The massively popular battle royaleFortnitecontinues to evolve after all these years, likely a big reason why it has been able to retain such a large fan base. Each season attempts to change up the game, fromnew points of interest on theFortnitemap, battle pass content, as well as an overarching story. In addition, Epic has proven to be adept at crossover content as well, bringing loads of familiar franchises into Fortnite from Marvel, DC, Halo, Star Wars, and so much more.
In addition to content, Epic has also been known to shift weapons around, mixing up the sandbox style gameplay to remove things that may be working too well, or adding new things for players to try. Since its launch all the way back in 2017,Fortnitehas seen plenty of gear come and gosuch as resource items, various weapons, and even some popular tools like the versatile All Terrain Kart.
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Thankfully, even if a popular weapon is retired, Epic generally tries to replace it with something similar. In this case,Fortnitefans can obtain the Charge SMG in the newest updateduring Chapter 3 Season 3. Here’s where to find the new weapon and how to use it effectively.
How to Find the Charge SMG
Serving as a replacement for the now-vaulted Combat SMG, theFortniteCharge SMG is available in pretty much anywhere a player can loot items. This includes Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops, Reality Saplings, and Sharks. Better yet, the Charge SMG also comes in every rarity tier as well from common, all the way to Mythic.
A couple of things to keep in mind with this weapon. First, there’s no guaranteed spot to find a Charge SMG, so players will need to continue to loot and one will eventually drop. The other caveat is that the Charge SMG isn’t available in competitive playlists.
How to Use the Charge SMG
The Charge SMG behaves a little differently fromtypical weapons inFortnite. As the name suggests, the weapon needs to be charged before it fires, so players will need to hold down the trigger. Doing so fills a red bar above the reticule that charges the weapon, so the longer the trigger is held, the more bullets that are fired out once released.
Naturally, this means players will need to be proactive in gun fights with other players, as they’ll need to ensure to give themselves enough time to charge the weapon before it’ll fire. While charging, a player is largely defenseless and not capable of firing back until the charge is complete so ideally, a player should charge behind cover, only popping out when the weapon is ready to fire. However, a full charge fires a stream of bullets, while a quick charge will only do a short burst unlikely to take down a player. In addition, the Charge SMG is a great close-quarters weapon, especially with a big charge. The stream of bullets can tear through players and structures alike at close-range, making it a great choice toquickly tear down even the most impressiveFortnitebuilding.
Fortniteis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
