If you’re a fan of Fortnite, then you would know that Epic Games makes changes and updates to the app nearly every single week. If you’re new to Fortnite, then don’t get so used to the map and weapons in the game right now - they may not be there soon. A lot of the changes that are made are small updates to the app, that mostly go unnoticed. Other times, their changes cause a huge catastrophe on Twitter, dividing fans across the lines of support and frustration. Many of the OG players have even stopped playing Fortnite because of new updates. One example would be the “double pump." Way back in the day, Fortnite allowed you to switch between two pump shotguns with no delay and it was truly OP. Ever since Epic patched up that feature, fans complained like crazy, because it’s no longer so easy to eliminate a player with a pump now.
Another of Fortnite’s biggest changes was the number of materials received in Llamas. If you manage to find one of the only three llamas that spawn on a Fortnite map, it’s a pretty big deal. In the past, you would get 600 of each of the three materials in a llama, but these days, it’s only 250 each. Not only do they make adjustments to materials and weapons, but every few months there’s a new season that comes out. With every new season comes completely new events, skins, modes, and changes to the map. Right now, we’re on Season 7 and Epic has been making a lot of changes that have fans impressed. What are the updates, you wonder? You’ll have to keep reading.
Ongoing: There's Finally A Trios Mode
This is personally my favorite update, but unfortunately, it’s just a limited time mode for now. There’s been a countless amount of times when I wanted to play Fortnite with just 2 friends and we had to decide whether to play as a Trio in squad mode (then be outnumbered against the enemies), or leave the fill on and get a random fourth player who refuses to help us. Trios was temporarily added into the game and later removed, but I'm sure it'll be added back eventually.
Even though it’s just a limited time mode at the moment, it has the potential to become permanent, like the playground mode did.
Ongoing: The Prisoner Skin Is In Polar Peak
This is something that Fortnite doesn’t include in patch notes, so you’d just have to find it yourself in the game. The Snowfall skin’s arm has been spotted sticking out of a chunk of ice that appears to be a prisoner trapped at the center of Polar Peak. The Prisoner is also the name the snowfall skin, which is the secret skin players can earn for completing 10 weeks worth of challenges. This skin will have unlockable outfits that can be unlocked by finding keys around the map. Maybe when the ice completely melts off of the skin, the Prisoner might have something to do with the upcoming earthquake.
Upcoming: You'll Be Able To Merge Accounts
Since Fortnite has now completely enabled cross-play amongst all devices, there has been a few issues for some people that play on different consoles. If you’ve previously made different accounts to play Fortnite on multiple devices before cross-play was a thing, there’s currently no way to have access to purchased items on your main account. Fortnite is working on a way for players to be able to merge accounts created on different consoles to solve this issue. Epic Games announced that this feature will be implemented into the game early this year.
Ongoing: Aim Assist Now Targets Players On Vehicles
Aim assist on controllers is one of the biggest Fortnite debates. Plenty of players on PC say it should be removed. Even though aim assist usually always works, for some reason, when we tried to aim at players riding a vehicle, it would instead hit the vehicle and end up being incredibly hard to target the player. Fortnite has changed that now, from now on you’ll be able to target a player no matter what. Once again, PC players are complaining about that, because they don’t get that privilege. To be fair though, PC players are already advantaged at the game without aim assist.
Ongoing: Dual Pistols Are Back
Dual Pistols were a short-lived weapon on Fortnite. They were introduced into the game and shortly vaulted after. If you can manage to hit your target with this weapon, it’s actually quite strong. Despite the strength, this is one weapon I’m not so excited about being added back into the game. Is it just me, or is there anyone else that can never aim properly with them? But in all honesty, I have a hard time aiming with pretty much every weapon.
Upcoming: Possible Changes To Looting System
As of right now, when you pick up weapons in the game, they automatically go into the first available empty slot. When a Fortnite player suggested on Reddit that it would be much better if we could select which slot we want our weapons to go to before picking it up, Eric Williamson, Fortnite’s design lead, responded to the post saying it’s a great idea. Hopefully, we can see this change within the next few weeks, as it would make looting much quicker at the beginning of the match.
Ongoing: Increased Materials In Chests & Drops
Previously, when you opened a chest or a drop on Fortnite, you’d get about 20 resources. From now on, that amount has been changed to 50. This is actually a huge improvement to the game and does sort of help to provide balance to the fact that llamas only give us 250 each. Many fans love this new update and hope it remains. Even though I’d prefer llamas to get buffed, I think I can live with this change.
Upcoming: Tremors Are Coming
New leaks suggest that there may be an earthquake happening towards the end of Season 8. Data miners have found many files mentioning tremors that will lead up to an upcoming event. Past seasons, we have seen many different events take place, such as the rocket launch, the Marshmello concert, and Loot Lake becoming a floating island. An upcoming earthquake also means we can expect plenty of more changes coming to the map in Season 8. There have been many rumors of Tilted Towers being destroyed in the past, perhaps it's actually going to happen this time.
Ongoing: Gliders Are Now An Item
Yet another thing that completely divided fans: Glider redeploy. For a limited amount of time, players were able to always redeploy their glider when falling from height. Tons of players complained, saying it’s not fair that when they knocked someone off their building, they didn't receive any fall damage. Other players loved it, stating that it’s super convenient. Fortnite has managed to make everyone happy by turning glider redeploy into an item that spawns in chests. You get to redeploy your glider only 10 times in the game if you find the item, which is a perfect medium.
