Epic Games shocked the gaming community by bringing the massively popular Fortnite Battle Royale to an end. An in-game event triggered rockets and rift portals to spawn and essentially blow up the map players have been fighting on for 10 seasons and leaving players with nothing more than a black hole for the past two days. Earlier today, Epic's master plan finally came to fruition as Chapter 2 officially launched and made sweeping changes across the board.


Following the Fortnite black hole screen, players have arrived on a brand new map with 13 locations to explorer including new spots like a power plant, beaches, and more. The map also brings back a few fan favorite locations like Salty Springs and Pleasant Park. However, the biggest changes in Chapter 2 involve the gameplay.




While the third person shooting remains intact, Fortnite Chapter 2 adds in new ways to play including being able to use boats, carry fallen allies, cause structural damage, and even go fishing. The launch trailer even teases new gadgets and tools like the Bandage Bazooka, a support weapon that fires healing bursts at allied players. Players can now pretend they're in Assassin's Creed by hiding in haystacks and new traversal options includes swimming rather than running through big bodies of water.




According to Epic Games, the ultimate goal of this update is to reduce the grind and increase the fun. Fortnite now features a more streamlined weapon arsenal and players now have more control over their gear by being able to upgrade weapons using gathered reimgs at a new workbench. The XP and Medal Systems have been completely overhauled as well, intended to be more player friendly by rewarding more experience for doing things to help players climbing through each level of the new Battle Pass.


The change of pace likely comes at an opportune time as many of its competitors are also introducing major changes as well. Apex Legends is about to kick off a Halloween event, though the Battle Royale game set in the Titanfall universe just introduced a new playable character as well as an all new map. Fortnite's other top competitor, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, also added crossplay, the ability to auto-equip weapon attachments, as well as a a free to play version called PUBG Lite. This version is a feature complete, though graphically reduced experience that is intended for players who may not be able to meet the minimum requirements of the base game.


Fortnite is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices.









Tags:
PC,
Mobile,
Epic Games,
PS4,
Fortnite,
Xbox One