Concerns about airplanes returning to Fortnite

Speedy air travel has made its triumphant return to the Fortnite island for the Operation Snowdown winter celebration event.

Operation Snowdown begins today and will last until January 5th, 2021, giving participants the opportunity to unlock new winter themed content and take part in exciting winter games. During this event, airplanes have also returned as an interesting form of air travel with some strong impacts on strategy.

If airplanes get put back on fortnite would you be excited or not!!? pic.twitter.com/uBUCQ7YEOD

— tv roro (@_Tvroro) December 16, 2020

One potential problem with airplanes in Fortnite

Perhaps the biggest concern regarding the return of airplanes to Fortnite is that the vehicle will lead to a resurgence of stalling based techniques.

Any season of Fortnite that features some form of air vehicles and minimal opportunities to shoot them down can often lead to players flying planes or helicopters high above the action, relying on the storm’s movement to eliminate players and score wins.

This exact problem has come back from time to time in Fortnite, though to varying degrees depending on the exact balance.

Whether or not this problem will return for the winter of Fortnite Season 5 is not yet known, but unless there are enough options for taking down opposing vehicles, or some kind of limiting factor preventing their prolonged use, Fortnite players may need to prepare for this likelihood.

If this should become a problem, players should consider stocking up on hard hitting hitscan weapons to chip away at the vehicle health whenever possible. For this season, the Heavy Assault Rifle might actually end up being the right tool for the job.

In the v15.00 update (C2S5), an estimated 7 files have been added for the Airplanes.There is one file, titled 'SantaBiplaneVeichle. This further confirms that the planes may be returning for the holiday season! Hopefully they nerf them again! (Credit: @_fevers_ ) pic.twitter.com/zXvRps2OEW

— Fortnite News (@SentinelCentral) December 12, 2020

Fly away!

Hopefully these kinds of polarizing strategies don’t become too prevalent during this season. When not abused, or when appropriately countered, planes make for an interesting form of mobility in Fortnite.

Because planes lack the ability to hover or stop at a specific location, pilots tend to use them to get in the general area of wherever they’re trying to go, rather than having a specific landing spot in mind.

No doubt this will allow for some unique playstyles, in addition to simply allowing players to loot an area before the storm eventually overtakes it. In some edge cases, being able to jump into a plane could also lead to players having a quick and evasive way to disengage with an aggressive player.

At the very least it will make for another unique way for players to interact with the world around them.