Upcoming: Infinity Blade Expected To Return
Everyone's least favorite weapon, the Infinity Blade, was added very temporarily and removed due to complaints from literally everyone. With the sword, players had the ability of super jumping, extra health, and the weapon could knock down an entire building immediately. It was an incredibly unfair and overly powerful weapon to have.
According to data miners, there's going to be a new Limited Time Mode titled "Blades." This could be interesting if the only weapon in the mode is the Infinity Blade.
Ongoing: Bluetooth Controller Now Supported On Mobile
If you’ve always wanted to play Fortnite, but you don’t have a PC, a console is too expensive, and playing on your phone is just way too hard, then now is the perfect time to start. Fortnite now supports Bluetooth controllers on mobile, which basically means you can play Fortnite with a controller on your phone. Personally, I love this update because now I can play with friends on mobile and I don’t have to worry about them constantly being knocked.
Ongoing: Three Major Weapons Vaulted
Plenty of fan-favorite weapons have actually been vaulted from the game, such as the Heavy Shotgun, Burst Assault Rifle, and the Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle. Seeing the Heavy Shotgun leave the game actually hurts, as that one was almost everyone’s favorite weapon in the game, other than the scar. Although, I’m not sad to see the Sniper Rifle leave. Personally, I never liked the Bolt-Action because the reload speed was too slow and it can knock you with just one hit.
Upcoming: Campfires Will Become Interact-able
Cozy Campfires are currently an item in the game that allow you to heal up to 50% health. There are also plenty of campfires on the map that are just decorative and unusable. An epic employee has stated on a Reddit forum that employees are currently working on ways to make the campfire an interactive item. Although, if a campfire has already been used, it will no longer be able to be used again. We'll most likely see interactive campfires very soon, considering it's one of the challenges to unlock outfits for the Prisoner skin.
Ongoing: New Weapon: Chiller Grenades
Practically useless in every way, Fortnite has added new chiller grenades to the game. Basically, you throw the grenade at a player and their feet become ice blocks, which makes it harder for them to move. They can still shoot you though, so if your enemy has good aim or any skill at the game, then using these grenades will do nothing but waste time throwing it while in a battle. These grenades do the same exact thing as the chiller traps.
Upcoming: Skin Glitches May Be Fixed
Some of the newer skins on Fortnite have the ability to change or glow while in a match, based on how many eliminations you get or how long you last in the game. Some of the skins with the ability are Rosa, Dante, and Deadfire. At the current moment, there’s a glitch that causes these skins to glow either too late or too early in a game. Epic has attempted to fix this before, but instead, the glow ended up becoming too intense. Right now, the Deadfire skin no longer glows during the match. Fortnite has not commented on this, but considering this is a $25 skin, I’d hope Epic is working on an update for this to be fixed within the next few weeks.
Ongoing: Editing Delay Has Been Improved
Fortnite already gave us a taste of the editing improvement, before taking it away due to glitches. When editing, there was previously a slight delay that caused players to be harmed before their protective wall was built. Fortnite patched that up and made editing much faster, but players weren’t able to equip their weapons afterward. In the new patch, Epic Games has fixed the error and editing has now been improved again. Basically, now you can do quick edits without getting hit before your editing has completed.
Upcoming: More Rewards For Save The World Founders
If you purchased Save The World, then you’d know there were previously a few items available simply for being a founder. Some of the items currently available are two skins, two backblings, one glider, and a single pickaxe. According to Fortnite leaks, there’s a new glider and pickaxe found in game files under the title “Rose Team Leader,” which is one of the skins available with the founder's pack. It seems as if they’ll now be giving the skin her very own pickaxe and glider.
Ongoing: New Weapon: Scoped Revolver
With the Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle vaulted, of course, Fortnite had to add in another overpowered scoped weapon to the game. When I say overpowered, I mean this weapon is truly powerful. It’s fast, strong, and aiming is easy with it. I’m not good at Fortnite or scoped weapons at all, but I’ve managed to get plenty of knocks with this gun from both close range and from a distance. This is the kind of weapon that I absolutely love, until someone eliminates me with it.
Ongoing: Zombies Are Finally Gone
Is it just me, or are the zombies everyone's least favorite aspect of the game? They’re not always there, but for both Season 6 and 7, zombies were temporarily added into the battle royale mode as part of an event to earn some free items. When you’re in a battle and you’re doing so well, only for a pack of zombies to start attacking you, it’s the most annoying thing in the world. Good news is, the zombies are no longer on the map and hopefully, they don’t come back next season.
Upcoming: Will Save The World Be Free?
Save The World was promised to become a free game towards the end of 2018. Many fans patiently waited, only for Fortnite to announce it will instead become free at a later date. At this point, I’m not sure if Fortnite will ever release the game, but this was an official announcement by Epic Games. Right now, you can earn many V-Bucks for doing missions on STW, which might cause some players to stop using real money to buy skins if the game becomes free. It hasn’t been stated by Epic, but I believe that’s one of the biggest reasons for the hold-up.