Fortnite’s Chaotic New Season Is Driving Players Mad
Fortnite released Chapter 5 Season 3: Wrecked, the new season, on May 24th and players promptly pulled into the lobbies to check out the new updates. This new season focuses on the new vehicle modifications that allow players to battle from inside cars and the “War Bus.”
Many players dubbed the new season “Car Royale,” a play on the usual “Battle Royale” genre since it has become difficult to win without a fully-modded vehicle or a good counterplay weapon, such as the “Boom Bolt” or “Boogie Bomb.”
Vehicle Modifications
There are three types of modifications that are currently available to players, such as roof, bumper, and tire mods. Mods available for roofs include the “Machine Gun Turret,” a turret that quickly shoots bullets, and the “Grenade Launcher Turret,” a turret that shoots larger, stronger bombs at a slower rate.
Players can mod the front bumper with a “Cow Catcher” that easily destroys structures or a “Spiked Bumper” which does extra damage to enemies. Finally, the two tire mods are “Bulletproof Tires” and “Off-Road Tires” which have better traction but are also bouncier.
Helios, the Chapter 5 map, grew after The Sandstorm brought new locations for players to explore. The sandstorm created the Wasteland area of the map which includes new POIs, points of interest, for players to explore. These new locations are “Redline Rig,” “Brutal Beachhead,” “Nitrodome,” and “Sandy Steppes.” This last location replaced the once beloved “Snooty Steppes” after the event.
Wasteland Warriors
A new force of bosses called the Wasteland Warriors replaced the Olympian bosses with their new medallion powers and an even crazier bonus reward. The Machinist, a character quickly loved by players, owns the “Redline Rig” location. Her medallion allows players to passively heal their shield health. Ringmaster Scarr protects the “Nitrodome” location. Defeating her rewards the player with a medallion that provides infinite ammo for their weapons.
Megalo Don, the leader of the group and this season’s legendary skin, resides at “Brutal Beachhead.” His medallion provides an infinite “Nitro” boost that gives the player a speed boost, allows them to run on water, and bash through structures, as well as other small buffs.
These bosses, however, do not stay in one location at all times. They will go “on patrol” and drive their respective vehicles around the map. These vehicles are the extra reward a player can obtain after defeating a boss. In many cases, a medallion must be used to unlock the cage that protects the car, similar to vaults in previous seasons.
These “mythic cars” are significantly stronger than Fortnite’s normal cars. They come fully modded and have special perks for the lucky players to obtain them. With more health and special abilities, these cars strike fear to those without the right gear to counter them. While vehicles are nothing new to Fortnite, these revamped rides and brand-new mod options have made them more lethal than ever.
Player’s Reactions
Like any Fortnite update, some players are enjoying the new meta while others think the chaos is too much. Season 3 has had the lowest player peak of the Chapter and has garnered some intense reactions. While it is normal to have fewer players later in the Chapter, it is no secret that players have some issues with the new meta.
Popular Fortnite streamer, Ninja, has been extremely vocal about his dislike for the new season. “I’m probably never going to play this game this season,” he stated on his stream. “If I was a five-year-old that still loved cool cars, I would be having the time of my life” he said.
Since its release, many aspects have been nerfed to make the gameplay more enjoyable. However, these nerfs that many players begged for are still being dragged by the community.
Players have been finding it difficult to enjoy this new Fortnite season as much because of how heavily it relies on vehicle combat. Competitive players have complained about how different the meta is now. On the other hand, casual players who enjoyed the chaos are now upset by the nerfs.
New Collaborations
One thing players always love about Fortnite is the new and upcoming collaborations. This season includes many interesting collaborations. Many of these collaborations released early on in the season.
Most notably, a Fallout collaboration is included within the battlepass and gameplay due to the new show. The season battlepass includes two styles for the new T-60 Power Armor skin. Players in-game can pick up an ice-cold Nuka-Cola to get a quick health and shield boost.
Another highly anticipated collaboration was the return of Ariana Grande’s icon skin. This time, she made her return with a brand-new hot pink style! Her new skin style released in the shop alongside previous styles and new Jam Tracks for Fortnite Festival.
Ariana Grande fans were excited to see some big songs of hers. Popular songs such as “yes, and?,” “positions,” and more were available as a bundle with the new skin or separately.
Another massively anticipated and discussed collaboration was the NickEh30 icon skin. This popular Fortnite content creator has had fans wondering if he would ever get a skin like Ninja, Lachlan, LazarBeam, and others.
All of that anticipation paid off when Fortnite and NickEh30 began releasing tweets and trailers for his icon skin. The skin was quickly revealed after the teasers on June 11th.
Many players are also excited about the Metallica collaboration. Fortnite had been hinting at this collaboration for weeks. One of the new battlepass skins even wears a Metallica shirt.
Fortnite added the first Metallica Jam Track, “Master of Puppets,” on June 6th. The community eagerly awaits to see what other jam tracks are going to be added once Fortnite Festival Season 4 is completely released on June 13th.
The season ends on August 16th and will be replaced by a fourth season yet to be announced. With a couple of months left, there is still time for many changes to this season and for more players to be won over.
