Fortnite pro 72hrs mid-game controller swap shows why aim assist is OP

Twitter: Team Liquid / Epic Games

Thomas ‘72hrs’ Mulligan has demonstrated why Fortnite players are flocking to the sticks in droves, pulling off a mid-match swap from mouse and keyboard to controller to nail kills thanks to the game’s “awesome” aim assist.

Controller Fortnite players have been criticized recently over the discovery of how broken the battle royale’s aim assist function apparently is.

Breso, a controller player from Australia, recently took home the Fortnite Australian Open Summer Smash while using the hand-held controls. His efforts were put down by other pros, who blamed the aim assist controller players are given for their rise through competitive Fortnite.

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ESL
Breso became the first controller player to win a major Fortnite LAN, fuelling further criticism of aim assist.

Long-time mouse and keyboard players like Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf have shown how easy it is to make the shift, going from dominating the World Cup on the keys to smashing casuals on the sticks.

However, the award for the most egregious swap from the traditional PC setup to the console-favored remote goes to 72hrs, who showed off the difference between mouse and keyboard and controller in a matter of seconds.

Firing down on an enemy from afar using his M&KB, 72hrs missed all but one shot as his bloom caused him to whiff. Not to be let down in the middle of a gunfight, he crouched, and swapped to the controller laying on his desk.

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The change in fortune was immediate. Within 10 shots, 72hrs knocked down the enemy, dinking them numerous times on the controller.

All he could do was laugh as his swap to controller showed how powerful it is compared to mouse and keyboard, and he joked about how “awesome” it is.

“Dude, I full bloom for like 30 shots [on mouse and keyboard], don’t hit a shot. Plug in the controller, triple dink. That’s awesome,” he said with a tinge of sarcasm.

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Twitch: 72hrs
The swap to controller paid instant dividends for 72hrs.

Other players have made the jump to the so-called Fortnite “controller army” after realizing the power of the game’s aim assist. Myth made the switch to the sticks at the start of 2020, but returned to the keys in January.

However, some players have out-right outlawed it, like Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. The face of Mixer mentioned back in December that controller players shouldn’t be allowed to play on PC because “[they don’t] need to have any aim whatsoever.”

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72hrs’ antics weren’t enough to net him a win that game, as he finished third. It did, however, show something needs to change regarding aim assist, or the gap between M&KB and controller players will just keep growing.