Fortnite Tips for beginners

When Fortnite was released by Epic Games a few years ago, it literally took the game by storm. The battle royale was all over the news and was being further popularized by online and mainstream culture, which even forced an attraction to the game from some of the globe’s most famous celebrities, Drake and Travis Scott for example.

At present, that initial hype for Fortnite has certainly died down but the game remains as one of the most popular still. As a battle royale game, Fortnite involves 100 players landing on a huge map and fighting it out until the last man is left alive.  

Players are encouraged to engage in combat due to the fact that areas of the map are being slowly closed off because of the storm. The storm is a bit like an unstoppable force field that closes in on the players with speed and if players are caught within the storm, they will lose a certain amount of health per second until it is lights out.

Over the years, players have fostered several techniques and methods on how to win Fortnite games but above all, it is the fundamental skills that make up Fortnite’s core that ultimately allow players to win games. 

What made Fortnite hugely successful was the fact that the game was bright and vibrant from a visual perspective, but also Epic incorporated an exciting new way for players to challenge one another that was unique from just two people engaging in a gunfight. There are of course weapons in the game and you must use them to eliminate other players, but Fortnite’s building element is what really made it so uniquely fantastic.

But if you are reading this article, then there is a high chance that you already know what Fortnite is and how to play it, and even if you are a regular player and familiar with the game, this information could still prove to be useful for you.

 

So, without further ado, here is our list of Fortnite tips for beginners:

This may seem like an obvious tip, but it is often overlooked and the most common way that players tend to die from at the very start of Fortnite matches. Knowing where to land and making it out alive from your starting point is the most crucial part of your games and so, you must take the time to calculate it.

When the game loads and you are on the Battle Bus, you have enough time to choose a location on the map and proceed to land there. 

Ultimately, the decision of where to land is down to you and your playstyle; if you like to play aggressively and want experience in gun fights and build battles, then you should aim to land at a hotspot to engage in combat straight away.

However, if you like to take the game slowly and want to edge in towards the final circles on the outskirts of the map, then it would be wise for you to land somewhere a bit more obscure and less popular. This way, you have enough time to farm resources and collect loot in preparation for the ending battles.

As with a lot of competitive video games, audio is there for a reason and must be listened to at all times for success in the game. When it comes to shooter games, footsteps are the biggest giveaway of player locations and this is no different for Fortnite.

Always remain alert and listen out for running on the map around you. If you are walking or are standing still and there is a player nearby who has no information of your whereabouts, then they might be running towards you and you will hear them before they see you. This can give you the time you need to prepare yourself to eliminate them from the game.

On the contrary, if you are the player on the attack, then it could be worth preventing yourself from running and using the corresponding button to walk and silence your footsteps. This way, you give the enemy no information on where you could be which enables you to burst out and surprise unexpecting enemies. 

As well as footsteps, you should also listen out for the sounds of building, the destruction of terrain via a pickaxe and the sound of chests/doors being opened or closed. All of these little casual sounds that players make can be used to your advantage if you listen carefully to try and identify which direction the sound is coming from. It is always worth picking up a suitable pair of headphones if you are serious about wanting to improve at Fortnite.

As mentioned in the previous tip, Fortnite is a game that requires the player to constantly be alert and astute no matter where you are on the map. As there are 99 other players who load into the game with you, there is no telling where all of these players could be on the map at any given time.

You may find yourself entering a location and ravenously looting with no worries about being ambushed, because when you arrived, the buildings looked like they were untouched and the ambience was dead. 

This is an incorrect assumption and you should never get complacent in Fortnite. Despite how unlively a place may seem, you just never know who could be around and that is why you should always be prepared to fight if need be. 

That is another thing too – you can spot actual traps in the game before walking right into them so be sure to look around on ceilings and walls when you are searching a building for loot.

No matter where you are on the map, this philosophy should be applied: always expect the unexpected. Be alert and ready for anything at all times and never let your guard down; letting your guard down will get you killed.

Not paying close attention to the storm’s movements is another common mistake that players make which ends up with them dying prematurely. Dying as a result of the storm has to be the most demotivating way to be eliminated from a Fortnite game, but it seems to happen a lot more than it should.

