Fortnite Battle Royale has blown up in a way that the creator’s did not intend, especially since the game “Fortnite” did not appear to be doing successful. However, with the multiplayer survival genre explosive popularity due to the fame earned from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Epic decided to add on a free-to-play game mode that was quite similar to it while encompassing their own quirks, humor, and the core game’s building mechanic…and it worked. It currently reigns supreme for viewership on Twitch, managing to do the impossible and overtake the powerhouse MOBA game League of Legends consistently since its release picked up steam (while PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has not). Though, with so many people enjoying and playing the game… a lot of people still need help.
YouTube, articles, and various forums do not really talk about things that new players will need to know starting off. Often times you will find people in groups only wanting to play with others who have learned to “be good” through intense trial and error that comes with playing, or they will look up information only to find that bits and pieces of the most essential things are left unsaid merely due to most able players believing it to be common sense or learned while playing; this is not true for everyone.
Do not get me wrong, I am still not the best player and I still have much to learn, but I find myself doing better than a lot of people who are just starting out or cannot seem to improve. I have gotten Victory Royales in all three game modes (Solo, Duos, and Squads), while I know some people who are frustrated because they can never seem to get a win. I recently even won a match with a group of friends who just started playing the last few weeks of Season 3 (and one that just started playing in Season 4); they still struggle to sometimes build and be wary of things, but knowing what to do and being able to do some of it often equates to more success than not knowing what do at all. Hopefully these tips help to make those that are struggling at the game a little bit better.
#7 — Learn How to Land
While not immediately obvious to a lot of people who just pick up the game, you will really need to focus on learning how to properly land. If you are able to land at your destination as quickly as possible and as low as possible, you will be able to more-than-likely find a weapon, shields, building materials, and to get the jump on opponents before they can do the same.
To start off, you need to first figure out where you are going to land; pulling up the map during the very beginning of the game when everyone is waiting to board the battle bus will show the route it is taking across the playing field. Mark where you want to go and learn the proper distance to drop so you can glide into it, as you very rarely want to drop directly over it unless it is one of the first locations available when the bus enters into the map.
A little something most people do not know, is that how low you can freefall (by holding forward) depends on how high or low the ground below you is. Fortnite Battle Royale has a set distance to auto deploy your glider once you reach a certain altitude above ground; this means dropping over hills, plateaus, and buildings will drop you much higher than if you free fall over rivers, the ocean, or valleys. You can also glide a bit if you need to go to a location further off, or just pull back while free falling to stay higher until you find a low point to freefall over.
#6 — Mini Shields are ESSENTIAL
Shields are a big part of this game, you have another lifebar that you can only get by finding these items. Items that give shields are Slurp Juices, Chug Jugs, Shield Potions, and Mini Shield Potions. It should be noted that ONLY Slurp Juices and Shield Potions will increase your shield if it is past 50% while Mini Shield Potions will only grant you up to 50% shield; ideally, this means you should only use Shield Potions if you need to worry about being killed or if you are certain you will not find a Slurp Juice or Mini Shield Potion FIRST. Slurp Juices should be drank immediately as they heal only 25 health and grant only 25 shield over a period of time (only hold onto them if you are at 100% on health and shields and expect to fight closeby, that way you can run back and get it for later). Chug Jugs are amazing and grant 100% life and shield, but they take 15 seconds or so to drink, which is forever to stand in one spot (should only be used after a fight is over, before a fight can even initiate, or left behind if you do not need it and have no empty spots or throwaway items).
Now, the reason that Mini Shields are necessary to carry on you is because of how fast they are consumed and the amount you can carry on you at once (10). It takes only a couple of seconds to down a Mini Shield Potion and it grants you 25 shield, so maybe four seconds for 50% shield. This is useful if you are fighting someone and you build a cover and only have a moment before you are right back into the fight; it allows you greater survivability by allowing you to quickly regain a way to absorb more damage. Comparatively, Slurp Juice heals over time so it will not be useful in the middle of a fight, Shield Potions take about five seconds to down for 50% shield, which is 1 second more than Mini Shields. Medkits and bandages take entirely too long, and often cannot be used in the middle of combat as you will not be able to stay safe long enough to use them or doing so will give up your combat advantage.
