Epic has removed the Storm Flip item from Arena Trios and the Trios Tournament this weekend.
The Storm Flip might not be the most controversial item to ever be added to Fortnite, but it's certainly up there. This item represents the perfect argument for why there should be separate loot pools in competitive and public Fortnite matches.
In public games, the Storm Flip serves a specific purpose. You can flush-out an opponent - similar to what you can do with Stink Bombs - or use it to protect you and your teammates from storm damage.
In competitive Fortnite, the Storm Flip takes on a whole new identity. The item can decimate in late-game Arena matches when 20 or more players are still fighting it out in a small circle.
It's for this reason that the Storm Flip has been removed from Arena Mode and tournaments in the past, and will be again this weekend.
We've disabled the Storm Flip item in the Trio Tournament and Arena Playlist. ??
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 12, 2019
The Storm Flip was introduced in patch 9.20 and subsequently disabled in during the final two weeks of the World Cup qualifiers.
The item does 5 storm damage per tick, making it far too strong in late-game situations when the circle shrinks.
The Case for Separate Loot Pools
Competitive Fortnite players have long been asking for separate loot pools in their favorite game mode, but Epic has always resisted it. They want uniformity across Fortnite for both casual and competitive players.
The Storm Flip is the perfect example of why separate loot pools are necessary, as we covered above.
Epic even removed the Boom Bow from the Team Rumble mode because players only respawn with 100 HP. Of course, they left the item in Arena Mode.
We don't have all of the answers when it comes to what a competitive loot pool would look like, but there has to be a better option than keeping things the way they are.
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