When they come out many weapons change Fortnite's metagame to the point of becoming overplayed. Despite appearances, it seems that the Harpoon Rifle is an exception. Although widely used in late game, the weapon is incredibly balanced.
The harpoon is used as a utility item, to quickly break structures or to loot from a distance and without endangering the items that have fallen out of the pockets of the defeated. This second feature is the one that has really marked the pro gameplay this year.
The analyses made by KinchAnalytics about the FNCS Invitational Solo are quite relevant.
The graph above deals with the presence of harpoons in the inventory of the remaining players from the first 50/50 zone onward. What should be understood here is that harpoon possession is decorrelated from the correct ranking. In other words, having a Harpoon doesn't mean that you have a better chance of winning — contrary to what you might think if you look at a pro game. The weapon takes up an entire place in the inventory, and even if it later allows you to retrieve your shield and life from a distance, it isn't indispensable.
The author of the analysis even illustrates his point with the statistics of the top 3 of this FNCS Final. JannisZ, the big winner of the tournament, was a very regular user of the harpoon, while Wolfiez, Aqua and Th0masHD, respectively 2nd, 3rd and 4th of the competition, hardly touched the weapon.
It's relatively rare to see a utility item that is so balanced. Sometimes offering a spectacular second wind to the players, it isn't abusively strong, and in no way necessary to win.
Original content by Romain "Zorg" Becquelin.
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