Fortnite Caves Slightly On The B.R.U.T.E. Mech

Epic Games has finally caved under the pressure surrounding the addition of B.R.U.T.E. Mechs in Fortnite's Season 10, rolling out significant nerfs in yesterday's patch. The vehicle now spawns less, inflicts decreased damage, and no longer harvests materials when moving through the environment.

The developer detailed the changes, which have already gone live, in a recent blog post. The total number of missiles a Mech can fire in a single charge has lowered from 10 to 6, with the fire rate decreasing by 56%. Epic hopes this modification will draw out exchanges between players and Mech-users, giving the individual's targeted by a missile volley more time to react. The radius of the Mech's rockets has also decreased by 42% to keep them "a strong option against structures, but less lethal against players."

Epic has also reigned in the Mech's dexterity, increasing its dash cooldown from 3 to 5 seconds and decreasing the velocity gained from boosting while in air by 33%. These changes reduce the B.R.U.T.E.'s ability to close gaps and engage in combat from long distances. "In general we hope to shift B.R.U.T.E.s away from being highly mobile and put more emphasis on their already defensive nature," explained Epic.

Mechs now spawn less and no longer grant materials to drivers and passengers; however, Epic made the odd choice to boost some of the vehicle's other capabilities. They've raised the B.R.U.T.E.'s health from 1000 to 1250 and reduced the material cost of using the gunner's overshield from 200 to 75. "Our goal is to further emphasize use of materials for positive defensive benefit," wrote the team. "With the above changes, users of the B.R.U.T.E. need to play a bit more strategic than before, so we want to give a little bit longer of a window to do so."

While these changes are welcome, for many Fortnite players, they will likely prove too little, too late.