Overall, Mini Shields are something you should have on you if you are running Solo, or that someone on your team should always be stacking in Duos or Squads, there is really no excuse for it unless you have none at all; there is never a time you should pass up having a Mini Shield Potion slot in your inventory.
#5 — Surviving Inside the Storm
While everyone really wants to get to the circle before the storm hits, any number of things can actually prevent you from getting there before getting caught in its health sucking grasp; getting into a fight with another team, losing track of time due to looting or gathering materials, trying to save a friend from imminent death if they got knocked out by a fall trying to build down the side of a mountain, etc. The smartest thing to do is to prepare for when the inevitable eventually happens.
The first thing you should know is about how the storm works. While the storm is falling over the land after the time to get to the safe area has ran out, it will take less HP per hit until it fully closes and a time is given before it shrinks into the designated safe zone once again. It should also be noted that each time the storm shrinks it begins to take more and more HP, so while it can be fine to brave the storm during the first circle, you really want to avoid it from that point on.
Fighting is fairly risky whenever you know you will be trapped in the storm, mainly because it completely ignores shields (just like fall damage does). Therefore, if you have no shields and are getting hit for health each time by an enemy while fighting inside of it, odds are you are not going to survive even if you win the fight dependent on where your health is.
Launch pads will save you from the storm (inside and out) very easily, in fact, most people are not worried about whether-or-not they will get out of the storm as long as they have one on them. All you have to do is build ramps upward fairly high (be careful however, as people who are behind you will shoot the base and make you fall to your doom; make sure no one is around first) and then put down a floor piece with the Launch Pad going on top of it. Make sure you hit X as soon as you are into the air to float as long as possible towards the circle, outrunning the storm the vast majority of the time.
Impulse Grenades are fairly decent for helping you to cover more ground than you would in same time it would take you to run. Throwing one behind you and jump forward will catapult you in the direction you are moving. If you know you will be caught in the storm and do not have a Launch Pad or very many health items, it can be worth it to drop one of your lesser guns for these.
Healing items will help keep you alive within the storm. Bandages should be used when you get around 30 percent life and should be applied when necessary when you get out of the storm; though it should be noted that in the later circles you will only be able to move a tiny bit before having to reapply the bandages, as they cannot really offset the damage you are taking while bandaging and then moving well enough for you to get very far. Slurp Juices completely counteract the storm effects early on, but need to be paired with other things later. Around 40% life is when you should use a Med Kit, this thing will heal you fully and allow you to run a decent distance; should be saved after you get out of the storm or once you have exhausted all other options. Chug Jug should never be used as you will not have enough time. Cozy Campfire is actually good for camping out inside of the storm for a little bit if you are worried someone is waiting on the outskirts for when you emerge; more than one will offset the storm’s effect and heal you a little bit simultaneously.
#4 — Weapon Selection/Inventory Management
What you store on you in Fortnite Battle Royale is important for winning games as you have to pick-and-choose since your inventory has limited slots. Of those five slots that you are given, you are going to have to choose between guns, other weapons (such as clinger bombs or grenades), and healing items.
I normally go in with a pretty good idea of what I am looking for, and that is one of two ideal setups; Rocket Launcher/Tactical Shotgun/Assault Rifle/Mini Shields/Medkits or Heavy or Pump Shotgun/Tactical Shotgun/Assault Rifle, Mini Shields, Medkits. I also know which weapons I would take over which ones (example; I would take a green assault rifle over a green burst assault rifle, but I would take a blue burst assault rifle over a blue assault rifle), so it call comes down to preference. Figure out what works best for you so you do not hesitate when it comes to what.
For those who game on PC, they have the ability to have a weapon slot assigned to a specific key on the keyboard. Console gamers like us however, we have to navigate with our shoulder buttons to switch between weapons and items; while it is not bad, it is overall slower than our Personal Computer counterparts. However, it is just as important to have certain things in certain slots for us who play on Playstation 4 or Xbox One too! Being able to use a weapon (like a pump shotgun) and immediately go to the next weapon (such as Tactical Shotgun or SMG) means that we are optimizing our efficiency. Not organizing your inventory can mean things are messy or you will need to click twice to get to what you were going for.
