5 things to know from Fortnite’s patch v5.20

Fortnite’s newest patch is here and it’s … a little odd. In terms of additions to the game, patch v5.20 is easily the smallest released so far this season. On the other hand, thanks to its bug fixes, it technically has quite a few changes in it.

In other words, patch v5.20 is going to feel like playing a better version of the same game, rather than switching things up too much. While that may not make everyone happy, it at least means a more stable game and one with a little less unintended frustration.

There is one place where the game’s performance and its balance intersect, and that’s with C4. The notoriously buggy weapon is getting its pick up number reduced by one in this patch, as well as getting a little quieter when it explodes. It turns out, explosions you could hear from hundreds of meters away were taking quite a toll on the servers.

For a full look at the patch notes for Fortnite’s patch v5.20 you can check out our notes post.

The new Double Barrel Shotgun might bring one-shots back

While shotguns have always been the preferred tool for players when they got up close and personal, the Double Barrel is coming in to fill an even more specific range in that it’s really only going to be effective at point-blank ranges. But, what the Double Barrel lacks in range it makes up for in pure damage. In fact, supposing you can hit your shots, this shotgun does 150 base damage in its Legendary form, meaning that one-shot kill shotguns are officially back in the game

Steady Storm Mode is coming to keep players moving

Sometimes in Fortnite it’s easy to decide to play things safe if you’re already inside the zone. Maybe you can build a nice base and just sit tight? Well, not in this mode. In the new Steady Storm limited time mode there is no safe zone. Players drop onto the island and are forced to constantly outrun a storm that’s always advancing and does 10 damage per second. Because the mode will never let players know when they might be safe, this should be a perfect place for players who want nothing more than constant, frantic action.

You can now look at your challenges in-game

This has been one of the most oft-requested features in all of Battle Royale and it’s finally here. Alongside simply being able to view the challenge menu itself, players will also see certain recommended challenges while looking at the map screen. This isn’t exactly a radical change for the game, but it’s an excellent quality-of-life update for just about every player.

Crouch peeking has been fixed

In Epic’s never-ending quest to fix Fortnite’sproblematic peeking, crouch peeking appears to have been taken out of the game. For players that don’t know, crouch peeking allowed players to fire their weapon while quickly crouching and un-crouching behind a wall. If players did this fast enough, they could shoot over the wall, but could not be hit from the other side. This made them nearly invincible, which should give you a good hint as to why Epic would want to remove it from the game. As it turns out, shots fired from a half crouched position were firing as if players were fully standing, an issue Epic has now fixed.

Vending Machines might be useful now

When they were first added all the way back in April, vending machines seemed like they could be interesting situation additions to the game. Unfortunately, they never really were and since then, materials have gotten even more rare, making them far more valuable than any gun. Thankfully, Epic is taking a balance pass at vending machines in hopes of making them even slightly useful. As of patch v5.20, vending machines will now spawn more often and cost significantly less in order to get items. While it’s hard to say whether or not this will be worthwhile, since materials are still so valuable after recent nerfs, but this should at least make you think about the machines again, which is a step in the right direction.