Healing is an often neglected part of Fortnite strategy. In the rush to load up on the best gear possible while looting, players often settle for a full shield and one healing item to fall back on. However, healing in Fortnite Season 9 is just as important as any other aspect. Great aim and fast building will help you, but you’ve got to be able to recover from mistakes. This guide will run you through which healing items you should be going for and how to use your healing in more creative ways.
Healing doesn’t have to just be for getting yourself out of a bad situation. Healing can actively form a part of your strategy, with the right healing set up and some good timing, you can actually use it to allow you to play more recklessly. Pro players often heal up multiple times per game, the confidence of having a fall-back helps them make bigger plays.
Most players just focus on getting a full shield at the beginning of the game. This is your first healing concern. Following that, you need one of your inventory slots to be taken up by something to use to heal. You won’t typically need to carry more than this since eliminations should give you healing items or add some health on via the siphon. However, if you do keep an extra slot open, you can exploit the late game storms using healing items to stay ahead of the curve.
Healing Your Shield
Shields are vital for staying alive during interactions with other players. Your options for getting a full shield are limited to:
- Small Shield –These drop in stacks of three. Each takes only two seconds to drink and gives you 25 shield. These can’t be used to raise your shield above 50.
- Large Shield –Drop in stacks of one and take five seconds to drink. Each gives you 50 shield.
- Chug Jug –This is a huge healing item that takes the whole of fifteen seconds to consume These are pretty hard to find but will heal your health and shield fully.
- Slurp Juice –This heals you up to a full shield if necessary. It grants one extra shield every 0.5 seconds up to 75 if you have the space for it.
- Chug Splash –This is a new item added to the game that gives you 25 shield per splash. It is used almost instantly by throwing it like a grenade.
Once you’ve acquired your full shield, an item like a slurp juice or chug jug can really help you out later in the game. Don’t bother with small shields after the opening of a game. Large shields aren’t even particularly viable when there are better items out there. Chug Splashes can also be really helpful when you need to heal in a hurry. Since they can stack in 6s, a pile of these is going to be the best healing option if it is a little hard to find.
If you can find a Slurp Juice or Chug Jug, these are the better choices. Most players will carry some shields, so if you have to prioritise then you should avoid carrying standard shield potions over a med kit.
HP Items
As well as your shield potions, you need equipment to heal your HP. Your options are a bit more limited for HP. However, many of the better choices overlap with shield healing.
- Bandages – The most common healing item and also kind of useless. It heals you by 15 HP up to 75 HP, it takes 3.5 seconds to use and can stack up to 15. It is quick and efficient, but without healing you up all the way it is less than ideal.
- Medkit –Slightly less common than the bandages but a lot more useful. This heals your health to 100 no matter how damaged you are. It takes 10 seconds to work and you can carry up to a stack of 3.
- Cosy Campfire –This is an item you can place on the ground to heal when you’re stood by it. It heals you for up to 50 HP, adding 2 points every second. It can run for up to 25 seconds and be carried in a stack of any size.
- Chug Splash – This item will give you 25 HP points per splash. It works the same as healing your shield just for HP.
- Slurp Juice –This also works the same as when used for the shield.
What Healing Items Should You Loot?
When choosing which HP items to go for, there’s a clear winner. Of course, the Medkit is the most useful healing item. However, it can be impractical. The Slurp Juice can provide incremental healing that is invaluable in late-game situations, but a Medkit can get you out of nearly every bad situation. If you’re carrying an HP item to rely on, go for the Medkit if you can find one.
The cosy Campfire is really useful for team games. If you’re playing as a Squad or Duo, it is important that one of your team finds one of these to heal everyone up later in the game. The Chug Splash is also effective here. If you manage to find enough Chug Splashes, they are a great way to heal shield or HP for a team or Solo player.
Healing in The Storm
Healing helps you out when an encounter goes wrong but it also can be used to ride out the storm. Most players with a decent skill level probably don’t care about the storm anymore. They can easily outrun it and rarely pay much attention to it. However, with the right healing items, you can sustain yourself in the storm, which can be an effective tactic when you’re in the end game of a Fortnite match.
Using Medkits with the right timing when combined with a Slurp Juice or a Cosy Campfire can allow you to stay alive in the storm for quite a bit longer than you should be able to. In a close game, this strategy could let you clinch first place when the storm finishes off the Island. If you’re grinding for Hype points, keeping yourself alive in the storm can make all the difference.
Healing in Fortnite isn’t too complicated but players who neglect it will lose matches that they could have won. Carrying the right healing items is important for staying alive in Fortnite. However, so is aiming properly and actually getting some kills. Once you’ve stocked up on the right healing items, you also need to make sure you’re running the best settings to get the highest frames per second in Fortnite.