The post Getting To Know Fortnite Esports first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Gia Patterson

ESTNN recaps January’s European DreamHack Online Open ft Fortnite.

DreamHack’s second of three final Fortnite tournaments concluded this afternoon in the European region. It’s been quite a run should the Sweden-based production company decide to take a break from the popular Battle Royale title. Several players have made a name for themselves in DreamHack’s Online Open, which eclipsed 1 million entrants this month alone. January saw the best of the best in Europe reach the Grand Finals. DreamHack Players such as two-time Fortnite Champion Series winner Tayson, MrSavage, Hen, aqua and many others embarked on an eight-game quest to become perhaps the final EU DreamHack Online Open winner.

Also Read: Zayt Announces Return to Fortnite Three Weeks After Retiring

Steelix and Snagged Secure the Win

DREAMHACK WINNER LETS GOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/0ZeyEohSU9

— Wave Steelix (@steelixfnbr) January 31, 2021

The first four matches of the DreamHack Grand Finals saw four different duos achieve Victory Royales. It was an evenly contested tournament, but only one pair could claim the top spot. As match eight drew to a close, Snagged and Steelix – respectively of Centric Gaming and Wave Esports – claimed their first DreamHack tournament victory. The two players combined for 35 eliminations and an average placement of 16.50 to the tune of 357 points. Snagged and Steelix capped their eight-match journey with a fifth-place finish, securing their victory.

Each player bagged $12K USD and held off some remarkable teams in the process.

Also Read: Why Prize Pools in Fortnite are so Important

Top Teams in Tow

GGs! Here were the top duos from January’s EU #DHFNOpen Grand Finals!

@snagged35 @steelixfnbr ($24,000)
@VadealFN @noahreyli ($14,100)
@saevid @G2LeTsHe ($11,500) pic.twitter.com/Mq3y2LbdTV

— DreamHack Fortnite (@DreamHackFN) January 31, 2021

Tournament favourites Wave Vadeal and Noahreyli delivered on all expectations short of another victory. The two previous DreamHack Duo Champions finished in second place with one win and 343 points, netting them over $7K USD apiece. EP Saevid and G2 Let she rounded out the top three with 331 points and a Victory Royale. It was quite a performance for a last-second duo. Some other noteworthy teams settled for a top-ten result, including Hen & Chapix, Refsgaard & Skram, Tayson & Th0masHD and k1nzell & wake.

That concludes what might be the second to last DreamHack Online Open competition. Congratulations to Snagged and Steelix on their monumental victory! Stay tuned to ESTNN for the NA West final results after the tournament concludes later this evening!

Featured Image: DreamHack

The post Fortnite:Steelix And Snagged Triumph In January’s Europe DreamHack Open first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

The Godfather of Fortnite is back.

Retirement clearly didn’t suit multiple-time Fortnite Battle Royale Champion Williams “Zayt” Aubin. The NRG Esports member dropped some shocking news on the community only three weeks ago. Citing lack of motivation and offline events, the Canada-born competitor announced that he would step away from the game he grew from within in favor of a coaching, mentor and analyst role. He found instant success, streaming watch parties for Elite Scrims, which feature North America’s best players. As he watched, it didn’t take long for Zayt to realize just how good he had it as one of Fortnite’s best players.

Also Read: Why Prize Pools in Fortnite are so Important

Zayt is Back

I am at a point where I would regret not competing and wasting my gift for the game. With that said, yes I am coming back, sorry for everyone that I affected negatively. 2/2

— NRG Zayt (@zayt) January 30, 2021

After closely watching top trios and briefly competing alongside organizational teammate Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish, Zayt decided enough was enough. He took to Twitter, reflecting upon his short-lived retirement. “If I didn’t play dreamhack with Benjy I probably wouldn’t be saying that but, I really miss competing already. The only reasons I would want to stream would be to get enough money for the rest of my life,” he said.

It appears the safer approach didn’t mesh well with the competitive Fortnite veteran. He continued, “I am at a point where I would regret not competing and wasting my gift for the game. With that said, yes I am coming back, sorry for everyone that I affected negatively.”

Not many people will disagree with Zayt’s choice. He has placed well in nearly every major Fortnite Battle Royale tournament, including the $30M USD World Cup, where he and long-time duo partner Rocco “Saf” Morales claimed fourth place. The following year, Zayt and Saf returned to the top again after winning FNCS Chapter 2 – Season 2. Outside of financial security, it made no sense for someone with so much talent to step away. His decision will throw a wrench into the solidified NA East trio teams, however.

