Fortnite Riot Control Baton disabled as it was pay-to-win

The Riot Control Baton was added to Fortnite in December 2019. It recently reappeared in the Daily Shop due to the re-run of the Star Wars event in celebration of 4th May. 

Epic Games has now removed the Riot Control Baton from the shop, and disabled the item, as a bug has caused it to become a pay-to-win issue.

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Fortnite Riot Control Baton

Due to a bug which has not yet been fixed, the Riot Control Baton, when equipped, caused players' footstep sounds to disappear, giving them a distinct advantage over their opponents.

The Riot Control Baton was used extensively in a Solos Cash Cup, and spotted by Fortnite player SlowEU, as the player followed Team Liquid’s Dmitri "Mitr0" Van de Vrie.

Mitr0 himself acknowledged the Riot Control Baton was pay-to-win.

However, it remains unclear if he used it due to the bug, or if he just got a bit lucky using the pay-to-win pickaxe in a Solos Cash Cup.

Developer Epic Games has now stepped in, disabling the Fortnite Riot Control Baton.

At the time of writing, it remains unclear what Epic Games will do to rectify the issue. They could offer players refunds, which they have done in the past.

However, one has to wonder if the results of the Solos Cash Cup will stand as it is clear players did use the Riot Control Baton during the tournament.

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