Fortnite Ballistic August 26 Update Hammer Fall Map v37.10 Patch Notes New Gadgets

The August 26 Fortnite Ballistic update shakes up the battlefield with the new Hammer Fall map, a deployable wall gadget that redefines defensive play, and a lineup of balance tweaks and quality-of-life improvements that sharpen every encounter.

Epic has constantly increased Ballistic’s content while focusing on improving maps, weapons, and mechanics. Now the much-awaited v37.10 update has finally arrived, bringing the Hammer Fall map to completion with its artwork. Previously a shell map, Hammer Fall now features gorgeous medieval castles, as well as new weapons and gameplay improvements. Read the full patch notes right here.

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Fortnite Ballistic 37.10 Update Full Patch Notes

Epic Games rolls out the Fortnite Ballistic 37.10 update on August 26, introducing the Hammer Fall map and Deployable Wall gadget. Players gain new ways to control battles with the gadget’s quick-deploy shield for cover during fights. The Hammer Fall map brings tight urban zones and open fields for varied strategies. Balance tweaks hit weapons like the ballistic rifle for fairer mid-range play. Bug fixes improve stability across platforms.

Ballistic’s v37.10 update arrives today and features the new Veiled Precision SMG, Deployable Wall gadget, a fully art-complete Hammer Fall map, layout updates for Storm Chaser Cove and K-Zone Commons, Champions Road Quests, and more.

New Weapons and Items

New to the weapon pool is the Veiled Precision SMG! This lightweight SMG is tailored for surgical barrages in close-to mid-range bouts, rewarding precise peppering over wild spraying.

The Deployable Wall gadget is a throw-and-cover item that creates a wall to block enemy sightlines and a safe place to reload. It’s also helpful for gaining the high ground.

Welcome to Hammer Fall

Ballistic’s first shell map, Hammer Fall, is a shell map no more… because it’s officially art-complete! Now, you can point your scope out over the ledge of the castle for a view of trees and boulders dotting the nearby shoreline, or take a detour into the throne room to find stained glass and statues of fallen kings.

In addition to working on its art, Epic has made adjustments to its layout since it was released, based on internal playtest feedback, live player feedback, and data.

Map Layout Updates: Storm Chaser Cove & K-Zone Commons

Epic has completed the layouts of Storm Chaser Cove and K-Zone Commons, focusing on smoothing out chokepoints and improving sightlines.

Storm Chaser Cove Layout Updates

The layout of Mid has been updated to include a new path connecting it to Site B. The layout of Ramp (formerly “Patio”) and Gate have been updated accordingly.
The layout of the Attackers’ Spawn area has been updated with the goal of slowing down pushes onto Sites A and B.
The Attackers’ path to Check-in is now through B-Main (Greens), offering a new rotation path through Mid.
Connector now routes from the A side of the Attackers’ spawn area directly to Mid.
Minor cover has been added to Site A when coming from the A-Link mantle wall. Minor cover has also been added to Site A when coming from A-Short.
Site B is now slightly smaller to reduce engagement distances for players coming from Ramp and the new path to Mid.
Site B’s front wall is now able to be hopped with the Impulse Grenade gadget.

K-Zone Commons Layout Updates

Site A has been moved closer to Mid to reduce rotation time through Connector, A-Main, and the Defenders’ spawn area. As a result, the layouts of the Connector, Market, and Apartment have changed.
A new path has been added connecting Gallery to Mid to further reduce rotation time and add another option for Defenders.
Thin mantle walls can no longer be stood on. Players will now slide off.
The walls between Market and Site A, Apartments and Connector, and Crossing and B-Split are now able to be hopped with the Impulse Grenade gadget.
Ground material has been changed on Site A, Connector, Site B, B-Hanok, and lower Mid to help with audio cues.
Fixed unintended climbing spots.

Rethinking that shotgun purchase? You can now refund anything you’ve purchased during the Buy Phase, as long as you do so before the Buy Phase ends. This includes weapons, gadgets, smokes, flashbangs, and shields.

New Visuals for Accolades

To enhance HUD clarity and the core Ballistic experience, Epic has added new visuals for accolades. Accolades appear onscreen after achieving a feat like eliminating opponents or planting the Rift Point Device. You’ll see new visuals for all the accolades:

Elimination: Eliminate an opponent.
Double Elim: Eliminate two opponents in the same sequence.
Triple Elim: Eliminate three opponents in the same sequence.
Ultra: Eliminate four opponents.
Ace: Eliminate all five opponents.
Defuser: Defuse the Rift Point Device.
Detonator: Detonate the Rift Point Device.

