[UPDATE 12/14/15: Epic has taken to Twitter to announce that the Infinity Blade is now Vaulted, and the company is currently “re-evaluating” its approach to Mythic items.]
Original story:
Earlier this week, Fortnite‘s newest melee weapon, the Infinity Blade, was added to the popular battle royale game mode. Unfortunately, the release of this powerful sword has not been received well, with a vocal portion of the player base calling for an immediate nerf.
Epic has responded by outlining changes that will be coming to the weapon in an upcoming patch.
These changes are focused on increasing the risk of wielding the Infinity Blade, and, after patch V7.10, Fortnite players will no longer be able to build or harvest with the weapon in their inventory. “By taking away the ability to harvest/build we hope to tune the Infinity Blade to where it feels risky to have, but still satisfying to wield,” Epic’s announcement on Reddit states.
The Infinity Blade is currently the only Mythic item available in battle royale. Mythic items are a step above the game’s Legendary items, and this power increase can certainly be felt with the new melee weapon.
Not only will players find that they are dealing devastating damage with the Mythic sword, it also boosts mobility and comes with some extremely powerful effects. Specifically, players that are wielding the weapon receive an increase to their health and shield pools, regenerate health over time, and get health and speed boosts whenever they kill an opponent.
This is a deadly combination, and while only one player is able to obtain the Infinity Blade per match, the weapon is having a great deal of effect on Fortnite. While Epic’s proposed changes may reduce this impact, some players are wondering why the weapon is not simply relegated to a Limited Time Mode (LTM).
In a previous LTM, players attempted to locate yet another Mythic item, the Infinity Gauntlet, which would give them powerful abilities and transform them into the supervillain Thanos. The goal of this game mode was to be the last Thanos standing, and some players are citing this as a perfect structure for an Infinity Blade-based LTM.
That said, Epic has indicated that it is committed to including Mythic items in Fortnite’s battle royale mode going forward. Following the initial implementation of the Infinity Blade, this may come as troubling news to some fans. However, it is clear that the company has its eye on balancing Mythic items, and perhaps a solution can be found that does not require removing the Infinity Blade in full.
Epic’s full announcement can be found on Reddit.
