In news that will come as nothing short of a disappointment for melee fans, Fortnite has announced the removal of one of its newest and most popular weapons. Not long after the removal of the Deku Smash, the extremely powerful Shockwave Hammer has been disabled, with its removal said to be “temporary.”
This is presumably to either do some fine-tuning on the weapon or to address a recent glitch that allowed players to make extended use of the hammer’s jump powers. When it was introduced into Fortnite as part of the Battle Royale’s latest Chapter Four Season 1 content, the Shockwave Hammer was popular for more than just its ability to obliterate buildings, enemy players and anything else that stood in its way.
The Epic-rarity weapon also offered players an enhanced method of traversal around the map. By smashing the ground with the Shockwave Hammer, players can launch themselves through the air, crossing vast distances in one graceful, hammer-powered leap. However, it turns out that some players have discovered a recent glitch in the system that actually allowed for an infinite number of jumps when using the Shockwave Hammer. It seems as though this could be the reason for Fortnite’s withdrawal of the weapon today, but we’ll have to wait and see when it returns.
Fortnite has simply claimed that the Shockwave Hammer’s removal is down to “an issue.” In a tweet shared earlier today on the official Fortnite Support Twitter account, the team at Epic Games has also clarified that the weapon shouldn’t be gone for too long. That’s good news for the many players who’ve taken a shine to the Shockwave Hammer’s powerful offensive and defensive capabilities and its usefulness for getting around the map.
The tweet also explains that players should expect to see the return of the Shockwave Hammer in the next update for Fortnite when the “issue” that’s currently causing problems has been sorted out. Watch this space.
Elsewhere, players will be eagerly awaiting the mid-season arrival of the Geralt of Rivia skin into the game’s current Battle Pass. The legendary skin from The Witcher franchise should be heading into Fortnite in a few weeks’ time, so there’s still plenty of time to level up and bag the rest of the game’s current Battle Pass rewards before its arrival. As for the Shockwave Hammer’s return, it hopefully won’t be too long until the next game update is put in place and players can start island hopping and opponent smashing once more.
Fortnite is available to play now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
