Fortnite's Compact SMG has already been nerfed

By Eric Abent/July 26, 2018 10:22 am EST

Well, that didn't take very long: just a short time after it was introduced in Tuesday's patch, Fortnite's Compact SMG has already been nerfed. Almost immediately after it was added to the game, the meta shifted to accommodate the new weapon, and in some cases, players and streamers were carrying multiples of it because it was considered so strong. This, of course, led to complaints that the weapon was overpowered from Fortnite's larger player base.

Epic took that feedback to heart quickly, as it's already applied a hotfix that should bring the power levels of various SMGs down to a less frustrating spot. Though the Compact SMG definitely seems to be getting the lion's share of the nerfs, all types of SMGs are actually changed in this hotfix. Take a look at all the changes it makes below, courtesy of a post to the Fortnite subreddit:

- SMG and Compact SMG accuracy bonus reduced from 35% to 15%.

- SMG damage reduced from 19/20/21 to 17/18/19.

- Compact SMG damage reduced from 23/24 to 21/22.

- SMG fire rate reduced from 13 to 12.

- Compact SMG fire rate reduced from 11 to 10.

- SMG, Compact SMG, and Silenced SMG damage falloff.

- Range reduced from 2400/3500/5000 to 2000/3000/4000.

- Percentage reduced from 100/80/65% to 100/70/40%.

- Rare SMG and Compact SMGs drop rates slightly reduced.

With nerfs to its accuracy, fire rate, damage, range, damage falloff, and drop rate, the Compact SMG probably isn't going to be the terror it once was. It's still going to be a powerful weapon at close and medium ranges, so you'll need to watch out for that, but it may not dominate the battlefield in the way it did after it was added to the game.

Furthermore, we might start seeing fewer SMGs in general with the nerfs to other variants. It may not be the end of the SMG meta that developed after the much-hated double pump meta went away, but these fixes should do something to make sure that they aren't quite so oppressive. What do you think of these changes? Head down to the comments section and let us know!