There’s a new update out for Fortnite, which usually means plenty of divisive changes for fans to pore over. Fortnite update 5.30 is no exception. You can check out the full patch notes here, but we want to focus on one particular change that hopefully is a welcome one: the Fortnite Pump Shotgun Buff, in particular the new Pump Shotgun Equip Time Buff.
The Pump Shotgun is arguably one of the best weapons in Fortnite, despite obviously being a bit unpredictable at medium-to-long range, so any changes to it will certain be noticed. Epic has actually patched this particular shotgun a number of times to make it less powerful, and the community started to wonder if things had gone too far. Has the new Fortnite Pump Shotgun buff helped matters, or is it too little too late?
What Is The Fortnite Pump Shotgun Equip Time Buff?
So what actually is the Pump Shotgun buff? According to the patch notes for Fortnite update 5.30, the Pump Shotgun equip time “has been shortened from 0.96 seconds to 0.88 seconds.” While that doesn’t sound a lot when written out in numbers, it makes a lot of difference when using the shotgun in-game. Note that it’s not reload time, it’s an equip time buff, which means it’s faster to pull the gun out in the middle of combat to use against an opponent.
Why Does The Fortnite Pump Shotgun Buff Matter?
After players complained that it was too powerful, the Pump Shotgun has actually received a number of nerfs in the past few updates. Damage has been reduced, especially to buildings, spread patterns have taken a hit, and you can only carry one in your inventory now. Perhaps most importantly, changing to another shotgun after firing has had a delay implemented so players can’t immediately start shooting with their new shotgun, which was previously a vital tactic.
The new Pump Shotgun buff in update 5.30 is the first buff, rather than a nerf, the gun has received in months, so is seemingly an admission from Epic that the developer took things too far. The new Pump Shotgun equip speed buff might seem small, and it’s certainly not as fast as it was, but it’s a welcome one for fans of the weapon.