If you have had a particularly action packed game, then it is possible for you to overlook the storm and how quickly it is moving, all whilst you are under the pressure of survival. That is why the storm timers are displayed on the screen and the game tells you when and where the storm will be moving to next.

To prevent yourself from dying, try to give yourself at least a full minute of time to move to the next location in order for you to be in a safe place when the next circle is revealed. Contrarily, you could always take a guess with your landing and try to land in the middle of where you think the final circles may be. 

Try to avoid fighting if you are chasing to stay in the circle whilst being chased by the storm. This will almost always result in you dying or you losing a teammate, if you are playing with friends, and it is virtually impossible to revive someone and for both of you to make it out alive when the storm is behind you.

Getting loot is the most fun aspect of the game and it is important that you are aware of what is what. Loot is mostly gained from chests which are sometimes out in the open and at other times hidden in the attic of a building, in the basement or behind some kind of wall that you must hack down to get access to. 

The closer you are to a chest, the more sound you will hear coming from it and all chests make the same sound. It is from these chests that you can get some of the strongest and coolest loot in the game. Be sure to open as many chests as you can for the highest chance of the best drops, but never risk your life for one – it won’t be worth it!

Loot is divided into six colours – learn them and you won’t waste your time trying to get to a blue item when you already have a set of purples:

Having a smart setup means having the right weapons in your inventory and having enough resources/building materials. Remember, if you have two weapons of the same kind in your inventory, it is wholly inefficient to do so as the weapons will use the same ammo at the same rate and you will effectively be wasting a spot in your inventory.

That is why it is important to know what to have in your inventory and you do not need more than 3-4 weapons at all times. Ensure that you have an assortment of weapons, such as an Assault Rifle, an SMG and a Shotgun for close quarter combat. If you like sniping, then you can opt for a Sniper Rifle too but it is not always necessary.

The last few slots of your inventory should be saved for consumables, such as med kits, bandages and shield potions. Shield potions are the most important out of the three and you must always be shielded whenever you can. Drink shield potions immediately when you get them and remember to divide them between your teammates if you have multiple.

You can only drink two mini shield potions per person and they may only be used to revitalize the first 50 points of your shield bar, so if you have a stack of mini shield potions, be sure to divy them up between you and your buddies.

In general, the more valuable the consumable is, the longer it will take to consume. When using your potions or health kits, try to remain in cover so you are not shot at whilst doing so. A good way of doing this is to build some walls around you to keep you safe for a few seconds; it is always better to be safe and maximize the use of your potions than to be sorry.

Unlike many multiplayer shooter games, the aim of Fortnite is not to see how many kills you can get in the space of time, but to see how long you can survive for. That is why it is worth noting to only take fights you know you can win.

This may be hard to do as you cannot always measure somebody’s skill level by how they are shooting. That is why building is so important, because a player’s building skills are often a good signal of how experienced they are.

If you are witnessing a player who is building extremely quickly and in a complicated fashion, then it may be worth trying to disengage from the fight and flee. I know – it may not suit everyone’s playstyle, but whilst you are learning the ropes, you need to try and survive as best as you can. 

In any other case, if you are in a duo/squad, then you should attack together to maximize the chances of you winning a fight. Try to coordinate with your teammates as best as you can and it is always worth focusing on the same enemy or the closest one first. If you shoot together, you can down them quicker and move on to his teammates.

During a fight, the player who has a vantage point and superior height over the other is almost always more likely to come out on top of their opponent. Fortnite is a game where players benefit off of shooting below at enemies and that is why the sole objective of build battle is to try and gain height on your enemy. 

You can build fortresses to hide in or you camp on hills or other elevated spots on the map, but try to always have some cover as this often leaves you susceptible to sniper rifles. 

 

Well, there you have it. That concludes our list of Fortnite tips for beginners and you should now know all of the basics required to start seeing some Victory Royales. If you would like to know more tips specifically on how to win more Fortnite games, be sure to check out our guide here. 

With all else being said, we hope you learned something from this guide and stay tuned for more in the future. As always, good luck in your games and go out there and win!