The evolution of Fortnite sweats and where it all started

Sweats are a major buzzkill in Fortnite. While being sweaty in the Arena mode is entirely understandable, it doesn't make any sense for a player to be sweaty in the public lobbies in Fortnite.

However, people weren't this sweaty in Fortnite when it first came out. People only started trying extra hard to win, even in public lobbies, a few seasons after the game launched.

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Fortnite: The rise of the sweats

Back in the early days of Fortnite, even pros had a difficult time playing the game. It wasn't like any other shooter that players were familiar with. Yes, it was still a shooter, no doubt, but it had an extra element: building.

Over the years, this mechanic has drastically improved. Turbo building is also now a thing, and people are very well versed with building. However, this wasn't the case during the early days of Fortnite. Building was a complex thing, and it remains so today.

When Fortnite first came out, everyone was on the same playing field when it came to building. However, when it came to Chapter 1 Season 3, its popularity started growing. Having experienced the game for two straight seasons, players slowly started getting better and better.

Pros started enjoying the game more, and viewership also increased, bringing in newer players. Given that more people were exposed to the title, it was only natural that some would get accustomed to the game sooner than others.

What really turned things around was the introduction of the playground mode sometime around Season 4 and Season 5 in Fortnite Chapter 1. This gave players an hour to do whatever they wanted on a private island filled with loot. They used this chance to practice their building skills as much as possible, giving rise to the first generation of sweats.

Finally, in Fortnite Chapter 1 Season 7, players got introduced to the Arena mode, wherein they could finally flaunt their building skills in a competitive scenario. However, that crowd began spilling into the public lobbies from early Chapter 2 itself. They started wearing a specific set of skins that went on to be labeled as sweaty skins.

Right now, the skill gap is so big that some people can build up literal castles within a few minutes, while some people struggle to build a simple box. This despite the building mechanics getting better over time. However, newer players still need a reasonable amount of time to get the hang of things.

There's a proper building tutorial that is locked behind a paywall, and not many people want to dabble in the creative mode just to learn how to build. So it's difficult to say that the skill gap between sweats and regular players will decrease anytime soon.

Most sweats try to be sweaty because they want to play like their favorite Fortnite pros. But then again, by doing that, they ruin the experience that regular players have in public matches.