Epic Games is preparing to roll out its long-awaited Season 5 update to Fortnite: Battle Royale – and there’s plenty to get excited about.
From a kart you can use with your team-mates to a reveal about the game’s mysterious rifts, here’s everything you need to know.
What’s new in Fortnite: Battle Royale?
Fortnite has added an All Terrain Kart (ATK) which should help some players get around the map a little faster – especially when you get caught out by a Storm Circle. You can even take your entire squad with you.
Rear passengers can work together to leap over obstacles by leaning back and releasing at the same time for a higher jump – simply hold back on the thumbstick of your controller.
The roof of the car acts as a handy bounce pad too, and you’ll also get a speed boost after drifting.
What’s new on the map?
Developers have said to expect Viking ships, desert outposts, and ancient statues.
A desert has been added as the newest biome on Battle Royale.
In terms of new locations, you will find sites called Paradise Palms and Lazy Links but there are also a few unnamed places of interest to discover.
What happened to the rifts?
The rifts teased at the end of Season 4 are here to stay but this time you can interact with them.
“Test your courage and step through a Rift. You’re in for a wild ride,” Epic Games said.
What else can I expect?
Be careful of the Storm Circles, as not all of them will simply shrink any more. Storm Circles 7, 8 and 9 can now shift in random directions, to make things that little bit more challenging.
Shotguns will indicate the number of pellets hit and will be visible within the reticle.
You can also fire 10 pellets from the heavy shotguns, instead of five.
As expected, the usual bug fixes and user interface tweaks are included in the update.
How do I get the update?
Fortnite went into downtime at 9am BST to get the update in place, so it could take a few hours to reach you. Plus, it’s likely to be a large file, so how fast you receive the update will depend on your broadband speed.
Downtime for Season 5 has begun…
Jump through the rift and into the v5.0 Patch Notes: https://t.co/rZuknRlyXl
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 12, 2018
Your console should offer the option to download the update automatically when you load the game as soon as it’s available, so if it doesn’t appear right away, don’t despair, it’ll show up eventually.
