‘Fortnite’ Is Adding Shockwave Grenades

An item that appears to be some sort of hybrid between the Hop Rocks and an Impulse Grenade, the Shockwave Grenade was previewed as a new item in the game’s news and updates section. Alongside reminders for the Wingman Starter Pack, the Ravage Outfit, and Iron Beak Pickaxe, a post on Reddit that shared news of the new grenade included an image of the item and a description to explain what it does.

“Send yourself, allies, or enemies flying like a human cannonball!” the in-game description said. “Grants immunity to fall damage.”

From the item’s description, it sounds like it functions quite similarly to the Impulse Grenade with a few key differences. Being able to use it on teammates is something that’ll yield either some incredible saves or troll-filled moments, though seeing both of those are likely, but the biggest feature that separates it from the other grenade is the lack of fall damage. This means that you won’t be eliminating others with it solely from fall damage, but it can still be used to put some distance between you and someone else or to blow them out of their cover.

The wording that’s used is also interesting with the item sending players away “like a human cannonball.” There’s certainly an implication there that it could cause damage in some way if a person collides with something or someone after being launched by the grenade, but that remains to be seen until it’s fully revealed.

An unknown outcome of the Shockwave Grenade’s release is what will happen to the Impulse Grenade, if anything. The latter is a Rare grenade in Fortnite, so the Shockwave Grenade could exist alongside it as a Legendary or another Rare, but some players are of the mindset that this could mean the Impulse Grenade is getting vaulted. Epic Games has taken out other items in the past to make room for new additions or to bring them back later with some changes, so it’s possible that the same fate could be in store for the Impulse Grenade.