Fortnite Adding Awesome New Melee Weapon According to Datamine
Between a frosty new biome, the addition of the X-4 Stormwing Plane, and a new creative mode, Fortnite‘s seventh season has a lot to offer. However, it appears that this may not be all that Epic has planned for Season 7, as fans have just uncovered audio files indicating that swords could be headed to the battle royale game mode.
As shared by Fortnite-dataminer FortTory on their Twitter, a series of audio files have been introduced with the game’s newest update, and the file names all begin with “BR_Sword.” While swords are already prominently featured in Fortnite‘s PvE mode, Save the World, the “BR” prefix certainly suggests they are coming to battle royale.
Furthermore, there are visual indications that swords are to play a part in Season 7. In the Week 1 loading screen, the Ice King can be seen, perched upon the tail of Fortnite‘s new aerial vehicle, wielding a glowing sword. Additionally, the trailer for the season features a sword-carrying Sgt. Winter.
These swords have some obvious aesthetic differences, however, the distinct circle between the blade and the hilt suggests that they are simply two variations of the same sword — specifically, the sword appears to be the Infinity Blade from Epic’s mobile game series of the same name.
While this connection to Infinity Blade does not shed a great deal of light on how swords will be implemented in the battle royale game mode, if they are indeed going to be, it does suggest that there may be plans beyond simply adding them as a new weapon class. Some fans have begun to speculate along this line, with the idea that swords may be part of a new Limited Time Mode.
LTMs are special battle royale events with their own rulesets, and they can include limitations to the weapons that can be used, changes to the victory criteria, and overall gameplay alterations. In May, Epic collaborated with Marvel Studios on an LTM where players were attempting to locate Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet. Finding this weapon would transform the player into the supervillain himself, until they were killed, and the goal was to be the last Thanos standing.
While suggesting that the introduction of the Infinity Blade may be through a similar LTM is purely speculation, it does not seem outside of the realm of possibility. Whatever the case may be, these newly discovered sound files, coupled with the recurrent sword depicted in Season 7’s art, certainly feels as though it may be more than mere coincidence.
For players that would like to hear the “BR_Sword” audio files, FNBRLeaks has compiled them on Youtube:
Fortnite is out now in early access for iOS, Android, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.