It has been revealed, courtesy of a trusted member of the Fortnite community, that there may be a complete overhaul of the game’s core gliding mechanics. This change, should it occur, may completely redefine the first few seconds of each and every Battle Royale match, necessitating a reeducation of deeply ingrained player habits.
Currently, the norm in Fortnite is that players migrate to pre-match Spawn Island where they meet up before being dispatched through the Battle Bus. As soon as they get airborne, players choose their destination point by the direction they are going to head. Once the jump and free fall takes place, then the automatic or manual release of their glider when they touch down follows. In competitive matches, the accuracy of this landing is most important, having a direct influence upon the early-game fate of a player. Gliding to higher altitudes initiates an earlier deployment of gliders compared to landing in open ground or water.
But data from the highly-respected Fortnite insider Wensoing indicates that Epic is now trying out a fresh glider-deployment system. This would put control in players’ hands to deploy and redeploy their gliders at will while descending. This would eliminate the existing requirement of careful targeting to avoid untimely deployment of gliders, enabling rapid descent and even accurate landings.
But this dramatic new twist presents a new risk factor: risk of damage due to falls. The players will need to tread carefully, measuring the best moment to use their gliders by their speed and height. This is a balancing act between speed and safety. Speculation among the player base is rampant on how this new feature will play with water landings. Based on contemporary game mechanics, most expect water landing to take the impact of any fall damage incurred, offering a safer, albeit slower, descent.
The implications of these potential alterations to Fortnite’s gliding system are wide-ranging. Adding player control over glider deployment adds an extra layer of strategic choice to the start of each match. Gliders will make players choose how to adapt their strategy, balancing the benefit of a rapid descent against the risks of open free fall. This development of a fundamental game component has the potential to drastically change early-game interaction and force a reexamination of practiced landing strategies.
