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Fortnite players aren't impressed at the game's new Witcher costume, complaining that it's almost identical to a previous cosmetic.
Geralt of Rivia arrived in Fortnite with the start of Chapter 4, Season 1, and now that we're halfway through the season, he's returned, with a series of quests letting players earn a new 'School of the Viper' costume. The trouble, however, is that the alternative cosmetic seems to be pushing the limits of the word 'new'.
For reference, you can take a look at the original Witcher crossover cosmetic below. Styled off Geralt's classic Witcher 3 get-up, it's a pretty good approximation considering Fortnite's limited visual fidelity in the face of CDPR's RPG.
When it comes to the new Viper School outfit, you can take a look at that here:
It's fair to say that there are some... notable similarities between the two skins. So much so that were it not for the text, I think I - a noted Witcher-liker - would struggle to tell you which was the original. The only clue beyond the slightly darker pallet is the snakeskin texture on some parts of the Viper School gear, but at first I mistook that for a different form of chainmail.
I'm not the only one struggling to tell the difference. On Reddit, the top comment on a post discussing the Viper School skin says that "not only is it a recolor, but it's a barely noticeable recolor. I had to compare the old skin and the new one side by side to figure out what the difference was." Several other comments say they still can't tell the difference between the two, even after having the new colours pointed out.
One comment does suggest that the Viper armor is supposed to look similar to the original, as fans of Geralt's original design didn't like giving it up as they progressed through The Witcher 3. That was a great way for CDPR to appeal to Witcher fans, but it's not so relevant for Fortnite players, especially those who have gone through an entire quest line to unlock the new skin.
Others still have been suggesting the alternatives that Epic could have opted for. The Wolf and Manticore School armor sets were both mentioned. Henry Cavill's armor from the Netflix show would also have been a possibility. More broadly, it looks as though the Viper set has drawn a disappointing line under the entire season, with several players suggesting they would have liked to have seen more variety over the past few weeks, with the final reveal an even bigger let-down.
Once you've claimed your Geralt gear, here's how to complete the Fortnite Cipher quests.
