The Fortnite world has welcomed a brand new weapon into its arsenal, and it packs quite the punch.

The Heavy Sniper deals an impressive amount of damage to both opponents and structures, and has been brought in by Epic Games in order to add balance to the current building meta.

We already knew about the weapon after footage and information was leaked in the days leading up to the update, and it has been confirmed that it comes in Epic and Legendary variants.

The long reload time makes up for the impressive damage it deals to both opponents and structures and fans are anxious to see the weapon used in the hands of the pro players.

The non-downtime based update has also seen two new modes introduced, with soaring 50v50 and a variant of Sniper Shootout being added.

Other chances in the update include a slight nerf to the mini-gun, reducing the headshot multiplier from 2.5 to 1.5.

You can view the full patch notes below.

Fortnite Update V5.21 Patch Notes

Redeploy your glider and stay mobile in the newest limited time mode, Soaring 50’s. Discover the new legendary sniper rifle in Battle Royale and meet Save the World’s newest Constructor, Thora!

Heavy Sniper Rifle

Deliver devastating damage to enemies and even more to structures with the newest weapon dropping into Battle Royale, the Heavy Sniper Rifle.

Thora

Lure husks into traps and control areas when things get critical! Thora arrives to Save the World.

KNOWN ISSUES

Wanting to track the top community issues? Head over to our Fortnite | Community Issues Trello board here.

BATTLE ROYALE

LIMITED TIME MODE: SOARING 50’S

Summary
This mode is a twist on the traditional 50 vs 50 mode, featuring an extra emphasis on mobility. Gliders can be re-deployed when falling from large heights. Additional Impulse Grenades, Bounce Pads, and Launch Pads will be spawned throughout the map. Jump in and soar to new heights!

Mode Details

• 50v50 loot, ammo and resource levels
• When in mid-air and greater than 10m up, press Jump to deploy your glider
• Added Impulse Grenades to chests at double the standard spawn rate
• Added Impulse Grenades to floor loot
• Decreased Spike Trap spawn chances
• Increased Launch Pad & Bounce Pad spawn chances
• Profile Stats (K/D & Wins) are not tracked in this mode.

LIMITED TIME MODE: SNIPER SHOOTOUT

Summary
In this limited time mode, players will do battle using sniper rifles. May the best aim win!

What’s New?

• Scoped Assault Rifles have been removed.
• The Heavy Sniper Rifle has been added.

Mode Details

• Only weapon drops are Sniper Rifles.
• Floor Loot spawns reduced by 50%.
• Profile Stats (K/D & Wins) are tracked in this mode.

WEAPONS + ITEMS

• Heavy Sniper added
  • Available in Epic and Legendary variants.
  • Can be found from floor loot, chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines.
  • Each shot delivers devastating damage at the cost of a long reload.
    • Deals 150/157 damage to players.
    • These large rounds deal increased damage (1050/1100) to buildings.
    • Projectiles fired from the Heavy Sniper have less bullet drop in comparison to other Snipers.
• Minigun
  • Minigun headshot multiplier has been reduced from 2.5 to 1.5.

Bug Fixes

• Grenades now properly grant progress for the Week 5 Challenge: “Deal damage to players with a Clinger, Stink Bomb, or Grenade.”

ART + ANIMATION

• Cloth physics have been fixed and will now appear properly.

SAVE THE WORLD

MISSIONS + SYSTEMS

• Weekly Horde Challenge – Bullet Proof Husks
  • Features bulletproof enemies that must be defeated with melee weapons, traps, or Hero abilities.
  • One time completion Quest Reward
    • 1500 Gold
  • Repeatable quest reward
    • 75 Tickets
• Removed the Power Rating restrictions on Challenge the Horde missions.
  • These restrictions were blocking some players from accessing the Weekly Challenge Missions even though their Power Level was at the necessary level.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the modifier between Challenge the Horde missions wasn’t appearing between waves.
• The Constructor Leadership quest will no longer fail to advance when purchasing the skill tree node.
• Atlas activation has been fixed in multi-gate Fight the Storm missions.
• Track completion now advances the mission properly in Level 28 Deliver the Bomb.
• Survivors and quest items no longer appear as orange boxes in the world.

HEROES

• New Constructor Machinist: Thora added to the Event Store.
  • Available Wednesday, August 15th at 8pm ET.

GAMEPLAY

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that could cause Rocket Launchers to take up a large portion of the screen.