Also Read: How to Earn Free FNCS Twitch Drops in Season 5

Trio Shakeup

I dont really wanna igl either so idk what to do

— Bugha (@bugha) January 30, 2021

Fortnite World Cup Champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf suffered the most with Zayt’s return. Bugha replaced Zayt and became teammates with Saf and Team Liquid player Stretch for this season’s Fortnite Champion Series. Unfortunately, Bugha confirmed that the now previously retired Zayt will slot back in with his former trio. With so few options, Bugha will have some searching to do, especially considering that FNCS Chapter 2 – Season 5 begins next week. There’s no telling what could happen as other trios might look to clear room for Bugha, who remains at the top of his game.

Also Read: FNCS Chapter 2 – Season 5 Prize Pool, Format, Scoring System & More!

The Legacy Continues

well yeah we’re playing with zayt for the rest of FNCS, bugha is one of the best players i have ever played with and is easily one of my favorite teammates and i never in a thousand years thought zayt was gonna come back

— Liquid Stretch (@Stretch) January 30, 2021

Like most of the community, no one expected Zayt’s quick change of heart. Now, the NRG Esports competitor has a chance to further solidify himself as one of, if not the best Fortnite players in history. This season’s meta suits him particularly well since Epic recently removed Shockwave Grenades and Rift Fish from the competitive loot pool. Zayt can now utilize his game knowledge to lead his team on a crusade. The developer’s current $20M USD commitment to the tournament scene this year also likely helped Zayt make his decision.

The community will welcome him back with open arms. Zayt’s a true pioneer with many years of success remaining. It’s undoubtedly going to be a fascinating season of competitive Fortnite.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

The post Zayt Announces Return To Fortnite Three Weeks After Retiring first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

Learn everything you need to know about Fortnite Battle Royale’s Nintendo

Epic Games and Nintendo have combined forces to produce the first-ever Switch Cup 2, a Fortnite tournament open only to players on Nintendo Switch. The developers have granted console players similar opportunities in the past, with the PlayStation-only Generation Cup and $1M USD Xbox Cup. Typically, these competitions offer either in-game cosmetics or cash as prizes. In this instance, players are competing for the “Lovely” cosmetic character skin, “Heart Blast” back bling and the “I am sitting down” spray before they arrive in the Fortnite Item Shop. Let’s take a look at all the essential details regarding this Nintendo-exclusive competition.

Also Read: Major Changes Coming to “Pay to Win” Superhero Skins 

Switch Cup 2 Format & Date

The Switch Cup 2, as previously mentioned, is open only to players on the Nintendo Switch console. It is a solo tournament for players, specifically on the Asia region’s servers. Keep in mind that competitors outside of the Asia region will be playing on significantly higher ping. The tournament goes live on February 3, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Here is the tournament structure you’ll need to know before queuing into the Switch Cup 2 on Asia servers:

• It begins at 6 PM Japan time or 4 AM EST / 1 AM PST for Americans
• Three-hour time limit
• A maximum of ten matches

Switch Cup 2 Scoring System

Understanding tournament scoring systems is arguably the most important factor when entering a Fortnite tournament. The Switch Cup 2 utilizes a placement-heavy point system, so playing for late-game will be imperative for players looking to earn the tournament’s cosmetic offerings. Here is the scoring system for the Switch Cup 2:

• Victory Royale: 20 points
• 2nd place: 15 points
• 3rd place: 13 points
• 4th-5th place: 10 points
• 6th-10th place: 8 points
• 11th-15th place: 7 points
• 16th-20th place: 6 points
• 21st place- 25th place: 5 points
• 26th to 30th place: 4 points
• 31st to 40th place: 3 points
• 41st to 50th place: 2 points
• 51st to 75th place: 1 point
• Each elimination: 1 point

Also Read: How to Earn Free FNCS Twitch Drops in Season 5 

Switch Cup 2 Prize Pool

Instead of the usual monetary payout, Switch Cup 2 entrants will compete for brand new Fortnite cosmetics before hitting the item shop. Merely earning eight points will grant yield the “I am sitting down spray.” Competitors looking for the skin and back bling need to achieve a top-1,000 finish. Since this tournament is exclusive to the Asia region and Nintendo Switch, only 1,000 skins are on the line.

