Fortnite community coordinator Sean “MrPopoTFS” Hamilton announced that The Baller nerfs have been put back from the v8.30 update, which means they won’t arrive in time for this weekend’s first round of the Fortnite World Cup Open Qualifiers. Epic Games had announced in the v8.20 update patch notes that the changes will come for this update, but now there’s no new estimate date of deployment.
The Baller would be changed in the v8.30 update to allow players on the ground to shoot the driver through the vehicle’s glass, dealing damage to them directly instead. Today players first have to destroy The Baller to then make the driver vulnerable to damage. MrPopo wrote that the team is still “polishing this change and will get it to you as soon as it’s ready.”
Related: Why Epic is nerfing The Baller to the ground in Fortnite.
Considering the message, it’s likely that The Baller will continue as it is in its current iteration for this weekend’s first stage of the Fortnite World Cup Open Qualifiers. The qualifiers will award the best Solo players with a share of the $1 million weekly prize pool, and these players will likely be the ones who use The Baller most effectively.
The Baller provides a great advantage to its user. It allows for fast movement with its built-in Grappler, it denies up to 300 damage before being destroyed, and lets the user destroy structures with easy by bouncing on them. A player who’s in The Baller in the late game has a huge advantage over others due to its shielding and mobility.
Fortnite players who are eager to get a spot in the World Cup will either have to play around The Baller this weekend or play in one to get an edge over their opponents. It seems unlikely that Epic will deploy this changes before the update next week.
