“OP” Fortnite weapon allows downed players to damage enemies

Fortnite’s War Machine Auto Turret is frustrating the community, because of an issue that lets knocked players keep using the weapon.

The Auto Turret joined the loot pool at the start of Chapter 5 Season 4. As the name implies, the weapon will auto-fire shots at oncoming enemies when equipped.

It’s proven a good backup plan under certain circumstances, especially when factoring in the long reload times of regular guns. However, some players have learned a trick that makes the Auto Turret even more of a menace during tense combat encounters.

Users in the Fortnite subreddit pointed out that even downed players can make use of War Machine’s Auto Turret, despite it deactivating once the wearer gets knocked.

The tactic works if the knocked player drops the turret from their inventory and picks it back up. For some reason, the gun will reactivate and start firing at enemies, effectively providing cover in case the downed person’s teammate is trying to revive them.

TikToker Random Hero shared footage of the presumed glitch in the following clip:

“I didn’t think the turret was OP until I was playing duos, knocked someone, and went to help my partner and got knocked by the knocked person’s turret. This shouldn’t be a thing,” said one person in another Reddit thread.

Despite the minimal damage it does to enemies, the Auto Turret can chip away at shields and health enough to turn the tide of battle.

This combined with its ability to isolate enemy locations makes it a boon for those who have trouble finding the last few survivors when the circle gets small in battle royale.

At the time of writing, Fortnite developers have not addressed the Auto Turret’s contentious reactivation ability for downed players. But Epic’s continued nerfs on the Marvel-themed items means the team could come for War Machine’s Arsenal next.