Fortnite community outraged over 'unnecessary' nerf to Heavy Sniper rifle

The Heavy Sniper Rifle has been heavily nerfed in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2, and players are not happy.

It was first added to Fortnite during Chapter 1 Season 5. In its prime, this deadly weapon inflicted nearly 400 damage via headshots. Opponents with full hit-points and shields were eliminated outright. In Chapter 2 Season 2, it was nerfed and headshot damage was reduced to 330. However, given that this was still 130 points above the maximum threshold, it didn't really matter. A clean headshot would still guarantee a kill.

Now, in Chapter 3 Season 2, the legendary variant of the Heavy Sniper Rifle deals only 198 maximum damage to minimize one-shot kills.

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Was the nerf necessary?

Majority of the Fortnite community agree that this drastic reduction in damage makes no sense. Considering that the design of the weapon is inspired by the Barrett Sniper Rifle, the low damage output is truly perplexing. Based on general feedback from the community, the headshot damage of Heavy Sniper Rifles should be at least 200 for an instant death or knock.

To put things into perspective about just how weak the weapon is, the Mechanical Bow (Rare) does 212.5 damage upon landing a headshot.

However, there seems to be a silver lining. Even though it might not be worth carrying as a one-shot sniper, it is well worth the slot as an anti-tank weapon.

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The Heavy Sniper Rifle is an effective anti-tank weapon in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2

Although the weapon fails to live up to its reputation, it is exceptionally powerful against vehicles in Fortnite. While it does 198 maximum damage to players, it can inflict 640+ damage on vehicles - no headshot required. Players can shoot at any part of any vehicle to inflict damage.

This has led players to use the weapon as an anti-tank gun rather than a sniper. Based on the comments, if done correctly, a player can disable a Titan Tank by shooting it four to five times. This can come in handy when engaged by a tank on open ground. However, as pointed out by many users, this does not feel balanced.

Furthermore, looking at the bigger picture, the weapon feels less rewarding for skilled players. For instance, imagine shooting a target that's 200 meters away, landing a headshot, and then watching them run away with two hit points. They then heal and rotate to safety - never to be seen again. The only way to score a one-shot kill using the Heavy Sniper is if the opponent in question has 198 hit points or less.

By the looks of it, Epic Games is removing or limiting the ability of one-shot kills in Fortnite. While it's understandable as to why the developers may want to do this given the Zero-Build mode, it makes no sense for the normal mode. This may bridge the skill-gap for now, but it's not a long-term solution.

Not having snipers capable of one-shot kills is rather peculiar for any Battle Royale game. To an extent, this feels like Epic Games trying to be too controlling and avoiding the community's wish for a one-shot weapon.