Epic Games announced a Baller nerf was on the way. In Patch v8.20, the Fortnite developers took collision damage away from the vehicle. They also declared at the time that the Baller would see further nerfs in Patch v8.30. However, Epic has now backtracked a bit on that commitment.
[Update: Epic Games has in fact made a change to the Baller, reducing its health from 300 to 200.]
Changes on hold
On Tuesday, April 9, the developers changed their strategy. The update to the Ballers is not ready to be implemented. Instead, players must wait. The only timeline announced was “in the near future.” This leaves the Ballers unchanged just days before Week 1 of the Fortnite World Cup 2019.
Currently, the meta for Fortnite revolves around using the Baller. In competitive games and tournaments, players sit in the Ballers the entire game. Late game is full of the hamster ball-like vehicles. During the Fortnite World Cup Warmup, there were lobbies with 20 or more Ballers in the final circles. The update would have helped to reduce the number of players using the vehicle and its effectiveness. This change will not be implemented before the first week of the Fortnite World Cup. Be prepared for the ball meta to be on display.
Criticism of the Baller
The criticisms of the Baller have been widespread throughout the competitive Fortnite community. The vehicle takes little mechanical skill and intuition to succeed. While in the ball, a player takes no damage. It provides a free 300 [now 200 –Ed.] health shield. Additionally, the vehicle is the best way to move in the game. With free shield and excellent movement ability, it is not difficult to understand why everyone uses them. The players have adapted to the new meta. Now, most lobbies are full of Ballers. The short video below showcases the ridiculousness of the vehicle.
The lack of change to this style of play for patch v8.30 has caused further uproar from the community.
Then remove ballers from the World Cup qualifiers until you figure out how to fix them! Don’t ruin the integrity of the biggest E-Sport competition the world has ever seen out of stubbornness. https://t.co/4Y6cExlHc3
— SypherPK (@SypherPK) April 9, 2019
vault ballers week one if you aren't capable of nerfing them
— Chap (@ChapFN) April 10, 2019
Ballers enabled and UNCHANGED beginning of world cup. What a joke
— cloakzy (@cloakzy) April 9, 2019
Although these players have learned to use the Ballers, they would prefer the game without vehicles. Maybe viewers and fans of the competitive scene should be upset as well. They are robbed of watching Fortnite played at the highest level. Instead, Week 1 of qualifiers will feature balls and lots of them.
How do you feel about the Ballers? Should Epic Games just remove the vehicle from competitive play? Join the discussion and comment below!
