Similar to other tactical shooters, like Valorant, the guns are more accurate when players are standing still.

[4] Upon the mode's release, it immediately began facing server issues caused by an influx of players attempting to play it.

Jake Tucker of PC Gamer was very critical of the mode in its initial state, calling it a "disappointment" that "doesn't work for a bunch of different reasons".

"[2] Polygon's Ana Diaz shared similar thoughts, viewing the game itself as unpolished and criticized its server issues, though she felt that there was a good basis for a first-person shooter game present.

[6] Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen believed that Ballistic itself was unfinished and "rough around the edges", though felt that the mode was still enjoyable and demonstrated that Epic Games was capable of creating a good first-person shooter experience within Fortnite.