All the big changes coming in Fortnite Wilds
The Fortnite island has gone prehistoric, so load up your Indiana Jones skin and get ready to ride a velociraptor in Fortnite Wilds.
The center of Fortnite’s island has collapsed, revealing a long-forgotten prehistoric jungle full of ancient temples, dinosaurs, and even a new Mythic item. These are all of the changes in Fortnite Wilds on release day. The new season of Fortnite arriving marks Chapter 4 Season 3 of Fortnite. Chapter 4 has seen the island updated with a new time period represented in each season’s mechanics.
New areas of the map
The middle of the island has collapsed inwards, revealing an ancient forest with abandoned ruins throughout. This has taken a massive swath of the center of the island and completely changed the environment around it. Three new named locations and lots of rainforest terrain in between have been added. The three new named locations are Rumble Ruins, Creeky Compound, and Shady Stilts. Each of them offers a different environment with new things to discover.
Rumble Ruins
Rumble Ruins is smack-dab in the middle of the map and consists of a large ruin surrounded by mud and forests. There’s a named Point of Interest claim area on the west side, and a large ruin at the eastern portion. The most interesting thing about this new location is a vault in the bottom of the ruin that can give access to fantastic loot. Heading down the stairs inside the ruin, one can find a glowing vault door. Submitting an Epic or Legendary item to the door will open the vault, showering players with high-tier loot and rewards in the room beyond. There’s also an NPC that can reveal the next storm circle or be hired, both for gold.
Creeky Compound
Creeky Compound lies to the north of Rumble Ruins, and it divided by a river into two sections of compound, with scattered buildings on the hills above. On the west side of the river is a cargo yard surrounded by a fence, and two small hangars, as well as a radio tower outpost. Across the river sit two multi-floor buildings with plenty of loot, and outposts on the hills and cliffs above. Vines crisscross the compound, functioning essentially as grind rails.
Shady Stilts
This named Point of Interest location lives up to its name, with high cliffs above a muddy morass. Ziplines crisscross from buildings above the muck. There’s also a secret vault to the northeast of the buildings that offers tons of loot. This vault entrance is surrounded by statues, one of which will open the entrance. Which statue is the correct one is randomly determined. The correct statue opens the door, and chests beyond
Kinetic Boomerang
The Kinetic Boomerang is the new Kinetic item for this season. It’s an Epic item that can be found in the new biome created by the collapse of areas around the new Points of Interest. In particular, it can be found on weapon racks inside many of the ruins in the area. Firing the Kinetic Boomerang throws it out in a looping arc, from which it will it return after a delay. If it hits a player, it will immediately turn around and return to the player. While the Kinetic Boomerang is in the air, it can be reactivated to do damage in an AoE and return.
This weapon seems like an important part of how the season will play out, much like the Shockwave Hammer and Kinetic Blade before it.
New Mythic weapon: Cybertron Cannon
The new Mythic weapon is straight out of Transformers, the Cybertron Cannon. This is an incredibly powerful AoE cannon that can be found throughout the new area. The Cybertron Cannon comes with two shots, and has to be charged up before firing. On release, it sends out a large spheroid projectile that explodes upon impact, dealing significant area damage. Be careful with it though, as the Cybertron Cannon can damage the user if it hits something close enough.
Thermal DMR
There are two new weapons being added in Fortnite Wilds, the first of which is the Thermal DMR. This is another Designated Marksman Rifle, distinguished by its scope offering a thermal view of the map. The DMR family tends to be one of the most popular weapon choices whenever it shows up, and this will likely be the same. This is available as a drop from all chests as a normal weapon.
Flapjack Rifle
Despite its goofy name, the Flapjack Rifle is nothing to be laughed at. The Flapjack’s name comes from the flat, disc-shaped top-insert magazine. This rifle is a high-rate-of-fire machine gun that is surprisingly effective at both middle and short ranges. A mythic version of this rifle is available from Highcard boss Vaults, which require a keycard from the boss. This weapon is an amazing tool in multi-person groups as well as in solo play.
Wildwasp Jar
A new type of thrown consumable, similar to grenades, the Wildwasp Jar has been added in Fortnite Wilds. Throwing a Wildwasp Jar will make it explode upon impact, filling the air around it with Wildwasps. Players that get tagged by this ongoing damage will be chased by the Wildwasps for a duration or until they jump in water or slide in mud.
Mud
The new zone is plenty muddy, and that muck is a mechanic you’ll want to use to your advantage. Sliding in mud will cover you in it, granting several advantages. Not only do Wildwasps ignore you while you’re covered in mud, but you also gain mobility benefits. While covered in mud, you slide extra fast. This will lead to high-octane fights speeding across the map and around obstacles. It also gives players camouflage, allowing them to blend in with their background while in the muddy area.
Unvaulted Weapons
Two weapons have been unvaulted. The first is the Drum Shotgun, a high ammo-capacity shotgun that has always excelled at close range. It’s available in Common to Legendary in the open world, but there’s a Mythic version available. This gun is replacing the Mythic Pulse Rifle weapon as one of the drops from the Loot Islands that rift into the game partway through each map.
The second unvaulted gun is the Combat SMG, which can be found as a Common to Legendary in the open world. There’s no Mythic version of this gun currently available anywhere.
New plants added in Fortnite Wilds
There are three new plants being added in the new zone, the Bomb Flower, Stink Flower, and Slurp Plants. Each of them function exactly how their name indicates. Striking the Bomb Flower blows it up, the Stink Flower deploys a Stink cloud that hurts players, and the Slurp Plant heals. There’s a fourth plant that sticks around after use, Hop Flowers. These boost players that hop on them, letting them skip through the woods with ease.
Velociraptors
Saving the best for last, the new zone is filled with Velociraptors and Velociraptor eggs. These dinosaurs can be tamed or hatched to turn them into high-speed mounts with huge jumps that can help get you between locations at a breakneck pace.
Those are all of the biggest changes in Fortnite Wilds, so get out there and get exploring!
Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.
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