Should Epic Replace the Combat Shotgun with the Heavy Shotgun?

The Combat Shotgun is too powerful to stay in Fortnite. Would the Heavy Shotgun be the most balanced replacement?

The Combat Shotgun is probably the most overpowered weapon in Fortnite right now. It's one of the only must-carry weapons in the game, and nearly every player at every skill level prefers it over the Pump or the Tac.

It's never a good thing when one gun accounts for most of the kills in a match, which is why a large percentage of the community is asking Epic to nerf or vault the Combat.

What, though, would be the best replacement for the Combat and help balance the competitive meta? It might be our old friend; the Heavy Shotgun.

The Case Against the Combat

Most long-time, hardcore, and competitive players know how overpowered the Combat can be, but let me break it down for anyone who thinks it's balanced.

Every shotgun that Epic has released not named "Combat" has a downside in one way or another.

• The Pump deals out massive damage and can one-shot opponents, but it has a slow rate of fire, a limited mag size, and bad range.
• The Tac deals a lot of damage as well and has a quicker fire rate, but it's slower to reload than the pump and also has bad range. On top of that, it doesn't deal as much damage as the Pump and has a wider spread.
• The Double Barrel deals a ton of damage but has terrible range, a wide spread, and takes forever to reload.
• The Heavy Shotgun deals substantial damage, has a tight spread, and a medium fire rate. It's slow to reload, though, and punishing if you're inaccurate.
• The Drum Gun is... well... trash. It has the fastest fire rate and 12 shots, but it has terrible range and takes the longest to reload.

The Combat, on the other hand, does everything well. It has ten shots, deals a considerable amount of damage, has an incredibly fast fire rate, has the best range in its class, and reloads faster than any other shotgun.

There is no downside to using a Combat, which is why nearly every player in the game picks it up when they find one.

Epic vaulted the Pump at the beginning of Season 9, citing too many kills as their reasoning. Well, I'm sure the kills from the Combat are way higher if we could get a peek at those stats.

Replacing the Combat

Replacing the Combat with the Heavy from r/FortniteCompetitive

I saw this suggestion on Reddit and it seems like the most logical replacement for the Combat. The Heavy always had the best range in its class and would fill that role nicely if Epic decided to go in this direction.

The Heavy may even be eligible for a slight buff before it entered Fortnite. Epic could buff the headshot multiplier or base damage to make the gun more rewarding, and give players a reason to choose it over the Pump.

It's hard to imagine that the Combat is going to make it past Season 10. Epic, for all of their faults, has historically done well with removing or adjusting overpowered weapons in Fortnite.

The heavy would make a great replacement for the Combat and might be the perfect way to balance competitive Fortnite.

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