Players are still soaking up all of the new content from Fortnite’s major Season 3 update, yet Epic Games has already issued a follow-up patch to reduce the frequency of Choppas in some playlists.
Plenty of all-new vehicles have been dropped into the mega-popular battle royale title over the past few updates. Season 3’s major patch alone introduced the likes of cars, buggies, taxis, and more. Yet despite the new additions, an older vehicle has been the centre of attention since the big update.
Helicopters were implemented three months ago in the 12.20 Season 2 update. While players were anxiously awaiting the vehicle back then, many have clamored for its outright removal ever since.
Reacting to the community backlash, Epic issued a quick update on June 25 that looked to address the issue. While Choppas have not been vaulted entirely, spawn rates have been reduced across “all competitive and tournament playlists.”
We've pushed an update to reduce Choppa spawn rates in all competitive and tournament playlists.
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) June 26, 2020
Choppas will still be just as common throughout regular modes. Therefore, you can expect to see them soaring through Solos, Duos, and Squads as per usual. This update specifically targeted the frequency of the vehicle appearing in Fortnite’s more intense modes.
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Capable of traveling great distances at ease or knocking out opposing structures without much fear of being taken down, helicopters have been a bane for many competitive players. At a whopping 1,500 HP, it takes a mighty effort to shoot them out of the sky.
Some players praised the swift decision while others appeared to want a much more significant change. “Reduce?” Team SoloMid’s Fortnite professional ‘Slappie’ questioned. “So you know it’s bad and you just reduce?”
As it currently stands, a total of eight vehicles have been vaulted in the three-year history of Epic’s battle royale. While some were purely rotated out for cosmetic reasons, others were scrapped for being controversially powerful.
Still fresh in the minds of many Fortnite pros, the B.R.U.T.E mech reigned supreme throughout much of 2019. The monstrous vehicle was nearly indestructible, allowing for extremely one-sided engagements. Mercifully, the developers finally pushed to remove this controversial addition in September 2019.
While Choppas haven’t quite elicited the same level of frustration, they could follow a similar lifecycle to the mech. If players continue to voice their displeasure, even after today’s spawn-rate adjustments, the helicopter could very well be the next vehicle locked away in Fortnite’s vault.