Fortnite: Beginner’s Guide [Tips & Tricks To Survive]

Time to improve your gameplay, to get your first DUB in Fortnite!

In this guide, we are going to teach every Fortnite player what they need to know to win, everything from picking the best area to begin, preparing your character’s advancements, collecting resources as well as building to survive and collect exclusive loot. It’s important that players are aware of all the major tips and tricks that are mentioned in this Fortnite Beginner’s Guide.

Key Takeaways
  • The Dropping Point is important if you were to drop down in a well-known area with a bunch of loot you will find yourself encountering a plethora of enemies so find a remote hilltop and land there.
  • Prepare Early as this a battle-royale game the last man standing wins not the one with the most kills. 
  • In the Final Moments of the game, it is recommended to have a long ranged weapon, a shotgun, an explosive weapon, and some Medkits along with some Mini shields.
  • You need to get good at building as it can play an essential part. Gather resources as much as possible such as wood, brick, and metal that you can use in Building.

Dropping Point Is Important

Map in fortnite
Fortnite Map [Image Credit: eXputer]
Unlike other battle royale games at the moment, Fortnite Battle Royale is particularly better at disseminating great loot around the map. You’ll still have to search for a larger amount of items in more densely compact locations, although several hilltops are also hotspots for treasure chests – boxes that are valuable and can provide multiple rewards.

Fortnite Battle Royale’s vigorous art style enables you to effortlessly recognize whichever locations are going to be hotspots, so be cautious of anything on the map with a conventional name. For instance, dropping in Tomato Town would enable you to instantly get lots of loot, but it may also result in more encounters with opponents who are doing the equivalent thing.

Zoom in on the map to locate remote hilltops to descend on. Most of them will accommodate you with a reliable enough beginner kit to fight back in the initial minutes of each match.

Prepare Early

fortnite strategy
Preparing Early [Image by eXputer]
Loot is always found in a random format, so you can’t perpetually get what you require. But beyond time, you can keep what you want.

Prepare for the endgame right away. Ultimately, you’ll be performing battle with opponents who have health packs, shield potions, superior weaponry, and lots of resources to build with (more on that in a moment). You’ll require some combination of these items if you need to get by once the crowd is reduced.

NOTE: This is a battle royale game based on survival, so you won’t need to go out and get a lot of kills to obtain victory, and sticking to a specific play will only get you so far. Possessing a small armory ready to go when someone is shooting rockets to kill your base or sniping you from a distance is common sense.

Subsequently, when you’ve scoped the place out, invade buildings and assure that no one is around.

  • One exceptional way to achieve this is to poke your head in to see if any items have previously been looted (which clues you in that someone has left the scraps) or if there are exposed treasure chests.
  • Areas that are closer to the shrinking purple ring are also probably going to be light on opponents as they endeavor to make their way toward the center. Even if you’re seizing the scrapped leftovers from someone with valid items, they could be significant upgrades.

By the point the game enters its ultimate moments, possessing a long-range weapon like a scoped assault rifle or sniper rifle, a shotgun, a rocket launcher, and at least one medkit will support you to repel off most of your opponents and will assist as an ideal loadout. Encore; you’re going to notice most of this from treasure chests or buildings, so you’re going to need to revisit them at some time in your playthrough.

Gather Resources

Fortnite Battle Royale’s large building features sets it aside from its competition. Acquired from the core Save the World mode, you can utilize supplies like woodbrick, and metal to craft wallsfloorsceilingsroofs, and staircases to build necessary buildings or difficult barriers.

If you want to get to the top 10 endgames consistently, you have to get good at building. The first policy of building is to hold the resources to really make a structure. The most basic resource is wood, which you can burrow from the default harvesting device that every player starts with.

Smash a wood-based object with a melee attack, and the relevant resource will automatically appear in your inventory. Just note that gathering produces noise and causes a disturbance, so players can easily spot you if they’re close.

Because wood is ordinarily located spread across Fortnite in little shedswooden buildingsoutposts and myriad trees, you’re going to come over a lot of it. Huge trees are the easiest to mine as they’ll get huge rewards for runty effort. Alternatively, massive buildings like hangars can also give huge results for higher-end resources like brick and metal.

Survival Through Building

The building utilizes resources, and the tougher the resource, the extra of thrashing your buildings can take. Each piece (again, walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, and staircases) takes 10 resources to establish.

A wall is the first building you should study building on a notion. It’s necessary that, at any given time, whether you’re in a building or out in the open, you can instantly press the wall button (F1 on PC) and force up some cover. For this purpose alone, you’ll want to have at least 10 resources on hand to toss up an immediate wall.

