Sniper Rifles have been a staple of Fortnite for many years, but players are divided on whether they still have a place in Chapter 5 Season 1, as many feel it’s “ridiculous” that they can one-shot a fully shielded enemy.
Building on the success of Season OG, Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 has been well-received by the community. The update introduced a fresh map full of unique new locations, as well as a Battle Pass stuffed full of skins.
As always, it also brought some major changes to the loot pool, with new additions like Ballistic Shields and Grapple Blades adding an extra dimension to each fight.
The sniping meta is alive and well yet again in Chapter 5, with Season 1 adding the new Reaper Sniper Rifle. However, players are split on whether Snipers should be nerfed to make for fairer long-range battles.
Streamer ‘Micawavetv’ posted a clip to Reddit that showed him being one-shotted by an enemy with a Reaper. The Sniper is capable of dealing 275 headshot damage, meaning it knocks a fully shielded player with a single bullet.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m doing backflips, cartwheels, jumping jacks, [or] somersaults, he’s going to 275 me every time,” said the OP in the video. “Sniper is too easy, it’s too easy. Nerf it.”
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Plenty of other players responded to the post, agreeing that Sniper Rifles are too powerful and “annoying” in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1. “You could be full speed running, throw a Shockwave and launch yourself into the air and they will still hit the headshot. It’s kinda ridiculous,” said one reply.
The main issue that many had was the sheer amount of damage they do, with very few penalties to make them more risk-reward.
“Sniping is fun but when you have 3 shots or more per mag, easy handling, very common so almost everyone has one, and the fact all guns are projectile now instead of hit scan makes it so much harder to punish snipers,” said another player. “I shouldn’t have to cower in fear for every glint I see.”
Meanwhile, other players weren’t convinced that Sniper Rifles needed a nerf in Fortnite, claiming that they still require enough skill to make them fair.
“It’s not an issue at all lmfao. If I get one shotted I’m not thinking bulls**t I’m thinking damn that’s a f*n nice shot,” argued one fan.
Only time will tell if Epic Games decide to nerf Sniper Rifles in the future. While it’s unlikely they will completely remove such a popular weapon, many players will be hoping for changes in Chapter 5 Season 2, or another upcoming update.
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