That covers all of the information we know thus far about this tournament. If you’re an early riser, be sure to set an early alarm for the chance to win the Lovely skin before anyone else.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

The post Fortnite: Switch Cup 2 Tournament Prize Pool, Format, Scoring System & More! first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

Epic Games and Fortnite: Battle Royale are teaming up with popular Twitch streamers to offer players free items during a new winter-themed event.

The first-ever Fortnite Winter Trials has arrived. This event gives Fortnite players a chance at grabbing some in-game items for minimal effort. Emotes, wraps and sprays are some of the exclusive cosmetics available in the five-day event. Some well-known influencers like NickEh30 and SypherPK have involved themselves in the event, where fans can vote on challenges for a slew of players to complete live on stream. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Fortnite’s Winter Trials.

How to Earn Rewards via Winter Trials

Fortnite’s Winter Trials lasts from January 25 to January 31. The event uses a unique form of currency referred to as badges, which players can claim on Fortnite’s website. That same website outlines how players can earn rewards:

“To get rewards you need to sign in to the website and collect badges by completing various tasks. Please refer to the rewards section to see how many badges you need for each prize.”

Here are the specific tasks players should complete to accumulate badges:

• Logging in to the activation – one badge – one time only
• Voting for a challenge – one badge – once per challenge (total of four available)
• Supporting (clicking thumbs-up) a team on the website – one badge available daily
• Playing Fortnite for 20 minutes – unlimited, each 20 minutes in-game in core modes rewards a badge.

It’s worth noting that this event is open to players only located in North America. You’ll also need to make your Fortnite statistics open to the public, which you can do by following the steps below:

1. Open up your Fortnite settings in-game
2. Head over to the last section called “Account and Privacy”
3. Turn on the “Show on Career Leaderboard” option

Now, let’s take a look at the items up for grabs during the event.

What Items Can You Earn?

As previously mentioned, players can earn an emote, spray and weapon wrap thus far based on the information gathered. The event only lasts six days, so these might be all that’s available. Be sure to check back here in case there’s an update.

Influencer Tournament

Solos into the NA Fortnite Winter Trials Tournament!https://t.co/rNmLxmEZoy

— Nick Eh 30 (@NickEh30) January 25, 2021

Fortnite has teamed up with multiple influencers and creators to integrate a viewership experience in Winter Trials. Content creators 72hrs, SypherPK, NickEh30, EmadGG and NateHill are in the Winter Trials. Each day, they will be competing against one another with various teammates as they earn points per challenge completed. Viewers can earn badges for staking their support in one of the five creators listed above. Here are the rules for the Winter Trials Influencer Tournament:

• A seven-day tournament consisting of different daily challenges
• One new challenge will be revealed to the participants every day
• There’s a total of four community vote challenges, two creative challenges and one special challenge

Here are the different challenges that these Fortnite creators will have to overcome:

• Community vote challenge – Random challenges chosen by the community
• Creative challenge – mini-tournaments on dedicated creative maps
• Special challenge – surprise!

Creators will earn points based on their performance in the Influencer Tournament. Here is the scoring system for each of the individual events:

• 1st place – five points
• 2nd place – four points
• 3rd place – three points
• 4th place – two points
• 5th place – one point

That covers everything you need to know about Fortnite’s Winter Trials event. Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

Featured Image: Epic Games

The post Fortnite: Winter Trials 2021 – Everything You Need To Know first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

Learn the ultimate trick to resume a Fortnite match after the application crashes.

Nothing is more annoying than when you’re in the middle of an intense match of Fortnite only to see the game freeze and then crash. It happens regularly for some players, and there’s no universal solution to the issue. Most can attest that having Fortnite open for too long often results in the game closing out unexpectedly. The most common error indicates, “The application has crashed and will now close. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Countless Fortnite players are all too familiar with this message, and we have a temporary fix should it happen to you while in-game.

