Fortnite Battle Royale news and updates: what’s new in Fortnite Season 4
[Update: Today's the day Marvel fans: Thanos is dropping into Fortnite for a limited time as a playable character. Read on to find out more.]
You've probably noticed, but Battle Royale games are big news at the moment. One of the biggest of the Battle Royale titles available is Fortnite Battle Royale from Epic Games.
Available for free on PC, Xbox One and PS4, Fortnite Battle Royale supports up to 100 players at a time in a game, either playing as individuals or in squads of up to four. When starting up, you're thrown onto an island with no weapons or armor and you must scavenge for supplies and fight for your life to be the last man or squad standing at the end of the game.
Like most Battle Royale games, Fortnite is split into matches of varying length with a map that shrinks as the match progresses, forcing players closer together.
Epic Games actively works on Fortnite Battle Royale, making regular changes through patches and updates. Here you'll be able to find the latest changes to the game.
What's the latest Fortnite update?
Hitting like a comet is update 4.0, bringing with it the much anticipated Season 4. The meteors that have been hanging in the sky have landed, along with some pretty major changes.
The biggest change is the map, with comet fragments landing across several different locations, hitting the region known as Dusty Depot hardest, and narrowly avoiding Tilted Towers, which many people speculated was going to be the eventual landing point.
The comet has brought with it Hop Rocks, little fragments that – when consumed – give the user anti-gravity abilities. Sounds a little like flight doesn't it? A bit superhero-y?
Well, all the not so subtle superhero references in the teasers have finally been explained with a new story mode called 'Blockbuster! Part 1' which starts with five quests and a Landmark Mission where you have to track down Ray with the help of Spitfire and Lok, recruiting a team of superheroes along the way.
We speculated that there was going to be a DC team-up because the characters in the teasers looked more than a little like heroes from the comic creator, but so far there's no mention of a partnership.
The new heroes confirmed in the patch notes are a mythic soldier called Raven that is in the subclass Nevermore, and eight 'Shadow ops' heroes.
But it's not just new heroes, theres a new area too. In the north of the island is an area called Risky Reels which is the drive-in cinema shown in the Season 4 trailer.
Other updates worthy of note are that there's no longer a limit on the amount of Emotes and Sprays you can carry with you, you can now destroy all structures on the starting island (except the Battle Bus), and headshots have now been prioritised, even if another small body part gets in the way of the shot - such as a hand.
There's also an exciting new limited time mode which completely flies in the face of our previous wonderings about a DC mash up by bringing in Marvel's Avengers. Well, specifically it brings in Thanos.
Launching on May 8, the new limited time mode called 'Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mash Up', will drop 100 players into the map alongside the Thanos' super powerful gauntlet (which also looks a little like kids' jewellery let's face it). The players that manages to get their hand into the gauntlet will take the form of Thanos and, as a result, will be pretty damn powerful. Punch all the things!
Power comes at a price, though, so you won't be able to build, use weapons or items. If a player manages to take Thanos out, the gauntlet will be dropped and someone else will be able to pick it up. It's not clear just how limited this limited time mode is but we're sure plenty of people are already involved.
These are the most notable changes but you can also access the patch notes in full.
What's coming up in Fortnite?
Fortnite is a game that undergoes frequent updates so week-by-week you can expect to see patches which either squash bugs or make small changes to gameplay that improve the overall game experience.
In the long term, Epic Games has said that it’s planning to make improvements to social features and Limited Time Modes as well as add Custom Matches. But, for right now, we've just had a major update, so we imagine the next few updates will be working out the teething issues and bugs from update 4.0.
Can I play Fortnite on mobile?
Yes you can! Well, kind of. Fortnite is definitely coming to mobiles and some iOS owners can play it already but the rollout is slow and it'll be a couple of months before it comes to Android.
Who can play Fortnite on mobile?
Right now, Epic is sending out invites to iOS device owners who have signed up on the official Fortnite site. For testing a server scaling, these invites are being rolled out steadily before a full release. A few months from now, Android owners will be able to access the game to. But at the moment, it's a selection of iOS players.
If you sign up on the site now you will get an invite eventually and as long as you're using iOS 11 on iPhone 6S/SE, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad 2017, iPad Pro devices or later you'll be fine. Oh, and you'll need an internet connection naturally.
Is it the full game?
It is the full Fortnite game. There are some small differences: it’s not quite as visually impressive as it is on more powerful devices, the controls are touchscreen, and a lot of audio cues have been made visual so you can play comfortably in public without the need for headphones. But you won’t be missing out on any features.
What's the deal with cross-play?
Though Xbox One and PS4 owners can't play the game together, these consoles can play with PC and mobile devices. So if you've got friends that prefer PC, others that prefer console and you're off on holiday with your mobile, you can still all play together. Just as long as there's not one friend that dared to buy a different console from everyone else.
There's also cross-progression. So, if you're logged into your Fortnite account on mobile playing and you later log into your console to play, everything you did on mobile later that day is carried over.
Sounds great, how do I get it?
We have a guide on how to get Fortnite on mobile on TechRadar and we're constantly updating it with the latest rollout news. If your device isn't there yet, keep checking back and one day it probably will be.
What's the deal with Fortnite account hacking?
Over the past couple of weeks, Fortnite players have been reporting that their accounts have been compromised and purchases are being made in their name with their money without their permission. Epic has said that it's aware of the problem and suspects phishing scams rather than an elaborate hacks. It encourages any players who believe their account has been affected to contact its support center immediately.
Before it gets to that point, there are some steps you can take to keep your account safe. The first of these is to read the Epic account security bulletin. Next, you ought to make sure that you have a strong original password and two-factor sign in. Outside of this, ensure you keep an eye on your transactions and acting on any suspicious activity early.
What's a Battle Pass?
The Battle Pass is a purchasable item in Fortnite that gives you access to exclusive in-game rewards.
As players complete daily challenges and level up their rank, they earn Battle Stars which can then be used to unlock Tiers in their Battle Pass. Each new Tier you unlock will bring both Free and Premium rewards. The Tiers vary from season to season but in season three you get around 100 items in each Battle Pass which can take anywhere between 75 and 150 hours of play to unlock.
Everyone that has a Battle Pass will get the Free reward they unlock, but only Premium Pass holders will get the Premium reward. Battle Pass Premium can only be purchased with in-game V bucks and not with real money.
You can purchase a Battle Pass for around £7/$10 in the Battle Pass tab of the game’s menu.
Twitch Prime benefits
Those who use Twitch Prime and play Fortnite will be glad to know that they have access to free loot right now. Those with a Prime account can claim the Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack which includes a host of cosmetic items and is available across all platforms.
The pack includes two exclusive gliders and outfits: the Havoc Outfit and Back Bling, plus the Sub Commander Outfit and Slipstream Glider.
PS Plus subscribers can also download the PS4 Celebration Pack for free right now which also includes an exclusive outfit and glider.
