In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Fortnite revealed the contents of their v.8.51 patch which went live before most were awake in North America. Upon waking up and checking Twitter and the Fortnite Battle Royale subReddit, players were met with a combination of excitement and frustration with the newest addition to the game: Smoke Bombs.

Get smoked

When picked, this uncommon item --which holds six charges-- shrouds a player in smoke, making them invisible to opponents for six seconds. As the effect wears off, the player slowly becomes more visible. While invisible, similar to how the Cube Fragments worked when they were around, a player's movement speed and jumping ability is improved. The downside is that they cannot attack, build or loot while under the effect of the bomb.

What differentiates the Smoke Bomb from the Cube Fragments is the ability for users to become Olympic gymnast Simone Biles once activated. Not only can players gain the aforementioned perks but they can double jump and wall jump in mid-air.

It didn't take long for content creators and high-level players to take to Twitter posting clips of the items in effect.

Others...not so much.

A competitive must?

For those who choose to play Fortnite at a high-level in tournaments, in-game Cups or in public matches, the strength of the Smoke Bomb is obvious. When used, a player can rotate to the next circle with relative ease and reposition to a more advantageous spot. If you have ever watched a professional match or a scrimmage with a lobby full of prominent players, rotating in the late game is not only very difficult but essential for survival due to the slim margin of error.

If all a player has to do is hold a few Smoke Bombs to guarantee a free rotation as the circles grow smaller and deadlier late-game, not carrying the item will become sub-optimal. Historically, the importance of items that keep players alive late-game and provide easy rotations are, arguably, more impactful than the weapons themselves. If a player has a Plane, Hamster Ball or Rift-to-Go, the likelihood of their survival long-term raises with each passing minute. And in a competitive scene that places heavy importance on staying alive, opposed to getting kills --depending on the format-- the Smoke Bomb's significance may be substantial.