Epic Games has finally released an update for "Fortnite Battle Royale." After a break that lasted almost one month, players have finally gotten a new update and some new content. While the v11.40 patch is not as big as players expected it to be, it has brought a new feature to the game, as well as some gameplay changes and bug fixes. The video game developer has once again released patch notes to its official blog, revealing everything that has come with the patch.
The v11.40 patch was released on January 15 at 4 AM Eastern Time. This "Fortnite Battle Royale" update has brought Sidegrading to the game, which is a new feature that allows players to change a regular Assault Rifle into a Heavy Assault Rifle.
Furthermore, Upgrade Machines have been buffed as they now required fewer materials to upgrade weapons.
Sitegrading in 'Fortnite'
Sidegrading is a new feature that was introduced to "Fortnite Battle Royale" with the v11.40 patch. It involves using Upgrade Machines to change a weapon. Right now, it is only possible to Sidegrade a regular Assault Rifle and turns it into a Heavy Assault Rifle, the new weapon that was also added with the patch.
The Heavy Assault Rifle has its original stats from the first chapter, but it has also been redesigned and has a new model and sounds. In order to change their weapon, players have to spend some of their building materials at an Upgrade Machine. It is also important to note that Sidegrading is available only in non-competitive playlists.
Weapon upgrading has been buffed
Before the v11.40 patch, players had to spend 800 of each building material to upgrade a Common (gray) weapon to a Legendary (gold) rarity. However, Upgrade Machines have been buffed with the latest update and they now require only 500 of each material.
The first stage of the upgrade process remains at 50 of each resource (150 in total), while the second stage was reduced from 150 to 100.
The third stage used to cost 250 before the patch, but it has been reduced to 150 with the update. Finally, upgrading a weapon from an Epic to a Legendary rarity now costs 200 of each resource, down from 350 before the patch.
This change will allow "Fortnite" players to upgrade their weapons more often, which is a positive change.
Allowing everyone to have a higher-rarity weapon will make the game less random and fairer.
Bug fixes and Battle Lab
The latest "Fortnite Battle Royale" update has also brought several bug fixes. Players can now see their "Star Wars" achievements in the Legacy timeline. Epic Games has also fixed some FPS issues on mobile devices and players will no longer remain in the Edit mode after editing quickly.
The "Fortnite" developer has also further improved the Battle Lab mode. This mode allows players to practice their skills against bots, and it was introduced to the game with the v11.31 patch on December 18, 2019. Flint-Knock Pistol has been added to the mode, both in a Common and an Uncommon variant.
Furthermore, two mobility items have been released to the mode as players can now use the Impulse and the Shockwave Grenade in it.
The feedback
The "Fortnite Battle Royale" community has expected much more from the patch, but Epic Games has decided to release a smaller and simpler update. The good news is that this is very unlikely to be the last patch of Chapter 2, Season 1, and we might get another one next week. After all, the video game developer will probably release another live event at the end of the current season, and right now, there are no files in the game data which are related to the event.
The truth is that the second chapter hasn't had a lot of new content, but players are hoping Epic Games changes it.
