Gaming: Fortnite's Chapter 7 Loot Pool Is A Blueprint For Battle Royale...

Weapon buffs and new guns in Fortnite Chapter 7 make it the most balanced loot pool I can remember.

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I love a good moan about Fortnite: about Epic Games vaulting my beloved shockwave grenades, about the sorry state of SMGs, and about a baffling update adding off-brand weapons.

So I should give credit where credit's due. Through careful buffs and bringing back some older weapons, Epic Games has curated the best loot pool in ages.

I felt very differently a month ago. I loved Chapter 7's varied map, but one weapon—the Deadeye AR—dominated. No other rifle came close. SMGs were as irrelevant as they have been for most of the past year, and the sole sniper only felt viable in a three-weapon loadout alongside the Deadeye and a shotgun.

What a difference a few weeks can make. I took a chunk of time off as paternity leave and I've returned to find that bad weapons are suddenly good and that a new red-dot rifle, the MK-seven, is challenging the Deadeye's supremacy.

The most meaningful change has been to SMGs. Epic has ditched the fast-firing Dual Micro SMGs to focus on the Holo and Flex SMGs, buffing the damage and magazine size on both weapons. The Holo always had potential because of its optic, which made it easier to aim—now, it's finally fulfilling that potential as a stable, high-damage, full-auto weapon that shines over short-to-medium ranges. Its 200 damage-per-second means that when I've played a little stealthy and caught opponents napping, I've obliterated them before they know what's happening.

It's so good that for certain players it's worth ditching the Deadeye assault rifle. The Holo's damage fall-off makes it struggle at mid-to-long ranges but if you can control sightlines, slip in and out of cover and get close to another player, you'll beat the Deadeye in a straight fight.

The Flex got a similar buff and while I still prefer the Holo, the Flex is a more… well, flexible weapon. Its rapid hipfire sprays through builds and when you right click, it fires slower but deals more damage, and is surprisingly accurate at range. Its new larger magazine means you can theoretically deal more than 200 damage per second for more than four seconds before reloading. Lethal.

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Source: PC Gamer