The giant map that holds all the action for Fortnite Battle Royale has received a massive makeover. In addition to entirely new areas, the world has been fleshed out to
make areas feel more different from one another.
The change will take place on Thursday.
Very little has changed location-wise east of the river that divides the map. The major changes are in the west, where five new named locations have been added. The biggest changes are in the northwest corner, previously regarded as empty space.
Here are some more facts about the changes:
1. The West Has Changed Dramatically
As stated earlier, this is where all the new action is. As many people have already noted, this is where the majority of players will be dropping for the next several weeks.
Junk Junction seems like a lower-quality area, where one might find more dilapidated houses. It has roads that bleed east and south towards Anarchy Acres and Pleasant Park, respectively.
Haunted Hills may be where Fortnite gets its first cemetray, and Im expecting some equally spooky paraphanelia. A castle on the hill, perhaps?
Snobby Shores sounds like my favorite new addition to the bunch. Give me a bunch of giant houses to loot and the coast at my back and call it a night.
Tilted Towers might be the craziest addition of all. The verticality could make for interesting firefights, especially during the chaotic opening minutes.
Shifty Shafts has been described as an underground mine, filled with dark areas and close-quarters action. Bring your shotgun.
2. Tilted Towers Brings New Verticality
Fortnite side by side old/new map comparison, looking forward to exploring the new zones! :D
The biggest new feature to the map might be the sheer size of the buildings in Tilted Towers. Several of the buildings on the current map have multiple floors, but none resemble a commercial office building like the one being added in the update.
According to reports, Tilted Towers has buildings as tall as seven floors. And not just one. Tilted Towers is an entire new area, easily covering the size of Greasy Grove and more. That means multiple buildings to ascend, hallway battles and more. Rooftops will play a large factor, further increasing the value of launch pads.
3. The Biomes Have Been Enhanced
When crossing the vast map that is Fortnite, there will at times feel that the map is stale. Buildings feel repetitive, and you cant help but feel like the rolling hills youre traversing are the same ones you saw five minutes ago.
The new map is changing that, dividing the landscape into four specific biomes: Grass, Farm, Mountain and Swamp. The scenery corresponding to those zones have been ratheted up, hence the more detailed map released today.
The swamp has been made much swampier, and the grasslands have dried out the entire north coast. I’m most interested in “transition areas,” grass areas immediately outside Tilted Tower. How dramatic the changes will be when moving from one biome to the other remains to be seen.
4. Haunted Hills Was a User Submitted Idea
In the Fortnite Battle Royale subreddit thread promoting the new map, it was mentioned that user blorfie had at one point submitted a proposal for a map area called Haunted Hills. While it’s unclear how much of blorfie’s idea made it to the game, it’s a really cool sign that the development team is actively listening to ideas from the community.
In the original concept, two spooky castles overlook a rustic village. A forest surrounds the zone, giving travelers a chance at cover. The castles are filled with chests, but there is a single chest that spawns on the bridge connecting the two castles.
The new map doesn’t appear to have any giants castles, but it will be cool to see if there are any tributes in place to honor blorfie’s original idea.
5. Over 40 Million People Have Downloaded Fortnite
Since it’s release, Fortnite Battle Royale has skyrocketed in popularity. It’s currently at it’s highest point, having surpassed 40 million downloads and reaching two million concurrent players.
It faces a major competition with it’s realistic competitor, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. PUBG is on PC and is an XBOX One console exclusive, while Fortnite Battle Royale was released for free on all platforms.