Ever since a moving purple cube appeared in “Fortnite Battle Royale” (2017), fans have anxiously awaited Season 6. The update, released on Sept. 27, introduced novel additions including invisibility, a werewolf costume and a floating island.
Developed by Epic Games, “Fortnite Battle Royale” has taken the world by storm. The game’s concept is simple: be the last gamer standing. One hundred players drop into a map filled with imaginative locations, such as Risky Reels, Tilted Towers and Loot Lake, and eliminate enemies in free-for-all or team settings with various weapons including rocket launchers, assault rifles and shotguns.
In past updates, Epic Games has changed locations, added and removed items and reinvented gameplay mechanics. Season 4 introduced a meteor collision on the Dusty Depot map and consumable rocks that increase jump height. Season 5 introduced players to a new desert area and all-terrain karts that can be driven around the map.
The most notable change of Season 6 is the new shadow stones: consumable items that allow players to become invisible, phase through walls and move faster. The stones become especially useful for sneak attacks as the map shrinks over the duration of the match, leaving increasingly less room for people to fight. Sneak attacks would catch opponents off guard and give players an advantage in the final circle, adding excitement and intensity to match endings. The only downside is that weapon usage is disabled with this new feature.
Also new with the update, the Loot Lake map actually hovers in the air. When players approach the whirling tornado below, they are thrusted upward onto the island. Competitors have already used the whirlwind to their advantage by gaining high ground when fighting along the edge of the island and surprising unsuspecting foes from above.
In addition, a spooky castle has appeared on the Haunted Hills map that offers new locations for loot and materials. Though not the most exciting aspect of the update, it gives players a new field to play on. With so many different rooms, it’ll be difficult for players to tell where the sound of footsteps is coming from, making gameplay more interesting.
Fortnite also solved the Wailing Woods bunker mystery, now accessible through a chute at the center of the hedge maze. This will lead to stressful combat encounters because the only way to escape is by slowly building to the top.
Along with gameplay changes, new cosmetic options are available for player avatars. From a wild-west cowgirl to a fairy-tale themed character named Fable, players are bound to find something that suits them. If skins aren’t enough, players can also carry pets. Bonesy the dog, Scales the dragon and Camo the chameleon, available to players who progress through the Battle Pass, sit atop players’ backpacks and react to their surroundings. When knocked down or in a fight, Bonesy growls and Camo changes color depending on what level of weapon is picked up. Though seemingly useless, new skins allow players to customize their characters while pets provide companionship during gameplay.
On the technical side of updates, Epic Games has added a number of audio enhancements: enemy footsteps are louder, players can hear opponents opening or closing their gliders more clearly and the sounds of grenades and missile weapons are now more recognizable. These additions make it easier for players to predict what’s coming their way and to prepare for attack, but also make it harder to surprise opponents.
Although there are many advantages to the new update, there do seem to be a lack of new locations. Past updates have brought entirely new cities, so it would have been nice to see a new environment on the map. In addition, there was a brief hiccup where only days after the update, Epic Games had to disable the shadow stones due to technical issues. Though this was a little disappointing for many people who’d been ready to try them out they have since been re-enabled. Overall, it feels as though more could have been done with the Season 6 update in the realm of additions to the game.
The updates have already given players more opportunities to have fun and get creative throughout the game. They keep players hooked for more. With the changes already implemented in Season 6, I am excited to see what the rest of the season has in store. In the meantime, players can enjoy experimenting with the shadow stones and floating island as they wait to see what comes next in this epic game.
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