Begin to consider the building as a reflex as quickly as you hear shooting. It’s going to take time until you’re able to immediately build staircases to the heavens like your beloved pro streamer, but for now, studying the art of survival through wall building is going to make you the last standing man in no time.

If you’re under pressure and need to seal yourself in, you can edit a wall to form a window or a door. Editing one piece will produce a hole while editing two adjacent pieces will automatically craft a door.

Consume The Mini Shield First

smalls shield potion fortnite
Mini Shield [Screenshot by eXputer]
The forms of shield consumables confuse the majority of Fortnite players. Although, it is extremely important to understand the function of each shield consumable and to know which one is meant for which situation. If you’re unaware of the shield functions chances are that you’ll either waste your shields or won’t reach a full 100-blue bar on Fortnite.

So let’s have a deeper look at the Shield Tips in this Fortnite Beginner’s Guide. Here are the two important shield consumables you should know about:

  • Small Shield Potions (Minis): Each Mini gives the player 25 Shield points. However, it can only be used for up to 50 Shield points. In other words, if your shield bar is at 50 points you can not consume the mini shield. You can only use it in between the 0-50 range. Hence, prioritize minis when you’re below 50 shield points.
  • Shield Potions (Big Pot): The Big Shield Potion or Big Pot shield grants the player 50 Shield Points. This can be used at any point, regardless of how many shield points you have.

So the most efficient strategy while trying to get full shield is by consuming the minis first and reaching 50 Shield Points. After that use a Big Pot and you’ll get full Shield in Fortnite. A common mistake newbies make is that they consume the big pot first and then try using the mini.

Understand The Rarity Colors

blue weapon fortnite
Rare Weapon [Image Credit: eXputer]
Weapon Rarities are really important in Fortnite. The higher the rarity of the weapon, the better the stats. Therefore, you should know which color represents which rarity. Here is a quick list of all the rarities and the ones you should aim for:

  • Common (Grey): The initial rarity in Fortnite. It is represented by the grey color and is the most commonly found on the Fortnite map. Players should only rely on this when they’re pushed into a fight right when they land.
  • Uncommon (Green): The Uncommon rarity is the 2nd lowest variant in Fortnite. It’s also commonly found and offers somewhat better stats than the Common weapons.
  • Rare (Blue): Rare Weapons are represented by the blue color and these are quite decent. If the player is skillful then they could easily secure a win with a bunch of rare weapons.
  • Epic (Purple): Epic rarities is honestly the best weapon variant found on the map. These are highlighted by the Purple color and these weapons have superior stats than the previously mentioned rarities.
  • Legendary (Orange): Legendary variant used to be the Best Rarity in Fortnite for a long time. These weapons were the most sought out by the players. However, these are really hard to find.
  • Mythic (Gold): Mythic Weapons are an even more special variant, however, these can only be acquired by taking down bosses or taking part in in-game events.
  • Exotic (Light Blue): Exotic Weapons are special kinds of weapons that enhance an existing gun by adding a special attribute to it. There are only a few Exotic weapons in Fortnite.

You should always aim for Legendary weapons while playing Fortnite. These weapons are found as random spawns in the world and can give you immense advantage over your opponents. If you can manage to gain Mythic Weapons then those should be your next priority. 

Heal Behind Cover

Even if you’re a beginner in Fortnite, you’ll know how important builds are in the game. They help you gain height advantage, create covers, and whatnot. Although, I have seen so many new players not using builds as much as they should even for small tasks, most prominently while healing.

Creating a wall, floor, and stairs should be easy enough for newbies. Even if it isn’t, you can always try it out, when you’re not in a fight. Nonetheless, whenever you need to heal, by either consuming Shield Potion or Bandages/Med Kit, always make sure that you’re behind a cover. Even if you’re inside a house or a building make sure to build a wall to block off the entry and then heal.

Healing produces sound effects which can alert nearby players, and if you do not begin cover you could instantly die within your animation. Other than that, if you’re hiding in a bush or behind a tree, you could easily get spotted by the blue glow that emits when you use a shield potion. Therefore, always make sure to build your cover when you have to heal!

Preplan Your Route

map marker fortnite
Route planning [Image Credit: eXputer]
Preplanning your movement can greatly increase your chances to gain a Victory Royale. For this Fortnite Beginner’s guide tip, you will need to keep a close eye on the map at all times. Regardless of where you land, you need to instantly make sure how far you are from the next zone.

The safe zone is represented by a white circle on the map. Anything outside that circle slowly gets taken over by the storm according to the timer indicated below the map. If you’re caught in the storm you will take a certain amount of damage every second.

