Fortnite v8.11 update patch notes: Flint-Knock Pistol, The Baller nerfs, Impulse Grenade and more

Matt Porter

Epic Games have the patch notes for Fortnite Battle Royale‘s v8.11 update, the third patch since the start of Season 8, which will go live on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.

Unlike most Fortnite patches, very little was known as to what we could expect when the update went live on Wednesday, March 20, however we did have some clues regarding what we would see from Epic Games.

The Flint-Knock Pistol was revealed to be coming to the game on Monday, March 18 when Epic Games updated the in-game news feed to include the new weapon. The developers also disabled The Baller vehicle on the same day, stating that they were “collecting data” about Fortnite’s newest vehicle. 

When does v8.11 go live?

The v8.11 update officially went live on Wednesday, March 20 at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET / 9 AM GMT.

There was minimal downtime for this update, meaning that Fortnite fans were able to hop straight into the game and try out the new items.


Flint-Knock Pistol

Fortnite’s in-game news feed officially confirmed on March 18 that Fortnite fans would soon have a new weapon to wield in the popular battle royal title. 

The Flint-Knock can only be found as floor loot in Common and Uncommon rarities, and knocks back the shooter when fired. Players who fire the weapon can avoid being thrusted back by the power of the pistol if they crouch, while enemy opponents can also be blasted away if they are close enough to the weapon when it is fired.

The weapon deals 86/90 damage in close range, with Epic Games stating there is “significant damage falloff” as players shoot from distance. Players will have to reload after every shot, and with a three second reload time, players will need to be accurate or they may find themselves back in the lobby.

Fortnite’s Flintlock pistol has been officially announced via the in-game announcement screen, which also reveals that weapons official description.


The Baller nerfed

Fortnite’s The Baller has been one of the least popular additions to Season 8 so far, but it seems like we’ll be seeing a lot less of them around the map after the v8.11 update.

After disabling The Baller on Monday, March 18 to collect data, the spawn rate of the vehicle has been sliced in half, meaning the item will be much harder to come by in the future.

While many will be glad to see less of The Baller, some will likely feel that the nerfs didn’t do enough to limit the power of the item.

We could see Epic and Legendary variants of the Infantry Rifle be added to Fortnite in the v8.11 update.
Fortnite’s Baller vehicle could be set to receive some nerfs after the competitive community called it overpowered.


Impulse Grenades unvaulted

Epic Games have always stated that items placed into the vault are not gone for ever, and this is the case for one of Fortnite’s most popular items, the Impulse Grenade. 

Epic Games vaulted the Impulse Grenade back in September after the release of the Shockwave Grenade, which has since also been removed from the game.

After a spell away, the item is back, and has seen it’s strength boosted by 344% when used against vehicles, meaning they are the perfect way to get rid of pesky enemies who are flying around you in Ballers.

The popular Impulse Grenade is back in v8.11

Fortnite v8.11 Update Patch Notes

Battle Royale

What’s New?

Flint-Knock Pistol

Knock, knock…who’s there? Flint-Knock, that’s who! Pick the perfect time and knock yourself or enemies back with this new weapon!

Fortnite’s Flintlock Pistol

Weapons + Items

  • Flint-Knock Pistol
    • Available in Common and Uncommon Rarities.
    • Found from Floor Loot.
    • Knocks back the shooter. Can also knock back the target if they’re close enough.
      • The closer you are to the target, the farther they get knocked away.
      • The shooter can crouch to prevent the knockback.
    • Close range damage: 86/90
      • Significant damage falloff.
    • Must reload after each shot.
      • 3 second reload time.
    • Uses Heavy Ammo.
  • Unvaulted the Impulse Grenade

    • Impulse strength against vehicles has been increased by 344%
  • Increased the impulse strength of explosive weapons against vehicles by 233%
  • Scoped Assault Rifle
    • Increased base damage from 24/23 to 27/26
  • Reduced the spawn rate of the Baller from 100% to 50%

Limited Time Mode: One Shot

Summary

Low Gravity. Every player has 50 health. Snipers are the only weapon and

Bandages are the only healing item. Jump high and aim well!

