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Among Fortnite players, there are some skins which are afforded a certain amount of reverence. The Skull Trooper - a male avatar clad in mostly black gear, with a white skeleton painted over his clothes and face - is one example. Everybody loves this guy! Or at least they did, until Epic Games made the skin available again just in time for Halloween. Now the Fortnite community is experiencing a bit of infighting over whether re-releasing the skin was the right move.
To understand players' frustrations, it's important to know how Fortnite has worked up to this point. The game cycles in new cosmetics roughly every 10-week period (or "season"). These visual customization options are split between the Fortnite Battle Pass and cash shop. Once a season is over, any skins and outfits that were part of the Battle Pass can't be unlocked anymore, though cash shop skins will sometimes re-appear.
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The Skull Trooper was introduced as a season 2 cash shop skin, so in order to have this skin previously, you had to be playing before Fortnite became the all-encompassing phenomenon it is now. It also had not re-appeared in the cash shop until now, which made it fairly rare to see. This earned players who wore the Skull Trooper skin into battle a certain amount of prestige, and the skin itself was a desirable symbol of status. Now that the skin is back (with a female variant, as well as a neon green color option for the bones), the status quo has been shaken.
Some players are just happy they can finally have this look for their avatar, while some say it lessens the skin's value if it's not rare to see on the battlefield - though it should be noted those who already owned the skin have an exclusive purple color variant they can choose. Still others are using the re-release as a way to mock "OGs" (a nickname for veteran players), whom they see as elitist. The fighting is perhaps at its ugliest on Twitter (raise your hand if you're surprised by that), though Facebook and Reddit have seen some heated discussion as well.
If you're fine with all that and just want the skin, it's available now on the cash shop for 1,500 V-Bucks. Enjoy, and save the drama for your llama.
Want to take your love of Fortnite to the next level? Check out this list of Fortnite Halloween costumes which, yes, includes the Skull Trooper.
