Should Fortnite pros get banned for griefing?

“Griefing” is a term that applies to almost any game, but is particularly common in Battle Royales.

For those who aren’t familiar, the term typically refers to one player who is already out of a tournament intentionally fighting or pestering another player who is at the top of the leaderboard.

We’ve had a ton of high-profile griefs throughout the history of competitive Fortnite – usually around top streamers.

If you’re already out of a tournament, you might as well grief Clix to get your name out there – at least, that’s how some players think.

Epic Games

Griefing in All-Star Solos

The topic arose again this past weekend during the OCE run of the FNCS All-Star Solo Championship.

LunR, a pro in the region, was positioned to take first place when another player landed on him and griefed his final game.

As you might expect, the griefing player was well outside of the top placements.

The situation gained additional attention when AussieAntics, a broadcaster and one of the most popular competitive Fortnite creators in the region, spoke about the grief on-stream.

Aussie, who considers LunR a friend, called the griefer a “loser” for his actions. As a result, Epic Games removed Aussie from the official broadcast for the FNCS All-Star Solo Championship.

As Aussie explained, he may cast again in the future but wouldn’t be a part of the ongoing FNCS broadcast team.

This ordeal prompted a discussion on social media: should griefing be punishable within the Fortnite rules?

After all, Epic have rules against leaving the game during a shakedown or in an attempt to deny another player points.

It’s a tough topic, and Epic make it clear that they don’t even like “griefing” as a concept. Their mentality is that any player can land anywhere they want, regardless of how many points they have.

It’s a difficult thing to police, too. How can you distinguish sub-optimal play from intentional griefing?

Storm-fighting is often considered a bad play, but is it always griefing to hold someone in the storm?

@Reisshub

I don’t have all of the answers, but situations like what happened to LunR don’t feel right. Redditors cited peer pressure as a deterrent away from griefing, but that might not be enough.

LunR missed out on about $10,000 in earnings after he wasn’t able to finish the final game.

At the same time, how can you tell another player what they can and can’t do, just because of how many points they have? If the griefing player W-keyed the whole lobby and won, they would have had a chance at earning more money, themselves.

My opinion is that the competitive team need to make some kind of a rule.

Everyone knows that killing someone like BenjyFishy, Clix, or MrSavage is going to get their name highlighted. If they don’t have anything to lose points-wise, why not go for it?

It’s a sticky situation and one that pops-up time and time again. We’d love to hear your potential fixes for griefing in the comments. Should we let everyone do what they want or should Epic police this practice?