New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 9, 2022) follows:

Fortnite is a free-to-play online game where players fight to be the last one standing in Battle Royale. They also join forces to make their own creative games or catch a live show at Party Royale.

It recently launched a new Chapter with fresh mechanics, characters, weapons, and a brand-new island.

Talking about weapons, Fortnite has also introduced a new melee weapon called Shockwave Hammer which is an epic-rarity drop.

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1 ‘Shockwave Hammer’ overpowered

However, a number of players (1,2,3,4,5) feel that the new Shockwave Hammer is ridiculously overpowered in Chapter 4 Season 1.

Fortnite-shockwave-hammer-overpowered
Source (Click/tap to view)

From the shockwave hammer, to the guns, to the map, this chapter feels like such an L compared to season 3. I was really feeling chapter 3 and new chapter was not needed yet
Source

Putting more weapons in the game so players can exploit? I’m done. The only balancing in this game revolves the store.
Source

Shockwave Hammer as a weapon is capable of hitting an opponent that can destroy them with a considerable degree of damage. Players can find this weapon in chests, capture points, or simply on the ground.

However, several players feel that the weapon is undeniably causing a significant deal of damage owing to its overpowered mechanics.

This has further prompted them (1,2,3,4,5) to ask for a nerf as it puts the player who doesn’t have one at a disadvantage.

Apart from Shockwave Hammer being overpowered, players also feel that the weapon’s spawn rate is outrageously high.

Is it me or is the hammer drop rate outrageously high?
I shouldn’t have to come across this many in a single game
Source

Fortnite-Shockwave-hammer-overpowered
Source

The fact that it is easily attainable could potentially make up for almost an exploitative use of the weapon as well.

Shockwave Hammer causing a jumping bug

Players also use the Shockwave Hammer to bounce up into the air in order to knock down opponents. However, it is currently preventing them from jumping altogether (1,2,3,4,5).

Fortnite-shockwave-hammer-jumping-bug
Source

Can’t jump after using shockwave hammer special skill.
And it lasted the whole match too, nothing could fix it in game, I believe it might have been something to do with mantling while still midair after using the shockwave hammer leap skill…
Source

Already found a game runing glitch, respawning in team rumble with the hammer prevents you from being able to jump at all
Source

It is quite frustrating for players as the bug is negatively impacting players’ experience thus causing lesser damage to the opponents.

Official acknowledgment

The Epic Games team is aware of the issue that is preventing players from jumping while using the Shockwave Hammer.

Fortnite-shockwave-hammer-jumping-issue
Source (Click/ tap to view)

But it hasn’t commented on the overpowered Fortnite Shockwave Hammer issue. So players will have to wait indefinitely for the team to come up with a fix.

We’ll keep tabs on the latest developments and update this article as and when we come across something noteworthy.

In the meantime, you can also check out our dedicated tracker where we have mentioned all the bugs and issues affecting Fortnite players along with their workarounds if any.

Update 1 (Jan. 9, 2023)

12:56 pm (IST): Fortnite support has informed players that they have temporarily disabled Shockwave Hammer in all playlists due to an issue and it will be re-enabled in the next game update.

Due to an issue, we have temporarily disabled the Shockwave Hammer in all playlists. Our intent is to re-enable the Shockwave Hammer in the next game update when this issue has been resolved. (Source)

Update 2 (Jan. 11, 2023)

08:25 am (IST): The Shockwave Hammer is available again. The Fortnite team revealed it was causing players to be able to bounce more times than intended, and hence has been nerfed.

Thanks for the tip, Harsh Clif!

Update 3 (Mar. 8, 2023)

11:59 am (IST): Fortnite devs have vaulted the Shockwave Hammer due to an unspecified new issue. So, the weapon won’t be available for a while while they fix it.

Also, player responses suggest that the weapon is still overpowered and breaking games:

you better not unvault that shit
Source

not gonna be missed
Source

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Riya Madaan
868 Posts

Weaving a little bit of life into the articles I write. No, not really! That's not really possible for a trash writer like me but I still try. Apart from it, I skate, meditate and medicate. Also keep myself away from troubles as I age.

Next article View Article

Google Drive not letting users play videos, throws 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error

Google Drive users have been dealing with an issue for years where they get an 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error when trying to play videos. And Google has still...
Feb 20, 2024 2 Min Read