Fortnite fans rage as $1m Winter Skirmish ruined by Infinity Blade
Two major patches between qualifiers and the the final heats make for a very different game
EPIC is no stranger to controversy around its mega-money tournaments, and the Winter Skirmish is no exception.
Qualifiers have been going on for several weeks, and the finals have just kicked off--with players having to contend with the sudden addition of fighters and an absurdly powerful sword, the Infinity Blade.
Even Fortnite's chief cheerleader, Twitch streamer Ninja, was displeased.
"To add the sword and to have these planes, in this tournament, it's just not what I qualified for," .
Other competitive players are similarly displeased. Ghost Bizzle said the changes resulted in "huge loss of respect for Fortnite."
Another, Avery 'Avxry' Lopriore of gaming clan Faze, demanded that the North American heats played with the blade were re-run under the pre-blade conditions that the EU heats had.
"Epic Games should apologies [sic] to this wave of Winter Skirmish players and redo heat 1 and revert the patch to how EU Skirmish was."
The Infinity Blade is the second 'Mythic' level weapon to be added to Battle Royale -- previously only the Infinity Gauntlet, part of the Avengers: Infinity War LTM had been in the top tier.
It "destroys structures in one blow" and deals 75 damage to players hit directly by its slash and 25 to those caught nearby.
Players wielding the sword also get other bonuses, including double health and shields, a movement speed boost, and bonus health on eliminating an opponent.
The ability to scythe through structures in one go with no ammunition limits or anything similar has a serious impact on the end of matches, which generally see players and teams rapidly building defences as they try to protect themselves from the other players who are left standing.
Picking the sword up will result in you dropping all your other items, except building materials, however.
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There will only be one per game, and it will spawn on Polar Peak. It can, however, be picked up again after being dropped when the holder is eliminated.
Players outside of the tournament have been complaining about the blade too. Team-based modes are suffering too, given the huge advantage provided by spawning on the side with Polar Peak, and hence the sword.
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