Fortnite player’s clip highlights just how bad the bot situation has become

It's been over four years since Epic Games brought AI bot players into the lobbies of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode. Back then, they were pretty... well, bad, and it turns out that in 2024, they're still really bad.

The latest evidence that AI really isn't ready to take over our Fortnite lobbies, let alone the world, comes via Reddit user u/johnnyratface. The clip shows three bots on the same team all huddled in a building doorway, seemingly unable to get out of it. As soon as u/johnnyratface gets close, the shooting begins. And oh boy, do the bots shoot. In what can only be described as a pretty solid Stormtrooper impression, they fire at just about anything but at... you know, the enemy.

The Bot situation really needs to be addressed. It's gotten bad.
byu/johnnyratface inFortNiteBR

Some players suggested killing as many bots as possible in the hope that the original poster (OP) would be put into lobbies with fewer bots and more people. Others suggested just enjoying the dumb AI while it lasted before they ended up in lobbies full of expert-level players.

Another group of players in the replies felt the number of bots in lobbies needed to be reduced or even stopped entirely after passing a certain rank. Whatever the ideal solution is, there's a general consensus that bots have become a bit of an issue in their current form in Fortnite.

Back in 2019 when they were first rolled out as part of Chapter 2 Season 1, Epic said in a blog post that the intention for bots was to "provide a better path for players to grow in skill," and that they would "work in conjunction with the new matchmaking system, and as your skill improves, you'll face fewer bots." While players do face fewer bots, the change seems all too sudden, going from lobbies largely filled with bots, to barely any in what feels like a matter of games. The lack of 'difficulty tuning' for want of a better term, also doesn't help. A bot is a bot. They're all as dumb as each other. If there were levels to their ability, that might make their inclusion in lobbies that little bit less frustrating for those looking for a more challenging experience but aren't quite ready for the high ELO lobbies just yet.

What do you make of the bots in Fortnite? Let us know in the comments below.