Although the Pump Shotgun has already undergone a series of balance adjustments during its life span in Fortnite Battle Royale, it appears that one more balance tweak is on the way in update 6.31. The news comes via Twitter, where one of the lead developers on Fortnite elaborated on the upcoming shotgun changes in a tweet on November 20.
According to a tweet from Eric Williamson, Fortnite’s Design Lead at Epic Games, the Pump Shotgun will receive a balance readjustment to “improve effectiveness.” Though its range will be slightly reduced, the Pump Shotgun’s damage will be increased when in close quarters. Williamson also mentions that “ALL shotguns will have a minimum damage of 3 pellets (even if only 1 or 2 hit).”
The upcoming 6.31 update will include a Pump Shotgun rebalance to improve effectiveness: damage will increase in close quarters and range will be reduced slightly. Additionally, ALL shotguns will have a minimum damage of 3 pellets (even if only 1 or 2 hit).
— Eric Williamson (@erwil9) November 20, 2018
Williamson elaborated on the upcoming shotgun balance changes over on the Fortnite Battle Royale subreddit, where he explains the per-pellet damage on each rarity level of the Pump Shotgun. According to Williamson, the “Blue Pump Shotgun will do 10 damage per pellet,” which will allow the rare Pump to hit for up to 30 damage per shot, not accounting for long-range bullet drop. Likewise, the Green Pump Shotgun will produce 9.5 damage per pellet.
The balance changes for the Pump Shotgun likely come as a response to ongoing feedback from the Fortnite community regarding this popular close-quarters weapon. A release date has not yet been announced for the upcoming 6.31 update for Fortnite, but it should arrive relatively soon.
Check out our other Fortnite coverage for guides and tips for completing various challenges in Season 6, such as consuming apples in Fortnite.
