Epic is banning Fortnite players who are abusing a new katana exploit

Fortnite players are experiencing bans related to the exploitation of a popular item.

Over the years, it seems Epic Games has successfully managed to shake up the pace of play in Fortnite with the advent of unique mobility items that promptly become popular must-have pickups. In Chapter Four, season two, following the departure of the Shockwave Hammer, players have had to look no further than the Kinetic Blade to fill the adrenaline-fueled void. Seemingly becoming a favorite choice from the jump, the item not only perfectly encapsulated the current season’s fresh theme of cyberpunk and traditional Japan, but it also gave players a new way to quickly cover lots of ground thanks to its Dash Attack.

But as has commonly been the timeline for similar beloved items in Fortnite history, it appears a game-breaking exploit has been found with the katana that has not only had its abusers handed 24-hour bans but also seen the item pulled from certain playlists.

As shared by Fortnite leaker FNBRintel on May 21, it appears there’s a way for exploiters to manipulate the game’s servers and use an infinite amount of Dash Attacks to take out any other players in the lobby without them even knowing what hit them.

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Compared to the water glitch that seemingly got last season’s Shockwave Hammer vaulted for good, it does appear that this exploit—albeit just as game-breaking—is a bit more niche considering its abusers have to put in a deliberate effort and complete a specific set of moves to cheat the system.

At time of writing, the Kinetic Blade has only been disabled in tournament playlists for now, meaning players might still fall victim to the exploit in normal and ranked matches. Of course, this does also mean that those needing to complete any quests requiring the Kinetic Blade can still do so as well.