During a recent Reddit AMA, several Epic Games designers took to their keyboards to answer some pressing questions from Fortnite fans, such as who they main in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - one producer said Link. On a more serious note, the designers also discussed the possibility of adding a respawn mechanic to Fortnite Battle Royale.
"We've been considering this mechanic for a while and have been exploring it," a producer by the username RZELive said. "Want to make sure we give it the time it needs and fully understand its impact on the game as a whole. Look for further updates during Fortnite Season 8."
The prospect of respawning coming to Fortnite is especially interesting after the release of Apex Legends and its clever revive system. Apex allows surviving players of a team to collect the tags of their fallen allies and deliver them to a respawn point to bring them back in. The possibility of rejoining the match makes the dreaded post-death spectator session much more exciting, even if you do have to re-gear when you respawn, and it's one of many things about Apex that I'd love to see other battle royales emulate.
I'm sure Epic has been mulling over a respawn system since well before Apex released, but I certainly wouldn't complain if Fortnite followed its lead. In the same vein, the marker and team communication improvements that Epic design lead Eric Williamson says are coming in Season 8 could benefit from a quick study of Apex Legends' masterful ping system.
You can read every response in the Reddit AMA here, and I've rounded up some other interesting tidbits for you below.
- A new "single-occupancy vehicle" is in the works, and it may affect whether the new Driftboards stick around
- Planes will be vaulted in Season 8
- Bouncers and double shotguns will stay vaulted for now
As it happens, the Apex folks at Respawn just held a Reddit AMA of their own, during which they confirmed that the Mozambique Shotgun will remain unchanged (and a meme) for now.
