Oh dear, Epic. What are we playing at here, eh? I understand wanting to make as much money as possible, but holy cow. Talking about trying to squeeze out every last drop.
Darth Jar Jar was something I was looking forward to, and honestly, would have paid 1000 VBucks for. Which is a little sad on my part, but hey, I don’t need to worry. Epic have my back! They said “Fuck you” to everyone, instead.
We’ll go into detail and look at how this is being received online. But let’s take a step back and just remember, it is a totally optional, cosmetic skin in a free-to-play game. In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing. But fuck me, it’s really rubbed me up the wrong way and I’m not alone.
It’s a shame, because for the most part, this Star Wars-themed season is great.
Darth Jar Jar
The highly anticipated Darth Jar Jar skin has finally arrived in Fortnite, but instead of celebration, its release has been met with significant backlash from the player community.
What was initially a moment of excitement for fans, who first saw Darth Jar Jar blasting lightning in the Chapter 6, Season 3 reveal trailer, has quickly soured due to an unprecedented and demanding unlock requirement.
Unlike the vast majority of cosmetic items in Fortnite, the Darth Jar Jar skin, which hit the Item Shop after the 35.10 update, is not immediately available for purchase.
Players hoping to wield the dark side of Jar Jar Binks will first need to embark on a substantial grind, earning a staggering 1.28 million XP simply to unlock the privilege of buying the skin for 1,500 V-Bucks. This XP requirement is solely for the skin itself, with other associated cosmetics also sold separately.
The grind
This “XP wall,” as frustrated players are calling it, means that even if a player has accumulated a high level throughout the current season, that progress won’t count towards the Darth Jar Jar unlock.
The grind starts from zero, a decision that has particularly irked those who don’t have the luxury of extensive play time. With only a little over two weeks remaining in the current season before the skin leaves the shop on June 6, 2025, the pressure to rack up over a million XP in such a short timeframe is immense.
What a joke. This feels “Horse Armour” levels of ridiculous.
It’s one of the driest seasons I’ve played, in terms of the XP that the game throws at you, too. I’m 7 levels away from finishing the pass, and whilst there’s an accepted level of grind, of course. It feels much more stingy than usual. So, how people accumulate that much XP in such a short space of time, is unfathomable to me.
Not the first, not the last….
Whilst Epic Games has confirmed the skin’s departure date, aligning with the next live event to conclude the season, the community’s frustration is Palpatine palpable.
This isn’t the first time Epic has implemented a similar mechanic, with the returning OG cosmetics in December 2024 having a comparable requirement. However, this instance has caught many players off guard, leading to an outpouring of discontent across social media.
A popular Reddit thread perfectly encapsulated the community’s sentiment. One user articulated their frustration, stating:
“Not a style, it’s an entire separate skin. Not in a bundle, everything sold separately, totalling around 3200 Vbucks (robbery). And being gated behind an XP wall is a prerequisite to even having the PRIVILEGE to spend the aforementioned $32.”
Another frustrated player echoed this sentiment, questioning the rationale behind the decision:
“It’s so dumb that you have to grind XP JUST so you can BUY it. Not earn it, BUY IT. Why not just have us buy it outright? What’s the point of grinding it?”
Epic/fail
The debate surrounding the Darth Jar Jar skin highlights a growing concern among Fortnite players regarding Epic Games’ monetisation strategies and the increasing demands placed on players to access desirable content.
While weekly, story, and other in-game challenges can contribute to the required XP, the sheer volume needed in such a limited window has transformed what should have been an exciting new addition into a point of contention and widespread dissatisfaction.
The season itself seems to have really dried up the XP rewards, which are more generally a little more generous. For a short season, with a short battle pass, it really does feel like a kick in the teeth.
Of course, if people buy Darth Jar Jar, people grind and people show up to get these things. Then, it’ll only get worse.
Vote with your wallet, don’t buy into it, and see how quickly things change then.
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