Removing the pump shotgun was a controversial choice for Fortnite Season 9. That doesn't mean that it was the wrong one. There is still an elephant in the room, however - the recently unvaulted Drum Gun.
The removal of the pump was controversial, but a lot of players also understood where Epic was coming from - including me. The pump was a must-have weapon for almost the entirety of Fortnite - save for a short while when the tac was arguably more effective.
Removing the pump allows for more diversity in playstyles. You can get in opponents' faces with the tac or use the new Combat Shotgun from a slightly further distance. You also don't have to carry a spray weapon as a follow-up to your shotgun, meaning Infantry rifles and AKs have more versatility now.
The one thing you can't really replace is the clutch factor of the pump. You could outplay an entire squad with some well-placed headshots from the pump, but now have to work a bit harder to take down a well-kitted squad on your own.
But... The Drum Gun
All of the points I made make the removal of the pump understandable to me. Epic has repeatedly stated that they want to add a level of diversity when it comes to playstyles, so getting rid of the most used gun in the game is a step in that direction.
That is until I considered the Drum Gun in all of this. There isn't another gun in Fortnite that's more of a must-have than the Drum Gun is right now.
This gun sprays through builds and deals massive damage from close to medium range. As long as you have an AR or Sniper, there's no reason not to carry a Drum Gun for everything other than long-range combat.
The Drum Gun now offers more reliable mid-range damage than the Combat shotgun and can outperform the tac shotty at close range when the opponent is turtling.
The only real counter to someone spraying you with a Drum Gun was a pump shot to the head. Now that it's out of the game, the Drum Gun sits atop the weapon power rankings.
I don't think Epic needs to bring the pump back to the game - so long as they remove or severely nerf the Drum Gun. No matter how much you loved your 200+ pump headshots, removing it adds more options for your ideal kit.
Please, Epic, remove the Drum Gun. Your game would be a lot healthier if you did.
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