Is Fortnite's pad too powerful? We might wonder, if we regularly watch competitions. Reintroduced in the game via patch 11.50 in February, the pad was initially well welcomed by players of all levels — who were asking the game to provide them with more mobility.
Quick to deploy and very strategic, this item quickly became a must have for pros who saw it as one of the few reliable means of making a clean rotation and recovering the area at the end of a game.
Realized by KinchAnalytics, some in-depth analyses of the FNCS Solo Invitational Grandfinal show a direct correlation between having one pad and being well ranked.
Kinchanalytics data are established when the 50/50 split occurs. This is also when there are only about 50 players still alive on the map — at least during these games. The graph on pads speaks for itself.
At the time the 50/50 graph appears, players who had absolutely no pads in their possession during a game finished in 26th place on average. Those who owned three or more ranked 6th on average.
The analyst — who has also used data on other items like harpoons or shields — explains that the pad appears to be the most indispensable item to hope to have a good ranking. He warns that these graphs must be taken with tweezers and don't correspond to an absolute truth about the battle royale metagame.
Some even think that the pad should take a "normal" slot in the inventory just like potions or healing items. Until now, it has only occupied the trap slot. Others argue in favor of reducing the maximum stacks of the item in the inventory.
Even if the item is undeniably dominant in the meta, it should be remembered that, in Chapter 2, it's one of the only tools to facilitate a rotation. Removing it or nudging it too abruptly would most certainly be an initiative poorly perceived by the community.
Original content by Romain "Zorg" Becquelin.
It's possible that the last official Fortnite Save the World article gives some clues about Chapter 2 Season 3 theme, and a possible tropical climate.
