Fortnite’s new season removes building and adds Doctor Strange
Chapter 3 season 2 introduces the game’s biggest change ever.
A new season of Fortnite is upon us, and this one is a little… strange. Developer Epic Games is rolling out Chapter 3: Season 2 of the long-running battle royale, and it’s called Resistance; a story trailer (embedded above) features a number of opposing forces duking it out on the Fortnite island, along with a certain sorcerer from the Marvel universe.
Supporting Ukraine
Ahead of the season’s official announcement, Epic said that it would donate two weeks of its Fortnite proceeds to support Ukraine-related humanitarian efforts. This will last from March 20th through April 3rd.
Buildings wiped down from Fortnite
The season makes a few big changes to the game. The most extreme is that, at least right now, building has been “wiped out,” removing one of the most distinct aspects of Fortnite play. To balance this out, players now have an additional shield — called an “overshield” — for defense. Other changes include a combination of faster sprinting and climbing that makes for parkour-like movement, the addition of blimps to explore and tanks to drive, as well as a handful of new guns. And if players donate enough gold over the course of the season, they will unlock a drivable version of the iconic battle bus, which now looks like something out of Mad Max.
What happened to the building?
Building may seem like a core part of Fortnite, as inseparable from its identity as cross-promotions, but it’s a turn-off for a lot of players.
The removal of building is obviously a temporary move for the story the Fortnite team is trying to tell, but competitive players need not worry as “building is unaffected in competitive/Arena playlists as well as in Team Rumble and Creative Islands.”
“Building has been wiped out,” a new in-game message reads. “It’s up to the Resistance to get it back. Jump in with your squad to help The Seven uncover the Imagined Orders nefarious plan.”
According to iFireMonkey, a leaked set of audios state that building will be disabled for the first nine days of this new season.
Loading ...This new season will also bring back Bar Funding, which will let you “chip in bars towards pro-Resistance weapons and vehicles.” You can also fund the installation of turrets.
In addition to the changes to the game and island, the new season’s battle pass also adds a handful of unlockable characters for those who purchase it. The most notable is Doctor Strange — who will be returning to theaters in May — and he’s joined by new faces with names like The Imagined and The Origin. For those who follow Fortnite’s ever-expanding lore, this season seems like it will be full of important details.
Season 2 follows an eventful start to the game’s latest chapter, which kicked off last December. The previous season introduced destructive weather, faster movement, and giant monsters, along with collaborations with everyone from Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak to Naomi Osaka. There was even a virtual art gallery for players to explore.
Removing a central element of Fortnite like building may seem like it wouldn’t work, but obviously a lot of effort has gone into tweaking the gameplay around that. And Fortnite’s done quite well out of events that remove the option to shoot people, and of course out of transforming itself into a battle royale in the first place, so there’s certainly a precedent for successful reinvention. If the change proves popular, and if the overnight queues are anything to go by it has so far, I could see this become a permanent optional mode.
LMFAOOOOOO @ all the people saying shit like “awh are you not good at the game without building?” 🤡 Building is easily the most skill based thing in this game. They’re all definitely controller and are just happy their overpowered aim assist can finally fully carry them to wins.
At my peak, I was pretty above average at most aspects of the game but very below average at building, which put a pretty noticeable cap on my enjoyment. Maybe they’ll keep a no-building mode if they get enough positive feedback from this
I’m one of those people . I actually enjoy Fortnite minus the building feature .
I hope no building stays permanently, at least in some sort of side mode. People have wanted it gone for years. Let those who want it keep it, and let those who don’t do without it.
Wow interesting. Not sure how I feel about that as building is central to the experience, but I’m terrible at it so maybe I’ll have an edge.
I’m looking forward to getting In there and demolishing the battle pass.
I told myself I would not play fortnite again until there was a mode without building. Mabey its time 🙂