With a burgeoning community and addictive gameplay, Fortnite is already one of the most popular games in the world. As an increasing number of Battle Royale games spring up due to the rising popularity of the genre as we speak, Fortnite manages to keep it distinct with a unique art style, elaborate storyline, and fast-paced gameplay.

One of the reasons for this is its accessibility to new players, while it still has a high enough skill ceiling for pro players to explore. The number of items you can use is also surprisingly varied, allowing for more dynamic and diverse playing styles than other games in the genre.

Not all items are made equal, however, and knowing which ones to keep and which ones to ignore from the sheer number of them scattered across the map is often key to getting better at the game. While many of them are powerful enough to tilt the tide of a battle, a lot of them don’t do much at all.

We list down some of the most popular items in Fortnite that are actually useless at best, and massively detrimental to your chances of winning a fight at worst. While we won’t recommend just not picking them up as a general rule (some of them maybe useful for your particular playing style), it’s generally a good idea to stock that backpack with more useful things.

Here are the 20 Items Everyone Uses In Fortnite (That Are Actually Useless).

20. Remote explosive

The Remote Explosive in Fortnite works the same way as C4 does in other shooters. You can use it in the middle of a fight, or setup elaborate traps, though for the most part, it remains one of the most useless items in the game.

While it’s high damage and works well against structures, it’s still not worth the slot. For one, it’s incredibly close range, which limits the types of encounters it can be used in.

There’s also the issue about not being able to equip any other weapon while you’re detonating them, instantly putting you at a disadvantage against someone with a faster gun.

That’s not to say that pros haven’t been able to utilize the tactical opportunities it provides, though there are a lot of better items to help you win battles if you don’t know how to use these.

19. Submachine Gun

Possibly one of the most ignored items in the game, the Submachine gun is hilariously underpowered compared to nearly every other gun in the game, as well as on this list.

While it sounds good on paper – a close-quarter, rapid fire gun with one of the highest DPS values in the game – where it really starts to break down is when you actually try to take down opponents with it.

For one, its range is too short for a game that spans a gigantic map, making it useless in most situations. Its high rate of fire works against it, as you need to reload as much faster. The accuracy is also not that high in general, so you can’t rely on it in any situation.

18. Suppressed Submachine Gun

This one may not be as clearly useless as the Submachine gun. It has a lower rate of fire and higher damage-per-bullet stat, giving it almost the same amount of dps as the SMG and a possibility of hitting more shots. Don’t be fooled by that, though, it’s still pretty useless.

For one, the SMG’s higher rate of fire is one of the few things that work for it if you work on improving your aim. The lower rate of fire just means that now you have a slower gun with no advantage in DPS.

More problematic, however, is its accuracy - the suppressed SMG is quite inadept at landing most shots it hits, probably due to its higher damage fall off.

If you can find it, even the regular SMG would be a worthy replacement to its suppressed variant.

17. Burst Assault Rifle

One of the oldest weapons in the game, the Burst Assault Rifle is yet another weapon that looks good on paper. It’s high damage and can end enemies pretty quickly, and many pros swear by it as an essential item in any kit. That’s the thing, though - other than the pros, not many people can make much use of the Burst AR.

Unless you’re amazing at aiming, landing shots with the Burst Assault is super difficult, owing to its rapid 3-shot bursts and the delay before you can shoot again.

Sure, people who can aim all three of the bursts in someone’s head from a distance may find utility in this one (it still won’t one-shot a shielded enemy), but for most of us, a faster gun with more reliable dps will win against a Burst Assault every single time.

16. Scoped Assault Rifle

Finding a scoped assault rifle is usually quite an anti-climactic moment. It’s shiny and exciting when you spot it, but as soon as you go near, that changes to pure disappointment.

One would think that no recoil with a trade off in damage would make this gun useful, though we underestimate how much of a tradeoff it is just for a scope.

With 23 damage and a dps of 80.5 for the rare version, it may make sense to at least give it a fair shot, but even an uncommon assault rifle with its 30 damage and 165 dps is enough to easily counter an enemy trying to land shots with the scoped AR.

Plus it delivers a fraction of that damage anyway, and doing absolutely nothing is going to change that except maybe a patch.

15. Hand Cannon

Unfortunately, outside of the pros and experienced Desert Eagle experts from older FPS games, the high skill cap of this one means that effectively using it is near impossible.

