After a few days of confusing silence and nothingness, Fortnite has emerged from the black hole that engulfed the game with plenty of new changes in tow. Fortnite Chapter 2 isn’t a completely different beast from previous seasons–it’s still the battle royale you remember–but there’s still lots of new content to weed through. Below, we’ve outlined the biggest changes.
For those who haven’t been keeping track, Fortnite: Battle Royale recently disappeared into a black hole and went offline. After more than a day of nothingness and the occasional appearance of random numbers, the battle royale returned with a major update across all platforms. Rather than follow tradition and transition into Season 11 however, the battle royale took a more transformative approach and pushed forward into the first season of its second chapter.
Timeline: Start Date, End Date
Fortnite Chapter 2 is officially live across all platforms, so you can jump into the new content right now regardless of where you play Epic’s battle royale. Fortnite: Battle Royale is available on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.
Season 1 of Chapter 2 continues until December 12, which is slightly shorter than the traditional Fortnite season. Remember, seasonal rewards are only available during their respective seasons. If something catches your fancy this season, you have until December 12 to earn it.
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New Map, More Water
The most notable change for Chapter 2 is the brand-new map. Granted, the map isn’t entirely new, as Chapter 2’s map utilizes several of the landmarks from Fortnite’s original battleground–such as Salty Springs, Pleasant Park, and Retail Row. There are adjustments to their overall layout, but many sections are just repurposed from the original map. So this new map isn’t new to the same extent as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s Alcatraz or Apex Legends‘ World’s Edge.
That said, there are some noticeable changes in the layout of Fortnite’s new map. Specifically, the new map places a larger emphasis on water, adding several interconnected rivers, lakes, and beaches. This creates an added emphasis on positional awareness, as your escape from the approaching zone wall or planned flank of an enemy squad has a higher chance of being impeded by water.
If you don’t want to glide over the water or swim across it, Chapter 2 introduces a new vehicle to Fortnite: the boat. Boats can carry a squad and they’re much faster than swimming. However, they’re noisy, alerting all nearby squads to your position with their loud motors.
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You Can Fish Now
Water isn’t just an added navigational obstacle to the new map, though. It presents a brand-new way to acquire resources as well. With a fishing rod, you can now hook yourself some impressive loot–ranging from Epic-tier weapons to magically healing fish. Fishing also helps you level up in Chapter 2, Season 1’s battle pass.
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Brand-New Battle Pass And Challenges
Speaking of the battle pass, there’s a new one for you to level up in. Just like with previous seasons, the battle pass costs 950 V-Bucks (roughly $10 USD) and offers 100 tiers of rewards to earn, including cosmetic skins, wraps, back bling, loading screens, and a whole lot more. If you want a head start, you can purchase the first 25 levels with the battle pass bundle for 2,800 V-Bucks (roughly $30 USD).
As usual, completing weekly challenges will allow you to level up in the battle pass and unlock its rewards. However, Chapter 2, Season 1’s battle pass offers a bunch of new ways to rank up–such as the aforementioned fishing–providing several alternative avenues for acquiring the rewards you want. Other than fishing, you’ll also rank up in the battle pass by looting chests, killing opponents, harvesting materials, and surviving into the late-game of each match. This new battle pass does go beyond level 100 as well, though it’s unclear what you earn for doing so.
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Weapon Upgrades
The materials you find in-game are no longer solely used for creating structures. You can now use them to upgrade your weapons via an upgrade bench. You can find one in Craggy Cliffs, with others scattered throughout the map. We have yet to determine if there’s a randomness to where they spawn though.
To provide an example, say you have a weapon with a Common rarity and plenty of leftover materials. At an upgrade bench, you can exchange that Common weapon alongside 50 wood, 50 stone, and 50 metal to acquire an Uncommon variation of the weapon you submitted.
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