Fortnite v10.20.2 patch notes: Combat Shotgun vaulted, BRUTE nerf and more

Fortnite hotfix v10.20.2 released on September 5 that brought several more BRUTE nerfs, but also surprisingly vaulted three weapons, including the beloved Combat Shotgun.

A new patch has arrived in Fortnite that has vaulted the Combat Shotgun, Drum Shotgun, and Proximity Launcher, which is a major surprise to players.

With these vaults, the shotguns in Fortnite are back to just the pump and tactical, like it was at launch. Epic wanted to introduce weapons that would cut down on the dominance of the pump shotgun but it looks like those efforts have failed.

BRUTEs are nerfed again.

To go along with these weapon vaults, Epic brought two weapons out and back into the game. The Automatic Sniper Rifle is the big one and it received a buff to its damage since it was considered to be underperforming compared to the other snipers.

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Also back is the Suppressed Assault Rifle, but no changes were made to the weapon.

Another major change with this hotfix is even more BRUTE nerfs as the developers work on getting them into a good spot.

Almost immediately at the start of Season 10, players complained about the mechs and after several attempts at retooling them, they never really felt at home in Fortnite.

The Combat Shotgun is gone.

These changes focus on spawn rates and are designed to lower the impact the mechs have on the late-game scenarios.

Despite having spawns changed in the past, many games still came down to what player had a mech which wasn’t always an enjoyable experience.

Starting with storm phase three, the BRUTE now has a 33.3% chance to spawn and will get significantly slower as the storm closes, eventually blocking a spawn altogether.

This won’t necessarily make them any less powerful but it does promise that you’ll be seeing fewer games being decided by them which is a step in the right direction.

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You can read the complete list of patch notes below.

BRUTE spawns are much lower now.

Complete v10.20.2 patch notes

WEAPONS & ITEMS

Vaulted

• Combat Shotgun
• Drum Shotgun
• Proximity Launcher

Unvaulted

• Suppressed Assault Rifle (Epic/Legendary)
• Automatic Sniper
  • The Automatic Sniper was underperforming relative to some of the other Sniper Rifles. This adjustment to damage should make it more desirable as an alternative long-range weapon.
    • Increased damage from 31/33/35 to 40/42/44

GAMEPLAY

B.R.U.T.ELowered the spawn rate of the B.R.U.T.E in Storm phases 3-6 in core modes. Arena spawn rates will remain unchanged.

• With this change, we’re hoping to reduce the impact of B.R.U.T.Es on late-game scenarios, while retaining their presence in the early game.
  • Storm phase 3
    • New spawn rates
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 0
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 1
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 2
    • Old spawn rates
      • 25% chance to spawn 0
      • 25% chance to spawn 1
      • 25% chance to spawn 2
      • 25% chance to spawn 3
  • Storm phase 4
    • New spawn rates
      • 50% chance to spawn 0
      • 50% chance to spawn 1
    • Old spawn rates
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 0
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 1
      • 33.3% chance to spawn 2
  • Storm phase 5
    • New spawn rates
      • 83.4% chance to spawn 0
      • 16.6% chance to spawn 1
    • Old spawn rates
      • 50% chance to spawn 0
      • 50% chance to spawn 1
  • Storm phase 6
    • New spawn rates
      • Will no longer spawn.
    • Old spawn rates
      • 90% chance to spawn 0
      • 10% chance to spawn 1

Peppers

• Increased the duration of spiciness from Peppers to a 60-second duration from a 20-second duration.

Retail Row

• This POI is intended to be a high-risk, high-reward drop location, but we feel the reward has outweighed the risk. By reducing the availability of Obelisks, gathering rare loot will require a little more time investment.
  • Reduced the maximum number of Spawn Obelisks from 7 to 5.
  • Increased the time before Spawn Obelisks respawn to a max of 30 seconds (previously a max of 5 seconds).
    • The respawn timer for Spawn Obelisks is on a loop and time may vary between 1-30 seconds.
  • Decreased the chance to drop Rocket Launchers from destroyed Spawn Obelisks from 18.46% to 10%
  • Decreased the chance to drop Jump Pads from destroyed Spawn Obelisks from 50% to 40%

These adjustments are available now, so drop in and test them out!