Are Tryhards ruining Fortnite?: Understanding the Sweats vs Casual debate in Season 7

The game of Fortnite has reached a complicated crossroads. There is currently a split amongst the players. Some fall on the casual side and others on the "tryhard" or "sweat" side. This division is frustrating for those on the casual side, though the tryhards don't care that much because they're not really a threat to them.

Having infuriated so many players, the division has the potential to cause Fortnite to lose users.

If I run into one tryhard on fortnite today I’m throwing my pc into the street

— Scirt (@ShmeatAlonso) July 8, 2021

The game is fun, but many find the division amongst players disappointing and frustrating to say the least. This is a raging debate in the world of Fortnite and it isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

Sweats vs. Casuals in Fortnite: The never-ending debate

Sweats vs. casuals wasn't always an issue in Fortnite. For many seasons in Chapter 1, Fortnite was a tranquil game (as relaxed as a 100 PvP Battle Royale game can be) and players were not frustrated with their counterparts.

As the game has developed and many players have gotten really good at it, the spit happened slowly and naturally.

Soccer skins have often been considered "sweaty". Image via Sportskeeda

Many players truly enjoy playing Fortnite and aren't that interested in competing professionally or in any tournaments or even in exerting any energy for a potential Victory Royale.

A lot of players are like this. Yes, everyone is trying to win the game, but it matters a lot more for some people than others. These people are often just trying to have fun and relax or unwind after a long day, and they run into a sweat who has built an entire fortress in 30 seconds and is gunning them down from above.

The debate raged on and Fortnite was eventually inspired enough to do something about it. This is why they created skill-based matchmaking. There's not a lot of information on how this feature works, but there are two factors people generally agree on: current level, and all-time statistics.

If players have racked up a lot of wins, they'll be in a higher skill-based match. The other thing is the level of the player, though that might not factor in as much.

Skill based matchmaking. Image via Fortnite News

Skill-based matchmaking is helpful, but it is flawed. There are plenty of players who have high levels just because they want to unlock battle pass rewards or have done a lot of challenges.

This would put them in a higher bracket, so to speak, than they might want to. The "wins" theory would be a better way of segregating the player base.

Still, there seems to be no escape from the sweats for the casuals, and no escape from the debate for Fortnite.