it's clear that there are some weapons that are better than others. If you get into a fight with a person who has a rocket launcher, you're almost guaranteed to lose. Likewise, if you're in the sights of a person with a Heavy Sniper, then you're as good as gone. While Epic has done some work to balance their weapons, there are still some that are quite overpowered.
10 Random Weapon Hits
When you play a shooter, you would think that, once you hit someone, they would take damage. Unfortunately, Fortnite employs a system that detects hits on a "roll of the dice." It's not guaranteed that a shot on someone will guarantee that they take damage. This is easily one of the biggest complaints and problems with the game. It was something that made shotguns the most unpredictable guns to use. It's a system that needs to go, as it deters people from getting better at the game.
9 If You Don't Have Friends...
Fortnite is a fun game at its core, but with a lack of variety, it's hard to keep playing for long periods of time. This problem is made even worse if you don't have any friends that also play the game. At that point, you're stuck with just solo and sometimes an LTM mode. You could try playing duos or squads, but you'd get thrown in with random people and, most of the time, they're just 10-year-olds that love to tell you how good they are before they get shot in the first ten seconds.
8 Whoever Has the Most Resources
As a game of Fortnite comes to a close, it's a handful of people in a small space. That means that most of them will resort to building elaborate fortresses in order to stay ahead of the game and get the drop on their opponents. However, it then becomes a battle of "who has the most resources." If you were the one to prioritize fighting others to push through the ranks, then you're likely going to lose to the guy who spent most of his time mining resources and staying away from conflict. It deters aggressive play styles.
7 RNG: The Game
RNG refers to the random aspects of a game. When it comes to Fortnite, everything is based on RNG. Everything from weapon drops and chest items to hit detection and where the battle bus flies is all up to a roll of the dice. There are players that can get extremely lucky and find legendary weapons in their first few chests while other players just get bandages and burst assault rifles. If you're going to win, it's important that luck is on your side.
6 Awful LTMs
The Limited Time Modes are inconsistent in terms of their quality. Sometimes, they can offer a welcomed change of pace for the gameplay of Fortnite. Other times, they're just slight variations on pre-existing modes that players are then stuck with until something better comes along. Some of these LTMs just scream lazy and it's a wonder how the developers thought they were a good idea. One of the current modes is just 50 v 50, but it allows you to soar through the air more.