In an effort to keep things fresh, remove unpopular items, or perhaps to restore balance to Fortnite, Epic Games has placed items and gear in a virtual storage space called the vault. The X-4 Stormwing, a plane that Fortnite players could use to fly around the map and shoot at other players, was introduced in season 7 but the plane was removed the following season. While these vehicles never really caught on with the larger community or pros due to the fact they could quickly deal huge damage very quickly and were hard to counter, players have found evidence that planes could be coming back to the game.
The first clue comes from the Fortnite BR Reddit where dataminers have found audio files for the X-4 Stormwing for a fuel warning and out of fuel warning signals. Managing fuel was previously not a mechanic for using this vehicle, so players were able to essentially fly around the map as long as they wanted before being shot down or running out of health. After many Fortnite plane nerfs and changes to make the vehicle work prior to being vaulted, Epic adding something like a fuel gauge would be one way to keep this powerful vehicle in check by making it a finite resource.
Oddly enough, more evidence of the Stormwing returning appeared over the past few days as players have discovered planes during matches. As seen in the footage below, the plane now features the fuel gauge hinted at by the audio files. However, without official word from Epic, it’s unclear if the appearance of planes around the Fortnite battle royale map was an accident caused by a behind the scenes update or if this was a stealth release to test out the changes. Players are even debating if the planes will be part of an upcoming limited time mode rather than getting added back fully.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the community reacts considering the negative reception to Fortnite planes the first time around. If the vehicle is making a return, it’s unlikely to happen officially before the Fortnite World Cup event,which kicks off on April 13. Pro players have previously spoken out against the plane so to have an item like that be available and impact a tournament that plans to award $100,000,000 across the entire event wouldn’t make a lot of sense.
Fortnite is available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One
Source: Reddit; bumpaah Twitch
