When the black hole devoured the world of Fortnite, many were left stranded in confusion about the future of the game. However, after many hours of looking at that black hole and speculating stuff, we finally have the next big announcement from Epic Games. Fortnite Chapter 2 is finally out now and with it, the game is back online.
We didn’t get any official patch notes from the developer this time around though and Epic Games expects players to discover the changes themselves. Thankfully, we did the legwork for you and have a full list of all the things that have been changed for Chapter 2 of Fortnite.
1. New Map
Most of the earlier leaks pointed towards the shift to an entirely new map and we now have confirmation that we do, indeed, have moved to a different map. We finally bade farewell to the old iconic map after 10 whole seasons as it made its way into the mouth of the black hole. The new map, however, has a ton of new terrain and building features. However, when you drop into it, most of the mini-map is greyed out and it fills itself up as you explore it.
2. Boats and Rivers
In Fortnite Chapter 2, the addition of rivers and boats is hard to miss. We now have full water bodies across the map and players can traverse through them using boats. Some of these boats also have weapons on them and players can actually have naval battles in the game now.
Don’t worry if you can’t find a boat though as the players in Chapter 2 now have the ability to dive into the water and swim through it properly. We also have some neat new additions to the water physics and graphics on higher fidelity settings for the game.
3. Improved Graphics
This change has been rumored for quite some time as the minimum system requirements for Fortnite were changed a couple of months ago (read the full story here). Now, we can finally confirm that Fortnite is indeed getting graphical improvements.
The improvements have arrived in the form of better lighting and water effects. However, for the changes to be noticeable, you’ll have to crank up graphics settings to max. In addition to raw graphics, we also have some minor UI tweaks including skin icons alongside players and a progress bar at the bottom of the screen.
4. Medals and Experience
In Chapter 2, you can earn experience by not only eliminating other players, but by harvesting materials and opening chests as well. In addition to the usual XP, however, we also have a new form of progression system called Medals.
These medals are earned alongside experience points and have their own set of tiers. You can level up these medals through their tiers and fill out your punch card, presumably to unlock new stuff in the game.
5. Stealth
Apart from very apparent changes, Fortnite Chapter 2 has also brought some subtle changes to the game mechanics, including the ability to hide. Yes, we have had bushes for quite some time but the new additions are much more like environmental hiding spots in Hitman or Assassin’s Creed.
Players can now hide in dumpsters and haystacks around the map, ready to pounce on unwary players. The new additions have definitely made ambushes much more convenient to plan and players would now have to be alert at all times while roaming the map.
6. Default Skins
Along with the old map, we also bade farewell to the iconic old vanilla skins for Fortnite. If you were attached to the original characters for some reason, you’d be relieved to know that they’re still here and are just wearing different clothes.
7. Weapons and Skills
Fortnite Chapter 2 also brings a much-needed revamp to the weapons of the game. Instead of a million different weapons, we now have a much more streamlined weapon arsenal with minor additions to the basic weapon categories. Players can also upgrade their weapons now and flesh them out a bit more using materials.
Furthermore, we also have class-related weapons meaning players could now act as medics for their team. The new “bandage bazooka” can heal teammates from a distance. Players also have the ability to carry their downed teammates to safer spots before reviving them.
8. Fishing
Yes, you can actually do some fishing on the side in Fortnite Chapter 2 now. However, if you were hoping to catch a salmon for your dinner, avert your expectations. The new fishing system is used to fish weapons out of rivers instead. This would probably improve the speed of the game a lot as you won’t have to traverse through the map to look for a decent weapon.
The Fortnite Chapter 2 update just came out and some of the smaller details have yet to be discovered. However, the new changes are very exciting and bring a much needed refresh to the game.