3 things to know from Fortnite’s patch v5.21

It’s an off week for Fortnite patches, but patch v5.21 is a little more than the normal content updates we’re used to. While these weeks between big patches are normally reserved for simply adding one weapon or a new game mode, patch v5.21 does a little bit of everything.

While this patch is coming in with more changes than normal, none of them are too surprising. In fact, its main addition was to fix a gap in what was already in the game. The new heavy sniper rifle fills in the need for a high-end weapon in the sniper category as well as a ranged building destroyer. Meanwhile, the new mode offers an entirely fresh addition to the game with a glider infused twist on the traditional 50v50 mode.

So, to give you an idea of what’s changed in the latest Fortnite patch, here are the three things you need to know before jumping into a game.

The new heavy sniper rifle looks intimidating

Fortnite Battle Royale’s newest gun is a massive sniper rifle that only comes in epic and legendary rarity, which is good because it does a lot of damage. Each shot from the new gun does 150 or 157 damage — depending on rarity. On top of that, the weapon’s bullets can destroy any wall in the game in just a single shot. This new sniper rifle can be found in any normal loot spot, including floor loot and chests, and features significantly less bullet drop than other sniper rifles in Fortnite. The gun is also making it’s debut in Sniper Shootout, which is returning this week with the heavy sniper rifle replacing the old Scoped AR in the mode.

Soaring 50s limited time mode is all about gliding

After your initial drop onto the map, your glider doesn’t have much to do in a regular Battle Royale match. Fortunately, the new Soaring 50s mode is looking to change that by allowing players to glide a lot more frequently. In this limited time mode, any drop from more than 10 meters will allow you to deploy your glider, meaning you can build your own launch pads and fly across the map. But you probably won’t have to because impulse grenades, launch pads and bounce pads all have an increased spawn chances, so you’re more likely to find them during the match. With so many chances to fly around the map, this version of 50v50 is likely going to be the most exciting and chaotic yet.

The minigun’s damage is getting nerfed

With all the excitement over new additions to the game, it would be easy to overlook significant changes to the things that were already there. Balance changes don’t normally come with these smaller patches, but v5.21 is bringing just one: a nerf to minigun damage. More specifically, headshots with the minigun are going to do a little bit less damage now — from 2.5 to 1.5 — something that should make the gun a little less oppressive when it’s focusing on a specific player.

For a full look at all the changes in Fortnite’s patch v5.21 you can check out Epic’s patch notes.