Fortnite has received a new server-side hotfix that appears to rebalance several parts of the recently launched Kingdom Hearts and PAC-MAN content. Dataminer HYPEX reports that the update increases the Kingdom Key’s damage, sharply reduces the amount of Gold dropped by PAC-MAN Ghosts, lowers vending-machine stock and makes separate adjustments for competitive playlists. Epic Games has not published a conventional patch-note breakdown for these numerical changes, so the individual values come from live-game data rather than an official changelog.
The Kingdom Key receives the clearest direct buff. According to the updated values, its Air Dash damage has increased from 35 to 40, while its melee and aerial attacks have jumped from 40 to 55 damage. Before the hotfix, datamined Kingdom Key statistics listed 40 melee damage and 35 damage for the Air Dash, alongside the weapon’s separate magical attack. The new figures therefore represent a sizeable increase to the Keyblade’s close-range damage shortly after its arrival in v42.20.
The Kingdom Key is part of Fortnite’s newly launched Kingdom Hearts collaboration and is already confirmed by Epic as a Battle Royale weapon. Players can use it for melee combinations, aerial movement and a lightning-based magical attack, with Epic and Mythic Kingdom Key variants appearing in the current update. Increasing basic melee damage from 40 to 55 means fewer successful hits are required to eliminate opponents at common health totals, making the weapon more threatening at close range.
PAC-MAN Ghost rewards have moved in the opposite direction. HYPEX reports that the Gold payout has been reduced from a flat 750 to a randomized amount between 90 and 375. The reported drop chances are 90 Gold at 10%, 115 at 30%, 150 at 48%, 250 at 10% and 375 at 2%, substantially reducing the economic value of repeatedly farming Ghosts compared with their original payout.
Their healing rewards have also been adjusted. Eliminating a Ghost reportedly now has a 50% chance to drop one Chug Jug and a 50% chance to drop two Big Shield Potions. Taken together with the Gold reduction, the changes appear aimed at limiting how much value players can repeatedly extract from PAC-MAN encounters while still leaving them capable of providing meaningful healing resources.
Vending machines have received another broad supply reduction. Weapon stock per offer has reportedly fallen from 20 units to four, Medkits from 10 to four, Big Shield Potions from 20 to eight and Chug Jugs from three to two. These changes reduce the number of items that can be repeatedly purchased from a single machine during a match, potentially making stocked vending locations less dependable for squads looking to replenish after fights.
Competitive playlists have additional restrictions not being applied universally. PAC-MAN Ghosts now reportedly take 10 minutes to respawn instead of two, dramatically limiting repeated farming during tournament matches. Sea-Salt Ice Cream has also been removed from competitive play until after the FNCS Global Championship, which Epic has scheduled for September 26 and 27 in Antwerp, Belgium.
The timing is notable because Epic’s official Kingdom Hearts rollout includes Kingdom Hearts Power Hours on September 19, during which players begin with both a Kingdom Key and Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Epic describes the consumable as restoring health and shields, but its competitive removal means tournament environments will operate under a more restricted version of the current crossover loot pool ahead of FNCS.
Epic frequently makes Fortnite balance adjustments through server-side changes without requiring a full downloadable client update. That allows values such as damage, loot quantities and respawn timers to be changed quickly after new content reaches live matches. In this case, the hotfix substantially strengthens the Kingdom Key while simultaneously reducing several sources of easily repeatable resources introduced or affected by the latest crossover content.
