Fortnite finally proves 'The Dip' emote was pay-to-win

Fortnite is a free-to-play game, and Epic Games has done its best to ensure that no one ever has to pay anything. There are cosmetics, emotes, and more that players can choose to buy, but it has no bearing on the game. A person who spends nothing on the game has as much of a chance of winning as someone who spends thousands.

It's not a pay-to-win game like many others are. However, unfortunate occurrences have historically added a few advantages to certain items. These in-game benefits are unintentional, but Fortnite items are sometimes pay-to-win (or pay-to-lose).

The Dip was considered a pay-to-win emote, and with a recent nerf, Epic Games is confirming that it was unintentionally advantageous. It's normal now, but it was very helpful for a long time. Here's how it helped and what the nerf did to it.

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Nerfing The Dip emote: Fortnite emote is no longer pay-to-win

The Dip is an Icon Series emote first introduced in Chapter 3 Season 3. It has been in the Item Shop quite a lot since then, and it quickly became very popular with players.

The main reason for this is that Loopers could use it to dodge bullets. A well-timed dip could dodge even the most well-placed shotgun shots. Players could use it to fool an enemy and reverse the situation.

Players would drop to the floor, dodge the shot, rise back up and be able to hit a devastating headshot on their unsuspecting and probably frustrated enemy.

That used to be the case, but it is no longer "pay-to-win." The once advantageous emote is now just as useless as the rest of them, at least in terms of winning the game.

Fortnite YouTuber Glitch King, mostly known for uncovering XP Creative maps and glitches, shared their findings with the community in a YouTube video on October 4.

Now, the emote falls to the ground at a much slower rate. It also takes time for the character to get back up. If players try to use this emote in the heat of battle, it will essentially provide their opponent with a free elimination.

Previously, it would dodge the bullets, but now it just provides a barely moving target for nearly four seconds. That's more than enough time for even the most average Fortnite player to eliminate someone.

Epic would never really admit that they made something pay-to-win, but their reversal on this emote is telling. Clearly, the developers created something that provided an in-game advantage if they had to nerf it and take it away in the future.

The Dip emote in Fortnite (Image via Brani on YouTube)

It's also telling that this was a nerf and not a patch. Patches are for glitches, whereas nerfs are for when something is not as it should be.

This is usually reserved for weapons. When a Fortnite weapon is too powerful, Epic Games reduces its stats to make the game more balanced. The developers want each weapon to have the same theoretical chance of being picked up and used.