Making it worse is its fire rate, which is actually lower than its damage stat. That means that its damaging ability is reduced over time if you use it for more than one shot, and that’s if it hits - but it probably won’t, as it also has one of the highest recoils in the whole game. There’s also the loud sound it makes.

You’d probably get a lot of utility out of the Hand Cannon if you can work on landing those hits, which isn't really, but until that happens, you’re probably better off not using this one in high risk encounters for the time being.

14. Heavy Shotgun

The introduction of the Heavy Shotgun to the game was one of the most exciting moments in Fortnite’s history, as shotguns had already been one of the most popular weapons till that point and everyone wanted a new variety. So where did it go wrong?

As it turns out, the gun never looked good on paper, either - while the damage is equivalent to the tactical shotgun, the dps is way lower with an equivalent boost in its range.

That looked exciting in the beginning, but people soon realized that a shotgun never needed to have a longer range, as another gun that’s made for those situations easily outperformed it in almost all situations.

It’s also super buggy, so can’t be relied on in actual encounters.

13. Hunting Rifle

To a new player, the Hunting Rifle may look pretty useful; with high damage and no scope, it should be one of the most overpowered weapons in the game. Unfortunately, it’s really not.

Despite high damage, many streamers have exemplified the utter uselessness of the Hunting Rifle. It’s so inaccurate that you tend to miss most shots that look like they should have obviously hit. Another problem is that owing to the huge map, you do need the scope to accurately hit a person far away, making it at best a mid-range weapon, which is if it even worked mid-range.

Some players may suggest using it in close quarters for its high damage, though it rarely works, and it’s usually a better idea to just not picking it up than doing so and accidentally pulling it out mid fight.

12. Impulse grenade

As another one of the older items on the list, the Impulse Grenade has been around for a long time. It doesn’t deal any damage, though compensates that by…throwing people a bit on the side.

While you could find professional Fortnite players using it to impressive effect (especially knocking players off their high forts for environmental attacks), it doesn’t actually provide any utility to your kit.

It can even be used as a one-time distraction, though there’s a good chance that will not do anything substantial to improve your situation in a battle.

Sure, you can practice and get really good at environmental attacks or to close in the distance and take your enemy by surprise, though getting better at literally any other grenade in the game would probably be a better use of your time.

11. Clinger

Clinger is one the recent additions to the game, and players are still figuring out the various ways it can be used. However, until now, it hasn’t been the most useful of weapons.

Similar to the Semtex of other FPS games, clinger is an explosive device that sticks to the enemy, explodes in a few seconds and deals a massive amount of damage. That is, however, if it sticks at all. If it doesn’t, owing to its slow-moving projectile, you better have a backup ready, as it’s really easy to walk away from the explosion and take you down before you could change your weapon.

It’s also ridiculously short range, so you’ve got to make sure to remember pulling it out in enclosed spaces. It's a better idea to just use a shotgun.

10. Launch Pad

The Launch Pad is an Epic item that could be setup anywhere and used to launch yourself in the air and glide away, giving you another chance to show off your fancy glider. It’s been a part of the game for quite a long time, but we’re not quite sure why, other than the glider part.

The launch isn’t too high. Instead, it just lets you glide away some 300 feet, which isn’t really useful.

Other than that, all it does it alert everyone around to your position, with no tactical advantage to you. You can’t even try to shoot from the air, as the height doesn't really give you enough time to do it.

It may help a tiny bit getting out of the storm, though bandages and healing kits maybe much better and reliable options for that purpose.

9. Minigun

The Minigun was perhaps the most hyped addition to the game, though that changed quite fast.

Apparently, all you needed to effectively counter a Minigun is just having a gun – any gun – and make hits with it... that’s it. With its ridiculous fall off damage over even the shortest of distances, the only place it really works is when it’s right in your face. It also severely slows down your movement when you’re shooting, putting it at a severe disadvantage against other guns that are much faster and more reliable.

You can probably still use it to destroy structures, but as it leaves you vulnerable to vigilant enemies nearby due to being so loud, grenades and other explosives serve that purpose better.

8. Grenade launcher

A more recent addition to the game, the Grenade Launcher sounds awesome, though using it one time will tell you that it isn't - at all.

The grenades take too long to detonate after they’ve been launched, giving the other player enough time to walk away from the explosion.

They also introduced an ammo cap in a recent patch, which means that the launcher can only shoot a certain number of grenades before it’s permanently useless.

