‘Building has been wiped out!’: Fortnite removes key feature, confusing millions of players
Published on Mar 22, 2022 at 5:41 PM (UTC+4)
by Thiemo Albers-Daly
Last updated on Jul 01, 2022 at 5:02 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
If you’ve loaded up Fortnite today and noticed something missing, you’re not alone.
Fortnite’s disabled the building feature.
But why? And is it coming back?
Building is a core pillar of the gameplay experience. It’s been this way since the game first launched.
And whether you’re a fan or not, it serves as almost a necessary defence tool in the game.
So why has it disappeared?
As part of a massive overhaul to the mechanics of the game, Epic Games has opted to take building out of the battle-royale mode.
This is part of the new seasonal event, Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2: Resistance, which started earlier this month.
Epic confirmed the news with a blog post on its official site, saying: “Building has been wiped out!”
But an important note to bear in mind before you start howling at the moon like a wounded wolf is this: building has only been removed from the main battle-royale game, with the other Fortnite modes keeping the mechanic for now.
As for the reasons behind the change, it’s actually quite simple.
Epic Games has removed building from Fortnite because the developers say they want to challenge players with some new defence mechanics.
The official blog explained: “To help maintain cover, you now have an Overshield on top of your Shield and Health. The Overshield is your first line of defense: before your Shield and Health take a hit, it’s your Overshield that’ll crack. Your Overshield will still recover if it goes all the way down to 0.”
It’s a simple and straightforward way to test the waters and see how gamers navigate the change.
Will building be rebuilt in the future?
There’s no official word yet, but with the current battle pass for the game ending on June 3, there is speculation that this will signal its return.
So if you didn’t know what the heck was going on and why, now you do.
In the meantime, if you’re an avid player who relies on the feature, you might need to find a different way to win. Good luck.
Thiemo Albers-Daly
Thiemo is a motorsports writer and podcast producer for ‘On the Kerbs’. A film connoisseur, he can easily give a two hour long dissertation on why Skyfall is the best Bond film. Like ever.
