Epic removes Fortnite item rarities, and fans aren’t happy about it

Some call the change a sign of skinflation

Epic Games

Fortnite skin rarities are a thing of the past, as Epic is retiring the multiplayer game’s old category ratings in favor of new item “series.” Epic Games made the announcement in a brief new blog post, and the reaction from Fortnite fans was less than positive.

Epic previously divided cosmetic rarity tags into uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary, which was basically just a practical way to price items. Players could also organize their collection by rarity, which, if you have a lot of skins and bling, made it easier to find what you were looking for. Epic said the changes stem from a need to support “multiple types of cosmetics across games,” likely referring to Fortnite Festival’s music tracks and other cosmetics graded with similar rarity tags, but set at different price points.

Some folks on Reddit were angry over the mess their lockers are in now. 

“I used to have most of my favorite skin’s positions memorized so it wasn’t too hard to find them,” one Reddit user said. “Can’t wait to start over with that.”

“Epic is the prime example of changing something that’s not broken,” another said. “To this day, they still haven’t made the banner menu better to use but nah, we need more locker changes.”

Others are concerned Epic will start charging more for their cosmetics and pointed to the new Avatar Fortnite skins as proof of what they think is a new trend. Epic is offering three character skins, each with a harvesting tool, a Lego Fortnite variant, and a piece of back bling, each for 2,000 V-Bucks, or around $36 total. You can also buy a bundle with two of them for 2,700 V-Bucks, which would cost $23.

As others pointed out, though, the value doesn’t compare to what Epic offered with previous highly anticipated Fortnite skins. Epic’s Dragon Ball Z skins had several forms, and some came in better-priced bundles. You’d spend roughly the same amount – perhaps slightly less – but walk away with more.

Epic won’t be reversing this new policy, so it might be worth reading skin descriptions a bit more carefully in the future to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.