Fortnite Battle Royale: Everything New in Update 4.4

This morning EPIC Games pushed a huge update for Fortnite: Battle Royale, and with that update came new items, a new weapon, new locations, and gameplay tweaks. There is so much to go over here, so we’re breaking down the patch notes bit by bit.

Let’s kick things off with the thing that most of you will care the most about: that new rifle. The Thermal Scope Assault Rifle is going to change things in a big way. From the update notes:

“You never know who’s watching. The Thermal Scope Assault Rifle is now available in Battle Royale, and it sees more than enemies.”

• Available in Epic and Legendary variants.

• 36-37 base damage.

• Can see chest, Supply Drops, enemy heat signatures, and more.

• Uses Medium ammo.

• Can be found from floor loot, chests, and Supply Drops.

• Renamed ‘Assault Rifle with Scope’ to ‘Scoped Assault Rifle’

• The maximum range of most weapons increased to 275 meters from 250 meters to match the distance that players are visible.

Limited Time Mode: Sniper Shootout v3

A new version of Sniper Shootout is going live for you and your friends to enjoy. If you have a keen eye and a trained trigger finger, here’s everything you need to know:

Summary

In this Limited Time Mode, players will do battle using snipers & scoped assault rifles.

What’s New since v2?

• Scoped Assault Rifles have been added to floor loot & chests.

• The Crossbow has been removed.

• Ammo drop rates have returned to normal.

  • Ammo boxes had extra ammo in v2.

• Epic & Legendary Sniper Rifles are no longer limited to chests & Supply Drops.

  • Can now be found as floor loot as well.

Mode Details

• The only available weapons are Sniper Rifles and Scoped AR’s.

• Floor Loot spawns are reduced by 50%.

• Building resources received from farming reduced by 25%.

• Reviving “Down But Not Out” teammates in Duos & Squads is deactivated, players are immediately eliminated.

• Profile Stats are tracked in this mode.

Limited Time Mode: 50v50 v3

The clash of the giant squads is back! This is a fan-favorite mode that you have to experience for yourself to fully understand. Here’s what you need to know about the new, updated version of 50v50:

Summary

Two teams of fifty players fight to the finish!

What’s New since v2?

• A new, larger Storm circle has been added to the beginning of the match.

• Extra supply drops fall in the new circle, giving more players a chance to find an open one.

• Supply drops now come in batches of 4-8 (up from 3-6), fall every two minutes, and only lands in the first two Storm circles.

• The damage applied over time while in the Down But Not Out state has been changed to the default of 2 damage per tick.

• Bonus resources earned from farming reduced from +75% to +25%.

• The Storm circles are now more likely to bias towards the center of the map, this helps make the bus flight path less important.

Mode Details

• Each team has a bus, approaching the island from opposite directions. On the map, the friendly bus has a blue outline, the enemy has a red outline.

• The map has a dotted line, which indicates the “battle lines” between the two teams. Crossing the line will make running into enemies more likely.

• Due to this being a “large squad” mode, Profile Stats will not be tracked. Daily & Weekly challenges will still work, with the exception of the Squad-based challenges.

 

New Trap Functions and Major Gameplay Tweaks

Traps are more useful than ever before, and you can now place them on sloped surfaces like stairs, ramps, and roofs! This will make them much more valuable and more deadly. Here’s the rundown from the update:

“Several types of traps can now be placed on player-built stairs and sloping roofs.

• The Bouncer in Battle Royale.

• Wooden Spikes, Retractable Spikes, Flame Grill Traps, Freeze Traps, and Healing Pads in Save the World.

• Added separate sliders for ‘Mouse Sensitivity X’ and ‘Mouse Sensitivity Y’ to the options menu.

  • Your current sensitivity settings will not be changed.

  • Previously, vertical mouse sensitivity (Y) was always 70% of horizontal sensitivity (X).

  • New players will now start with the same default sensitivity for both horizontal and vertical aim.

• Added a quick visual transition to building pieces as you move and aim in Build Mode.

• Damage numbers will now round down instead of up in Save the World, Battle Royale, and replays.”

New Areas and Bug Fixes

The Fortnite update also added some new areas to the map, which players are beginning to explore:

Here’s the official breakdown from the update notes, with a quick word about bug fixes:

 

Gameplay

• A new soccer stadium has been added to the northern area of the map.

• Added new light color options to Carbide and Omega.

Bug Fixes

• Pickaxes are no longer missing from the quick bar for players who join the match late.

• Currently equipped traps no longer change to a different trap unexpectedly when trying to place one into an empty space.

• Lightly pulling backward on the gamepad movement thumbstick while in the Shopping Cart will no longer make you move forward.

• Players will no longer get stuck shooting their weapon when switching seats and firing simultaneously in the Shopping Cart.

• Passengers ejecting from the Shopping Cart at high speeds will no longer get a large impulse.

• Players will no longer crash when viewing friends leaderboard.

• Improved interaction of players and Shopping Carts with soccer and basketballs.

• Improved network simulation of soccer and basketballs when kicked by other players.

• The Shopping Cart will no longer destroy unbreakable objects.

• Fixed an issue causing Shopping Carts from flipping over when hitting a Supply Drop.

• Shopping Carts will no longer float in the air after the platform they were on is destroyed.