Fortnite January 13 update patch notes: Stinger SMG nerf, Auto Shotgun buff
A Fortnite January 13 update has landed with some balance changes to popular weapons like the MK-Seven Assault Rifle and the Auto Shotgun outlined in the patch notes.
Ever since the Fortnite island got turned upside down for Chapter 3, Epic Games have been fine-tuning its new weapons and items that have revamped the title for many players.
At the turn of the new era, Epic introduced game-changing items like Spider-Man’s Web Slingers and The Foundation’s MK-Seven rifle to shake up the battle royale.
As the season rolls on, the devs are rolling back the effectiveness of some weapons that have proven to be a bit too strong in the loot pool.
Stinger nerfed
The damage to the Stinger SMG has been decreased with the popular weapon copping a nerf so soon after the Season 3 update.
This will marginally reduce its damage from 18/19/20/21/22 to 16/17/18/19/20 across its common, uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary rarities, respectively.
The gun’s ability to shred builds remains intact, even at range. While this is a slight nerf to keep the SMG in check, it should still be a popular choice to include in players’ loadouts.
We’ve made several balance changes to the following items.
✅ Decreased Stinger SMG damage✅ Slightly decreased MK-Seven Assault Rifle damage✅ Increased Auto Shotgun reload speed
We’ll continue to evaluate this as the season evolves, and appreciate your continued feedback!pic.twitter.com/fgEM4Gl72l
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus)July 14, 2025
Since introducing the Auto Shotgun at the start of the season, the devs have tinkered with it a bit to find a happy balance in its stats.
This time around decreased the tie it takes to reload it from 8.8s/8.4s/8s/7.6s/7.2s to a market improvement with 6.2s/6s/5.7s/5.4s/5.1s across rarities.
The change comes after a previous patch made it slightly quicker to pull out the Auto Shotgun by 0.2 seconds. The Auto Shotgun balances a quick spray of high-damage pellets with the time it takes to reload it.
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Now that Epic dialed back the reload time, this could entice players to try out the weapon for late-game builds when the action starts to get faster.
Take a look below to see the rest of the Fortnite January 13 update patch notes that are already live in the game.
