What most likely began as an outcry from the first Fortnite Summer event featuring pro players and streamers competing in a Duos tournament may have begun this shift from Epic. In the tournament event there were many more players alive than what is typically expected for a usual match, and the final circle saw half the lobby camping together versus killing each other. Afterward, Epic tweaked the Silent SMG which had become a replacement for Assault Rifles due to its smaller bloom and tighter shooting spread and vaulted the Tactical SMG altogether.

This adjustment didn’t really do much to change things, as they introduced a new SMG to replace the Tactical that was wholly destructive from shotgun range and beyond. While not as versatile as the replaced Tactical SMG, it dealt more damage in a smaller mag and shredded buildings. Combined with the Drum Gun SMG, these two weapons were a better combination than any shotgun for both destroying walls and killing players within them.

Many criticized the way rockets would just blow up a wall and allow for their opponents to rebuild it quickly. Epic went as far as to nerf the ammo you can carry but buffed the destructive capability of explosive weapons, including the Grenade Launcher, a gun that was already menacing due to its unpredictable nature. Couple that with Remote Explosives having a blast radius to destroy any building in Tilted Towers with just a few bricks, and build fights were becoming rarer than they were previously.

C4 was disabled briefly, then when it returned it dealt less destruction than it had in the past. While still wholly viable, its role has changed somewhat. Still, Explosive weapons are a part of the arsenal for players that feel less confident in their building or players that want to dismantle a large base quickly.

After all the domination SMGs had seen, Epic went one step further and released a truly game-breaking weapon - the Compact SMG. This weapon was like the original Tactical SMG but dealt more damage and had a larger magazine of 50 bullets. It was even more powerful than Thanos’ beam from the Avengers LTM mode released previously, an attack that Epic tweaked various times during its run.

While devastating to players, it also completely annihilated bases and structures from almost any range. Players would choose to run two of them versus carrying a shotgun or assault rifle, to the point Epic hotfixed it almost as quickly as they introduced it. It now does less damage from range, but is still wholly devastating as a shotgun replacement, along with all SMGs.