Fortnite update today (May 24) patch notes: Major game-changing nerfs arrive

The latest Fortnite update was released on Wednesday, May 24. Epic Games rolled out several major changes with it, which is unusual considering that it's a small hotfix update. The development team decided to nerf Grenades, as well as the Heavy Sniper Rifle, more than five years after they were added to the game. These nerfs are huge and will drastically affect the gameplay. The new update concerns both casual and ranked mode players.

The Heavy Sniper Rifle used to be one of the best weapons against builds. However, it can no longer deal heavy damage and one-shot builds. Fortunately, the nerf only affects structural damage.

---

Fortnite update has drastically nerfed damage to structures

Structures will take less damage from both Grenades and the Heavy Sniper Rifle (Image via Epic Games)

Grenades no longer deal 100 damage to players, as their damage was reduced to only 40 damage. In addition to this, these explosive items used to deal 375 damage to builds, which was reduced all the way down to 75.

Considering how significant this nerf is, Grenades are now one of the worst items in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2. While they can still do decent damage to players, many gamers won't waste an inventory slot on them.

The Heavy Sniper Rifle used to deal 600 to 660 damage to builds, but it was nerfed to 150-165 damage with the latest Fortnite update. The long-range weapon, however, still remains very effective against players and is capable of one-shot eliminations.

All of these changes are active in core and competitive game modes. Additionally, Epic Games has applied them to all Creative islands that use these weapons.

The development team will monitor gameplay data and player feedback and release more weapon balance changes if necessary.