Changes To Fortnite’s Health And Shield Bars Are On The Way

Fortnite Season 9 kicked off last week in the only fashion Epic Games knows how – with a bang. As before, this latest refresh triggered the arrival of several drastic changes to Battle Island’s landscape, not least the overnight construction of sprawling metropolis Neo Tilted. Accompanying the overarching futuristic aesthetic is the usual wealth of new, suitably-themed cosmetics and character skins, as well as several brand new gameplay additions.

One of those is the Slip Stream transport system that helps players flit around the map faster than ever before. Simply jumping into one of the many hoops littered around the map will trigger a rollercoaster ride like no other stretching from Paradise Palms all the way to the frigid colds of Polar Peak. To efficiently find and add each of Season 9’s new Fortbytes to your collection, there’s no better method, though not every chop and change introduced last week has garnered such praise.

As part of the tri-monthly shake-up to Fortnite‘s sandbox, Epic made a series of changes to the way in which damage is displayed on players’ health and shield bars. These adjustments, according to folks over on Reddit, have made judging the remaining vitality of their avatars unnecessarily frustrating for one simple reason. As of now, damage taken on either bar is denoted by replacing the usual green or blue with a universal red. Due to the fast-paced nature of any given match, discerning just how much reserve health one has before they drop dead is messy and confusing, to say the least.

Fortunately for those affected, Epic has made an appearance on the Reddit thread in question to confirm that tweaks are in the works. Bizarrely, the statement then goes on to agree with the criticism that using the same color for health and shields is confusing, somewhat begging the question of how the changes made it into the live game, to begin with.

But hey, changes are coming and that’s all that really matters. Assuming the current state of play hasn’t prevented you from sinking a few hours into Fortnite Season 9, feel free to head through here for all the tips you need to knock out every Week 1 challenge.