‘Fortnite’ finally nerfs the hated B.R.U.T.E. mechs

It’s not all downside for the mechs though — their health has been bumped up from 1,000 points to 1,250. Overall, it should reduce much of the frustration players have had because they could so quickly kill someone even if that person had full health, with the changes designed to make it so mechs can still destroy a structure quickly, without being as hard to fight against.

Epic has also temporarily removed the Junk Rift weapon from Arena playlists, which it says is the result of an audio issue.

The response from the community so far seems positive, as reflected by streamer TimTheTatMan and pro player FaZe Ewok showing their appreciation. There’s no patch to download, so go ahead and try out the game now, then let us know if it’s finally moving in the right direction.

Changelog:

B.R.U.T.E.

• Decreased the maximum amount of rockets fired by the B.R.U.T.E. in a single charge from 10 to 6.
• Decreased the rate at which the rockets are fired from the B.R.U.T.E. by 56%.
• Our goal with these changes is to increase the back and forth between the users of the B.R.U.T.E. and the players they face. These changes allow the players on the receiving end of the missile volley to have more time to react and protect themselves.
• Decreased the radius of the B.R.U.T.E.’s rocket explosion by 42%.
• Our goal with this change is to improve consistency and understanding around focused barrages of missiles. B.R.U.T.E.s will continue to be a strong option against structures, but less lethal against players.
• Increased the dash cooldown from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
• The previous dash cooldown not only increased the B.R.U.T.E.’s mobility, but also made the B.R.U.T.E.s a harder target to hit from distance than we’d like. The adjustment here reduces the ability to close gaps quickly while in the B.R.U.T.E. while also increasing the ability to land shots on target for players facing the B.R.U.T.E.
• Decreased the velocity gained from boosting while in air by 33%.
• We want to reduce a B.R.U.T.E.’s ability to engage and disengage at long distances to encourage a more strategic approach to an encounter. In general we hope to shift B.R.U.T.E.s away from being highly mobile and put more emphasis on their already defensive nature.
• The B.R.U.T.E. no longer grants materials to the driver and passenger when stomping or dashing through the environment.
• Note: This change should roll out shortly following the other changes.
• Our goal is to add more tension between being in and out of a B.R.U.T.E. as well as reduce instances where players can farm faster than intended without exposing themselves to danger.
• Adjusted the variability of spawn rates for storm phases 1, 2, and 3 in core modes. Arena spawn rates will remain unchanged.
• Storm phase 1
  • New spawn rates
    • 29% chance to spawn 0.
    • 14.3% chance to spawn 1.
    • 14.3% chance to spawn 2.
    • 14.3% chance to spawn 3.
    • 14.3% chance to spawn 4.
    • 14.3% chance to spawn 5.

Old spawn rates

• 33% chance to spawn 2.
• 33% chance to spawn 3.
• 33% chance to spawn 4.

Storm phase 2

• New spawn rates
  • 25% chance to spawn 0.
  • 25% chance to spawn 1.
  • 25% chance to spawn 2.
  • 25% chance to spawn 3.

Old spawn rates

• 33% chance to spawn 2.
• 33% chance to spawn 3.
• 33% chance to spawn 4.

Storm phase 3

• New spawn rates
  • 25% chance to spawn 0.
  • 25% chance to spawn 1.
  • 25% chance to spawn 2.
  • 25% chance to spawn 3.

Old spawn rates

• 33% chance to spawn 1.
• 33% chance to spawn 2.
• 33% chance to spawn 3.

Previously, the early stages of a match were guaranteed a minimum amount of B.R.U.T.E.s. We’d like to provide a little more variance to that experience so that matches don’t always play out the same way. The overall average number of B.R.U.T.E.s per game is reduced slightly.

Decreased the material cost of using the gunner’s overshield from 200 to 75.

Our goal is to further emphasize use of materials for positive defensive benefit.

Increased the Health of the B.R.U.T.E from 1000 to 1250.

With the above changes, users of the B.R.U.T.E. need to play a bit more strategic than before, so we want to give a little bit longer of a window to do so.

Junk Rift

• The Junk Rift has been temporarily removed from Arena playlists.
• This is due to an audio issue caused when the portal is significantly higher than a player.