Fortnite Season 8 is now live on all platforms. With the Battle Pass free for those who previously completed the overtime challenges, Fortnite is now getting back to being the most watched game over the weekend. The “ESL Katowice Royale” did help boost the viewership, but Season 8 has got Epic back in action.
This new season features a volcano, pirate cannons and much more. There seems to be a large crack developing towards the center starting from the north portion of the map. We might see the whole map split into separate islands as the days pass by. Data miners will be releasing leaks throughout this week to give a glimpse of what’s to come. Keep following our News and Updates section to keep up with the latest Fortnite leaks.
Anchors aweigh! Downtime for Season 8 begins now. ⚓
Dive into the Patch Notes to learn the ropes of what’s on the horizon! https://t.co/1fslbzsKWC pic.twitter.com/s4CxJrVHOW
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 28, 2019
Season 8 Patch Notes – Key Highlights
Drop to Sunny Steps and have some fun in the ? – new on the Battle Royale map! pic.twitter.com/4XWbUCJHy9
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) March 2, 2019
New Locations
Three new locations have arrived in this season’s battle royale map. The Volcano, Sunny Steps and Lazy Lagoon are the three new places and they can be found at the Wailing woods end of the map. Wailing woods along with a few other places such as the Haunted Hills and Tomato Temple have been removed.
Weapons
Launch into battle with the new Canons in Battle Royale! ? pic.twitter.com/3zhnzBME4g
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 28, 2019
Pirate Cannon: This cannon is the only new weapon introduced into the game in Season 8. Players can launch themselves or explosive cannons over great distances causing damage to opponents and structures. The pirate cannon can be found all over the map and can be moved about to get a perfect shot.
Vaulted Weapons and Items:
- Sneaky snowman
- Chiller grenade
- X-4 Stormwing
- ATK
- Shopping carts.
Gameplay and UI Changes
Party Assist for Challenges: Players can now tag along with their friends to keep track and complete weekly challenges with this new feature.
Enable new Party Assist prior to a match and complete Daily or Weekly challenges with the help of your squad! You and your party members will add progress to the selected challenge. ? pic.twitter.com/66h7tAmsct
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) March 1, 2019
Volcanic Vents and Lava: Volcanic vents are capable of launching a player up in the air. This gives the player increased mobility. Lava and volcanic vents can be found near the volcano. Touching the lava will cost a player 1hp.
Dangerous majesty. ?
A new Volcano has risen on the Battle Royale map! Drop to it and explore – just watch out for magma. pic.twitter.com/OB2XAUQ41b
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) February 28, 2019
World Markers Introduced
Epic has decided to introduce an Apex Legends style ping system into the game. Players can now use the “Place Marker” feature in-game to mark and alert teammates. While aiming down sight, using the place-marker feature will place a red marker alerting teammates that there is an enemy at that spot. Double tapping the place-marker function also places a red marker.
Playground Mode Updated
Playground mode now has a welcome lobby which features rifts into each town of the battle royale map. Creative Islands have also been added in the lobby allowing for more than 4 players to join the game. This addition to the game allows players to host fun sessions on multiple islands featuring a variety of game modes.
How's this for arts and crafts? ? Rock out with the @Weezer Jukebox Feature Island in #FortniteCreative! pic.twitter.com/ISD8lLjNkU
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) March 1, 2019
A patch fixing a lot of issues that initially existed at the launch of season 8 is now available on PC & console. Not every platform has received an update, but Epic will make the update available to all users by next week.
What is your take on Season 9? Have you visited all the new locations on the map? Let us know in the comments below.