opinion: Zero build has come to stay. And that’s a fantastic decision for Fortnite – as amateur Battle Royale player Vali thinks.
Fortnite without build? No player would probably have imagined that a few years ago. Now, however, zero build mode is not only here, it’s actually come to stay. As of 29 March 2022, fans have the choice to enter Battle Royale with or without build mechanics.
An important and right step for the Battle Royale shooter to keep up with other representatives of the vehemently contested genre. However, it is not only veterans who benefit from this measure, but also players who previously had nothing at all to do with Fortnite. The reasons for this lie not only with Fortnite, but with all representatives of the genre.
The competition is too great not to adapt
At least in the interim, PUBG was the Battle Royale top dog until it was dethroned by Fortnite. The reasons for this are manifold and would go beyond the scope of this article. But in the meantime, it is Fortnite that has to look around for the competition. Games like Call of Duty: Warzone or Apex Legends are of course breathing down its neck and also want a big piece of the pie.
But in order to hold one’s own in the completely oversaturated genre, each representative must constantly develop further. A service game cannot survive without maintenance and new content, and the player will otherwise look elsewhere. This works via completely unique selling points – such as the specialists of Apex Legends – or by taking inspiration from the competition. It’s no secret that all Battle Royales borrow mechanics and features from other games every now and then.
However, Fortnite can stand up to the competition in one respect rather badly than well: in terms of gunplay, Fortnite will probably never reach the complexity or sophistication of an Apex or Warzones. Whether it really needs to in order to appeal to a wide range of players on every conceivable platform is, of course, open to question.
But when a unique selling point like Fortnite’s building feature deters rather than excites, the only logical conclusion is to send this feature to the bench. Because with a free-to-play no build mode, Fortnite is now opening itself up to all potentially interested players who were more likely to be put off by it.
Fortnite is now more beginner friendly
Fortnite had a problem attracting new players to the battle royale before the debut of build zero. That’s because the game’s tree mechanics, while easy to learn, are difficult to master. Competing with veteran players in this regard is definitely no walk in the park. And as is so often the case with long-running multiplayer games, Fortnite’s beginner’s hurdle was correspondingly high.
Fortnite does not reduce this hurdle through any nerfs or balancing patches, but simply pushes it out of the way. Anyone who now ventures into Battle Royale will feel right at home in direct comparison to Warzone, for example, because both game principles are simply fundamentally similar. At the same time, the danger of being put in their place and frustrated by experienced builders is averted.
I myself, for example, was able to quickly assert myself quite well in Fortnite due to my Warzone experience and assert myself against other players. However, I still don’t stand a chance against experienced builders. If I set my sights on one of them, he simply hides behind a tower of constructs or walls me in. In zero-build mode, I encounter opponents at my eye level instead.
More depth thanks to parkour
Fortnite hasn’t dropped building in No Build mode without replacement, though. Instead, new manoeuvres have been added to Movement, which gives the game more playful depth. Players can now sprint, climb ledges and even slide across the ground. This sounds like a marginal change that is already commonplace in other shooters. For Fortnite, however, this adaptation is worth its weight in gold.
Because it gives players completely new tactical options to compensate for the omission of building. Instead of hiding behind a specially built barricade, I now simply sprint or slide behind an existing building. This is a simple addition to the game that should be appreciated by every shooter fan.
At the same time, getting to know and studying the map becomes much more important. Cover can no longer be simply plucked out of the ground. Instead, I am dependent on knowing my surroundings and where I can hide if the worst happens. If you found your way around Verdansk or Caldera in the same way, you can apply this principle in Fortnite as well.
PARKOUR GAMEPLAY! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/sNFzDJAVjc
– HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 20, 2022
The community now has a choice
Last but not least, of course, don’t neglect the fact that Fortnite gives you a choice: if you know and love building, you can keep playing with it without any problems. Just as I can switch between Verdansk/Caldera and Rebirth Island in Call of Duty: Warzone, in Fortnite I have the choice between building zero and the standard mode.
So if you don’t feel like building, you choose the appropriate mode for it. Of course, this also prevents Epic Games from excluding fans of a certain way of playing. Building is indispensable in the competitive Fortnite scene, for example – but even veterans of Battle Royale sometimes feel like a change.
And of course, this also has a very decisive advantage for Epic itself. The Fortnite developers can assess which mode is more popular and where there is still room for improvement. Being able to react so directly to player feedback is, despite all its problems, a decisive advantage of service games.
What do you think of the change for Fortnite: will you take a look at the Battle Royale without building? How do you rate the new game mode if you’re already into Fortnite anyway? Let us know in the comments!