In order to rearrange your slot, push “Up” on the D-Pad to bring up the inventory screen, click X (or A for Xbox) on a highlighted item on one of your five slots and a little symbol for “switching” will appear. After the switching symbol appears, go ahead and click on the item which you want to trade places with it and hit that same button again to complete the process. I am going to go ahead and tell you what I typically use as my personal setup.
First slot I normally have a close ranged weapon; Pump Shotgun/Tactical Shotgun (if pump not available). In my second slot it is normally a second close ranged weapon (Tactical Shotgun, SMG) I can switch to if I run out of ammo or have delay after the first slot’s weapon. The third slot is reserved specifically for Assault Rifles. Fourth slot is reserved for either Grenades, Grenade Launchers, Sniper Rifles, Hand Cannons, or Mini Shields (if I have them). The very last slot is dedicated to healing items; Bandages, Chug Jugs, or Medkits, etc. While going into the final fight would be good with a sniper, I am not very good at predicting bullet drop while leading an opponent yet, so I go with what works for me and my playstyle.
#3 — Materials Are Your Lifeblood
There have been MANY times where me and the team I am with during squads will land in a remote part of the map that not many people go to. Literally will be there until the second and sometimes even third circle, leave it and get into a fight and immediately someone yells “I don’t have enough mats!”…what? After you have landed from the Battle Bus and secured weapons, the next thing you should be doing is getting enough materials to survive an encounter should you have one.
Something you need to understand is that building is king in Fortnite Battle Royale, and you cannot build if you do not have materials. Materials come in three different forms; wood, stone (most call this “brick” however), and metal. Wood is the weakest out of all of materials, but it builds to completion the quickest and has the most health when initially placed, making it perfect for battling and rushing opponents. Stone is the middle ground between wood and metal; a decent alternative when you do not want to waste either or are simply low on either. Metal has the lowest health when initially built but is the strongest when finished building (and takes the longest to do so), perfect when establishing a base you do not want easily demolished by gunfire in an area you know a fight will take place (such as during the end of the match).
Wood is the most easily gathered and readily available. I do not recommend breaking down walls as they net only 1 wood per hit, instead destroy furniture inside of houses, trees, wooden fences, wood palettes, and bushes. Stone/Brick can be gathered the most efficiently from the white rocks you find all around the map, breaking down brick houses is slow but can also be a steady source since it is rare to really find much else. Metal is most effectively gathered from destroying cars, however, they give off an alarm when struck which could give away your location… better to do it in a remote location or once you are certain there are no enemies in the proximity.
Alternatively, you can find a “Loot Llama“, these are placed all around the map inside the safe zone in random locations; only three spawn on the map in total the entire game. They grant 500 of each material, health items, Damage Traps, and Launch Pads.
#2 — Combat Building 101
NOTE — It should be noted that I am going to be explaining this with the “Builder Pro” settings in mind. Adjusts it to your own settings if you use something else. I highly suggest Builder Pro for console users as it sets each of the four building pieces; L2/LT for Ramp, R2/RT for Walls, R1/RB for Floors, L1/LB for Roofs (Pyramids). While some people are excellent with the R1,L1/RB, LB switching of pieces and R2/RT setting of Combat Pro, I find this to be much more easy and efficient for most players.
Remember when I said “building is king in Fortnite Battle Royale“? Well, I was not lying in the least. Building is necessary for reaching places to grab chests and items, for sliding down mountains/hills without fall damage by placing floors as you descend, and for providing cover against fire while fortifying yourself and gaining the high ground. This game is not like Call of Duty or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, shooting out in the open will get you killed more likely than not. Do not get me wrong, it takes some getting use to in order to adjust your instincts to “build first, attack second”, but that is what you are going to have to be wired to do if you want to win in this game.
There are three types of ways I like to classify building when it comes to combat; Offensive, Defensive, and Counter. Offensive building is when you are engaging an opponent head-on while gaining the high ground or protecting yourself to cover distance. Defensive building is done in a way to protect yourself from incoming fire, either to buy yourself time to get away or to heal with items so you can begin to mount an offensive. Counter building is usually done when you are offensively building and your opponent begins to try and outmaneuver you so you stop them; you stop them by cutting off their routes, building over them, and gaining the high ground.