Ctrl + Alt + Del = Win

The issue in question can occur at any time while you have Fortnite open. I’ve personally left the application open overnight to find it frozen the next time I’m at my computer. If it happens outside an actual match, your best bet is to end Fortnite via the Task Manager and reopen the application. However, for those who experience untimely game crashes while in a match, there’s a nifty method to continue playing without having to exit. Follow the steps below to fix the “application crash” error message:

• Press Ctrl + Alt + Del all at once
• Click the ‘Switch User’ option
• Click the‘ Sign in’ option on the account displayed

After following these steps, you should resume your game and continue playing out the match. The only downside of using this method is that you won’t hear any of your teammates in voice chat. I’ve used this trick multiple times, and though the teammate audio issue can be annoying, it’s still a useful tool for those who’d prefer not to quit out of an intense match. Feel free to give this fix a try the next time your application crashes mid-game. It takes no longer than 30 seconds, and you might earn that Victory Royale against all odds.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

The post Fortnite: How To Fix ‘Application Crash’ Error first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

Learn about what could be the final DreamHack Fortnite tournament of 2021.

DreamHack helped save competitive Fortnite: Battle Royale in 2020. In a world where offline competitions were not possible, the Swedish organization hosted multiple monthly tournaments to fill the void. Players in Fortnite’s three most significant regions – Europe, NA East and NA West – competed over the last six months for more than $1 million in prize money. Polish player ‘teeq’ stood out as one of the many competitors who reaped the benefits that DreamHack provided. He won two back-to-back solo tournaments, and just last month, added a third in the duos format.

Several others claimed their first notable tournament victories under DreamHack’s format and scoring system. January could mark the end for DreamHack’s Online Open featuring Fortnite. However, millions have partaken in the monthly competitions, which the organization referenced in a recent press release. “More than 3 million players have registered for tournaments since they began, and December had the most registrants to date with more than 830,000 players.” With no announcement of future events, Fortnite players will look to make January the best yet.

Also Read: Is Arnold Schwarzenegger Coming to Fortnite? 

DreamHack Online Open January Format and Dates

DreamHack switched the tournament format from solos to duos in November of 2020 due to overwhelming feedback from the competitive scene. Duos will remain for all three regional tournaments in January. Here is a brief refresher of the competition’s structure and format:

• Two open qualifiers with 250 duos advancing from each heat to the semifinals.
• Each duo can play a maximum of 10 games during the three-hour heat.
• Semifinals with 50 duos advancing to the Grand Final.
• Each duo can play a maximum of 10 games during the three-hour heat.
• Grand Final with eight consecutive games at scheduled times.
• A new game starts every 40 minutes.

This month’s action kicks off with the NA West region, followed by NA East, and then wrapping up with Europe. Here’s a full breakdown of the tournament dates and times:

North America West

• First Heat: January 22 | 6pm PST (not broadcasted)
• Second Heat: January 30 | 2pm PST
• Semifinals: January 30 | 6pm PST
• Grand Finals: January 31 | 2pm PST

North American East 

• First Heat: January 22 | 6pm EST (not broadcasted)
• Second Heat: January 23 | 2pm EST
• Semifinals: January 23 | 6pm EST
• Grand Finals: January 24 | 2pm EST

Europe

• First Heat: January 24 | 2pm CET (not broadcasted)
• Second Heat: January 24 | 5pm CET (not broadcasted)
• Third Heat: January 30 | 2pm CET
• Semifinals: January 30 | 6pm CET
• Grand Finals: January 31 | 2pm CET

Also Read: Zayt Announced Retirement from Competitive Fortnite

How to Register for the January DreamHack Online Open

Registration is now open for this month’s competition. Remember, teams can participate in all three regions if they so choose. Click here to access the registration form for January’s tournament. Competitors must be at least 13 years of age and should follow the instructions listed.

DreamHack has not committed to hosting more Fortnite tournaments beyond this month. Be sure to sign up for what could be the final DreamHack Online Open tournament.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

Also Read: FNCS Invitational Champion Furious Joins XTRA Gaming 

Featured Image: DreamHack

The post Fortnite: $250k January DreamHack Online Open, Format, Dates & How To Register first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

Fortnite’s developer shuts down subscriber customs due to TOS violations.

Competitive Fortnite suffered a massive hit yesterday when developer Epic Games informed top players Williams “Zayt” Aubin and Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish that they could no longer host custom matches in exchange for Twitch subscriptions. For multiple years, subscriber customs existed as an opportunity for lower level players to pay for quality competitive matches. An Epic spokesperson contacted both players to inform them that subscriber custom matches violate Fortnite’s terms of service (TOS). As a result, Benjy and Alpha Customs are no more. The implications at hand could also affect the ultra-popular wager matches that exist in competitive Fortnite.

