The tactical use of controllers in Fortnite has become increasingly prevalent with many top players converting from a keyboard and mouse to a controller—even on PC.
The switch is seen as a huge advantage by pros because of the aim assist that controller players have access to. And Ninja has started to lead a charge against the use of controllers by people who aren’t playing on console.
The primary concern is the capacity that PC players have compared to console players when using a controller, according to Ninja.
For a console player, aim assist is largely considered necessary so that they can compete. Many PC players use juiced-up graphics cards and have expensive and impressive hardware that allows them to get more than 200 frames per second while playing Fortnite. When used with a monitor that has 200hz or more, the capacity for PC players to make extremely skillful plays rises exponentially.
Console players, on the other hand, don’t have this capability. Players are typically limited to just 60 FPS on Xbox or PlayStation, giving them a handicap against PC players who might end up in their game. To combat that, Epic Games gave controller players things like aim assist and special building settings that help them keep up with people who have stronger computers.
But now, PC players have started to make the transition to using controllers after seeing that things like aim assist are given to players with controllers, regardless of whether they’re on PC or console—and the results are a bit infuriating for a player like Ninja.
“I am 100 percent, if you’re on Xbox or Playstation, dude, take it all,” Ninja said. “Take the aim assist. Have as much as you want. If you have to deal with 60 FPS I feel bad for you.”
But where Ninja takes issue is when high-caliber players, who are already playing at a world-class level, spend a week or so practicing on a controller and see their skill cap go up tremendously.
“Anyone with a brain can go on Twitter and find some of the professional players who are now switching from a mouse and keyboard to a controller and the clips that they’re tweeting,” Ninja said. “They’re disgusting. It makes me want to vomit.”
The premise of the overpowered nature of aim assist on PC is all in the FPS. When a player has higher FPS, the aim assist becomes significantly stronger to the point that some pros have even released videos of themselves playing with aim assist on PC and tracking a target perfectly without even touching their controls.
While watching a video demonstrating what aim assist can do for someone who isn’t touching their controller, Ninja began to make exaggerated, guttural noises to play up the notion that such clips make him want to throw up. Needless to say, he isn’t a fan of what that level of aim assist could do to the competitive Fortnite scene.
