There are plenty of new activities, features, and mechanics that have been added to Fortnite Season 5's bounty-hunter-themed gameplay. Players can now receive quests from the over 40 new NPCs scattered around the map. They can complete quests and bounties to earn a new in-game currency, Gold Bars, which can be used to purchase new guns, upgrades, and even bodyguard services from NPCs. Players can unlock new Battle Pass skins, including The Mandalorian with a Baby Yoda accessory from the hit Disney+ original. The map has also undergone a few changes. All traces of the Marvel POIs from Season 4 have vanished, including Doom's Domain, which has reverted to Pleasant Park once again. The Authority, the center point of the map, has been renamed Zero Point. Players can also now explore a new jungle and desert biome within the map.
Stealth is a major part of bounty hunting, and Epic Games has introduced a new way for Fortnite players to get around relatively undetected. While traveling in the desert biome, players can bury themselves under the sand, which mostly conceals them and increases their speed somewhat. It also makes them harder to kill, which can be a useful mechanic in a season where players are contracted to eliminate one another for Gold Bars. This technique does not come with a tutorial in-game, so it may not be immediately clear how to use it. Here's how players can bury themselves in and sneak through the sand in Fortnite Season 5.
How to Sneak Through The Sand in Fortnite
Players can bury themselves in the sand in the new desert biome by standing completely still for about five seconds. If the character doesn't move in that time, they will sink below the surface, leaving only a small sphere in the sand to indicate their location. This can prove difficult, especially if there are many enemies or opponents around. If the character moves, the time it takes to dive under will reset.
Once below the surface, players can choose to stay put, or they can move as normal. The lump of sand on the surface will also move with them, and this will be visible to other players, though it will be a little harder to see than a player might be otherwise. Players will move slightly faster when underground than they would be on foot.
When the player is ready, they can press X on PlayStation or A on Xbox to pop back up. It does take a moment once the player jumps back up for them to prepare their weapons, so players will want to be strategic about when and where they resurface.
Players can use this technique both to evade an opponent, especially one trying to complete a bounty by eliminating them, or to sneak up on someone they have been contracted to eliminate instead. As the desert now covers a good section of the interior of the map, this is likely to become a popular way to travel during the season.
Fortnite is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.