One year ago, today, Fortnite introduced one of its most controversial vehicles: the Baller.

We’ve seen a lot of vehicles come and go in Fortnite. Vehicles like the ATK and Quad Crasher were widely loved, while the X4-Stormwing and BRUTE were universally hated.

The Baller, on the other hand, was one of the most controversial vehicles to ever enter Fortnite. There are those who hated the rotational juggernaut and others who miss the days of the rolling powerhouse.

The Baller was introduced to Fortnite in the first patch of Season 8, v8.10. It was brought to the game with 300 health, spawning at several outposts around the map.

The new vehicle one of the best and safest ways to rotate in any Fortnite match, but 300 HP was far too strong. Epic later nerfed the HP of the Baller to 150, but that still wasn’t enough.

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After the nerf, Ballers weren’t a problem in regular Fortnite matches. They were a safe and effective way to rotate, but usually got destroyed during the last few storm phases.

The real issue with the Ballers presented itself in competitive Fortnite. These were in the game during World Cup qualifiers, meaning players would sit in Ballers for easy placement points and rotations.

Most players would wait in a box with their Baller until they were forced to rotate. There was an unspoken truce between Baller players as well. No one would shoot one another until they absolutely had to.

It was impossible to fix this issue without completely reworking the Baller or changing the competitive loot pool – something that Epic has never wanted to do.

All of this led to the Baller being removed in the Fortnite Season X patch. We all know what came to replace the baller…

The removal of the Baller and the introduction of the BRUTE gave competitive Fortnite players a massive ‘be careful what you wish for’ moment. The Baller had its problems, yes, but it was nothing compared to what the mech was capable of – in both competitive and casual modes.

Looking back on the days of the Baller, it’s tough not to have a bit of nostalgia. They were a broken rotational tool, yes, but they were also one of my favorite vehicles in public Fortnite matches. I’d land at Polar Peak and take the zipline over to the outpost, which usually spawned four Ballers.

The Ballers were too powerful in competitive Fortnite and deserved to be removed from that game mode. They were still enjoyable in a lot of cases, however, and bring back the memories of a fun time for Fortnite.