Fortnite temporarily disables divisive Shockwave Hammer

Epic Games has temporarily removed the Shockwave Hammer, a divisive weapon that launched alongside Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1.

The Shockwave Hammer counted among the many new additions to the battle royale’s fourth chapter. For some, it quickly became a fan favorite, too, thanks in large part to its two firing options.

Its primary function allows players to slam the ground and damage nearby enemies with a shockwave. A secondary firing option lets users travel via consecutive hammer bounces.

Not everyone’s a fan of the fun new weapon, however. Some think it’s OP, others feel like it often doesn’t work as intended. But an infinite bounce glitch has especially caused problems of late.

Shockwave Hammer in Fortnite temporarily vaulted

Epic Games recently removed the Shockwave Hammer from all playlists in the online title. In a Twitter post announcing the news, the developer merely cited an unspecified “issue” as the reason for the weapon’s vaulting.

Players assume the aforementioned infinite bounce glitch constitutes the motivating factor, though Epic has yet to confirm as much.

There’s no word on the Shockwave Hammer’s planned return date at the time of writing. However, the developer did note an intent to re-enable the weapon’s use during Fortnite’s “next game update.”

For now, all Fortnite users can do is hope the Shockwave Hammer’s in better shape whenever it does rejoin the fun.

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1 kicked off in December 2022, introducing a new map, weapons, and a Battle Pass featuring Doom Guy and The Witcher 3’s Geralt of Rivia. Season 1 is expected to end in March, with Season 2 set to follow soon thereafter.