Looking to drastically improve your Fortnite game? You don’t have to be a pro like Ninja to start coming out on top, but there are a few specific strategies you can use to ensure you start doing better in-game today.
From tips on how to defend and attack during the endgame to important tidbits about how the guns work in Fortnite, we’ve got a slew of important tidbits that will ensure your victory is just around the corner.
Whether you’re in it for a fun night spent or you’re looking to go pro, some of these tips and techniques can make for a solid foundation to get you well on your way to smoking others in Fortnite.
Build up your defences – literally
Fortnite. Credit: Epic Games
If you want even the faintest hope of surviving and nailing a Victory Royale in Fortnite, you need to utilise its building mechanics. This might seem as though it should be relegated to the Save The World mode, but it’s absolutely integral to Battle Royale as well. Being able to deftly erect walls, stairs, traps and floors to keep you away from enemies will very quickly set you apart from the competition. This is how you remain in the game when others are dropping like flies.
Make your own cover as often as possible
Use the materials at your disposal to quickly create some cover while you explore the map. It’s a good idea to just throw up any type of cover, rather than just standing in the wide open areas, to keep yourself out of harm’s way. A quick wooden wall is one of the best and simplest ways to deflect fire at the start of a match.
Alternatively, build a set of stairs to get up and over whoever’s taking aim at you. Building stairs is not advised as your first course of action, but if you can scramble to get a better vantage point by building a set of them, it can give you an edge when it comes to taking out players in the distance. Be sure to crouch down behind the actual stairs themselves, as that’s what provides the cover. If you play your cards right, you could slowly walk to the top and get on eye level with your enemy, then snipe them for a quick kill. Danger eliminated.
Collect resources while exploring
When you drop into the battlefield, immediately go hunt for materials. Use your pickaxe to chop items like trees, rocks, cars, boxes and anything that you can break down into wood, metal and stone.
Swinging your pickaxe can be a dead giveaway for your position, so make sure to be as discreet as possible while doing this. Be vigilant and ensure you’re checking the playfield for other players while collecting resources. You don’t want to become an easy kill
Creating structures out of wood is the quickest path to reliable cover, but it’s weaker than stone or metal structures. Keep stocking up, even if there’s a lull in battle. You never want to be caught out without items to defend yourself with, especially since it only takes a moment to be picked off.
Live dangerously on the edge of the safe zone
Fortnite. Credit: Epic Games
Staying well inside the safe zone’s circle might seem like the best possible strategy, but you actually can fare better by staying on the periphery of the circle instead. Remain at the edge and you’ll find that you might actually perform better and rack up more kills there than trying to make your way through a massive bit of land along with other players.
The reason? Everyone is always trying to get back into a safe area before the storm starts picking them off. If you build a small bunker every time near the edge of the safe zone, you can kill all the panicking players, then retreat back to safety in your tower or shack and wait it out for the next shrinkage to occur. Players will be vulnerable, and you can be smart. Take advantage of this very simple tip and you’ll find yourself not only surviving longer, but earning more wins over time too.
Shoot smarter
It’s hard to shake the instinct that, as soon as you happen upon a formidable weapon, you should spray and pray any time you encounter an enemy. That’s a strategy that might work for newbies, but if you want to improve your game, be sure to avoid simply holding down the button when looking for fresh prey. This will make your reticle expand, lowering your accuracy.
Instead, try crouching and strafing while tapping your shots to keep the reticle as small as possible to remain as accurate as possible. It can take some getting used to, but the combine strategies will have you landing the shots that count in no time.
Another aspect of each shootout to be aware of is bullet drop, which you should factor in if you’re a heavy sniper rifle user. Make sure you aren’t pointing your gun straight at an enemy and accounting for both travel and drop if you want to make use of the long-range weapon. It may sound like a no-brainer, but it could save your life if it’s down to you and one particularly skilled shooter. However, take note that sniper rifles are the only guns in Fortnite that will be affected by bullet drop. Everything else uses hitscan, which means your bullets will hit wherever you fire them.
Finally, don’t be afraid to shuffle through weapons as you collect additional arms. It might not be your style to snipe or even use a shotgun, but selecting different arms right in the middle of battle can not only confuse others since they won’t see a different rate of fire coming, but kill them while they’re caught off-guard.
Prepare for the game’s final moments early
If the match down to around 10 to 20 players left, you’re going to want to be more discerning about how you play. Don’t hole up in one secluded building and assume you’ll be out of the woods. Build an area for yourself, fortify it and make sure you’ve got all the weaponry you could need, because you’re going to be there for a while.
What you’re going to need to do is first start collecting weapons, reloading them, stocking up and then wait for players to seek you out. You could even create multiple forts and utilise launch pads to move around them to take out enemies before they seek you out. Beware, however, because others might be adopting this strategy as well.
Tackle endgame builders like a pro
When you start reaching the end of a Battle Royale game, you’ll undoubtedly run into players who decide to build up defences to hunker down and prepare for the countdown to their Victory Royale. These players love to chill in forts, and they can make securing a win very difficult. Learning how to combat these builders for your own purposes is tantamount to taking home a win for yourself.
If you happen across players who have barricaded themselves inside a few walls, instead of trying to blow them out with explosives see if you can build some stairs to approach them above their structure. Chances are, they have not thought through to building complete ceilings. Drop down and then take them out when you climb over their supposedly secure area. You could utilise an explosive using this tactic or even a rocket launcher or shotgun to maximise damage. That way, you’ll take a few folks out if there happens to be multiple players in a fort at the moment.
Get organised
Fortnite can be all kinds of chaotic. Learning a system and working toward familiarising yourself with it can be an integral part of improving your game overall. When you start picking up equipment, arrange your items in certain slots where you know where to find them.
If you pick up a shotgun, put it in the slot that you’ll remember. If you find an assault rifle, do the same. Memorise where it is in your lineup and take the extra few seconds to do this every time you play. Over time, muscle memory (or typing memory) will take over and you’ll be able to tap over until you get to the item you need by heart.
Similarly, understand the best, most effective ways to heal yourself and how many health points you’re really afforded from Mini Shields, Regular Shields, Bandages and Slurp Juice. If you know you need about 50 points of shield, drink the Mini Shield, for example, and don’t waste the Regular Shield’s 100 shield points. It’s common changes like these that will eventually help you eliminate the niggling little things that open you up to weakness.
You can also make a mental note of where specific treasure chests are located throughout the game and start heading for those in each area to maximise the probability that you’ll walk away with the treasure within.
