With Frenzy, Fortnite becomes a competitive 5v5 FPS

Fortnite is a must-play title. Nevertheless, Epic Games does not rest on its laurels and aims to bring more diversity to the experience. It is with this in mind that Fortnite Festival, LEGO Fortnite, Rocket League, or more recently Fortnite OG have come into existence. Starting December 11, a brand new first-person experience will be offered in early access. Here is Frenzy (Ballistic in the English version).

Do you plant or defuse?

Attackers, defenders, first-person 5v5 confrontations, a site A, a site B... The first must plant a bomb on a site while the second must defend the said sites or defuse the explosive device. Does this remind you of anything? Of course, we immediately think of the essential Counter-Strike. Know that Fortnite will offer a similar experience, except that the bomb will take the form of a rift trigger.

For the rest, the game system will be very similar. The team that starts on attack will remain so for six rounds and will switch to defense for the following ones. The first team to win 7 rounds will win the game. To win a round, you must either eliminate the opposing team, as there will be no respawn, or, depending on the side, plant the device and make it explode, or protect the sites or defuse the device within 45 seconds.

As with its model, you will start with a simple pistol, the Predator in this case, and some credits, 800 to be precise. These will allow you to purchase equipment or weapons at the start of the round, such as smoke grenades, shields, etc. Of course, to save a little, you can pick up weapons and grenades from enemies fallen in battle, or even recover those that a generous teammate leaves on the ground.

An experience for all, set to evolve

A small subtlety nonetheless, members of both teams will be able to choose a gadget, among the five offered, which they will be the only ones able to purchase and use. This means you cannot retrieve them from a defeated enemy. There will be the proximity mine, the protective bubble (to protect against bullets and grenades, ideal for protection while defusing the rift trigger), the reconnaissance grenade (to detect and mark enemies), the frag grenade, and the repulsive grenade (pushes away enemies but also allies).

Finally, be aware that the Frenzy mode allows you to play both ranked (matchmaking will consider the average level of the team and not the level of the best member of said group) and unranked. In the first case, you can feel the adrenaline of the ranking, gulping at every mistake and fearing a penalty in case of a hasty departure. In other words, if you do a "rage quit," you will be penalized and, moreover, you will not be able to join another game for a certain time. If it's a connection issue, know that you will have 3 minutes to reconnect and thus avoid the penalty. In the second case, it will be more relaxed. Whether it's to play without hassle or simply to practice without pressure, the unranked mode will not be as punitive. If you leave a game, you will simply be replaced.

Of course, as the Frenzy mode will be launched in early access, the developers will make it a point to follow community feedback to adjust the settings and balance the experience as best as possible. It will start with the Megapolis 10 map, but developers assure that other maps will be deployed later. Likewise, the arsenal and features should evolve over time.