Harbinger SMG
Initial Launch: Chapter 5 season 2 (March 8th, 2024)
Seasons Included: Chapter 5 season 2, Chapter 5 Season 3
Description: The Harbinger SMG is a core SMG weapon that was released as part of the loot pool for Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2. As a core weapon, it was designed to be highly sought after by all Fortnite players, and seen in every match regardless of their skill level. The weapon is also fully modular, which allows players to use our newly introduced mod system to customize and mod the Harbinger to the exact specifications they want. Finally, in Chapter 5 Season 2 there was a pre-modded Mythic variant wielded by the Olympian Boss Hades, which players can add to their inventory if they are able to locate and defeat Hades.
Execution: The Harbinger SMG was actually really exciting for me personally, as it was the first Fortnite feature I owned start-to-finish as a designer. This gave me an opportunity to onboard, learn the immediate workings of the balance team, and make immediate contributions to live through this weapon. When making the Harbinger, I actually started with the Hades variant. This helped me define the goals of the weapon and conceptualize what experience I wanted the player to feel and have while firing it. One thing that I was adamant about while designing the Harbinger SMG was the recoil pattern, and I wanted to ensure throughout the whole dev process this was conveyed in all of my design iterations. Once I settled on those three elements, I was able to design and iterate until the Harbinger SMG was in a really good place. Shipping the Harbinger SMG to live was a really rewarding experience and it hit all the design goals and sentiment marks I was looking for.
Live Design Changes:
June 7th, 2024 - Fire Rate increased from 9.5 to 10. Reload Time reduced by 4%
Fun and Interesting Facts:
Several other content creators have ranked the Harbinger SMG as an A / S tier weapon
The Harbinger SMG is prominently featured in the Myths and Mortals season key art
The Harbinger SMG was the only SMG in Fortnite history with a fire rate of 9.5 on launch