"The most slept on item in the game": The over-powered Fortnite weapon that almost no one uses

Fortnite has a cornocopia of different weapons that can pander to even the most fussy of players. From rocket-propelled grenade launchers to melee weapons like daggers, the game is full of armaments that can be used in any situation. It even has energy-based weapons that don't use any ballistic ammunition.

Given the sheer diversity of weapons, it is possible that some will become fan-favorites, while others will be outright ignored. To counter this disparity, Fortnite developers rotate the game's weapons every season. Loadouts and weapon meta(s) are curated carefully to prevent the gameplay from getting lopsided.

The pistol is a quintessential weapon that every shooting-based game has. Sadly, this category of nifty little firearms is often overshadowed by bigger automatic weapons. But this doesn't discount the fact that pistols are well-rounded weapons that can prove their worth, if used skillfully. Although pistols in Fortnite suffer from the same plight, a video has surfaced recently that could change the community's perspective on pistols.

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Ninja casts light upon the most slept on item in Fortnite

Streamer Richard Tyler Blevins, popular known as Ninja, is one of the most famous Fortnite personalities on the internet. In fact, he was the first streamer to get inducted into the game with his own Icon Series skin. Ninja is respected and revered by the community, hence, his every suggestion is heeded to, even by the Fortnite developers.

Ninja recently took it upon himself to advocate for the "most slept on item in the game". He published a video where he played a solo match and obliterated 10 opponents using only a Sidearm Pistol. Although he did have other weapons in the loadout, his go-to firearm was the Sidearm Pistol, which he wielded like a pro.

Introduced in Chapter 3 Season 1, the Sidearm Pistol is a semi-automatic, high fire rate multi-range weapon that has decent first shot accuracy. It excels at close to medium range combat and has a reload time of 1.54 -1.26 seconds. Available across all raritites, the Sidearm Pistol inflicts damage in the range of 25 to 31 per shot.

Screenshot of the message board from the video 1/2 (Image via YouTube/Ninja)

Modeled after the Italian Beretta M9, the Sidearm Pistol has an accurate hipfire shot that translates into a tighter and more accurate spread and even has a headshot multiplier of 2.0x. Although the Sidearm Pistol has less DPS than SMGs, its range versatility and quicker reload time outperforms that of many automatic weapons.

Screenshot of the message board from the video 2/2 (Image via YouTube/Ninja)

In the video, Ninja manages to inflict a hipfire headshot damage count of 61, using the Sidearm Pistol. Given the range and size of the firearm, this feat is a testament to the pistol's capablity when used skillfully. In fact, he even used the weapon to successfully shoot down airborne opponents.

Ninja's video captures the essence of the Sidearm Pistol rather well. It manages to cast light upon this slept on item that is rather common as floor loot, but is hardly used. Clearly, the Sidearm Pistol is a great example of the idiom, 'big things come in small packages'. Now that Ninja has brought to attention the might of the pistol, it is plausible that the weapon class might witness a revival.

The last instance where this weapon category saw such devotion was when the high caliber Hand Cannon was introduced to the game.