TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
The Lock On assault rifle in Fortnite Chapter 7 is too weak to help new players, but it's still annoying to face
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Fortnite is hard when your crosshair sways like a drunk sailor on rough seas. Victory royales are rare. Every lobby has one or two players who could've turned pro, probably, definitely, judging by the way they land headshots and judge their shockwave jumps. Just making the final five is an achievement.
But that challenge means winning is a joy. I've been playing since launch and my heart still pounds in the final zone—earning a victory crown leaves me on a high for a good hour knowing that I, somehow, have outplayed 99 other people (well, perhaps 49 other people, and 50 bots).
So how much easier would it be if you didn't have to aim?
That's the question posed by the Lock On assault rifle, a weapon added in Chapter 7 that commits the dual sins of feeling weak when you use it and annoying when you fight against it.
As the name suggests, if you aim in the vague direction of an enemy it locks onto them. It happens in four stages, four pips around your crosshair, each representing a three-round burst of the rifle: if you pull the trigger after stage two, you'll hit them with two bursts but if you wait for the full lock on, you'll land four.
It isn't overpowered. It deals just 10 damage per bullet at its base rarity so if you fully lock on you'll deal 120 damage. By that point your enemy knows where you are and can evade, build, or hide behind cover before you have time to charge it up again.
I still think it's bad game design.
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Instinctively, it feels tailor-made for beginners or for those who struggle with their aim. As long as your position is strong and your crosshair is vaguely near your enemy, you'll hit your shots. But it doesn't work on those terms. Its damage is so low that you'll lose basically every time against any other rifle. Even if you land a few bursts, your enemy can turn and finish you off.
Yes, if you can get the drop on an opponent then you're immediately at a 100 health-point advantage—but if you're catching your opponent unawares they're likely an easy target anyway. You may as well fire with the Deadeye assault rifle and carry on firing. Even if your aim wavers, you'll deal more damage.
I think its true purpose...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Every Thursday
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Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
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Fortnite is hard when your crosshair sways like a drunk sailor on rough seas. Victory royales are rare. Every lobby has one or two players who could've turned pro, probably, definitely, judging by the way they land headshots and judge their shockwave jumps. Just making the final five is an achievement.
But that challenge means winning is a joy. I've been playing since launch and my heart still pounds in the final zone—earning a victory crown leaves me on a high for a good hour knowing that I, somehow, have outplayed 99 other people (well, perhaps 49 other people, and 50 bots).
So how much easier would it be if you didn't have to aim?
That's the question posed by the Lock On assault rifle, a weapon added in Chapter 7 that commits the dual sins of feeling weak when you use it and annoying when you fight against it.
As the name suggests, if you aim in the vague direction of an enemy it locks onto them. It happens in four stages, four pips around your crosshair, each representing a three-round burst of the rifle: if you pull the trigger after stage two, you'll hit them with two bursts but if you wait for the full lock on, you'll land four.
It isn't overpowered. It deals just 10 damage per bullet at its base rarity so if you fully lock on you'll deal 120 damage. By that point your enemy knows where you are and can evade, build, or hide behind cover before you have time to charge it up again.
I still think it's bad game design.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Instinctively, it feels tailor-made for beginners or for those who struggle with their aim. As long as your position is strong and your crosshair is vaguely near your enemy, you'll hit your shots. But it doesn't work on those terms. Its damage is so low that you'll lose basically every time against any other rifle. Even if you land a few bursts, your enemy can turn and finish you off.
Yes, if you can get the drop on an opponent then you're immediately at a 100 health-point advantage—but if you're catching your opponent unawares they're likely an easy target anyway. You may as well fire with the Deadeye assault rifle and carry on firing. Even if your aim wavers, you'll deal more damage.
I think its true purpose...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?