After ignoring one of the most popular games in the world for the past two years and now that I’m starting my journey at NOVOS, I decided to take Fortnite seriously. I jumped into Chapter 2 with no prior knowledge of the game. All I knew was that its a battle royale with construction mechanics. How tough could it be?
Since Fortnite BR doesn’t have any tutorial I ended up learning things the hard way. I found out that the game is a lot more complicated than I expected and if I want to get my first battle royale victory, I need to do some real practicing and seek some help from the outside.
Here are 5 things I’ve learned during my first week:
1.Be aware of the storm — It’s easy to get caught up in the fun off looting materials and weapons without noticing you are about to get wiped. Too many times I didn’t pay attention to the storm counter so I tried desperately, and without any success, to outrun the storm. The current lack of vehicles or mobility options and the slow running speed can be frustrating when you try to race against the clock, but now I always watch the zone’s timer which helps me to manage my time much more wisely.
2. Building is a super important — You can play the game without utilizing the power of building but it will place you at such a huge disadvantage that won’t get you far. Every time I encountered an above-average player who started building upwards to gain the high ground, I knew the fight was over before a single shot was fired. I noticed that players started protecting themselves with walls the second they got hit. I figured that practicing basic building techniques (immediately walls around me and boxing myself, building ramps with walls in front) in creative mode is necessary for success, especially in the late parts of the match.
3. Loot carefully — In a game where you will find yourself in countless combat situations, each one different from the other, inventory management is crucial. Picking up 3 shotguns and 2 fishing poles in my first match just because they were the first items I found was a bad idea. To be ready for every kind of encounter I needed to arm myself with Close (Shotguns, SMGs Pistols), Medium (AR, Burst AR) and Long Range (Snipers/Rocket Launcher) weapons as well as some utility items (any healing item — currently Fishes are best! Or a Fishing Rod to catch some).
4. Don’t focus on winning — Focusing on only trying to win (staying alive until the end) is not effective in the long run. When I first started playing, hiding in bushes and dumpsters were my main activity. So I survived for a pretty long time but I died quickly on my first encounter with an enemy. I realized that the best way to sharpen my combat skills quickly is to jump right into the battle as soon as the match starts and fight as many enemies as I can, no winning in mind. Practice makes perfect.
5. Change your settings to make your life easier — Some good tip I gained from watching better players play, is to change my keybinds to a new layout. Tweaking my keybinds and assigning each structure to different keys helped me build faster and with more efficiency (For me it’s X-Floor Q- Stairs, Z-Roof, F-Wall but I’m still testing out different layouts!). Experiment with different layouts to find the one who works best for you!
Also, comfortable mouse sensitivity is a key part of aiming and fast building/editing. Using target practice in creative and exploring different sensitivity options in-game will help you get the most out of your gameplay.
I recommend watching this comprehensive setting guide by ItsJerian to help you get started!
