Professional Fortnite Competition Highlights Issues with Storm Circle Mechanics
Last week’s Fortnite Fall Skirmish grand finals revealed a potential problem with the current storm circle mechanics. On average, only 60 players remained alive after four storm circles, and sometimes as few as 10 players were left when the last storm circle started shrinking, leaving no safe zone on the map.
Professional players have found ways to stay alive in the late game by building tall structures while the circle is closing in horizontally. They occupy different heights within these structures, hoping to survive until the last circle closes. In the end, the winner might be the player who can heal themselves the most while enduring storm damage alongside their opponents.
However, this kind of ending in an aggressive and dynamic game like Fortnite isn’t enjoyable for players.
One Reddit user named SchwarzENTegger proposed an idea on the Fortnite subreddit to change the cylindrical storm circle into a dome shape. This change would limit the maximum height players can reach without taking storm damage, making the storm close in as a hemisphere. Currently, the storm doesn’t move vertically, allowing players to reach any height without consequence.
The Fortnite Reddit community immediately embraced this idea.
With a dome-shaped storm, players would be compelled to adopt a more aggressive playstyle in the endgame as the distance between them becomes smaller. Matches would no longer have boring endings, as there would be no space for heal-offs or monotonous building.
However, implementing this change would require adjustments to existing mechanics. Items like the Rift-to-Go and the Jump Pad, which boost and teleport players upward, might cause players to take storm damage in a late-game dome scenario. These items would need to be modified to prevent players from surpassing the vertical limit of the dome, ensuring they remain useful in the endgame.
Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, often pays attention to the Reddit community’s suggestions. In the past, the company has accepted some ideas, such as recent Slurp Juice changes and the return of a standard mode during Fortnitemares.
Only time will tell if the storm circle will ultimately evolve into a storm dome.