Let’s Look At: Fortnite C5S2: “Myths and Mortals”
The new Fortnite season is peak Greek greatness. Welcome to the land of Myths and Mortals where mythical beings fight….well, mortals. Like us. And let me tell you, it is a welcome change to the Underground season, which I enjoyed up to a point, but god that was a long season. And I really didn’t get it. So there’s a resistance against an organized crime syndicate that is also acting as a shadow government? Would they even technically be a crime syndicate at that point if they are the rule of law? Doesn’t matter, not anymore. For now, let’s get into what makes this new season awesome.
The New Locations Are Great
The Underworld/River Styx and Mount Olympus/Brawler’s Battleground are both really exciting new areas. The dark, edgy look of the Underworld is a fun contrast with the grandiose palace that is Mount Olympus. I especially like the aesthetic of the Underworld. It’s a fun and spooky place that brings something new to Fort that we haven’t necessarily seen recently. The new warp-jump buff or whatever it’s called, is super cool and opens up a lot of strategic options for the area.
Mount Olympus and the Brawler’s Battleground are both good examples of top tier Fortnite areas. Ton’s of stuff to do, loads of violence to be had and a unique atmosphere. Just like The Underworld, it’s a season defining area, and one of the best we’ve had in Fortnite in a while in my opinion. They’re also both massive areas that will affect you as the player in a lot of games and will definitely have an impact on your own individual tactics.
The New Bosses Are Sick
The bosses in both area are tricky but fair and the guns they give are pretty good. I definitely like them more than any of the bosses from the previous seasons. There’s something about the fact these are “Greek gods” that gives them more weight. as opposed to them just being in-house Epic concepts. Everyone is somewhat familiar with the Greek pantheon and as such, fighting beings like Zeus and Hades in a Fortnite context is more exciting than just fighting any other old boss.
It’s also fun to see the cool new designs. For example, Hades and Areas have a kind of sci-fi aesthetic. Zeus and Cerberus looks like a Hasbro figure. Aphrodite and to a less extent Artemis look like anime waifus. I kind of hope they add more of the Greek Pantheon because what we’ve seen so far has been fun and interesting takes on stories a lot of us know. Unless you’re a pagan. I don’t like when pagans interrupt my Greek mythologizing.
The New Guns and Items are HIM
The new items and weapons in this season are among the most exciting additions to the game. The Icarus Wings, that allow you to fly, have really changed movement possibilities and feel especially present in late game scenarios. The new Assault Rifle is stupid powerful, packing a punch at a distance as well as at close range. The “Harbinger” SMG is at least as good as the other SMGs in the game, though it does have the debuff of increased recoil the more that it’s fired.
The two most prominent weapons (read: disgusting) are the DMR (“marksman rifle”) and the Gatekeeper Shotgun. The DMR is very good. I hated it at first and throught it was stupid. I was wrong. It’s basically a faster Sniper that does less damage but usually comes with better scopes and is a little easier to use in short and midrange. I have found this weapon to be very useful in a wide variety of situations and of all the new weapons introduced, this is the one I really hope sticks around.
Then of course, there’s the Gatekeeper Shotgun. This weapon is yucky. If the semi-auto is a chainsaw, this thing is a sledge hammer. It only has 3-5 shots and low range. But it hits ridiculously hard. Higher versions of this weapon are basically an automatic one or two shot depending on where you get hit. This thing has personally cost me like 5 wins in situations where if it was a semi-auto or pump I definitely would’ve won. Just yesterday I jumped someone, the last player- I shot them 2 or 3 times in the chest and face with my blue Frenzy Semi-Auto….2 shots from a gold Gatekeeper later and I was dead. So it goes. The funny thing is, for the first few weeks, we thought it sucked, and then now it’s OP.
Overall, Fortnite: Myths and Mortals has demonstrated that Epic is far from out of ideas for their opus. The evolution of Fortnite has always fascinated me, but this has been an especially delightful turn. I’m excited to see where they go with this season over the next few weeks, but most of all, I hope they keep it surprising. But for now, Level 57 and counting….it’s back to the grind for me.
