Fortnite’s Bots Are Gifting New Players Their First Wins

And why it's possibly nefarious.

Fortnite P-1000

Amidst a sea of changes for Fortnite: Chapter 2, Epic also introduced bots to the battle royale experience to a mixed reception. When combined with the game’s skill-based matchmaking, which was introduced late in Season X, the bots give brand new (or just not very good) players a better chance of winning in addition to padding out lobbies to make matchmaking quicker.

Viewed as an alternative to their item “equalizers” over the years, SBMM and bots seem to have negated the need for Epic to introduce overpowered weapons and vehicles so that less skilful players have a better chance of winning — and, most importantly for Epic, staying around to play the game. Hilariously imbalanced additions like the Infinity Blade and BRUTE can now be looked back on as bad memories for the Fortnite community.

However, it seems that Fortnite is essentially gift-wrapping wins to brand new players with the bots seemingly programmed to miss easy shots.

In the video below by content creator Muselk, he uses an alt account to play the first match of the season all over again having already played it on his main account. While against the ToS, some Fortnite players will use alt accounts (or “smurfs”) to circumvent SBMM and give themselves an easier time.

At the start of the season, players were treated to a cutscene with the first match of the season following immediately, the player dropping out of the Battle Bus and onto the new Fortnite island. While most players will have had other players to contend with on day one of the season, Muselk enters a match consisting entirely of bots.

The bots in the video above are broken beyond comprehension, and it seems intentional on Epic’s part. The bots in Fortnite: Chapter 2 are remarkably stupid to begin with, yet they seem to have been dumbed down even more to give new players their first win.

Almost hilariously, the bots’ shotgun pellets go in every direction bar the player they are supposed to be engaging, bizarrely even striking the ground and air in a three-pronged blast of nonsense.

Muselk has to almost try to get hurt during the video, sitting and watching as four AI battle each other with one of them dying for seemingly no reason. He stands and sarcastically claps a bot with an emote at one point as their shotgun pellets fly to the moon. To cap the match off, the last remaining AI wanders off into the storm, giving Muselk a win he had to do absolutely nothing to earn.

https://gfycat.com/lightheartedbountifuldoe

Why is this a big deal? Isn’t it a nice move from Epic to, for all intents and purposes, hand new players a win? It’s not a selfless gesture — it’s all about player retention and engagement.

Psychologically, a player will be more likely to keep playing a game if they believe they’re doing well. It was a problem with Fortnite for a long time, the seriously dedicated players always dumping on casual players in regular matchmaking, leaving the casuals frustrated and less likely to keep playing.

By creating a much safer environment for first-time players to drop into and “earn” their first win, Epic are gently prodding them into long-term engagement. As outlined by Jim Sterling in a recent video, this usage of bots might be a little more insidious than you may initially believe.

As a free-to-play game, Fortnite’s economy entirely revolves around cosmetic purchases. No game with this business model will thrive unless there’s a playerbase to back it up, and no playerbase can continue to thrive unless there’s a steady flow of new players coming in.

It’s a similar model to mobile games, in which the game will give players a lot of of free stuff early on to make the player feel appreciated, increasing the likelihood that the player will stick around. In Fortnite’s case, it looks like it’s giving new players free wins.

Regardless of any ulterior motives, it’s a shame to see Fortnite become this. First wins in Fortnite used to be a big deal; the legend goes that Snapchat’s servers still haven’t recovered from the bombardment of celebratory posts. Now, though, it appears as if first wins in Fortnite are as artificial as the bots themselves.

Fortnite: Battle Royale is free-to-play on PC via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

MORE FORTNITE:
How Many People Play Fortnite?
15 Best Fortnite Toys For Battle Royale Fans
– The Best Fortnite Skins To Add To Your Locker

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.

Editor-in-Chief