Epic Games Provide Update on Close Encounter LTM in Fortnite, Bring Back Solid Gold Mode
Epic Games has clarified the reasoning for the removal of the ‘Close Encounters’ limited time mode in Fortnite Battle Royale, replacing it with the fan favorite ‘Solid Gold’ mode.
The Close Encounters mode has had a rocky introduction to Fortnite, being removed and re-added on a couple of occasions as devs tinker with the balancing.
The mode only features shotguns and new limited time item Jetpacks, but has ‘encountered’ its fair share of issues, making it not work out quite as Epic intended.
Until now, players were unsure why Fortnite was in a state of limbo with mode, with some players not even getting a chance to play it, but Epic Games has now clarified the reasoning.
It turns out that the issue caused by ‘sky bases’ was ruining the playability of the mode, due to the constant jetpacks and removal of fall damage.
In regular modes, players need to be cautious when building sky bases (building high into the ‘sky’ of the map to gain a major height advantage) because falling from such heights would almost certainly result in death.
But with jetpacks and no fall damage, players were perhaps overusing sky bases, making ‘close encounters’ gameplay not work out quite as planned.
We heard your feedback about Close Encounters and will be evaluating the effect sky bases have on this LTM.
To replace this we’ve brought back Solid Gold after seeing how much you enjoyed it. Happy Weekend!
An example of a sky base in Fortnite, a problem in the Close Encounters LTM
Solid Gold has been a staple LTM in Fortnite Battle Royale, dropping only the legendary (gold) tier of weapons on the map, giving all players maximum firepower.
As for Close Encounters, it remains to be seen if the Epic Games team can tinker with the settings to make it a more viable mode.
Source: Reddit