Each time a new Fortnite drops, there are changes to the metagame that truly shake things up. Chapter 4 Season 1 introduced Reality Augments to its fans, allowing them to activate certain perks and abilities throughout the duration of a match. This made gameplay much more versatile, and players would change how they played depending on the Augments that they got.
There are all sorts of Reality Augments, but there is one type in particular that can boost a certain weapon. It seems Epic Games has truly tried to improve how pistols work in Fortnite, and to do this they added a few Reality Augments that turn these medium-tier weapons into high-tier weapons that are hard to counter. This guide will explain exactly how players can make themselves an overpowered pistol with the help of certain Reality Augments.
How To Improve Pistols
When this new chapter began, the Fortnite community was happy to see that the SCAR Assault Rifle had been unvaulted and could be used in-game once again. However, unfortunately, most fans were disappointed in its return because it was obvious that it suffered greatly from bloom, which means that it's all up to luck whether it'll hit a shot or not.
This change made it so the Fortnite competitive scene became more and more interested in pistols. They're accurate and they have a rapid-fire rate; they can turn an opponent to shreds without them even noticing. This makes it so pistols are a viable option in medium to close-range combat, and with certain upgrades and Reality Augments they can become even more powerful.
Upgrade Bench
In Chapter 4 Season 1, players can easily get their hands on the Tactical Pistol. It's mostly found in the Common, Uncommon, and Rare rarities, but with the help of the Upgrade Bench, it can very easily turn into an Epic or Legendary weapon.
It's also possible to get a Tactical Pistol with a higher rarity rank, and this method doesn't require an Upgrade Bench. When it comes to activating Reality Augments in Fortnite, it's all up to RNG; players can't choose which Augments they can select during a match, but they can reroll as many times as they'd like to have the chance to activate another one that they'd like that. There's an Augment that grants the player a Mythical Tactical Pistol.
The Mythic Munition Reality Augment was added to the game during a season update; it made it so players that chose to activate it would receive a Mythical Tactical Pistol. This is the only way to obtain such a high-rarity pistol in Fortnite at the moment.
So, even if players may start a game with a Common Tactical Pistol, they can quickly get themselves a Legendary or Mythical rarity Tactical Pistol if they either have a lot of luck or gold bars. Here are all the Tactical Pistol rarities available in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1, as well as their stats:
|
Rarity |
Damage |
Magazine size |
Fire rate |
Reload Time |
Structure damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Common |
23 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.5 |
23 |
|
Uncommon |
24 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.45 |
24 |
|
Rare |
25 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.4 |
25 |
|
Epic |
26 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.35 |
26 |
|
Legendary |
28 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.3 |
28 |
|
Mythic |
29 |
15 |
6.8 |
1.25 |
29 |
Reality Augments
Ever since the first season of Fortnite, most players would never take a pistol with them unless they didn't have a better option - it was that first weapon that they found right off the battle bus and only carried with them until an SMG or an Assault Rifle came along.
Epic Games really has gone far and beyond this season to mix things up a little, and in doing so they made pistols much more worth keeping. Reality Augments are temporary perks that remain active until the end of the match. There are all sorts of perks, and they can improve combat for other weapons too, but it seems that many of them are focused on pistols in particular.
Besides the Mythic Munition Augment that gives players a Mythical Tactical Pistol, there are other Augments worth considering when carrying a pistol during gameplay. Most pistol-related Augments have a high chance to appear in the activation menu, but this is not guaranteed. Players can then either reroll for 200 gold or activate another one, and try their luck later on in the match the next time that an Augment can be activated.
- Light Fingers is a combat category Reality Augment, and when activated weapons that require light ammo will reload faster. This affects both SMGs and pistols, and it increases their reload speed by 25 percent. Considering that pistols already have a pretty high reload speed, this makes it even easier to put more ammo in and keep shooting.
- Pistol Amp is a combat category Reality Augment, and when activated, it greatly increases the magazine size of pistols. This means that if the player has a pistol on them, the next time they reload it, its ammo capacity will be 50 percent higher. This Augment combined with Light Fingers makes a powerful combo; with Pistol Amp, the pistol won't have to be reloaded as often, but whenever it's necessary, the pistol will be back in action in a flash with a magazine of 22 bullets.
- Last Shots is a combat category Reality Augment, and when activated it makes it so pistols deal bonus damage when the last two shots of their magazine are fired. Most Fortnite players tend to reload their weapons whenever they can, but this actually rewards players that let empty out the gun's magazine. If the player activates this Augment, the last two bullets in their Tactical Pistol will deal 50 percent more damage, which depending on the rarity of the pistol can be anywhere from 34 to 43 instead of 23 and 29. Since the headshot multiplier on the Tactical Pistol is double the damage, hitting headshots with this perk activated can be extremely damaging and reduce an opponent's health drastically in no time.
- Rarity Check is a game changer category Reality Augment, and it affects all weapons in the game, including pistols. When activated, the Rarity Check Augment siphons health from any eliminations made with a Common or Uncommon rarity weapon; since pistols can quite often be found in lower rarities, it only makes them more valuable and might make players reconsider if they'd like to upgrade them. However, it's important to beware that this upgrade is not available in competitive game modes.
Fortnite is available mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.