The whole meta, in a day, faced a huge shakeup and TAC SMGs could finally replace the suppressed sniper in the loot pool. The change-in-fact was disclosed by the famous Fortnite leaker HYPEX and immediately sent shockwaves through the community-so there seems to be a split view of whether the new change means good or a step backward in gameplay balance.
The suppressed sniper had been the go-to weapon for all tactical players as it allowed for tactful long-range eliminations without revealing the position of its user. The TAC SMGs will now fill the near-underground almost-closing range destruction role, thus changing all confrontations inside casual matches, further extending all the way up to competitive play. This is obviously not an equality in weapon. This is an outright war on how all players have perceived combat encounters this season.
The relevant reactions of the community have been… passionate reactions, you could say. Young Gunn🌃 said, “Nice job sweats! You guys got my favorite sniper replaced,” but Degens Journal disagreed, “the TAC SMG is much better.” The debate continues on whether it favors SMG rushers over serious snipers, with Kaarthic joking, “Smg lovers got wasted 😂,” to which Ahmad Aziz responded, “Close combat just changed.”
There are those who still desire more than just a suppressed sniper. Several responses alluded to Chains of Hades, a weapon that many believed was destined to drop instead; Alf1e moaned, “We could’ve had the chains of hades 😭,” whereas toothy enquired, “I thought it was gonna be the chains? What happened to that?” A palpable air of disappointment dredges up in fans of Greek mythology who were looking forward to that mythic melee option.
Can’t be more important to call for the timely antimatter with which this comes, in the middle of the season, when everyone has well adjusted to the weapon meta. AussiegamesOnYT stayed true to the philosophical context: “Sniper was fun as it lasted,” while ThePhenomenalAV admitted, “I kinda vibe with the sniper riffle though🤷♂️.” Very sudden changes in meta-making shall cause both casual players and pros to rethink their loadouts and strategies overnight.
This is the crushing realization because of its impact on the various styles. The suppressed sniper encouraged patience and precision, allowing a skilled marksman to engage a target quietly from afar. TAC SMG is entirely different and promotes aggression and hyper-mobility; Exille_3L would very much agree this changes the whole risk/reward aspect in an engagement, mainly competitive ones where positioning comes first.
With the community welcoming the change, milanz_metax added, “More power!” while RichiNW8 insulted one person complaining, “Bro is a blitz player.” This hell seems to be divided along playstyles preference, with aggressive rushers welcoming the SMG comeback, while tactical shooters miss out on their option of stealth.
Epic hasn’t revealed a clear reason on this one swap, but this is a clear continuation of their policy to keep the meta fresh by rotating weapons in and out. It’s the speculation of LRobertson24883 who said, maybe indicating the “meta shift incoming” with some of those changes coming in the next yields. The next few days are about to be bright with some high close-range action in the mix with the TAC SMG, while looking gloomy for long-range engagements without a suppressed sniper.
At this point, whatever could say about the map, has definitely been said. Everybody must now upgrade their strategies with the SMG coming back and the suppressed sniper going away. Stealthy suppressed sniper kills have now gone down in history, while the mad TAC SMG close-range shake-ups are here to stay. How this weighs out in terms of the win percentages, playstyles, and the tempo of those matches remains to be seen; what is certain is going to be a few chaotic sunny days soon as players start embracing their new reality.
The community will be in a debate as to whether this change benefited the game or detracted from it, while all eyes will observe how well this pans out in competitive play and if Epic has more surprises for us with this season. For now, scramble together the TAC SMG and place that mercantile action-the age of stealthy sniping has (for now) come to a stop in Fortnite.
