The Aim Assist Bug: A Glimmer Of Hope For Keyboard And Mouse Players
A recent bug in the Season 4 update to Fortnite sparked the aim assist debate once more. After Marvel Nexus rolled out to PC, Android, and console players last week, something seemed to be noticeably off. PC controller players were having an awfully difficult time aiming their weapons, due to a noticeable lack of aim assist. Players brought this detail to Epic's attention, which led them to look into and patch the issue.
Before the fix, however, it seemed as if players were genuinely happy that aim assist had been done away with. Fortnite competitive players, in particular, seemed relieved that the aim assist issue was finally over. Controller players, on the other hand, were not so happy and they took to Twitter to discuss the issue. Once Epic Games patched aim assist, PC controller players were satisfied, and mouse and keyboard players were once again disgruntled.
Knowing the history of aim assist in Fortnite makes the disgruntlement of keyboard and mouse players seem a little more justified. The current model for aim assist was an adjustment over a prior version of the mechanic. Epic Games was unsatisfied with this older model, which caused them to patch it out for the controversial new one. They began referring to the older model of aim assist as the legacy model, and after rolling out the new, exponential and linear aim assist, they did away with it altogether.
Click to enlargeThis all happened a year ago, in September 2019, yet people are still talking about it because this enhanced aim assist made the game easier for players with much less skill. The legacy version of aim assist snapped the crosshair on a target that was down the user's sight, whereas the new aim assist snaps to whatever is in the general direction you're aiming for.
The legacy down sight, snap-on approach left many players confused about whether or not a target was locked in. The new aim assist makes the process of locking onto a target much simpler - exponential aim assist would kick in at long-range and linear aim assist would occur in short-range. The entire process of both linear and exponential aim assist is entirely automatic, unlike the prior version of the mechanic. Players just need to aim in a general direction, and aim assist will do much of the rest.
Most casual players are unaffected by the new aim assist, as matches are casual and fun, with little to no money on the line. Professional players, however, are feeling the weight of the aim assist issue, especially in competitions and tournaments.
Click to enlargeTo scale down the issue even further, the aim assist issue is really only a problem on PCs, where framerates that exceed 60fps can be achieved using high-powered PCs and hi-resolution monitors. When players can easily increase their frame rate to 240fps, the aim assist is a lot sharper, more precise, and dangerous to competitors. Consoles can only run the game at 60fps max, so that, along with the fact that everyone must use a controller, makes aim assist seem more balanced.
Combining this high frame rate with the precision of a controller, and aim assist, and controller players that rely on it are forces to be reckoned with.
The Fortnite competitive scene is changing drastically due to these issues. Most PC players that enter competitions utilise controller over keyboard and mouse. Back in Fortnite's heyday, switching over to controller-based play was considered a controversial move, but now it's simply the norm.
More controller players are entering and dominating cash cups and competitions than ever before. Even during the Fortnite World Cup last year, when legacy aim assist was still in its prime, 90% of the competition consisted of mouse and keyboard players. Nowadays, there are hardly any mouse and keyboard players to be found. This year's FNCS qualifiers top ten consisted of only controller players.
The overall aim assist issue, and the paradigm shift it has created showcase the difficulties of releasing a game on multiple different platforms. It also showcases a dichotomy between two different modes of gameplay on PC: keyboard and mouse and controller. Some Fortnite competitives, such as SypherPK, believe that competitions should have two different categories for PC to accommodate for these vastly different input methods.
Other competitives, like Tfue, believe that aim assist should be done away with entirely, as it has created problems since its inception. These very vocal players are leaving Fortnite to pursue other games, taking some of their fan base with them. Despite the influence some of these players might have, Epic has continued to support its new aim assist - fixing its many bugs, but never quite removing it from the game.
This is why aim assist's complete removal from the game came as a shock to many players until it was reinstated shortly after the Season 4 update rolled out.
Fans were divided on whether or not they preferred the game with or without aim assist, but the bug wasn't in the game for very long. As soon as it started, the most recent debate about aim assist ended. Until Epic Games officially addresses aim assist and its implications on keyboard and mouse players, a debate is all this issue will be.
Images via Epic Games
