Fortnite PC aim assist reportedly nerfed in unannounced 12.61 hotfix

Epic Games have finally made a move to reduce the power of Fortnite controller aim assist on PC in a secret v12.61 hotfix patch pushed onto live servers on May 28, according to new code found by renowned data miner Lucas7yoshi.

The suspected dominance of aim assist on Fortnite’s PC version has been the hot topic in the battle royale community of late. Fanbase figurehead Ninja suggested it was like installing an “aimbot,” while Tfue threatened to quit over the feature.

Epic has now finally reacted after months of community uproar. On May 19, the developers confirmed they would be making changes once the FNCS Invitational Finals concluded. A week later, the “controller tuning” has landed.

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Fortnite v12.61 patch hotfix targets PC aim assist

Epic reportedly sent the v12.61 patch hotfix live on May 28. The patch should lower the impact of controller aim assist on PC. There was no word from the devs about the change, however, on any of their official channels.

• Read more: Unexpected Fortnite storm circle changes found in v12.61 patch

Popular Fortnite data miner Lucas7yoshi confirmed the aim assist nerfs instead. The famous code-dipper revealed he had discovered a handful of code strings pushed in a secret battle royale update targeting aim assist.

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Lucas7yoshi added these updated  ‘Gamepad.AimAssist’ strings would only come into effect once players “restart the game” or “load into a Fortnite match” in v12.61. The unannounced hotfix has been shipped for both PC and Mac.

Here are the four code string changes made in the hotfix:

• PullInnerStrengthHip ⁠— reduced from 0.60 to 0.45.
• PullOuterStrengthHip — reduced from 0.50 to 0.38.
• PullInnerStrengthAds — reduced from 0.70 to 0.52.
• PullOuterStrengthAds — reduced from 0.40 to 0.30.

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Epic also secretly ships two PC aim assist buffs

The 12.61 hotfix comes just days after Fortnite players discovered Epic had secretly buffed aim assist this week, both of which may keep the feature relevant.

• Read more: Fortnite leaks give first-look at Doomsday event destruction

These changes ⁠— also completely unannounced by Epic ⁠— tweaked two values for the title’s infamous feature. One was its ability to track players through builds. The other was a small boost to aim assist range: it now works past 100 meters.

These new aim assist changes in v12.61 are far from the only secret swaps Epic have made as Fortnite barrels towards the end of Season 2 in early June either: the huge battle royale’s storm has also been deliberately tampered with.

Unfortunately, there may still be a bit of a wait before Fortnite Season 3 finally arrives though, after Epic confirmed the highly-anticipated seasonal switch — and the huge Doomsday event ⁠— has been delayed until June 11.