'Fortnite' Mech Nerf Partially Live, but Update 10.10 Won't Remove BRUTE

Fortnite fans everywhere remain divided over the BRUTE's place in Battle Royale. Since the mech was first introduced at the start of the month, there's been a vocal contingent of fans begging Epic to either remove the vehicle from the game or significantly nerf it. While developers initially remained silent on the debate, two stages of fixes were recently announced.

The first set of tweaks quietly arrived in-game Saturday afternoon, and they exclusively impact Arena and competitive play. As detailed by support representatives in a post on the official Battle Royale subreddit, competitive fans will be seeing BRUTEs much less. Overall, there should be about half the number of mechs in the game during most storm circles.

Beginning of Match

• 21.5 percent chance that between one-three B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
• Previously was 100 percent chance that between two-four B.R.U.T.Es would spawn

Storm 1

• 44 percent chance that between one-four B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
• Previously was 100 percent chance that between two-four B.R.U.T.Es would spawn

Storm 2

• 40 percent chance that between one-two B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
• Previously was 100 percent chance that between one-three B.R.U.T.Es would spawn

Storm 3

• 40 percent chance that between one-two B.R.U.T.Es will spawn
• Previously was 66 percent chance that two B.R.U.T.Es would spawn

Storm 4

• 10 percent chance that one B.R.U.T.E will spawn
• Previously was 50 percent chance that one B.R.U.T.E would spawn

Storm 5

• Three percent chance that one B.R.U.T.E will spawn
• Previously was 10 percent chance that one B.R.U.T.E would spawn

But, more changes are due early next week for those who'd like to see significant mech nerfs across the board. In a blog post Friday afternoon, Epic suggested the upcoming 10.10 update would offer a specific fix for the problem. "In v10.10, we will add a targeting laser that will show the direction the B.R.U.T.E. is aiming its rockets while they are being charged. This laser will have directional audio to help indicate when it's being pointed at you, even if you're behind a structure. We've also fixed a few mobility bugs that was allowing players to exploit its boost mechanic," the post reads. Following these changes, the team will tweak the vehicle again if necessary.

The BRUTE was first introduced in Fortnite update 10.0 at the beginning of August. The towering mech spawns in limited numbers and offers two players the ability to dash, super jump and stomp enemies. Many fans believe these advantages make the vehicle overpowered, but Epic has no plans to remove it from any Battle Royale queues for the time being.

This is not the first time Epic has faced backlash from an overpowered addition to Battle Royale. Stormwing planes were often the subject of player ridicule throughout Season 7 but weren't vaulted until Season 8. Epic acted more decisively by swiftly cutting the mythic Infinity Blade days after its debut, but the studio's approach is far more measured for mechs.

Fortnite is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC and mobile.

Do you think Epic should remove the BRUTE from Fortnite? Have mechs made the game worse? Tell us in the comments section!