It’s been more than four years since Epic Games brought AI bot players to the lobbies of Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode. Back then, they were pretty… well, bad, and it turns out that in 2024 they’re still going to be really bad.
The latest evidence that AI really isn’t ready to take over our Fortnite lobbies, let alone the world, comes via Reddit user u/johnnyratface. The clip shows three robots from the same team, all huddled together at the entrance to a building, seemingly unable to leave. As soon as u/johnnyratface approaches, the shooting begins. And boy, let the robots shoot. In what can only be described as a pretty solid Stormtrooper impression, they shoot just about anything. but in… you know, the enemy.
The Bot situation really needs to be addressed. It has gotten worse.
byu/johnnyratface inFortNiteBR
Some players suggested killing as many bots as possible in hopes that the original poster (OP) would be placed in rooms with fewer bots and more people. Others suggested simply enjoying the silly AI while it lasted before ending up in lobbies full of expert-level players.
Another group of players in the responses felt it was necessary to reduce or even completely stop the number of bots in lobbies after passing a certain rank. Whatever the ideal solution, there is a general consensus that bots have become a problem in their current form in Fortnite.
In 2019, when they were first released as part of Chapter 2, Season 1, Epic said in a blog post. that the intention of the bots was to “provide a better path for players to grow in skill” and that they would “work in conjunction with the new matchmaking system and, as your skill improves, you will face fewer bots.” While players are facing fewer bots, the change seems too sudden, going from lobbies largely filled with bots to almost none in what seems like a matter of gaming. The lack of “difficulty adjustment,” for lack of a better term, doesn’t help either. A robot is a robot. They are all as stupid as each other. If there were skill levels, that might make including them in lobbies a little less frustrating for those looking for a more challenging experience but not yet ready for high ELO lobbies.
What do you think of bots in Fortnite? Let us know in the comments below.