Fortnite is a game that includes a lot more than just firefights. Yet shooting efficiently is central to most play strategies. The usual response to anyone struggling with firefights is to drop into Tilted Towers for some practice. This is good advice if you’re not stuck for time. However, you’re going to be spending a lot of time dying quickly. Instant deaths can get old fast.
If you can shoot at a decent level sometimes but still want to avoid firefights, then there are other strategies that you can try. There are alternative tactics for winning a Battle Royale and keeping fighting to an absolute minimum. These will require you to think a little more tactically than running in all guns blazing. It’ll emphasize building instead of shooting, put a greater focus on your scavenging, and involve quite a bit of stealth. Fortnite doesn’t traditionally involve much stealth, but this can give you an advantage.
Building Yourself Out of Firefights
Building is an import element in winning a Victory Royale for any player. It’s just as important as aiming well in firefights, but it’s often not given as much attention. You should practice building quickly and efficiently. This is vital for playing in a less aggressive way. It will give you the opportunity to quickly assemble cover. With properly constructed cover, you can flee or counter-attack while your pursuer is still dealing with your structure. Well placed cover can give you the time and space to escape from any problem. It can even keep you alive further into the last few players.
Those who struggle with shooting may benefit from some extra time to compose themselves. Structures to provide cover can give you this time. It’s easy to panic when in a direct confrontation with a player that seems to overshadow you in technique. With proper building skills, you can create cover and a distraction, giving you the time that you need to take on this fight. While your enemy is destroying your building or searching for you among the walls and stairs, you can then strike.
Big elaborate structures stand out in the landscape. It’s a beginners mistake to erect one of these and attempt to use it as a hiding spot. This makes these structures a great decoy tactic. Using buildings as a diversion can be risky, but it can also be very rewarding. If an enemy falls for your decoy structure, you’ll have a short window to take them out while they’re unaware of your location. This can give you a quick kill without becoming involved in a firefight.
Run and Hide
Hiding doesn’t sound like the most fun way to play, but you can win without firing a single shot. Sure, it’s a little boring to watch if you’re streaming, and you won’t endear yourself to your fellow players, but it does get results. There are many options for stealth, but one tried and tested strategy is so simplistic that you’ll get a kick out of even seeing it work.
Some larger bushes that occur on the map are perfectly portioned to entirely hide the appearance of a player. This covers up your character’s existence entirely. If no one sees you enter the bush, you’re safe there until someone tries to run through it or the storm gets you. Rather than making elaborate buildings to use as cover, this will let you hide without drawing any attention to yourself.
Bunkers in houses or supervillain underground layers can also be a great hiding place. These areas are popular for initial drops and looting but aren’t used much later in the game when looting becomes less important. This gives you an easier place to hide, but you have to be careful of players stumbling upon you. You should also be ready to abandon your hiding hole when the storm catches up.
Healing in The Storm
Once the storm catches up with you, there’s a combination of healing that can give you an advantage. By looting some exact items and having great timing, you can survive a storm despite hiding in the middle of it. Using this strategy, it’s possible to attempt to outlast players firefighting for the Battle Royale without even getting close to them. This requires a fair bit of luck and great timing. However, as a last resort, this method can really work.
To make the best use of your time you will need to have a few Cosy Campfires, some Medkits, and hopefully a Chug Jug or two in your inventory. You should begin your healing routine just before the storm hits you. Drop a Cosy Campfire, this will give you 2 points of health per second for 25 seconds. This will keep you only just alive in the storm for this time. While this is happening, apply a Med Kit or Chug Jug. If you have timed this correctly you should be finished with this healing just before the Cosy Campfire finished, letting you drop another Cosy Campfire and beginning the loop again.
If you perform this successfully and have looted enough supplies, this can seriously increase your time in the storm. This is a strategy that requires some specific circumstances for it to work. It’s best used when the storm is swallowing the few remaining players. This will give you the edge on other players after a game of hiding while they ran down their health in firefights. If everything goes perfectly, it can give you a Victory Royale without a single shot being fired.
Outlasting The Other Players
Most of these strategies are based on outliving your opponents. These methods of play will give you the ability to hide and avoid danger, while occasionally taking care of enemies without a big firefight. Most of them require some luck and some practice. It might not be the most entertaining way to play or the most fun to watch, but it can be a legitimate way to win with a different skill set.
Some shooting is going to be required to win a Battle Royale most of the time. These strategies should help you minimize the number of firefights in your games. However, they do all require a bit of luck. By perfecting these strategies, you can avoid firefights while surviving as long as possible. If you combine this with some quick attacks on opponents, it can seriously increase your chance of getting that Victory Royale.
Not Interested in the Slow Game Strategy? Rather play aggressive and take the firefights to your fellow players?
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