Fortnite’s ‘weapon auto-upgrade’ concept gets everything right, and then some

Fortnite has many interesting features and mechanics that improve the gameplay by a large extent. Although some, like Hurdling, were added and unceremoniously removed in a matter of a few days, others, like Tactical Sprint, have been in-game for months now. Nevertheless, every few seasons, Epic Games pushes the envelope in hopes of giving players something new.

On that note, one individual, a Reddit user – bepbopgop, made a suggestion for the introduction of a brand new system called “weapon auto-upgrade.”While it sounds similar to the Upgrade Bench that allows players to upgrade weapons using Gold Bars, this is completely different. This works on the principle of picking up rarer items of the same kind, rather than upgrading them in the true sense.

Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. by u/bepbopgop in FortNiteBR

The gist is that much like how ammo get automatically picked up when players run over it, why not implement a similar system for weapons and/or items as well? The idea is that a player can switch out a weapon of low rarity by running over the same weapon of a higher/better rarity. The inferior one will be automatically dropped from their inventory and replaced. While this feature may sound rather silly, the Fortnite community is excited about the idea.

Fortnite’s ‘weapon auto-upgrade’ mechanic would be huge step forward in-game

While this is only a concept, the idea of being able to swap out weapons on the go is rather intriguing. Rather than picking up a weapon of higher/better rarity, opening the inventory screen, and tossing out the one of lower rarity, this would make things seamless. Indeed, in dire combat situations, this would come in handy as players would be able to focus on fighting rather than readjusting their loot. Here’s what a few individuals have to say about this concept:

Comment by u/Captain-Wilco from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Comment by u/D1rectxbxlive from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Comment by u/Bukkorosu777 from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Comment by u/Babygabuss from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Comment by u/ChillpigeonhavsLV76 from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

The majority of comments of the thread are in favor of the idea. One cheeky user even mentions a strategy that can be used against opponents if and when this concept becomes a reality. However, despite this concept being an amazing idea, the community at large has no faith in Epic Games’ ability to implement it into Fortnite:

Comment by u/Umbriel-b from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Comment by u/Lillica_Golden_SHIB from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

Considering how broken Hurdling was, fans are not too sure about the developer’s ability to add this feature. If things work without a hitch, that’s fine. But if bugs start to crop up, much like the Shockwave Hammer and Kinetic Blade, this too, will end up getting vaulted. This has been a recurring theme ever since Epic Games tried to add a Crafting System to the game in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 6.

While the ideation was top-notch, according to the community, the execution was far from perfect. From recipes being limited to the system itself falling short of impressing players, things didn’t work according to plan. That said, while the thread focuses on the ‘weapon auto-upgrade’ concept, the discussion has been diverted towards an old fan-favorite weapon type – EvoChrome.

EvoChrome weapons have stood the test of time in Fortnite

Comment by u/viixiimcmlxxxix from discussion Thoughts on weapon auto-upgrade? Basically you know how ammo automatically gets picked up? I was wondering why there wasn’t a feature where if you walk over a better rarity of a gun in your inventory it switches it for the worse one. in FortNiteBR

While the thread was dedicated towards discussing the ‘weapon auto-upgrade’ concept, some users pointed out that something similar already exists. While the ‘weapon auto-upgrade’ concept focuses on replace a weapon of lower/poor rarity with a superior one, EvoChrome can be upgraded by dealing damage. Back in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4, the EvoChrome Shotgun was considered the best close-range weapon in-game.

Sadly, despite this class of weapons being loved by all, with the Chrome stage of the storyline over and The Herald gone, EvoChrome weapons will remain vaulted. Maybe, in the future, they may make a return, but it all depends on what Epic Games has in mind for the next phase of the storyline in Fortnite Chapter 5 and beyond.