One of the most popular games in the world, Fortnite crosses boundaries between age, favorite console and skill level. If you have not started playing it, and want to do so, here is a detailed guide to show you how to get started with Fortnite.
Understanding Different Game Modes
Before you dive into the gameplay, it’s important to know that there are four different game modes available to players.
- Battle Royale: Undoubtedly, the most popular method of gameplay which pits you against players from all over the world. Depending on the style you play – Duo, Solo or Team Rumble, you will be battling it out to be the last man or team standing. New weapons, vehicles and special events are introduced within new “Seasons” each of which brings a distinct theme or change to the island where gameplay happens.
- Party Royale: This is an experimental mode within Battle Royale and involves less serious gameplay. Instead, it focuses on boat races, movies, live concerts from artists like Marshmellow, Diplo and Post Malone.
- Creative: This method allows you to take charge of your own island that you create with your own rules. Invite your friends and the sky is the literal limit. Whatever you want to do, if you can think of it, you can do it here.
- Save the World: Aptly named, in this mode, you will battle to save the world against monsters by finding loot and crafting weapons. Build your base and see if you can keep the proverbial wolves at bay.
Which Platforms can Fortnite Run On
Due to an ongoing lawsuit, Fortnite is not currently available across Apple devices. Apple aside, Fortnite is available on Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC through each platform’s respective game store. For desktop PC, it is available through the Epic website.
Spawn Island
When you start on Battle Royale, you start on Spawn Island. This is essentially a holding area until the server has enough players for a match. On the island, while you wait for other players to join, you can run around and practice. You are generally only here for sixty seconds or so. Weapons won’t do any damage but you can practice building walls, staircases, etc.
Battle Bus
As Spawn Island ends, you are now on the Battle Bus. This floating Bus in the sky carries you over the island and you can jump out whenever you wish to do so. Of course, there is some strategy involved as you want to land within “The Circle”. There are different schools of thought as to when to jump or where to land but ultimately, it’s up to you to figure out where on the island you wish to start.
As soon as you leave the bus, your glider will deploy once you hit a certain height. You can glide around to find your favorite landing spot. Keep trying different landing spots until you find somewhere that has a good range of weapons as well as additional health and shield potions.
Weapons
Every game starts off with your pickaxe or some other weapon that allows you to break down trees, bricks, metal, etc. Beyond that, you will discover weapons as you move around the map. While different weapons have different damage counts, the more important aspect is to understand the color of the weapon:
- Gray (common)
- Green (uncommon)
- Blue (rage)
- Purple (epic)
- Orange (legendary)
- Gold (mythic)
The bottom line is that both the weapon type and color make a difference, so it’s important to find the weapons that can dole out most damage.
Collecting and Building
This is a really critical component of the game and it’s something you should learn at the very beginning. As you use your pickaxe to pick up different resources, you can use those to build cover or to reach places you cannot climb. Wood is the most common and it’s great to help you build quick cover or stairs. Metal is still easy to find but less populous than wood. However, it builds a tougher structure making it harder for enemies to reach you. Whichever resource you use, you should build a structure that gives you higher ground. Once you are at a certain height, a sniper rifle can have a big impact on a game. Keep in mind that you will take damage if you fall off your structure of more than three stories.
That said, building cover before you drink a shield potion or use a health kit is really important. Each of these takes time to use, up to ten seconds in some cases and it’s during those times, you are completely vulnerable. No matter how you play, understanding how to build walls and cover can make the difference between winning and not. Rest assured that you can break almost anything with your pickaxe so resources should be plentiful as you move throughout a map.
The Storm
As you move through a match, there is a “storm” that takes place on the island. As each match progresses the storm will get smaller at set intervals. As that happens, the “eye” of the storm is identified by a white circle on each map with the storm in purple. If you get stuck in the storm (the purple area), you will take damage. In the event you are too far away from the circle, you likely wind up taking too much damage to continue.
The eye gets smaller and smaller as matches get closer to either the timeline or as the player count drops to make sure you aren’t running around the full map trying to find one or two players. The best path for beginners is to plan to stay in or as close to the eye as much as possible. Once you are in the eye, you can keep an eye out for players making their own way toward you and attempt to pick them off as they get close.
Find a Vehicle
Recent introductions of all-terrain karts as well as previously available vehicles make navigating around the map a whole lot easier. From boats to buses to everything in-between, if you can find a vehicle, it’s a good thing to get behind the wheel. That’s especially true when you need to outrun the storm. Of course, vehicles can make you a quick target but there is a little likelihood that anyone not inside a vehicle will catch up to you.
Battle Lab
Battle Lab is a great mode to introduce yourself to the map. You can learn the location of maps, chests (full of good weapons and health) but most importantly, it helps familiarize you with being able to quickly build cover. You don’t need to spend too much time here as you want to put your skills to the test but a little bit of time can go a long way.
Battle Pass
If there is anything immediately identifiable about Fortnite, it’s that you can play as a massive number of characters. From “Peely” aka the banana suit to a host of movie and video game characters past and present, there has been no shortage of character options. You can purchase “vbux” to buy them as a standalone but to really upgrade your character, you will want the battle pass.
Generally, around $9.99 depending on where you play, you will level up and earn new skins, gliders, harvesting tools, loading screens, gliders and so much more. Not to mention more emotes! Parents who play Fortnite are unquestionably familiar with vbux but for beginners, this can be a quick and easy way to really earn some fun character elements.
Final Thoughts
Getting started with Fortnite can be very daunting, and you almost guaranteed to get killed very often at the starting point. With this guide, hopefully, you are more prepared to take on the world.