Auto-Surrender

Auto-Surrender is a new feature that automatically pauses the game and prompts a surrender vote at the start of Round 3 if a player is detected as idle or a team has less than five players. If the Auto-Surrender vote succeeds, the match will be cancelled, and no loss will be recorded for the surrendering team. You can only do an Auto-Surrender once in a 24-hour period. The option will not be prompted if any member of your team (including yourself) has Auto-Surrendered in that period.

Gunplay and Animation Improvements

Epic has made numerous improvements in v37.10 to help gunplay feel more responsive and consistent.

The biggest of these changes is removing the reduced accuracy that occurs while moving and aiming down sights, and replacing it with a higher degree of recoil. This change applies to every weapon except shotguns. As part of this update, Epic removed the reticle blur for non-shotgun weapons that occurs while moving and aiming down sights, and increased the aiming down sights time for the Reaper Sniper Rifle.

Epic also made some animation improvements, including a new reload animation for the Enforcer AR and an update to match the first-person tactical sprint animation to how it works in third-person, no longer stowing your weapon.

Boot into Ballistic Ranked Season 3

All player ranks have been reset for Ballistic’s third Ranked Season! Whether you’re completely new to Ballistic or returning, you’ll need to play one match to establish your rank.

As a reminder, the average rank of your party determines matchmaking. Players on the winning team gain rank progress, and the losing team loses rank progress. Eliminations, assists, rounds won, and rounds lost all impact your rank progression or regression.

Champions Road Quests

Champions Road Quests are here! Celebrate the spirit of competition with several Quests across Fortnite, awarding XP, including these Ballistic Quests:

Play a Ballistic match
Deal 250 damage to players
Headshot 5 players
Win a match in Ballistic

Improvements and Fixes – v37.10

General

Fixed an issue where players would sometimes be unable to shoot after sliding.
Fixed an issue where some Outfits would obstruct vision.
Fixed an issue where the frame rate would sometimes drop while planting the Rift Point Device.
Fixed an issue where other players’ hands would be invisible while spectating them defusing the Rift Point Device.
Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause players to stand up when planting the Rift Point Device when they were supposed to be crouching.
Fixed an issue where sometimes a round would not end when the Rift Point Device was planted and all players were eliminated.
Fixed an issue where players could sometimes not see their teammates on the minimap after being eliminated.
Fixed an issue where, after being eliminated, a player’s teammates would sometimes be outlined in red instead of blue.
Fixed an issue where players would sometimes appear taller or briefly floating at the start of a round.
Fixed an issue where teammates would sometimes be missing walking animations and appear with hidden loadouts at the start of the round.
Fixed an issue where a surrender vote would not automatically end after the majority of players voted to surrender.
Fixed an issue where players would sometimes see the inside of their character’s head when eliminated.
Fixed an issue where the Machine Pistol shared Wrap settings with SMGs instead of pistols.
Fixed an issue where an opponent would sometimes appear to be holding a rifle when actually holding a pistol.
Fixed an issue where the “Cannot Build Right now” messaging from Fortnite Battle Royale would sometimes appear in Ballistic.

Gadgets

Fixed an issue where players could sometimes not disarm and pick up the Proximity Mine.
Fixed an issue where the Proximity Mine would not play its sound indicator when approached.
Fixed an issue where the Recon Grenade would not outline players inside of a Med Mist cloud.
Fixed an exploit that would grant a Shield Bubble from Fortnite Battle Royale when the Bubble Shield was thrown into water.
Reduced the sound effect volume of the Impulse Grenade.

Maps

Storm Chaser Cove

Fixed an issue where players would sometimes not be able to plant the Rift Point Device on part of Site B.
Fixed an issue where players could Impulse Grenade to an out-of-bounds ledge by the Link area.
Fixed an issue where players could Impulse Grenade to a roof at the Attackers’ spawn area.

K-Zone Commons

Fixed an issue where players could Impulse Grenade onto the roof of a building in Mid.
Fixed an issue where building windows would sometimes go missing at the Defenders’ spawn area.