Benjy and Zayt Address TOS Violation

about the future of @BenjyCustoms pic.twitter.com/HEfdG50FR2

— benjyfishy (@benjyfishy) January 8, 2021

NRG Esports member Benjy revealed the unfortunate information on his Discord channel. “I got a message from epic yesterday saying that I’m no longer able to host sub customs and that it’s now against TOS,” said the Fortnite World Cup Finalist. “I talked to them for a while, including today seeing if there would be something like subs have priority on customs etc but it’s not possible.” Benjyfishy’s organizational teammate Zayt received a similar response from Epic regarding NA East’s Alpha scrims.

You guys probably saw the Alpha Scrims announcement, it was a way for me to stream easily with the boys. Not sure when the next stream will be, i’ll try to keep you guys updated

— NRG Zayt (@zayt) January 8, 2021

Some players stream all of their competitions, but not Zayt, who manages to finish high on almost every Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) leaderboard. His dedication to winning restricts him from streaming to preserve strategies and to prevent stream sniping. Alpha Scrims were a go-to for Zayt, but that option is now nonexistent. “You guys probably saw the Alpha Scrims announcement, it was a way for me to stream easily with the boys,” wrote Zayt on Twitter. “Not sure when the next stream will be, I’ll try to keep you guys updated.”

He followed up shortly after that, stating, “I know the whole community liked the scrims, but we cant do anything about it.” Finding practice is problematic in competitive Fortnite, and sub customs were a reliable option for those looking to elevate their game. Unfortunately, Epic’s realization meant that Elite Scrims would likely be the only option, leaving lesser-known players to fend for themselves. Zayt runs the Elite Discord for the scene’s best players but there’s not enough room to include everyone. Zayt stated that he is seeking alternative options.

Could Wagers Follow Suit?

Benjy hinted in his Discord message that wagers might take a massive hit due to Epic’s crackdown. This seems likely, considering that wager matches require stream viewers to donate money to compete against a specific streamer or player. The developers seem to be cracking down on lingering issues months after the fact. Nevertheless, Benjy seems inevitable that live wager matches on stream might follow subscriber customs into the abyss.

What’s Next? Arena Rework? Better Practice Options?

The reason players mourn the loss of subscriber customs is because it’s challenging to maintain high-level practice amongst a large group of players. Elite Scrims run so well since top competitors utilize them to improve and don’t want to lose that privilege. Sub customs function the same way, and they existed mainly for streamers to establish a paywall between viewers and decent practice matches. Epic cannot, in good conscience, allow this to continue based on the monetary exchange. However, there is no real answer to the problem at hand.

Arena Mode lobbies die out fast and don’t offer much in the late-game, i.e., no storm surge or moving zones. Free practice servers are difficult to stomach because of griefers and trolls who don’t take the game seriously. It will take some soul searching for a replacement as players await the fate of wager matches.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

The post Fortnite: Epic Games Shut Down Subscriber Customs, Wagers May Soon Follow first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

A hotfix from earlier today could be positive for Fortnite players on Apple devices.

Five months ago, Fortnite developer Epic Games challenged Apple Inc’s “outrageous” commission grab on in-app purchases by offering players an option to bypass those fees. The North Carolina-based company implemented a “direct payment” feature, meaning all purchases would funnel directly into their pockets. Epic kept the standard Apple App Store purchase option in place, but it didn’t matter. Apple responded swiftly by removing the popular Battle Royale title from the iOS Store without skipping a beat. What ensued over the last half-year was a nasty antitrust legal battle between the two multi-billion dollar companies.

Since its removal from the iOS Store in August, mobile players on Apple devices have not been able to play Fortnite. Epic Games stood to lose tens of millions from one of Fortnite’s most popular platforms but moved forward, enduring several court proceedings. Despite the rhetoric from both sides, a recent find from Fortnite leakers could indicate that the game might be on its way back to Apple devices.

Also Read: IO Guards Have no Place in Competitive Fortnite 

Epic Games “Hotfixes” Direct Payment Option

ICYMI: About 1 hour ago, Epic pushed a hotfix to the servers that removed all strings related to the “Epic Direct Payment” from the iOS version of the game.

Although this could mean nothing, it’s still strange why they would do this now..

