New Fortnite Hotfix Brings Massive Changes to Sprites and Vaults Overpowered Weapon

Epic Games has just released a massive new hotfix for Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3, bringing sweeping balance changes to this season’s core mechanics and loot pool. The update comes after Epic has already tweaked various weapons over the week, and it looks like the developers are continuing to make changes until they hit the right balance.

Fortnite Brings Epic Sprites Buffs and Big Loot Pool Changes in New Hotfix

The recent Fortnite hotfix was dropped out of the blue by Epic, who announced it with a post on X. With this new update, the developers have buffed all Epic Fortnite Sprites across the board, while also vaulting the beloved Chaos Reloader Shotgun.

The list of all the changes is quite exhaustive, so we have compiled all the information below:

Sprite Changes

• Epic Sprite abilities at each level have been adjusted to make them more useful and provide a more noticeable payoff when dropping into a match.
• The Ghost Sprite keeps you cloaked for longer at its early levels. The new durations for the Ghost Sprite’s invisibility are:
  • Level 1: 3 Seconds
  • Level 2: 3.5 Seconds
  • Level 3: 4 Seconds
  • Level 4: 4.5 Seconds
  • Level 5: 5 Seconds
• The Duck Sprite grants more shield per tick while jamming, scaling up with the sprite’s level. The new Shield rates for the Duck Sprite are:
  • Level 1: 2 Shields per tick
  • Level 2: 3 Shields per tick
  • Level 3: 4 Shields per tick
  • Level 4: 6 Shields per tick
  • Level 5: 8 Shields per tick
• The King Sprite has had its pickaxe damage cranked way up. The new buff rates for pickaxe damage with the King Sprite equipped are:
  • Level 1: 50% Buff
  • Level 2: 100% Buff
  • Level 3: 200% Buff
  • Buff Level 4: 300% Buff
  • Buff Level 5: 500% Buff
• The Demon Sprite siphons more health and shield per elimination, with the bonus scaling higher at every level. The new health siphon rates for the Demon Sprite are:
  • Level 1: 10
  • Level 2: 15
  • Level 3: 20
  • Level 4: 25
  • Level 5: 30
• New Gummy Sprite variants have been added to the Island, granting 10% more Sprite Dust when extracting.

Loot Pool and Weapon Changes

• The Chaos Reloader Shotgun has been vaulted.
• The Warforged Assault Rifle has been unvaulted, converted to hitscan without modding, given tighter recoil, and had its maximum damage per second slightly reduced.
• The Seven Sliders now take longer to overheat.
  • Fuel drain reduced by around 33%.
  • Fuel cost per tick reduced by around 33%.
  • Should last roughly 1.5x longer.
• The Common Chaos Exploder Rifle has been removed from floor loot.
• The Chaos Exploder Rifle now does significantly less damage up close, but no longer has any damage drop off.

XP Changes

• XP rates increased for reaching each storm circle phase.
• XP rates increased for opening chests.
• XP rates increased for getting eliminations and assists.
• XP rates increased for reviving and rebooting your team.

Apart from the big new changes, Epic also revealed that a staggering 80 million Sprites have already been extracted in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3. For anyone following the current trend, it is not surprising, since players have already started trading Sprites for real-world money, proving how widespread the craze has become.

While the Chaos Reloader Shotgun will definitely be missed from the Fortnite loot pool, I think the weapon, along with the Chaos Exploder Rifle, really did upset the current balance of the game. As Chapter 7 Season 3 continues, we will see how well these changes pan out.

What do you think about the new hotfix for Chapter 7 Season 3? Tell us in the comments below!