Cinderwatch

Fixed an issue where the lower part of the supporting structure columns was missing.
Fixed an issue where the Rift Point Device could become stuck on an unreachable location on top of the pergola.
Fixed several issues where players could Impulse Grenade onto unintended spots.
Fixed an issue where players could sometimes get stuck on the stairs in Mid.

What is the Veiled Precision SMG stats and how to use it

Veiled Precision SMG in Ballistic is a high-damage, scoped, suppressed SMG with small mag size, low recoil, and strong headshot multiplier that rewards accurate tracking at close- to mid-range. It uses Light Bullets, has First Shot Accuracy, and is bought in-match with credits in Fortnite Ballistic.

Core stats (Ballistic v37.10)

From the dedicated Ballistic entry (not the BR version), the default Veiled Precision SMG stats are:

Damage: 35 body, 3x headshot multiplier
DPS: 332.5
Magazine size: 25 rounds
Fire rate: 9.5 shots/second
Reload time: 2.4 seconds
Structure damage: 35
Ammo type: Light Bullets
Cost: 2,300 Credits in the buy menu

These numbers may shift with future balance patches but reflect the current v37.10 Ballistic tuning.

How it behaves

Hitscan with First Shot Accuracy: extremely accurate when you pause briefly to reset bloom, especially while aiming with its Red-Eye style sight.
Built-in suppressor and optic: reduced muzzle flash and clearer visual tracking, plus slight zoom for easier headshots at mid-range.
Damage falloff: still effective into medium and even longer sightlines in Ballistic because of high base damage and headshot multiplier, outperforming many SMGs at range.

Best ways to use it

Play it like a mini-rifle, not a hip-fire spray SMG
- Take short, controlled bursts while ADS at 10-30 meters; prioritize head-level tracking to exploit the 3x headshot multiplier.
- Avoid pure hip-fire in tight corners; quickly ADS or use a canted-sight toggle (if available in your mode) to keep shots accurate up close.
Pair it with a close or utility secondary
- Combine with a faster close-range gun or a strong shotgun so you cover point-blank fights where Veiled’s slower fire rate can lose trades to faster SMGs.
- Use gadgets (like Deployable Wall) to create safe angles where you can pre-aim and beam players crossing chokepoints.
Manage the small magazine and reloads
- With 25 rounds and high damage, commit to finishing one target at a time; avoid spraying multiple enemies without cover.
- Reload behind cover and avoid reloading in the open, since the ~2.4s reload is punishable if you get caught peeking mid-reload.
Positioning tips
- Hold medium-length sightlines where enemies must cross your pre-aim (hallways, lane entries, bomb sites entries), letting you land first-shot accurate b

Best loadouts to pair with the Veiled Precision SMG

Veiled Precision SMG works best as your mid-range beamer, so build around it with close-range burst damage, mobility, and survivability. The key is to let Veiled handle 10-30m fights and use other slots to cover point-blank and long-range gaps.

Zero Build loadout ideas

Mid-range: Veiled Precision SMG (or Night Rose variant) as your main lane-holding weapon.
Close-range: Mythic Typhoon Blade or a strong shotgun (Sentinel / Enhanced Sentinel Pump) to win box fights and panic pushes.
Mobility: Shockwave Grenades or a mask item (e.g., Night Rose’s Void Oni Mask) to take or break angles for Veiled beams.
Sustain: Chili Chug Splash or other fast heals so you can re-peek quickly after trading damage at mid-range.
Utility cover: Port-a-Bunker or similar deployable cover to create safe pre-aim positions for Veiled’s first-shot accuracy.

Build mode loadout ideas

AR slot: Holo Twister Assault Rifle for longer-range spray through builds while Veiled handles peek duels at shorter lanes.
Shotgun slot: Enhanced Sentinel Pump for high burst to crack shields before swapping to Veiled to finish.
SMG slot: Veiled Precision SMG as your tracking finisher and mid-range dueler.
Mobility: Shockwave Grenades or a blade (Typhoon/other melee) for fast height changes and chase potential.
Heals: Water Sprite, Chug Splash, or similar AoE heals that let you top off between mid-range peeks.

How to play these setups

Open with shotgun or blade to crack, then instantly swap to Veiled and stay ADS for accurate tracking at head height.
Use mobility (Shockwaves/masks) to take off-angles, then hold a pre-aim with Veiled where enemies must cross your sightline.
Avoid wasting the mag on structures; rely on ARs, explosives, or shotguns for breaking cover and save Veiled for exposed players.