Fortnite's Tilted Towers and Retail Row destroyed, drum gun returns

Right on schedule, Fortnite's vault opened. Inside, a six vaulted items embedded within glassy columns lined the path before a massive ball of swirling energy. Just before the ball was a desk with a strange mask on top.

Players were able to hit each column to collectively vote for which item would be returned to the item pool. As players around the world smashed away, the drum gun column clearly started taking more damage than the rest. Tragically, it won, one of the most lamented items in Fortnite history. Watch it all go down in the video up top (though I cut out a few minutes of crying).

Known for dissolving walls far too easily, the drum gun was vaulted to give defensive building a chance, though that chance might have just been revoked. It's not clear whether the drum gun's stats have changed, but my feelings for it haven't. I'm missing jump pads extra hard right now.

Pro's don't need to worry, though. Epic says the drum gun won't be in play during the Fortnite World Cup Online Open this weekend. After that, we're not sure.

The event didn't end there. With the drum gun back in play, players were spit back out into the world, just before the volcano erupted, sending molten rock and lava crashing down on Retail Row and Tilted Towers, destroying them completely. A rock also hit Polar Peak, leaving a visible crack that's likely to spread in the coming weeks.

RIP, Tilted Towers. Where will the try-hards land now?

So where does that leave Fortnite now? With a week until Fortnite Season 9 hits, it's hard to say. We'll see even more changes to the map then, and we'll probably see new items and tools that might mean the drum gun will make more sense.

I'm more concerned about the disappearance of two popular landing spots. Tilted Towers in particular was likely the most popular landing spot in the history of the game, a crowded point of interest where the most aggressive players would duke it out immediately, risking a short game for big loot.

Now all that remains is a molten pit. It's not an exciting location anymore, so I'm guessing we'll see a Tilted 2.0 with Season 9, perhaps a futuristic or post-apocalyptic take on Fortnite's little city.

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.