Fortnite’s ninth season is officially underway and its unsurprisingly full of changes. With a new future aesthetic introduced, players were introduced to a variety of new gimmicks including Slipstream tunnels. However, the biggest and perhaps most surprising change was the removal of the beloved Pump Shotgun. A powerful weapon that was a favorite of many pros and Fortnite personalities, the gun was vaulted in favor of the semi-automatic Combat Shotgun.
To no one’s surprise, the community had a pretty negative reaction to the vaulting of the Pump Shotgun. Yet, there were a few outliers that saw some good in the removal of this powerful weapon.
RIP Pump Shotgun
September 26, 2017 – May 9th, 2019
Forever in our hearts.
My literal reaction to waking up seeing the pump is vaulted
Vaulted Pump Shotgun
?
Instead of vaulting all the Pump Shotgun, Fortnite should have:
– Completely left them all alone
– Vaulted the Tac Shotgun
– Added in this ‘Combat Shotgun’ as Grey/Green/Blue (w/ wider spread)
– Unvaulted the Heavy Shotgun
Instead we have… this. Not a fan. Not many are.
From previous experiences we have learned that you guys loved the spray meta.
So we have put the drumgun back into the game and removed the pump shotgun.
Enjoy
+ drum gun
Ok this isn’t that bad, just needs a nerf
– pump shotgun
+ automatic, full spray and pray shotgun
Ok we’re fucked.
This is another controversial decision in what has been a long line of them, stemming back to the removal of the siphon mechanic. Along with the Pump Shotgun, Epic Games has also removed Clingers, Buried Treasure, Poison Dart Traps, Suppressed Assault Rifle, Thermal Assault Rifle, Balloons, and the Scoped Revolver. One noticeably absent item on this list is Ballers, which have proven to be an extremely powerful vehicle.
With the Drum Gun recent return, it’s clear that all hope is not lost. Given the sheer backlash from the community over this decision, it’s possible that the Pump Shotgun makes its way back into Fortnite. The replacement gun is the Combat Shotgun, which holds 10 rounds and reloads 2 shells at a time. This weapon launches 9 pellets and deals 73 / 77 / 81 base damage with a 1.70x multiplayer for headshots.
Epic did explain their reasoning behind the removal of the Pump Shotgun in a blog post posted alongside the patch notes. In it, they explain that the weapon made up for 26% of deaths in the default playlist and that they’d prefer to remove it for the time being. Here is their full statement about why they vaulted the Pump Shotgun:
We want the beginning of each Season to feel fresh and allow for a new gameplay experience along with all the new Seasonal content. Whether its new cross-map mobility, new weapons, or just new places to drop – you should feel like there is plenty to explore and experience. Specifically when it comes to Pump Shotguns, they stand out significantly: they currently account for over 26% of eliminations in default playlists, with the next weapon type not even coming close. Rather than nerfing the Pump Shotgun to a point where it no longer lives up to its fantasy, our preference is to return it to the vault, giving us an opportunity to revisit the general balance of the item, while introducing a new shotgun.
Our goal with the Combat Shotgun is to provide an item that fills a similar niche, but with a different risk and reward. We’re excited to see how you all use the new shotgun and look forward to your feedback on this shift.
Considering online qualifiers for the Fortnite World Cup are still going on, it will be interesting to see how players adapt to this new meta. Fortnite Season 9 is now live on all platforms, so you better get out there and start practicing with the Combat Shotgun.