Harpoon Gun quietly added to Fortnite in latest update

Harpoon Guns are appearing in Fortnite despite no announcement and an ongoing lack of patch notes in Chapter 2.

The rollout of Fortnite Chapter 2 has been pretty dang good. After an explosive start, we have a new map, fishing, watercraft, dumpsters to hide in, and much more, but the availability of info on new updates and patch notes coming to the game has been weirdly sparse. It could be possible that Epic is trying to keep things surprising, such as when they quietly slipped a new Harpoon Gun into the game recently.

Players started noticing the Harpoon Gun in inventory menus and Battle Royale matches on November 5, 2019. There was no announcement on Fortnite's website or social channels. It just showed up, and it's not currently available in Creative Mode. The gun works like a lot like Scorpion's Spear in Mortal Kombat. If you hit an enemy player with it, the Harpoon Gun will do 75 damage and yank them towards you for a closer engagement. Sorry, friends. There's no "GET OVER HERE" to go with this one at current, but you can see the weapon in action below, as shown by Fortnite news and leak account FortTory.

In addition to being able to yank players towards you, the Harpoon Gun can also be used for fishing. If you don't feel like whipping out the old fishing pole, but still want aquatic goodies, just fire the Harpoon Gun into an applicable body of water. It's arguably much faster, though there's no telling just yet if it delivers all of the same rewards that you would get from taking your time. Either way, if you're on the run, the Harpoon Gun seems to make fishing a breeze.

Not only can you do some damage and yank the odds in your favor in a fight with the Harpoon Gun, it's also good for fishing on the go. [Via YouTuber hdogg]

Despite the unique nature of the Harpoon Gun, it's a prime example how odd Fortnite has been handling the rollout of information in Chapter 2. Recently, players noticed and took issue with the fact that Fortnite seemed to remove patch notes from their website altogether (as pointed out by FortniteINTEL). As such, it leaves everyone guessing at what will come out, what any new content will do, and how existing content has changed, such as in the case of a possible return of the rare Ghoul Trooper skin. Certainly, it keeps a little bit of the surprise intact, but those looking for fine-tuned details on new Fortnite updates appear to be out of luck for the time being.

Have you had a chance at the new Harpoon Gun? Is it better to be surprised with content and changes or would you rather have patch notes? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comments section below!

TJ Denzer is a player with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. When he's not handing out beatdowns in the latest fighting games, exploring video game history, or playing through RPGs with his partner, he's searching for new food and drinks in the constant pursuit of good times with good people inside and outside the South Texas area. You can also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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