Fortnite OG Chapter 1 is set to return as a permanent game mode according to leaks, but there are a few reasons why this isn’t ideal for the game.
When Epic brought back the OG season to Fortnite last year, the community was ecstatic. Who would’ve thought that, after all these years, we’d be able to jump back in time to experience it all over again?
Nostalgia hit really hard when some of the classic weapons and items returned, and the season was so successful it caused the player count to surge drastically.
A year later, we’re here with Chapter 2 Remix and an announcement that Chapter 1 OG will return as a core permanent game mode.
The latter is based on leaks, as there’s no official confirmation from Epic yet. Of course, this is such huge news within the community and one that many had looked forward to. However, I’m finding it hard to be excited for a few reasons.
Split player base
The issue with having another ‘major’ mode being part of Fortnite permanently is that this would leave the player base to be split even more. Yes, Fortnite may still have a huge number of concurrent players.
But right now, they’re all split between different modes, whether that’s Festival, Reload, Creative, and so on. This doesn’t even include the ranked modes in the game, meaning that the ones playing in Battle Royale are less than that.
With Fortnite already having its own Battle Royale mode based on a new chapter, combined with a permanent OG mode, the situation would get even worse. Naturally, there will be players who gravitate more toward OG than those who don’t.
One can argue that it’s great to have more options, as in if the player doesn’t like OG, then they can just stick to playing the regular Battle Royale – and they’re not wrong.
However, the problem with this is that you’d likely be matched up against more bots in your matches because of the split player base, especially if you live in certain regions and tend to play during odd hours.
Sometimes, bot lobbies are great when you have certain quests that are just too hard to do when regular people are around. But to me, this would quickly make things feel pretty boring.
It sucks when I get pumped in the head before I can do anything, but playing with real people is way more fun because I get to learn from my mistakes and truly enjoy the Battle Royale experience.
OG mechanics aren’t the best
According to leaks, the Chapter 1 OG that’ll return to the game will be available for both Build and Zero Build modes. With that in mind, I can already see how this is going to be an absolute nightmare for the latter.
It’s hard to tell whether Epic will tweak this, as they did with Reload and Chapter 2 Remix, but let’s assume that they keep everything as it is, from graphics to locations to the mechanics.
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The Zero Build mode didn’t exist back then, as it was only introduced in 2022. So, the old Fortnite map was initially made to be played in Build mode, with loads of open spaces and fewer buildings compared to recent ones, making it quite unfriendly for Zero Build players.
If you played Season OG in Zero Build last year, you’d already be familiar with the whole experience. Do you want to climb to that rooftop to get a better angle? Well, too bad you can’t build to get there, and the lack of mobility items and features also doesn’t help.
Let’s not forget the steep cliffs that’d leave you dead if you don’t have at least one mobility item with you. You’re lucky if you can find one nearby. What if you don’t? Good luck running all the way across the map while you hope you don’t get sniped, as there’s almost little to no cover.
You can’t swim either – and the worst part is that you can’t heal while walking. I find this feature to be something I can’t live without since it was added. Overall, there are just so many missing features in the OG chapter that make the game so fun now.
It might be fine for the first few games without them, but after that, you’d likely be tired and eventually go back to the regular Battle Royale, as OG is generally just more compatible with Build mode.
Kills the magic and hype of OG
Like most things, even if Epic regularly updates this mode, this could eventually make other OG-related chapters or modes feel less special. Up until Chapter 2 Remix, the community has always been excited to see OG-related content return to the game.
However, imagining that OG Chapter 1 is becoming permanent, I’d find myself feeling like it’d just be ‘another chapter or season’ by the time a different OG chapter gets announced, as I’d be used to it at that point.
A part of what makes Fortnite so fun is anticipating the next major update. There’s always so much hype, as Epic tends to share exciting teasers leading up to what’s next. This doesn’t exactly change how I feel about the Battle Royale, but it’s nice to look forward to something that’s supposed to be a special occurrence, like a yearly event.
Out with the old, in with the new
Seeing old characters return is always exciting, but I’d love to see more new characters make an appearance as well. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with Jonesy, Peely, and the rest of the OG gang; it’s just that I think new characters deserve a chance to shine.
I think Fortnite did a great job introducing Hope and Valeria. I find their storyline quite interesting, given their sibling dynamics despite the latter being a villain. In the current chapter, you could find some hidden audio logs from Hope to her sister that give more context to their lore—a really neat addition and detail.
I hope something like this is implemented more in the future with other characters. This doesn’t entirely mean that the OG cast should be put away, though; it is just refreshing to see new characters getting their spotlight as well, which help shake things up.
At the end of the day, while I think the mode becoming permanent isn’t ideal, I’m sure it can still be good with a few tweaks. I’m confident I’d change my mind if this would mean they’d bring back old skins or even Battle Passes or if they somehow tweak the mechanics like in Reload and Chapter 2 Remix. But for now, I’d be a little wary.