— ShiinaBR – Fortnite Leaks (@ShiinaBR) January 5, 2021

Reputable leaker ShiinaBR was just one of many to point out a “hotfix” that Epic Games put in place earlier today. For those who don’t know, a hotfix is merely a small update that developers can push at any time without bringing the game offline. In this case, Epic “removed all strings related to ‘Epic Direct Payment’ from the iOS version of the game”. As we all know, the Epic Direct Payment option sparked the legal battle between the video game developer and tech company in the first place. Although neither seems to have reached a resolution, could this mean Fortnite will return to the iOS Store soon?

Also Read: Fortnite World Cup Champion Bugha Re-Signs with Sentinels 

Does This Mean Fortnite is Back on iOS?

The hotfix is a curious move on Epic’s part, but there is no news to go on other than this change. By all accounts, Epic and Apple are still entrenched in a court case that could drag through 2021. There may be more happening behind the scenes than either party is willing to reveal publicly. The most recent update on the legal proceedings occurred today. According to the Apple World Today website, “Epic Games failed to convince a California federal judge that Apple should have to turn over documents about its business activities abroad as part of the video game maker’s antitrust fight with the tech behemoth over App Store fees.” This development has nothing to do with the hotfix mentioned earlier, so tempered expectations are essential as the antitrust lawsuit continues.

Perhaps Epic Games plans to wave the white flag and recoup some of its losses after Apple booted Fortnite from the iOS Store. The Epic Direct Payment removal might be a show of good faith. It also could be a simple cleanup of old unneeded strings in Fortnite’s coding.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

Featured Image: Epic Games

The post Recent “Hotfix” Could Mean Fortnite’s Return To iOS first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling

ESTNN analyzes some ultra-aggressive NPCs that should not be in competitive Fortnite.

Epic Games has had a strange history of occasionally listening to the competitive Fortnite scene and sometimes the exact opposite. A perfect example of the former occurred in Chapter 2 – Season 2 when grenade exploits were running rampant in competitive matches. Epic recognized the issue and removed grenades from Arena Mode and tournaments. Grenades have not returned since, which was a refreshing development, considering the developer’s shaky past. Unfortunately, some specific in-game mechanics have remained in competitions, much to players’ dismay.

Loot Sharks and Marauders from Chapter 2 – Season 3 also stick out as complete detriments to competitive fairness. Epic never removed either of those from Arena or tournaments, and we are seeing a similar situation unfold with the newly added IO Guards. Players both at the professional and amateur level are rapidly growing tired of these new relentless non-player characters (NPCs). The only hope for resolution is for Epic to acknowledge the issue and remove IO Guards from competitive Fortnite matches.

Also Read: Cloud9 Inexplicably Releases Vivid & Chap, Vivid Retires 

Why are IO Guards a Problem?

yo @FortniteGame maybe nerf the IO Guards…… pic.twitter.com/feLyF8JfUg

— icon1c (@icon1ccc) December 31, 2020

You may be wondering why IO Guards are such an issue. Imagine rotating across the map with insane loot, only to have three NPCs lay fire upon you until you eventually expend all of your mobility, ammo, shield and materials. IO Guards spawn with a 250 shield plus 100 health, making them challenging to eliminate as a solo player. It becomes even worse if you are fighting another player off the spawn; because IO Guards aggro easily. Once they lock onto a player, the NPCs push and fire bullet after bullet from their Rare Tactical Assault Rifles.

Perhaps the worst aspect is that IO Guards offer no real incentive to eliminate them. These relentless NPCs drop their Tactical Assault Rifles, some gold bars and occasionally some Mini Shield Potions upon elimination. Not many competitive players would opt to carry a Tactical AR over some of the other weapons available. Let’s not forget the exhausting and loud theme music that plays when IO Guards are near. In general, it makes more sense to run away from IO Guards to save yourself from using all your resources.

The clip above is an accurate representation of IO Guards, causing chaos in a competitive game mode. You will notice that this player has not intentionally started a gunfight with the NPCs and dies when trying to use a Rift Fish to escape.

Also Read: Centric Gaming Revamps Roster, Signs Kubx, Rakso and Snagged 

What’s the Solution?

Epic’s best course of action is to remove IO Guards from Arena Mode and tournaments to preserve the competitive nature of Fortnite. These NPCs don’t add anything of importance to the game and instead detract from player versus player in-game fights. We saw how impactful Marauders could be back in Chapter 2 – Season 3. Fortnite players are continually fighting an uphill battle as it stands. It will be a massive win if Epic decides to cut back on aggressive NPCs like IO Guards.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

The post IO Guards Have No Place in Competitive Fortnite first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Rob Sterling