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Sunday, May 27, 2018

Fortnite Battle Royale news and updates: what’s new in Fortnite Season 4

What's new on the island?


[Update: Jetpacks have arrived in Fortnite! Read more about them and the latest update (4.2) below. They won't be around forever so make sure you make the best of them while you can.]

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?

After a small delay Patch v4.2 has arrived! It's not the biggest update in the world but it does bring some interesting new items and weapons to keep your battle royales fresh. 

The most exciting addition is of course, jetpacks. They've been coming for a while now and they've finally arrived but they won't be around forever so make sure you make the most of them while you can. They can be found in treasure chests and mark the introduction of a new kind of item: backpacks. 

Backpacks will now take an inventory slot of their own alongside weapons and consumables and only one backpack can be carried at a time. 

In preparation for the impending summer season, Fortnite 4.2 brings in a brand new foraging item: apples! The nice kind, not the Snow White kind. If you can bear to come out of cover and you need to increase your health (by 5), you'll now find them scattered under trees around the map.

There's also a brand new weapon: the burst assault rifle. Using medium ammo, this new weapon dishes out 32/33 damage. You'll now find it as floor loot, inside Treasure Chests, in Supply Drops, and in Vending Machines.

In terms of gameplay, you now have the option to turn on a feature called 'auto pickup' in the settings menu. When this is turned on, walking over items and consumables will automatically put them into an open inventory slot that you have. 

Outside of that, you can expect to see the usual wide range of bug fixes and performance improvements which can be read in detail in the official patch notes. 

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  and the Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack 2 which include a host of cosmetic items and are available across all platforms.

The first pack includes two exclusive gliders and outfits: the Havoc Outfit and Back Bling, plus the Sub Commander Outfit and Slipstream Glider.  The second pack contains three exclusive items for Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode including the camouflage-heavy Trailblazer Outfit, the True North Back Bling, and the Tenderizer Pickaxe. There’s also a brand new dance emote for those that like the dance floor as much as the battleground. 

The packs can only be claimed on a single platform, but they can be shared across PC/console and mobile as long as you use the same Epic account across these platforms. You can’t however, share your loot across PS4 and Xbox One even if you are using the same Epic account. 



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