So whenever you see a new circle on the map move toward it by keeping all the POI in mind. You don’t want to go through some popular spots because if you get into a fight with the zone closing in, you’d most probably get eliminated. Therefore, plan your route, predict the safe zones, and move accordingly.

Rely On Shotguns In CQC

I remember how much I hated using shotguns during my early days of Fortnite. Similarly, many beginners steer clear of shotguns and don’t use them at all. However, that’s a huge blunder. If you’re one of them then stop instantly and start using Shotguns in your loadout. Fortnite offers many kinds of Shotguns; Pump and Tactical are the main two types. Play around with them and figure out which one fits your style more.

The reason behind using Shotguns in Fortnite is their superiority in Close-Quarter Combat (CQC). When you run into players, or when you’re in close proximity during build wars, you need to have a shotgun at hand to land a lethal shot when you get the window. If you’re using an SMG/AR/Pistol instead, chances are that the opponent will knock you out easily.

So to secure a high position or win, you need to make use of Shotguns!

Fall Damage

Fall Damage has been one of the biggest enemies of a multitude of players in the gaming community. It can blindside you when you least expect it and will take you out in an instant. However, by knowing the Fall Damage mechanism in Fortnite you can greatly improve your chances to survive longer. 

Since Fortnite players utilize builds constantly, you will notice that a lot of players die due to fall damage in a single game. So it’s best to know some important pointers which could help you avoid dying from fall damage.

  • Fall Damage only affects health, it will completely ignore your Shield Points.
  • Players can take fall damage if they fall from above the level of 3 stories. The higher the height the more the damage. 
  • If a player breaks your build and you fall and die, it will be granted as a kill to the other player.
  • Falling and dying by own’s mistake is considered self-elimination.

Make sure to keep these points in mind. If you think you’re at risk of falling, make sure to create a safe spot in your build or descend to the ground quickly.

Use Headphones 

It goes without saying that if you use headphones, you’ll surely perform better in Fortnite or any other online game. In Fortnite, focusing on the audio alone can give you indications about a player nearby by either hearing their footsteps, harvest sounds, or even Reboot Van. All of these sound queues can be entirely missed if you’re using speakers or playing the game at low volume.

Hence, it is crucial to get operational headphones as they can give you a great advantage over your opponents. You’ll be far more aware of the surroundings. Apart from player noises, you’ll also be able to hear the storm beeps which indicates that it is closing in.

Gain Height Advantage

Height Advantage is key, you’ll almost hear every professional and streamer talk about it. In every PvP fight, players try to gain a height advantage over each other and in most cases, the player with the height advantage usually wins. This is because while being above you can scout the area easily due to the 3rd-person view. On top of that, the majority of the shots you hit will automatically be headshots.

Therefore, one way or another, you need to prioritize elevated points, especially in the late zones. During the final zones of the game, having a height advantage easily gives you a full view of the circle. From there, you can construct a plan by looking at where every player is.

If you’re not that good at building yet, then you can easily try finding a naturally elevated point and then build a simple tower on top. You can either set up your temporary base on top of hills and buildings.

Do Not Break Trees

fortnite tree health
Tree health [Screenshot by eXputer]
May seem odd at first, but it’s best if you do not break trees. Trees are the best source of getting wood early on in a Fortnite match. However, the trick is to harvest the tree using your pickaxe only until the last hit. When you see the tree’s health bar depleted simply stop and move to the next tree.

Now you may be wondering the reasoning behind the tip. Well, the reason is purely tactical. When you break trees, they emit a sound, and players can even see a tree disappearing, which instantly gives away your position considering there is a player close by. However, if you harvest wood but do not completely break down the tree, no one will be able to judge or know that you’re there.

Don’t Peek From The Same Spot

Another great tip that newbies should drill into their game plan is to not peak from the same location twice. Once you get into long-range fights in high-traffic areas or the final zones, you will surely run into watchers. These players love to scout opponents and snipe them out when they get a chance. 

Hence, whenever you’re peaking a corner or taking shots by walking up the self-built stairs, make sure to constantly change your position. Players engaged in a fight with you will pre-aim the spot you peeked from. If you happen to peak from there again, you’ll get shot even before you can do anything. 

Therefore, keep an upper hand over your enemies and keep switching your peak spots. This way you’ll keep them guessing and eventually you will be able to take them out. The “Do not peek” tip is crucial for players who love using snipers.

