Fortnite Save the World | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 20 Feb 2019 10:38:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Fortnite Save the World | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Epic Games needs to improve its security and support systems https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-needs-to-improve-its-security-and-support-systems/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-needs-to-improve-its-security-and-support-systems/#respond Wed, 20 Feb 2019 10:38:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=404334 At the end of last year, cyber security specialists at Sixgill told KitGuru that Epic Games’ lack of security was allowing criminals to pinch Fortnite accounts and effectively launder money. Despite catering to an entire store now, it seems as though the company is still lacking in this area as affected players continue to come …

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At the end of last year, cyber security specialists at Sixgill told KitGuru that Epic Games’ lack of security was allowing criminals to pinch Fortnite accounts and effectively launder money. Despite catering to an entire store now, it seems as though the company is still lacking in this area as affected players continue to come forward.

Redditor andro-bourne took to the PC Gaming subreddit to share their story of a hacked Fortnite: Save the World account, seeing $205 siphoned from their attached credit card in May, 2018. After retrieving the account through the usual password recovery system and removing payment details, their attempts to rectify the situation with Epic Games was met with silence.

After three days of no response, andro-bourne issued a chargeback with their bank. Epic Games immediately responded following this, permanently disabling the account in order to “protect” the user with no means of recovery or reactivation. This rubs salt in the wound, given that the user was dealing with the paid Save the World version of Fortnite rather than its free-to-play Battle Royale counterpart, but even the latter would see many microtransactions lost if it were the alternative.

Overall, this highlights fundamental flaws within Epic Games current system. While it has introduced improvements since mid-2018 such as two-factor authentication (2FA), its support seems almost non-existent. Users can interact with the company via the ticket submission system, which was largely ignored in this case, via email or its web contact. This certainly draws attention to the Store’s lack of features, particularly the absence of its own forums.

This should have been a priority case when dealing with the security of a user’s details and funds on their account. There should also have been alternative measures implemented before the automatic shutdown, especially when the user has already done most of the legwork in retrieving the account, removing the credit card and highlighting the specific payments. Users should not be made to feel like they will indefinitely lose their account when trying to retrieve their stolen money.

KitGuru Says: Hopefully Epic listens to stories like these and begins to bolster security. In the meantime, everyone using the store should activate 2FA and do their best not to keep credit card details saved to the system. Have you been affected by Epic Games’ security or support?

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Epic Games removes blind loot boxes from Fortnite Save the World https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-removes-blind-loot-boxes-from-fortnite-save-the-world-but-not-battle-royale/ Mon, 28 Jan 2019 11:07:31 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=402145 Epic Games is making some changes in Fortnite’s Save the World mode, replacing blind loot boxes with transparent packs that are upfront about their contents.  This doesn't affect the infinitely more popular Battle Royale mode, thanks to the game focusing more on tradtional microtransactions. New “X-Ray” Llamas will be introduced in version 7.30, outright replacing …

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Epic Games is making some changes in Fortnite’s Save the World mode, replacing blind loot boxes with transparent packs that are upfront about their contents.  This doesn't affect the infinitely more popular Battle Royale mode, thanks to the game focusing more on tradtional microtransactions.

New “X-Ray” Llamas will be introduced in version 7.30, outright replacing the previous V-Buck Llamas by allowing players to see what’s inside the pack before purchasing. Upgrading Llamas yields the same transparent results, showcasing the contents beforehand. This isn’t exactly the same as general microtransactions however; as players will still need to wait for the daily refresh to access different loot boxes if the original is unsatisfactory.

Specific items can still be directly purchased with currency earned in-game, while almost everything about the Llamas remains the same. Pricing remains unchanged and requirements to earn via gameplay are identical. Players are also assured that items of any rarity will be something they don’t already own thanks to account-bound “dupe prevention” ensuring that no duplicates are handed out.

Those already playing Save the World will receive 5 free Llama Upgrade Tokens in order to trial the new system, although these won’t apply to Mini Llamas and Event Llamas, which will continue to be blind.

The Nintendo Switch version of Battle Royale will also be receiving a vast amount of changes coming in update v7.30, primarily geared towards optimisation and frame rate stabilisation. Epic is able to do this thanks to the move to “a more efficient memory allocator on Switch,” which simultaneously reduces the amount of crashes on the platform.

EDIT: This story previously suggested that Fortnite's Battle Royale mode also contained blind Llamas. This is not the case and has been edited to reflect as such.

KitGuru Says: It seems as though Epic Games recognises the controversial nature of loot boxes and wants to do something about it. I'm impressed that the Battle Royale component has been as successful as it has without loot boxes. It shows that you don't need a randomised practice in order to make a profit.

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