While it may fit a very specific role in your kit, it's generally not the weapon you'd like to pull out in the middle of a fight. In a game where you have to take down opponents as fast as possible before disappearing and planning the next attack rather than executing chaotic set pieces for maximum effect and sound, only a few would choose that over other more inconspicuous explosives.

7. Spike Traps

The spike traps provide tactical, high-damage opportunities in enclosed spaces, especially when you’re dynamically building and destroying in the end game.

They’re not very easy to use, though, unlike what those pro gamers on Twitch would have you believe. Sure, you can ingeniously lure the other player into your fortification and take down one or two opponents by trapping them in, but this method still heavily relies on the stupidity of another player to just walk into another fort without building their own to reach you.

They could potentially be used in houses, but as Fortnite battles mostly happen on open ground (at least in the parts of a match that actually matter and not early game), it relies heavily on psychologically convincing the other player to enter an enclosed space for combat.

6. Revolver

There are a few moments sadder in a Fortnite match than dropping down from the bus, spotting a treasure chest right out of the bat, and opening it to find only the revolver and some other non-gun items.

Famous for doing absolutely nothing, revolvers are useless in almost all situations.

Despite it being a close-range weapon, shotguns deal a great deal of more damage than the revolver. The AR, even the burst variety on this list, outclass it in medium range, and you’ve really got to be daring to even try making attacks with them in the longer range.

Combine that with its high recoil, low damage ammo, and buggy shots, and the revolver remains the only weapon that a lot of players would actively not pick up even if they have a slot or two free.

5. Metal

Metal sounds strong, but if you compare it to other materials, it falls a bit short. It's scarce and takes time to harvest, and moreover, it doesn't help over wood or brick.

Most of the situations you need to build in are in the middle of combat, while the other person is actively trying to destroy your rapidly emerging structures. When you lay down a wall with wood, it starts at a 100 health, while metal only starts at 80.

The latter will build up to a stronger wall when it’s done, but it's hardly ever useful is in the middle of a fight, where the enemy is actively trying to take your buildings down. That's when you need that initial sturdiness, and, counter-intuitively, wood wins hands down in those situations.

4. Crossbow

We won’t say it’s impossible to take down opponents with this one, but most of them are lucky shots. If not, you might just be a crossbow prodigy, because we sure can’t destroy anything with it.

There’s usually no reason to use a Crossbow other than for the scope, and there are better guns for even that.

It is near impossible to take down opponents with crossbow’s slow-moving projectiles. Plus it has really low damage stats (probably to compensate for no sound), so even if you get hits, you will need another two or three of them to attack a shielded enemy.

Unless you get headshots - and because it’s impossible to train yourself to do that with its high learning curve - there’s simply no way a crossbow will come out to be the winner in most fights.

3. Bush

What’s not to like about the bush? It should be the perfect camouflage and unfairly overpowered, seeing how green the map is. It was pretty popular in the early days, too.

Well, it's certainly not anymore, as a player in a bush looks quite suspiciously different from a regular bush. It may look cool to new players, but we’d strongly advice against using it as mostly everyone who has played the game for more than 2 weeks knows how useless it is.

Not just useless, a big green blob making its way across the open fields pretending it’s a part of the scenery will probably draw way more attention than if you were just running without it on.

2. Gravity Crystals

Since season 4, players can find Gravity Crystals across the map. They're little floating magic crystals that can be found scattered around and give you zero gravity and no fall damage for about 30 seconds.

While many people have been able to utilize them well, most of them are pros, and the crystals provide their already overpowered set of skills an even bigger positioning boost.

For the lot of us, though, all they do is alert anyone who’s paying attention to our position before we can make any attacks.

Unless you can counter that give-away in position with an equivalent amount of skill with your weapons, the crystals turn out to be more of a liability than an asset. It’s also very difficult to land shots in the air, as the accuracy is all off.

1. Guided Missile

After being deactivated for some time due to bugs the Guided Missile is back, Though this time, it's quite a bit useless.

Its painfully slow speed gives the enemy plenty of time to make their fortifications, shoot it down, or simply move away if the environment allows.

They also severely nerfed its damage output; it only does 74 and 77 damage now for the Epic and Legendary varieties, making it useless to take out an enemy with it. They can also shoot it down quite easily, as it moves with the speed of a pinned teammate.

There’s also the thing about you being vulnerable to attack the whole time you’re guiding the missile, so it’s probably a good idea to look for a Rocket Launcher instead if you do really plan to use this variety of explosives.

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Are there any other popular Fortnite items that players should stop using? Let us know in the comments!