Fortnite Pros Left Furious After Latest Update Removes Double Movement
The pro-Fortnite scene has turned against its own title as Epic Games has been called out by dozens of players for axing double movement in its latest update. While the v14.50 patch got Fortnite ready for next-gen consoles with faster loading times and 4K capabilities at 60 FPS, the latest update also slipped some sneaky tweaks under the radar.
Epic is barrelling toward the upcoming release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series and making sure Fortnite will bridge the gap between these two epic eras of consoles. It makes sense that developers are using this opportunity to make some big changes, however, not everyone is happy with what's been put on/taken off the table. Namely, PC players are furious that they've been apparently left out in the cold by the removal of double movement.
What is double movement in Fortnite?
In a nutshell, Fortnite double movement allows mouse and keyboard players to bind two keys together and emulate the movement of a controller. Without double movement, PC players are locked into moving in a single direction before swapping to another. Fortnite content creator Jerian has gone deeper into the pros of double movement in the above video. Basically, it was a mechanic used A LOT by pro players because it allowed them to move seamlessly around the map.
Weirder still, the removal of double movement doesn't seem to be in any official correspondence about the v14.50 update. Players claim they're still able to bing keys together, however, it doesn't let them "stack" for diagonal movement.
This means Epic just made competitive play a lot harder for those who play Fortnite on PC. Given that there is such a larger playerbase on PC - and the developer has the entire Epic Store designed for that platform - there are questions over why double movement has been removed and whether it will be back.
Who has complained about the Fortnite double movement change?
The larger Fortnite community was quick to jump on the bandwagon of hate with huge players like Benjy "Benjyfishy" Fish and Mack "MackWood" Aesoph venting their rage via Twitter. Some have suggested it could be a bug in the patch, however, NRG's Williams "Zayt" Aubin is putting the blame firmly on the doorstep of 2019 Worlds Cup Solos champion Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf. A few weeks ago, Bugha revealed how he'd modded his own keyboard with duct tape to achieve a smoother keybind, which led to accusations of cheating.
Finally, others think it could be Epic's way of combatting a rise in third-party cheating software where macros can emulate three moves at the press of a single button - therefore making players seem like they're better than they are. Either way, expect Epic to speak out on the issue of double movement and reveal whether it's just a blip in the patch or PC players are destined to find themselves trailing behind their console counterparts.
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Images via Epic Games | Unsplash Vlad Gorshkov
