After weeks of rumors, it was confirmed that the Fortnite Heavy Sniper Rifle is coming to the game very soon. The daily welcome message from Epic Games upon opening up Battle Royale has teased the Heavy Sniper will be arriving soon, most likely in this week’s content update. The new Epic and Legendary class sniper rifle is capable of dealing high damage to structures.
The Fortnite Heavy Sniper Rifle is certain to shake up the typical Battle Royale gameplay formula as it can destroy just about any single building structure in a single shot. Its stats have been reportedly leaked by reputable leaker FNBR Leaks on Twitter. The Epic version of the Heavy Sniper Rifle is said to deal 150 damage to the body of a player and 342 damage if it is a headshot.
The Legendary variant of the Fortnite Heavy Sniper Rifle packs just a little more punch, reportedly dealing 157 damage to every part of the body except the head and about 355 damage if it’s a headshot. If true, this means that a single headshot will eliminate any player in the game, shields or no shields. This is counteracted by a very slow reload speed that leaves snipers vulnerable if a headshot isn’t dealt.
Though the Fortnite Heavy Sniper Rifle is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, its intended purpose seems to be for destroying structures instantly as indicated by the official teaser in the game. FNBR Leaks also was able to showcase the first footage of the Heavy Sniper Rifle on Twitter, giving us a glimpse of how it will work against buildings.
The player is shown taking out a standard metal wall at full health with a single shot. That’s at least 400 damage to buildings in an instant. According to FNBR Leaks, it will one-shot almost anything on the map. This essentially means that no one is safe within the walls of their forts any longer.
The Fortnite Heavy Sniper Rifle will change up how players strategize in Battle Royale, especially during those late-game duels. However, players shouldn’t expect it to tilt the metagame in favor of snipers, as the significant reload speed does hold it back unless the aiming is perfect.
