Epic Games just dropped a super darkly crazy piece of information about Fortnite Delulu. The players… Well… To say it ranges in spectrum is an understatement. In the words of the official Fortnite Twitter account, the mode hits The Rift for an occasion of the weekend with a huge rule change: the final four players standing all get Victory Royales. Did you hear that? Victory for the whole squad! It’s now all fair game; no more backstabbing for the solo player’s glory. The tweet itself was a lovely shoutout to the creator in @1saylorr.
This is a pretty huge change for the mode that used to just follow the usual Battle Royale formula where one player or team wins at the top. To cut down toxicity and improve cooperation, especially since Delulu has proximity chat built into it, that is the idea behind the change. Instead of the usual druids turning against one another in those last few moments, everyone who manages to hang onto the end gets the W. Plus, this really rewards everybody with an umbrella glider.
From here, the reaction from the community has gone everywhere. Some players are hyping the change. @TheRealHawlucha says, “About time,” standing with other players who thought there was way too much breaking of bonds in the former system. @brandonjoon2 said, “This should’ve been the case from the beginning,” to the point he just stopped playing after hard-grinding for the glider lost by the sheer manner applied prior. That vibe suggests that it should now be less hard and less stressful for squads to aim to really have a good time.
Then there’s just the other side. Lots of players aren’t happy. Main Complaint 1? It loses prestige. This is an insult to those players who had solo Victory Royale achievements all of last weekend. @viibew_v responded that “Defeats the purpose of the people who actually tried hard to get the umbrella by getting first place.” There is a strong feeling that this will devalue the Delulu umbrella, which is often called the Crashbrella. A very outspoken declaration from @SethStar16T: “Booo this makes the umbrella less rare.”
That sort of discussion falls into the classic debate in gaming between exclusivity and accessibility. Players like @ctrlaltangel call for some respect basically by saying the Crashbrella skin shouldn’t be used by those who didn’t get it “the OG way” last weekend. To them, it’s a badge of early commitment, yet others speak of what they stand to inherit from this very change. @starbeepie finished that statement with: “bro no. this is what makes delulu fun.” Yet, @iLatrell62 had an even clearer perspective: “Booo it was funnier winning alone.”
The replies are totally all over the place, filling the airwaves with everything else. Some are frankly using the opportunity to make other requests. @deonaxium1 begged for “Childlike Things” to be returned to the item shop. @Tuberman79 recommended applying proximity chat to the Main BR and Zero Build to “save the season.” And then there was @ShadowHuge wanting the mode to be permanent, to which I say, same.
It’s nice to see some love as the Fortnite account gave a direct shoutout to @1saylorr. Fans of the music, like @n4ydr4444, shouted him out, with @Syezyi backing him up, showing just how intertwined creators have become with the vibe of the game community.
So what does this all mean? Epic Games is evidently in trial mode trying to minimize the negative player interactions within any social chaotic game mode it has. Thus, turning Delulu into a whole team win removes the incentive for that last circle betrayal, which now has brewed so many disputes. Is the right move? Well… that depends on who you ask. For the competitive crowd that feeds off that lone-wolf victory, I’m sure they hate the move, whereas for the teams just wanting to press buttons in proximity chat and have some fun, it’s a great change.
Stay tuned this weekend. Will final circles be less chaotic? Probably not. Will wholesome squad moments skyrocket? Almost definitely. What is for sure is that the Fortnite community is pretty loud now about this issue, and this change has opened full debate. Perhaps it will encourage some teamwork in a game that is all about the last player standing. Or for that matter, it’s going to be a whole another type of chaos. Can’t wait to watch!
