Yesterday was the release of the v6.00 patch which includes a new Battle Pass that goes along with Season 6 as well as some patch notes. First I’ll start off with the new Battle Pass and the Season 6 changes. I still haven’t played myself so I’ll just be writing on what I’ve read and seen from videos.
The Battle Pass this season doesn’t look too great in my opinion and I can’t really see a theme. The first tier 1 skin “DJ Yonder” looks kind of strange because of the large llama head which I’m interested in how the hitbox for that will work. The second tier 1 skin “Calamity” is one of those skins that have more customizable versions the more experience you gain. In my opinion, the 5th tier looks better than the maxed out one with the lights. The tier 23 skin “Giddy-Up” also looks like another strange skin with a person wearing a Halloween costume making it look like they’re riding a llama. I’m also curious about how the hitboxes will work with this skin as well. The “Fable” skin on tier 47 is my favourite skin from this Battle Pass although it kind of just looks like another normal skin that you might find in the item shop. The tier 71 skin “Dusk” also seems like your average skin. The “Nightshade” skin at tier 86 looks really strange with a seemingly normal skin wearing a smiling tomato head. The tier 100 skin “Dire” in my opinion is really boring for a tier 100 skin. After stage 3 it seems like the colours change going on and that’s about it. Moving on from skins, the gliders, contrails, and pickaxes all seem about average for a Battle Pass.
With the Season 6, they’ve added a new cosmetic item called pets which ride in a backpack with you. There seem to be three types of dogs, three types of dragons, and a chameleon. In my opinion, I feel like Epic Games should stop adding more cosmetic items. I get that as a free game cosmetics are how they make money, but now the trend of Fortnite is starting to die out. That’s why I feel like they should try and balance the gameplay mechanics more so that people like me who just want to play the game are more interested in playing.
Starting to get into the gameplay, there haven’t been too many changes to the map in terms of new locations. In Loot Lake, the middle house is now a floating island. In the patch notes, there’s supposedly corrupted areas, corn fields, and a haunted castle although I can’t say where they are on the map. Since I haven’t gone in-game yet it’s hard for me to mention all the new changes to the map.
New Shadow Stones have been added which make you invisible when standing still and slightly more visible when moving. You are unable to use weapons, but you have increased movement speeds in general as well as reduced fall damage capabilities. You can “Phase” which propels you forwards as well as through objects in the direction you’re facing. The effect of the Shadow Stones lasts 45 seconds but can be deactivated by holding down right click.
Impulse Grenades, the Suppressed SMG, the LMG, Bouncers, and C4 (Remote Explosives) have all been vaulted, but these five items can still be accessed through the Playground mode. The Grappler was tweaked in the way its momentum was affected by moving objects, as well as the number of shots you get, was reduced to 10 from 15. The Double Barrel shotgun’s damage was also reduced by around 30 from 143 and 150 which doesn’t seem like a lot but makes it a lot less viable than it was before. Dual Pistol drop rates were reduced down to 0.88% and that’s about it for weapon changes.
There were also some changes to the storm circles in terms of shrink and wait time, but that’s it for this patch (v6.00). I’ll check it out and play for a while to experience the new things, but from what my friends tell me it’s not so great. However, my expectations were never high for the game after the past few months anyway.