‘Fortnite: Battle Royale’ Brings Back 50v50, Adds Port-A-Fort Grenade, And Replay System

Epic Games released yet another Fortnite: Battle Royale update Wednesday that adds yet more features and items to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile multiplayer shooter. Players will find it easier to construct a fort, the ability to capture and create their own match replays and enjoy a second helping of 50v50. Unfortunately, fans of the Guided Missile will have to do without for a little bit due to a glitch.

The Fortnite: Battle Royale update 3.5 is available to download across all platforms.

Port-a-Fort Grenade

The new Port-a-Fort Grenade seemingly replaces the Smoke Grenade, which has been removed from the Fortnite: Battle Royale. Building forts is a huge skill that can help a player claim victory. The Port-a-Fort reduces the skill gap between those who can quickly build forts and those who can’t while also alleviating the gap caused by the on-screen control on mobile devices.

The Port-a-Fort quickly constructs a three-story tall premade fort with a door for entry and tires to bounce up to the top. This is an Epic rarity item that drops one at a time but a player can carry up to five.

Replay System

This part of the update is geared towards content creators on YouTube and elsewhere to share their memorable Fortnite: Battle Royale highlights and create their own cinematics. Players will be able to save an entire match, watch it from several different camera angles which includes the ability to detach from the character and free roam around the island.

A portable fort… it's Port-a-Fort!

Fortify yourself in seconds, all with the flick of a wrist. Coming soon… pic.twitter.com/OsPQ2LkvkV

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 10, 2018

The replay system is only available to PS4, Xbox One, and PC players to start. There is no word on if or when it will come to the mobile version.

Guided Missile Changes

The Guided Missile has become increasingly popular since it was introduced and players discovered the ability to ride missiles they fire themselves. However, it is also not hugely popular by some in the community who feel it is over-powered. Epic Games made some tweaks to the weapon in response by decreasing its turn rate by 75 percent and reducing its overall speed by 15 percent.

The developers also made several fixes to the Guided Missile, but nothing that removes the ability to ride it. Unfortunately, all these changes to the weapon caused an animation glitch. Epic Games announced via Twitter it has disabled the weapon in Fortnite: Battle Royale until the issue has been fixed.

New 50v50

The 50v50 mode introduced at the end of 2017 turned out to be quite popular and the Fortnite community has requested its return frequently. Epic Games has introduced several changes to make the mode more conducive to two large teams. It isn’t available quite yet but is promised to be “coming soon.”

These changes include putting the teams on separate buses that approach the island from different directions. There are also new indicators on the map, such as where the final storm circle will land and a dotted line to indicate “battle lines” where players are more likely to encounter enemies.

The first 10 minutes of a 50v50 match will be spent gathering resources and setting up defenses. Then the two teams will have five minutes to fight followed by another five minutes where the storm shrinks to the final circle. Additionally, resource farming has been increased 75 percent while ammo spawns at double and triple the normal rate.

Other Notables

Fortnite: Battle Royale players who use console controllers will find a new “Builder Pro” configuration available in the settings. This is optimized for faster placement of building pieces versus combat.

Meanwhile, a new squad communication wheel has been added to allow for quick squad communication without using your voice. This defaults to the ‘V’ key on PC and the right D-Pad on the controller. Mobile users will find it as part of the Emote menu.

On the weapons front, some weapons can now be equipped more quickly. This is aimed primarily at slow-firing weapons like the Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifles, and Shotguns.