Since its early access launch on December 11, 2024, Fortnite Ballistic, Epic Games’ daring foray into the 5v5 tactical first-person shooter genre, has established a distinctive niche within the Fortnite universe. Debuting with Chapter 6 Season 1, this mode takes cues from iconic shooters such as Counter-Strike and Valorant, setting the stage for an intense bomb-planting duel between two teams on the tightly designed Skyline 10 map.
Right out of the gate, Ballistic exploded onto the scene, momentarily eclipsing the battle royale mode with an impressive 259,000 concurrent players just hours after its launch. This surge was driven by its innovative first-person perspective and the enticing allure of Fortnite’s trademark style. Even though its player base has found a new equilibrium—non-ranked hitting a high of over 300,000 and ranked reaching 169,000—it continues to stand out as an enticing option for gamers seeking strategic complexity rather than the frenetic energy of battle royale. The mode may still be a bit rough around the edges due to its early access status, but Epic’s dedication to listening to community feedback has helped it maintain its momentum.
Fortnite has now brought its v34.20 update on March 25, 2025, and Ballistic is set to undergo a major transformation. This patch arrives with a promise to enhance gameplay through weapon balance adjustments, economic tweaks, and various quality-of-life improvements. Here’s everything new in the game mode.
Fortnite Ballistic 34.20 update patch notes
New Hammer Fall map
This update includes weapon balance changes, economy adjustments, and a significant number of fixes. But first, we have a sneak preview of Ballistic’s first new map since launch: Hammer Fall! Rising from the waters below, the spires and tight lanes of Hammer Fall bring a certain medieval flavor to the table. The castle’s verticality sets it apart from Skyline 10, and you’ll find there are lots of comfortable cover, angles to hold, and corners to play.
Hammer Fall will be a shell map at first. As Epic shared in their last update, this means the map will arrive in Ballistic without environmental art. This will allow Epic to make changes to the map layout quickly based on player feedback. Those environmental details and finishing touches will come later, once we’ve all had a chance to get our hands on it and really test how its games flow and play out. Get ready to get the (hammer) drop on opponents — Hammer Fall will release on April 8 with v34.30!
Balance Changes and Economy Adjustments
v34.20 includes the following balance changes for the Hammer Pump Shotgun, Frenzy Auto Shotgun, Thunder Burst SMG, and Striker AR, alongside adjustments to the in-match economy.
Weapon Balance Changes
Hammer Pump Shotgun
- Fire rate slightly increased
- Point-blank damage significantly increased
Frenzy Auto Shotgun
- Point-blank damage increased
- Mid-range damage increased
Thunder Burst SMG
- Damage slightly increased
- Fire rate slightly increased
Striker AR
- Reduced the range at which damage falloff begins
Economy Adjustments
- Reaper Sniper Rifle cost reduced from 4700 to 4500 Credits.
- Striker AR cost increased from 2500 to 2700 Credits.
- Nemesis AR cost increased from 2500 to 2700 Credits.
- Drum Gun cost reduced from 3500 to 3200 Credits.
Early Access Dev updates
About two weeks ago, we asked for your feedback on a range of topics from existing weapons and gadgets to mode timings. So far, in summary, you’re asking us for…
- New maps, weapons, and gadgets
- Additional starter pistol options
- Better ways to deal with AFK players in a match
- New or additional customization options for HUD settings
- More efficient inventory management
We have new maps, weapons, and gadgets coming soon — bringing more of these to the game is a top priority for the team. In the future, new weapons added to Ballistic will include pistols available for purchase in the starting round.
Another one of the team’s highest priorities right now is addressing AFK players in matches, and we’ll have more to share about this soon. In the meantime, we can confirm that the option to surrender is currently in development and will likely come to Ballistic in early summer.
We’ve talked together as a team about more HUD customization options for Ballistic, such as crosshair options, as well as ways we might improve in-game inventory management. We are exploring updates in these areas but don’t have concrete plans to share right now. We can share that we are planning a change that will better show who on your team has the Rift Point Device and will continue to work on UI/UX improvements like this.
Our other major priority is dialing in the first-person feel and improving the core of how the game handles first-person weapons, which will be reflected in the “Improvements and Fixes” section of each of these blog posts. It’s important that we reduce any hitches that make Ballistic less than a seamless first-person experience.
You can keep sharing your thoughts with us by completing an in-game post-match survey, or by posting on the Fortnite Battle Royale subreddit (which we’re using for Ballistic as well) and the English Fortnite Discord. As Ballistic continues to grow in Early Access, we’ll continue to rely on you to help us shape the overall experience. Right now, we’re specifically looking for feedback on:
- Existing weapons
- Existing gadgets
- Credit economy
In our next blog post, which will be published on April 8, we’ll discuss the feedback we received and how we plan to address it.
Improvements and Fixes
Gameplay
- The Bubble Shield will now collapse if it accumulates more than 600 damage before the six-second time limit.
- The Recon Grenade can now be destroyed.
- Enemy Recon Grenades now pulse red.
- The Smoke Grenade now deploys smoke more quickly.
- Fixed an issue where players were not notified when tagged by a Recon Grenade.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to mantle unless looking directly at the ledge they were attempting to mantle.
- Fixed an issue where the Rift Point Device could sometimes not be picked up or planted after the first round.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to jump through the window of Skyline 10’s Sushi Bar if standing too close to the wall.
- Fixed an issue on consoles where players were sometimes unable to select gadgets.
Visual Issues
- Fixed an issue where crouching and moving backwards made players clip into the camera.
- Fixed an issue where players would clip into the camera when landing from a fall while aiming down sights with certain weapons.
- Fixed an issue where weapon scopes seemed to disappear when sliding.
- Fixed an issue where the camera jittered after mantling an object.
- Fixed an issue where the Drum Gun’s aim down sights animation was too fast.
- Fixed an issue where attackers appeared at the defender’s spawn point before spawning at the correct spawn point.
- Fixed an issue where the text chat prompt didn’t show the unread indicator.
- Fixed an issue where the Rift Point Device’s planting animation was not displayed for spectators observing the device planter.
- Fixed an issue that displayed teammates’ Health as 0 when spectating.
Other Issues
- Fixed an issue where players were sometimes unable to close the map screen.
- Fixed an issue where players were able to walk and shoot during the victory screen.
- Fixed an issue with the “Play Matches” Quest so that it properly progresses after playing two matches of Ranked Ballistic.
- Fixed an issue where the countdown timer sometimes ended after two seconds instead of 25 seconds during the Buy Phase.
- Fixed an issue in the Ballistic Lobby where party leaders remained in a non-ready state despite clicking the “Ready” button if any of the party members were in a non-ready state.
- Fixed an issue where a player’s rank progression sometimes did not move after winning a Ranked match.
- Made fixes aimed at reducing crashes.
- Fixed an issue on mobile where a second “Scoreboard” button appeared on the screen.
The new Fortnite Ballistic Update arrives on April 8, but if you’re looking for something new, check out the new OG Season 3 update that brings back live events.