Mode Details

  • Gravity is set lower than normal.
  • The Storm wait time has been greatly reduced in all phases of the game.
  • The only weapons in this mode are Hunting Rifles and Sniper Rifles.
  • Semi-Auto Snipers and Bounce Pads have been removed from the Vault in this mode.
  • Players will spawn with 50 health, and can only heal if they find Bandages.

Events

  • Tournament Update: Gauntlet Solo Test Event & Gauntlet Duo Test Event

    • Added two additional extended sessions, which will run 24 hours a day.
      • 3/19/2019 00:00 UTC until 3/23/2019 00:00 UTC
      • 3/23/2019 00:00 UTC until 3/26/2019 00:00 UTC
  • New Tournament: Blackheart Cup (March 23rd & 24th) [$100,000 in Cash Prizes!]
    • Participation in this event requires players to have placed in the
      Top 3% (global) of any Gauntlet Test Event session prior to the start
      of the tournament.
    • The prize pool will be distributed across all server regions, with official rules and details released later this week.
    • Format:
      • March 23rd – Round One: All Eligible Players
      • March 24th – Round Two: Top 3000 Players from Round One
  • Participating in tournaments and the Gauntlet Test now requires a
    minimum account level of 15. The requirement was previously at level 10.

Audio

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue that caused The Baller’s tow-hook “release” sound to trigger twice each time.

UI

Bug Fixes

  • The new style for the Whiteout Outfit can now be selected.
  • Event leaderboards no longer display everyone as being at rank #0.

Art + Animation

  • Adjusted lighting.
    • Increased lighting contrast in areas of shadow.
    • Increased color vibrancy.

Mobile

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where full-screen support was not working on Samsung S10 devices.
  • Fixed an issue preventing in-game surveys from appearing on mobile devices.
    • These random surveys were added in the v8.10 update but were not
      appearing on mobile devices. Be sure to leave us your feedback if you
      receive one after a match.
  • Fixed various mobile stability related issues.
    • We’ll be monitoring their impact and continue investigating any
      additional issues. Let us know what you’re experiencing on our social
      channels.

Creative

What’s New?

Black Glass Island
Reflect your creativity onto this brand new island!
 

Islands

  • Black Glass Island

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where grenades were thrown from outside the save
    volume of islands, toward the island, would apply grenade effects (eg.
    knockback, chiller effects) to other players and vehicles.

Creative Tools + Phone

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where some objects had become un-targetable with the
    Phone, such as Llamas and Vehicles. Those now react correctly when
    targeted by the Phone.

Devices

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where a Sentry would occasionally not cause damage to players.

Performance

Bug Fixes

  • Made stability improvements around ending and leaving games in Creative Mode.

Save The World

What’s New?

Battle Hound Jonesy
Need more Grenades? No problem! Battle Hound Jonesy’s Rucksack perk has you covered.

Battle Hound Jonesy in Fortnite Save the World

Sir Lancelot

Make the Husks… dis-a-spear! You won’t be dis-a-pointed with these new attack animations.

New attack animations have been added for the spear.

Performance

  • Greatly optimized bandwidth usage by eliminating transport of
    redundant information, particularly around inventory and ability
    updates.  
    • This should reduce networking-related hitching and de-sync issues, especially during combat.

Heroes

  • Battle Hound Jonesy (Returning)
    • Standard Perk: Rucksack
      • Increases Frag Grenade maximum charges by 1
    • Commander Perk: Rucksack+
      • Increases Frag Grenade maximum charges by 4.
    • Available in the Weekly Store from March 20 at 8 PM Eastern Time to March 27 at 8 PM Eastern Time.

Bug Fixes

  • Updated Hiro’s head model to the correct version
    • We will be marking Hiro eligible for reset due to this change.

Weapons + Items

  • Sir Lancelot Spear will be available in the Weekly Store
    • A spear using a new set of long-range, narrow thrusting attacks.
      • Heavy Attack: Joust – Charge forward, damaging and knocking back smaller enemies in your way.
    • Available in the Weekly Store from March 20 at 8 PM Eastern Time to March 27 at 8 PM Eastern Time.
       

General

Performance

  • Fixed a performance issue when caching shaders on Mac, which should improve load times.

Gameplay

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue that was preventing Xbox players from being able to accept party invites from friends.
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