Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 started this week, so players are still exploring the new loot pool and gameplay mechanics. Until they become familiar with everything that’s been added, they might have a harder time getting a Victory Royale. It seems that Epic Games appears to have increased players’ chances of getting a win by cranking up the number of bots in each match.
Using bots on Fortnite Discord servers, X user Au5la discovered that the number of bots in Battle Royale matches was significantly higher in Chapter 7 Season 4 compared to previous seasons. Before, the bot reported that between 58 and 65 real players could be found in Battle Royale matches; this season, that number decreased to a mere 25 players — a significant change.
According to a blog post from 2019, Epic Games added bots in order to “help players improve their skill level.” At the time, Epic planned to improve bots and create a bot-only mode where players could train. However, if players are going up against a lobby that only consists of mainly bots, they will never actually put their skills to the test.
It’s common to spend most of a match by yourself, kill a bot or two, and then die to the first real players you come across. Because of the high number of bots, you become used to weaker opponents and are, therefore, unprepared for an actual fight against a skilled individual. Rather than motivating fans to keep playing Fortnite, it might do the opposite, as they may get more frustrated at losing in the Top 10 over and over again. As Au5la so accurately put it, “Even if I didn’t win every game, the joy from fighting actual real players far outweighs fighting bots all game until the last few teams. Really sad to see they changed this.” Many fans share this sentiment.
While some players report that they have not come across any bots at all in Chapter 7 Season 4 and that their lobbies are full of “sweats” that can triple headshot them within seconds, others are tired of encountering them. Since reports indicate bot numbers have increased, it’s possible that Epic Games will finally improve their bots’ skills as promised. Yesterday, I hired The Order. While I was down and my teammate was in a close-quarters 1v1 with the person who had taken me out. Our opponent was then seemingly killed out of nowhere. I didn’t realize how they died until I looked at the kill feed and noticed that it said The Order had sniped them.
Even if Epic improves bots’ skills, fixing skill-based matchmaking would be an easier and more effective way to help players get better at Fortnite than increasing the number of bots in matches. Additionally, Epic Games could give players the choice to go up against bots or not come across them at all.