As Fortnite Season 3 draws toward its end, it seems Epic Games is not quite done serving some surprises. This season saw massive changes to the game map, which started out flooded from the Doomsday event in Season 2. In recent weeks, the waters have fallen, slowly revealing new and forgotten areas, including Coral Castle and Weeping Woods. Players have also been able to purchase some unique cosmetic items, with and without the Battle Pass, like the custom Build-A-Brella and the two Aquaman skins that fit the season's theme.
To celebrate the ending of the season, Epic Games added a surprise Mega Drop that included a cosmetic players can claim for free. Permanently, Fortnite V-Bucks, the in-game currency, are up to 20% cheaper, and players who have purchased V-Bucks or used real money for cosmetic purchases in the last 30 days will also receive bonus V-Bucks by August 17. But, the real star of this drop is the Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe. This item, which was leaked as an unreleased item that would be available in the Shop, can now be claimed by every player for free. Here's how to get one.
Claim the Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe in Fortnite
Getting the free Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe in Fortnite is a simple matter of logging into the game. When a player logs on and chooses Battle Royale, they will be greeted with a notification telling them they have been awarded the Shooting Starstaff. They will also read the following message:
“Oh Hello! Here’s a Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe to kick off the Fortnite Mega Drop. Starting right now enjoy up to 20% savings when purchasing V-Bucks and real money offers! On mobile use Epic direct payment to get your discount.”
They only need to use the Accept or Claim button at the bottom of the message to receive the item. If players like the style, there is a matching glider available for purchase in the Fortnite Shop.
The price drop and the addition of Epic Direct pay appear to be in direct response to what Epic Games has seen as price gouging by the App Store and Google Play store for the game on mobile platforms. Under the initial terms, Apple received a 30% portion of all sales made on in-game purchases, and Epic circumvented that with the introduction of Epic Direct.
The Shooting Starstaff is a rare harvesting tool, and players can use it to farm materials in the game. It also has a futuristic, space-age feel as part of the Ancient Voyager set that, like several challenges and areas in the game, appear to point toward space as a theme for an upcoming season. Other hints have included the Coral Buddies' rocket, the Ancient Ship, and the leaked "bro" Thor skin.
However, there has also been speculation that Fortnite will be going with a more Medieval theme for Season 4 instead. It seems only time will tell.
Fortnite is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and PC.