Always Keep Healing Items In Your Inventory

fortnite med kit
Med Kit [Screenshot by eXputer]
Unlike other games, Fortnite only gives you five slots in your main inventory. Players need to fill their weapons, consumables, explosives, and other items within these 5 slots. Hence, you need to leave out some stuff during the gameplay. A common mistake most beginners do is that they fill their 5 slots with weapons. This inventory setup is entirely wrong.

No matter how you play, you will need healing consumables at all times. Make sure you assign the final two slots for consumables. You can either carry:

  • Bandages: Each Bandage generates 15 health points up till you reach 75 health points.
  • Med Kits: Replenished full health, takes 10 seconds to use.
  • Minis: Each small shield potion generates 25 shield points up to 50 shield points.
  • Big Pots: Generates 50 Shield points.

If you’re playing with friends then you could each carry a specific item in bulk and share it with each other whenever needed. Either way, it’s key to carry healing items with you at all times!

Communicate With Teammates

If you’re playing in either duos, trios, or squads then you can’t overlook communication. Online competitive games like Fortnite demand free-flow comms between teammates. Without them, you’ll automatically be at a disadvantage against other teams. Other than using a mic, Epic Games has implemented many other comm markers for players to use. 

  • Firstly, you can obviously place markers on the map to convey a landing spot for your teammates. You can use the markers even during the match to plan your route.
  • Players can also mark weapons, ammo, consumables, materials, vehicles, vending machines, and many more for their teammates.
  • Similarly, players can also produce enemy markers. These do not work as tags but they help make your teammates aware of the enemy’s position.

Using these markers can take your team unity to the next level which will ultimately translate to better positions. Although, if you can communicate verbally through a mic and make use of markers then you can create an even better team chemistry. Therefore, communication is a major tip in my Fortnite Beginner’s Guide.

Never Run Straight

Fortnite traversing
Running through open areas [Screenshot by eXputer]
Always getting second thoughts while crossing open fields because you constantly die? Well, there is a simple hack that can increase your survival chances. You see the reason why most people get sniped out or bombarded with bullets is because they run straight. The only way to decrease the chances of that happening is to add variations in your runs.

  • Do not run in a straight pattern. Zig-zag your way through open fields, and from time to time jump and slide.
  • If you’re certain that there’s an enemy watching over you, then you can spam walls to create cover as you run through the open area. 
  • Although, if you’re not aware of any enemy then do not spam build walls because that would just alert the enemies of your location.

So, there you have it. It is a really simple trick yet effective. Especially if you frequently get caught out in the open.

Importance Of Swimming And Using Vehicles

Fortnite has changed a lot since its early days. Players can now swim and use vehicles as a means to get around the map. With these features, evading storms has gotten a lot easier. On top of that, you can also easily travel to vantage points inside a circle. Here are all the benefits of using these methods:

  • Swimming: It is a lot faster than sprinting. However, the direction of the water flow is crucial while swimming, if you’re swimming against the stream then it’s of no use, players are better off sprinting in that scenario. Whereas if you need to swim in the direction of the stream then you’ll instantly notice a huge boost in your movement speed as compared to running.
  • Vehicles: Fortnite has added plenty of vehicles to the game. These range from cars, trucks, and bikes to helicopters and planes. You can use these and travel around the map with ease. Most of the vehicles are also capable of carrying a whole squad. However, vehicles make a lot of noise, so they are easily detectable to other players.

Nonetheless, it is always helpful to rely on these traversing methods when you’re in a losing fight or when the next circle is a great distance away. Since the map is bigger than ever before make sure to keep this trick in mind from the Fortnite Beginner’s guide.

Watch Streamers/Professionals

Last but not least, after and during the implementation of the other tips from my Fortnite Beginner’s Guide, I would recommend you watch some of the top streamers of the game. Watching streams and videos of professional players will help you take further advanced tips from them. You’ll be able to judge how they plan out their movement. how they get into fights, and what their strategy is which leads to so many wins.

By simply watching the streamers, you’ll be able to pick some game-changing tricks which will take your skills to the next level.

That’s about it from this Fortnite Beginner’s Guide. I hope you learned some valuable tips which will enhance your gameplay and help you secure a Victory Royale!

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Martin Bell


Martin Bell is a News Writer on eXputer who’s been invested in the latest technology and games since the very early years of his childhood. He’s clocked in several hours into CS:GO and other eSports games and is enthusiastic about PC hardware. His passion for gaming and PC hardware shows in the News stories that he breaks for his audience. He is a professional journalist who loves networking with people in the industry to catch the latest scoop before it hits the mainstream media. Experience: 5+ years || Education: Bachelor's in Journalism || Broken 250+ News Stories || Mainly Covers News Articles on eXputer

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