Suprise Fortnite patch unvaults Hand Cannon & removes Flint-Knock

Liam Mackay
Fortnite hand cannon

Fortnite has surprised players by unvaulting the popular Hand Cannon pistol and announcing a new LTM, but has vaulted the recently-returned Flint-Knock in the same move.

To keep Fortnite’s loot pool fresh and interesting, Epic Games ‘vaults’ and ‘unvaults’ weapons regularly. This means they take the weapon out of the game to work on it, or to make way for new weapons being added.

The 15.40 update returned the Flint-Knock pistol to Fortnite’s loot pool. This powerful weapon is modeled after the classic flintlock and knocks back the wielder and target when fired.

But in a surprise patch on February 23, Epic Games vaulted the Flint-Knock, added back the Hand Cannon, and announced an upcoming LTM.

Long-time Fortnite players will remember the power of the Hand Cannon. Using Heavy Rounds, the Hand Cannon was devastating in the hands of skilled players. It’s deadly accurate, but fires slowly, so you had to pick your shots.

Expect the Hand Cannon to be sought-after in Season 5, with its 2.0x headshot multiplier making it a satisfying weapon to use.

With it being swapped out for the Flint-Knock, which was only added a week ago, expect the Hand Cannon to be rotated out for something new next week. Epic Games‘ wording of “took its place this week,” further hints that old weapons will be returning on a weekly basis on the run-up to Season 6.

Fortnite Hand Cannon

Epic Games have also announced a new limited-time mode: Comeback Squads. In this new mode, you’ll be able to respawn several times. As a bonus, the more times you respawn, the better your loot. But be careful, like any battle royale game, you’ll have limited lives so use them wisely.

The Comeback Squads LTM will be arriving in Fortnite Season 5 later this week, perhaps along with the new set of Weekly Quests.

Image Credit: Epic Games

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About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor who focuses on Call of Duty but also plays lots of fantasy RPGs or anything else in his massive gaming backlog. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam freelanced in games journalism before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].