Fortnite had a failed experiment with a new mechanic once, and the saddest part is that it could have easily turned out differently. Fortnite already had a building mechanic, and what Chapter 2, Season 6 added could have been a good accompaniment to that. Unfortunately, the way that the mechanic rolled out ended up being more of a chore than a perk.
In Chapter 2, Season 6 of Fortnite, a weapon-crafting system was introduced as one of the season's new gimmicks. With this mechanic, the player could pick up a weak weapon and use parts that they pick up on the map in order to craft them into stronger versions of said weapon. For example, the player can pick up a weak and inaccurate Makeshift Rifle, and scavenge some mechanical parts from the map in order to upgrade it into a more reliable Assault Rifle. While Fortnite's big Dragon Ball crossover was a gimmick that went over well, it didn't take long for crafting to reveal the flaws in its design.
Fortnite's Crafting Made Players Work To Get The Same Weapons
When Fortnite launched Chapter 2, Season 6, it also introduced the Makeshift weapons. There was a bow, a revolver, a rifle, a submachine gun, and a shotgun, and they were necessary in order to craft new items in Fortnite. They were inferior versions of the game's usual weapons, either in terms of power, accuracy, or other qualities. They were designed specifically to be used with the new crafting system, turning them into better weapons in order to give the user an advantage in the match. Unfortunately, there was a major flaw in this approach that made itself known quickly.
The Makeshift weapons only had two upgrade paths. One path, using animal bones, would create Primal weapons, which were typically faster-firing and less-accurate versions of the default weapons. The other upgrade path, using mechanical parts, just turned them into the default version of the weapon. This meant that crafting with Makeshift weapons was just an extra step to acquiring the same weapons that players could pick up normally in any season prior. To add insult to injury, those weapons could be found on the map anyway, meaning that Fortnite's crafting in Season 6 got old fast. Even building the new Primal versions was lackluster because most of them were worse counterparts of the original weapons.
It's little surprise that Fortnite's crafting gimmick received an overhaul after its first season, and not just because the Primal weapons were obviously that season's gimmick.The Primal and Makeshift weapons were both shelved and haven't returned since, making it easy for one to consider them failed experiments. However, Fortnite wasn't done attempting to bring weapon crafting to the game after one failed rollout.
Fortnite's Weapon Crafting Never Provided Anything Truly New
In Chapter 2, Seasons 7 and 8 of Fortnite, crafting made its return, and one of its most obvious flaws was changed. With Makeshift weapons gone, players could use regular weapons to craft with as long as they could be used in one of Fortnite's crafting recipes. This made it easier for players to actually craft, and also eliminated the frustration of dealing with the comparatively useless Makeshift weapons. However, crafting had another problem that made it not worth the trouble.
In Season 7, every weapon could either upgrade into a modified version, or an alien version, while every weapon in Season 8 only had one upgrade path. In some cases, like the Charge Shotgun, the upgrade could change the way the weapon works, inadvertently making it a worse choice if the user isn't familiar with it. In addition, just like in Season 6, every craftable weapon could also be found on the map or in chests. As a result, crafting was basically pointless unless one had the materials and absolutely needed a specific weapon for a quest. Even the best weapons to come out of the system, Fornite's craftable bow variants, were available on the map and in chests, making one wonder what the point of crafting them is.
When craftable weapons are readily available, there's little point to the player building them. In addition, outside the upgraded bows, which could gain effects like starting fires or scattering explosives, all the craftable weapons were barely different from regular weapons, so crafting them didn't even feel special. In the end, Fortnite stopped including crafting after Chapter 2, Season 8, having never managed to iron out all of the mechanic's kinks.
Fortnite Could Bring Back Crafting & Make It Better
Crafting has been absent since Chapter 3 of Fortnite launched, and despite the system having its problems before, it could be reworked into something not only useful, but entertaining. One advantage of the old system was that it was very easy to use, even though the results were underwhelming. Much like Fortnite's shield-restoring jelly beans, crafting could become simple yet effective with some more interesting craftable weapons.
The biggest thing that would need to be changed is the weapons that are a result of crafting. Simply providing higher damage or fire rate isn't worth the trouble of gathering materials to combine. The end result needs to be truly unique. For example, a shotgun could be combined with a shockwave grenade to fire short-range shockwaves that send opponents flying. For an even wilder option, a submachine gun could be mixed with a jar of fireflies to make an SMG that shoots jets of flame. The game could even get silly and let players combine a rocket launcher with a coconut to make a coconut gun.
The biggest flaw with Fortnite's weapon crafting is that it never gave players the opportunity to make something truly worth the effort. Fortnite has improved in many ways since launch, and weapon crafting is just another area where the game can become better. By offering wilder, more fun weapons, crafting could come back to the game and become one of its best features.
Weapon crafting never managed to find a good niche in Fortnite, but giving it another chance could be a good move. If the developers learn from what held the mechanic back the first time, it could return in a wonderful way that could even make players forget about the first, unimpressive attempt. Fortnite thrives on being fun and unpredictable, and if done right, craftable weapons could be a big part of that.