Fortnite recently replaced one of its most used SMGs, the Combat SMG weapon with a more powerful Charge SMG in the latest v21.20 update. At a time when the SMG meta was going strong, this major move changed the opinions of the player base about the need for replacement.
The weapons meta in Fortnite Chapter 3 has evolved over time as players continue to discover new ways to use the overpowered weapons arsenal in their matches. With the disliking of Shotguns in this chapter, players have shifted their focus on choosing ARs and SMGs as preferred weapons in their loadout.
Back in Chapter 3 Season 1, players saw the potential in SMGs being overpowered in the game and developed a Pray and Spray meta to use them to lead themselves to a Victory Royale. The combination of an MK-Seven Assault Rifle and a Stinger SMG was mostly favored by the players as they went to combat against their opponents.
But with the launch of Chapter 3 Season 3, the Hammer Assault Rifle and Combat SMG were used in a similar fashion, although not as overpowering as its predecessor. However, in a recent update, Epic chose to replace the favored Combat SMG with a new Charge SMG that promises heavy damage and a stronger fire rate.
Charge SMG replaces Combat SMG in Fortnite v21.20
In a rather unexpected update, Fortnite chose to replace one of its most popular SMGs with a more powerful Charge SMG across all playlists. The weapon requires the player to hold down the fire button to charge the weapon similar to a Charge Shotgun and release a barrage of bullets upon their opponents.
The shorter the time the fire button is held, the smaller the duration of the fire barrage will be and vice versa. The weapon also has a cooldown rate similar to the Charge Shotgun which applies after a heavy fire barrage if the fire button is held down longer.
In addition to the update, Fortnite also tweeted that the Combat SMG has been removed from all playlists and has been vaulted indefinitely. However, the Charge SMG will not be available in the Competitive playlists until quite some time.
Looking at the above gameplay for the Charge SMG, pros and several players are already dissing the new weapon for its slower reload time and heavy recoil. The weapon takes too much time to charge the barrage and once released, cannot target an enemy faster than the Stinger SMG.
Pros like SypherPK, NickEh30, and TypicalGamer have all expressed their dislike of the weapon and would rather play with the Combat SMG than the new SMG added to the game. Apart from this major change, several map changes, unvaulting of Port-A-Fort, the addition of new movement mechanics in Save The World, and more were seen in the latest v21.20 update that the community sang praises of.