Fortnite Has A Shield Problem And Some Players Are Frustrated

Though Fortnite's second chapter has largely been praised, Epic has frustrated players with its general lack of transparency about changes it introduces into the game. The company finally provided patch notes with an update earlier this month, but it didn't detail all of the changes and players speculate many tweaks remain unannounced. One such frustration revolves around the (lack of) shields.

It's not unheard of for Epic to adjust the spawn rate for in-game items, only to have those items because rare enough that players get vocal about it. Earlier this year, for example, Fortnite players were complaining about a lack of shotguns — particularly ones beyond the 'common' tier — in the game, an issue that grew substantial enough for some players to call the game unplayable.

Though that problem has been fixed for months, players are complaining about what appears to be a similar issue impacting shields. The complaints went viral on the FortniteBR subreddit today when player 'Brogan0' shared a video in which he opened 24 chests. Spoiler alert: none of the chests contained shields.

Mini shields are the smallest shield item; they give players 25 shield points with a max of 50 points. These items are particularly important due to the rapid speed at which they can be consumed. When players are forced to carry a big shield, which gives 50 shield points, they have to stand still for several seconds while drinking it, making it much harder to use one while in a fight.

Of course, shields can still be found in the game -- they're often lying around or within large ammo boxes, plus there are supply drops and Slurp Fish. Many players are divided over whether this is ultimately a problem; some are frustrated with the relative scarcity while others say they aren't having too many issues with getting shields. Whether Epic will adjust the item's availability levels remains to be seen.