Epic Games Introduces Fortnite Ballistic Mode with First-Person Gameplay
Overlapping with its OG event, Fortnite will be receiving yet another new game type in the form of Ballistic mode. This 5v5 game mode will not only diverge from the usual battle royale gameplay with its format, but it will also introduce the first official first-person mode to Fortnite. The release date for Early Access to the brand-new game mode has been set for December 11, but with its litany of new features and tactical approach, it’s sure to expand over the coming months.
Similar to the gameplay of tactical shooters like Counter-Strike and Valorant, Fortnite’s Ballistic mode is split into rounds. Between rounds, you can buy guns and choose gadgets to employ during combat. There are no respawns, and each player is eliminated from the round as soon as they run out of health. Teams are split into two categories with Attackers being tasked with planting a Rift Point Device and defenders aiming to defuse the device or stop it from being planted in the first place. If the Rift Point Device is set, the defenders will have 45 seconds to defuse it before the round ends in a loss for them. Every six rounds, the roles will switch with the first team to get to seven wins emerging as the victor.
The mode is set to emphasize tactics and teamwork with smaller team sizes and close-quarters combat. The early access will launch with only the Skyline 10 map, but major updates to the map and weapon selection will be made in the future. Despite the initially limited map choice, there are plenty of different weapons and gadgets to play around with in the early access.
Many staples of the familiar Fortnite arsenal are here, including the assault rifle, pistol, submachine gun, tactical machine gun, tactical shotgun, pump shotgun, bolt-action sniper rifle, and semi-auto sniper rifle. Flex gadgets also promise to add another element of strategy to the game mode. Many of these are also familiar from the traditional Fortnite experience as the mode will feature the proximity mine, the bubble shield, the recon grenade, the frag grenade, and the impulse grenade.
As the new game mode is being billed as highly competitive, Epic Games is also offering both ranked and unranked lobbies. The more casual players, or those who want to practice honing their skills, can enjoy the unranked lobbies while those who want to battle for rank-ups can drift towards the ranked lobbies. The rank matchups will be based on the average rank of your party, but Epic Games plans to adjust the systems accordingly.
Launching as a free-to-play game in 2017, Fortnite: Battle Royale has continued to release new content consistently ever since. And now, with Fortnite finally taking the leap to first person, it will be interesting to see how the game continues to evolve. The new Fortnite Ballistic mode is just one of the many ways in which Epic Games is still expanding the shooter and expanding its audience while keeping core fans engaged and intrigued.