The easiest form of Offensive combat building is the “Double Ramp Rush”. You do this by holding down the button for the ramp after placing the first one and building another one next to it (while still holding it down), you run up the ramp and continue to place ramps side by side to go towards an opponent at an elevated level; this is the most common way to rush an opponent. An advanced form of this is to place double ramps and then a wall in front of the ramps you built before starting the next set, but this is significantly harder.
Defensive building is often taken in the form of placing a wall in front of you when you are being shot at. However, you will find that this is often shut down very easily; so building a wall, a ramp, and then another wall is typically a lot better. Also, learning how to build a “one by one [1 x 1]” tower three stories high is good for most forts since you do not take fall damage if someone shoots you down. To build a one by one, you will need to build four walls all around you. After you build all four walls you are going to jump and set a ramp right below you. You will then build another four walls around yourself that will sit on top of the first four walls you built. You will then either set a floor and then a ramp, or you will set another ramp. You repeat this until you are three stories high. This is good to heal yourself as well as checking out the area to make sure no one is creeping uon you on either side.
Counter building is cutting off your opponents options to force them to build around you or to abandon the fight altogether by denying them the high ground while simultaneously cutting off their tactics. Counter building is going to be the most essential part of building in Fortnite Battle Royale, as this determine whether you will live or die in enemy engagements and is pivotal to gain at least some competence in; For instance, if you are ramp rushing someone who is also ramp rushing, you keep going until you’re over them. If they happen to build over you, you build ramps repeatedly on the side of your own until you gain a clear path to build up to them. If you build a ramp and they start to run beneath you so they can get to the bottom of your ramp to shoot, build a floor, a wall, and then a ramp facing back down to them so you are not as exposed and have the high ground. If they are attempting to build up to you, continue to build floors over them to deny them an entryway while building far enough to one side to still shoot at them.
Anyone who has played this game and has gotten decent at it can tell you that building is Fortnite in general. Unless you want to take the time to dedicate to learning to be as good as you can at this aspect, you will always be at a severe disadvantage to even the most neophyte of competent builders.
#1 — Balance Between Passive & Aggressive Playstyles
The biggest key to winning Fortnite Battle Royale more than anything else is your “battle awareness”. You have to pay attention to where the storm is and look at the map to see the possibilities of where opponents could be coming from based on your experience of where people like to drop. You have to judge whether-or-not you want to engage someone you see in the distance or trail them while waiting for a more advantageous opportunity or position to appear to begin combat. If you see two people fighting, should you jump in? Should you wait until they are finished and then attempt to kill the survivor? All of these are decisions that need to be made. You will often need to fall between aggressive and passive playstyles (Unless you happen to be Ninja, lol), as just one or the other will not always work and may not be the smartest idea if the situation calls for the other.
Hiding from others can nearly guarantee you a top survival spot, but often enough you will not have enough materials, enough good weapons, and enough healing items to survive the fight against someone who has killed others with his choice of their loot. However, if you are to rush into the fray and kill too many people, you may end up being hunted from the noise you make while engaging. Also, you may be low on health and no one had any health items on them, forcing you to continue on without much health or shields where survival is all but impossible.
I do have a few tips regarding reading situations. If someone is engaged in a one vs one already, allow them to fight it out if you think you can stand on even ground with either of them, however, if you feel one is definitely more skilled than the other and will give you a hard time… help the other guy out and kill the more skilled player so you can kill the one who is bad. If someone is in a good position, try to wait or gain the high ground to make it towards your advantage. If you plan on fighting inside of the storm, only shoot at the guy if you know you can kill him and if you have health items on you; it is better to engage someone behind you so that they will have to worry about you AND the storm on their tail. Do not rush an opponent if they for certain have to get past you to get into the circle (such as when there are only a few people left), build a three story high 1 x 1 and make him work for it.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully these tips helped you guys out. I know many of you reading this who have played the game are going to know most of these things, but that is why I said “Beginners”. Some of you who have played for a while probably needed to be reminder about some of these things, sometimes it is easy to play on autopilot without thinking about our actions. I beg you guys who are playing Fortnite Battle Royale to heed what I said and try to work on them in earnest, especially the building and combat awareness.
While it might be frustrating learning this game at first, especially if you continue to die, you WILL get better. Put the time in, put the grind in, and trust me, you are going to be catching Dubs in no time at all.
Please, leave me a comment if you enjoyed these tips and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
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