My First Fortnite Battle Pass Grind ... Impressions

When it comes to Fortnite I mostly avoided the first chapter, and all of it's seasons. I might have logged on a couple of times to try it out, but my early impressions weren't good. I played mostly solo during chapter one, and the matchmaking was nothing like it is now. It felt like I had no chance at all, and that I was up against the sweatiest of pro players. I couldn't make it to the top 10 no matter how hard I tried. In chapter two the matchmaking seemed to take a turn for the better though, and I actually got two first place victory royales in solo with no building. Before I decided to actually pay up for the battle pass in chapter two I had progressed through half of the battle pass unlocks. Seeing as the matchmaking was more skill based, and I was actually doing well in-game I was willing to give it a chance. Admittedly at first chapter two was fun, and for once I was really into it. I spent a good amount of time fine tuning my approach, and settings to a serious extent. I also learned about the different game modes, and nearly 100% completed the battle pass missions. Currently I'm missing only the special variations for the legendary battle pass skin, and the secret skin that you unlock for completing the series of event missions. I have stopped for the moment, and kind of feel a disconnect after having witnessed a shift in the skill based matchmaking, as well as Epic Games' choice to turn my report option red signifying they are basically ignoring my player reports.

Some other problems I encountered during my time with chapter two's first season included Epic games blatant disregard for player matchmaking choices. They literally forced me to activate crossplay in order to be able to play online. This was right after I had spent a good week playing PS4 only with no slowdown in matchmaking. I know for a fact there are enough PS4 players to fill the lobbies, and as a crossplay skeptic I was pissed when an option that was made available was no longer an option. I could do an article long rant as to why I hate crossplay, but if you play crossplay in Fortnite after having it turned off you'll understand why. Basically cheaters from PC, and mobile cause problems during matches. Noticeable hacks, mods, and glitches are a common occurrence in crossplay. I personally exposed a health, and shield glitch that would allow players only to receive a fraction of a point of damage instead of a whole point of damage. There were also instances of damage inconsistency.

At this point I'm not inclined to buy another battle pass, or commit anymore time to the game. I feel Epic Games has treated me poorly as a customer, and that the crossplay experience they have forced ruins any fun that could have been had. In fact I'll go on record saying that PS4 only play felt more doable in comparison to crossplay. I think it has to do with the conflicting netcodes from the different platforms, and how players can interact with game features on the different platforms. You'd have to figure there would be some sort of controller disparity, because different platforms have different controllers. Anyways, I'm just not feeling the hype I was when chapter two first began. Unless Epic Games treats customers right, and ditches the crossplay as a mandatory setting I fear the game may see it's end sooner rather than later. This extended season is definitely going to test loyal fans' willingness to commit.