As of late, if you watch any Fortnite streamer or browse the subreddits, you'll get drenched in frustrated commentary about Season X's B.R.U.T.E. mech vehicle. The most vocal players aren't too happy with how powerful the mechs are against their usual tactics, even after their spawn rate was reduced in Arena modes and the v10.10 patch made incoming mech attacks louder and clearer. These players were expecting the mech to get the boot in 10.10, or at least a significant nerf.
But the mech persists, and the Fortnite team's penned a short blog post explaining why.
"The mission of Fortnite is to bring players of all skill levels together to have a fun experience where anyone can win. For example—everyone having a shot at that first elimination or Victory Royale moment and the satisfying feeling that comes with it. Right now, we know there are players out there who have never had that opportunity," it reads.
"Another part of the mission is to provide spectacle and entertainment when playing Fortnite. The B.R.U.T.E. was added at the start of Season X with this mission in mind. Since then, we have seen players who had previously struggled with getting eliminations acquiring more, while the number of eliminations earned by more experienced players remained steady."
The mechs represent a way in for players who lack skill in building, but they still require map awareness, precise aim and weapon management, and two people to pilot efficiently. They ruin players who are caught off guard at close range, but are loud, huge, slow, and easy to sneak around or pick away at from long distances.
There's no denying that getting smushed isn't a particularly glorious way to go down, but steadfast mech nay-sayers make deaths-by-robot feel like a constant issue, while Epic's data says otherwise. I don't inherently worship data, but seeing the numbers puts what Reddit and streamers and pros are mad about into perspective.
There are less than seven average eliminations by mechs per game across every mode in Fortnite. Out of 100 players, that's not quite the steel pestilence #removethemech makes it seem.
They're responsible for a tiny percentage of eliminations per match, and I'd honestly rather get stepped on by a happy fourth grader getting their first kills via robot suit than a sweaty build-master whose skills I respect but will never, ever meet.
Turns out the mechs are good, actually.
