Fortnite Update 9.01 Patch Notes Reveal Tactical Assault Rifle, More

Fortnite updates continue to arrive at their usual pace, and the latest patch, v9.01, adds a new weapon and more. The tactical assault rifle was previously leaked, but now we have confirmation it’s real–and we also know just how deadly it is. The update is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.

The tactical assault rifle is a fully automatic rifle with a 30-round magazine. It can be obtained from floor loot, chests, supply drops, and vending machines in rare, epic, and legendary variants. The gun deals 22/23/24 damage, depending what rarity you’re carrying, and it also carries a headshot multiplier of 1.75. The trade-off of this new gun is that the combat SMG has been vaulted, meaning it is no longer available in-game.

Elsewhere in the update, The Baller has been nerfed. The hamster ball has seen its health cut from 200 to 150, as developer Epic Games says the vehicle “still has a little too much defensive agency.” For more on the Battle Royale changes in update 9.01, take a look at the patch notes below; you can see the full patch notes for Creative and Save the World on Epic’s blog.

Fortnite Season 9 started just recently, introducing new challenges, skins, and more. We also know there’ll be a Fortnite summer block party starting right after E3.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 9.01 Patch Notes

Weapons And Items

• Tactical Assault Rifle
  • Available in Rare, Epic, and Legendary variants.
  • Available from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines
    • Fully Automatic
    • 30 Round Magazine
    • Deals 22/23/24 damage
    • Headshot Multiplier of 1.75x
    • This weapon has a tight spread in close quarters but is less effective at long range when compared to other Assault Rifles.
• Reduced Baller health from 200 to 150
  • The primary goal of the Baller is to provide fun and exciting mobility. We feel that it still has a little too much defensive agency – this change should reduce the effectiveness there while not impacting its strengths.
• Drum Gun adjustments
  • Reduced base damage from 26/27 to 22/23
    • Since its unvaulting, the Drum Gun effectiveness has been slightly higher than we wanted. This change should reduce its combat effectiveness while still retaining its flavor.
• Vaulted Compact SMG
  • Due to the recent addition of the Drum Gun and the brand new Tactical Assault Rifle, we wanted to reduce the availability of high rate-of-fire weapons.

Gameplay

• Slipstream adjustments
  • Slipstreams no longer block building.
    • Trying to build up to get into a Slipstream should be an easy & intuitive experience. We noticed some cases where players would build up to the Slipstream, but due to build restrictions would take a ‘leap of faith’ and not make the jump. This should make getting into a Slipstream easier.
  • Players flying in a Slipstream will destroy player built objects when they collide.
  • Slipstreams are now disabled after storm phase 5.
    • We’ve seen a number of cases where Slipstreams caused issues during late game circles – primarily around getting pulled into the storm unexpectedly. Since the value of Slipstream mobility is limited in those scenarios, we felt it’s better to simply disable them.

Performance

• Improvements made to level streaming performance on all platforms.
  • This will reduce cases of buildings not loading in.
• Physics optimizations to improve performance in conduits

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-update-901-patch-notes-reveal-tactical-as/1100-6466906/