Leveling up in Fortnite can be a slow and tedious process — especially if you’re new to the battle royale shooter. There are lots of things that give you XP and help you to level up your battle pass, but some are more effective than others. Simply playing the game naturally is a good way to level up, but without focusing on specifically earning XP, you might find that it’s a little slow.
There are a few methods you can use to earn levels quickly, and in this guide, we’ll highlight some of the best. Even if you aren’t the most skilled player, you can take advantage of these leveling methods to earn XP. Here’s how to level up fast in Fortnite.
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Why level up?
Leveling up your Fortnite Battle Pass gives you a ton of cosmetics, and for season 5, the coveted The Child (aka Baby Yoda) Back Bling from The Mandalorian is locked behind reaching level 100. Of course, there are a ton of other cosmetics like weapon skins, sprays, character skins, and a lot more. The point is that you’ll likely come across lots of different cosmetics you’ll want to unlock, and usually the best way of doing so is to level up the Battle Pass.
You can, of course, buy levels with V-bucks, but most players likely want efficient ways to level up without spending real money. Though, you do earn V-bucks as you level up your Battle Pass, so that’s worth keeping in mind, as well. Nonetheless, here are some effective methods of leveling up.
Complete challenges (quests)
One of the best ways to level up is by completing challenges (or quests, as they’re known in season 5). There’s a lot to take in with the challenges, but we’ll go over the main things you should know. Each week, a new set of challenges is added to the mix, and they often require you to secure eliminations with certain weapons, loot chests at specific locations, find collectibles, or a number of other activities.
During season 5, there are four types of quests that range in difficulty. From rarest to least rare, the quest types are as follows:
- Legendary — 55k XP
- Epic — 20k XP
- Rare — 15k XP
- Uncommon — 10k XP
The Legendary quests (indicated by the color orange) reset each week and are often tougher than the rest. That’s why they grant 55k XP upon completion. Legendary quests are often cumulative and require more time and a higher degree of skill to complete. For example, this week’s Legendary quest requires you to deal 500 damage to enemies in vehicles — a task that can prove to be quite difficult since you aren’t guaranteed to come across an enemy in a vehicle. For best results, these are recommended to be attempted with a full squad.
There are also the Daily quests, which are the Uncommon ones (indicated by the color green). These are found at the bottom of the list and are typically much easier since they’re meant to be completed in one day. Each day you play, you should absolutely check out the list of quests, as they can often be completed with ease. If you combine quest-hunting with the other methods we’ll go over below, you’ll be in good shape to start earning tons of XP.
Every time you play Fortnite, you should have a glance at the challenges so you’re aware of them. If you can integrate them into your normal routine, you’ll find that you can earn a tremendous amount of XP without having to do much more work.
Secret challenges
There are also secret challenges that are only brought up if you begin them and cannot be tracked in-game. However, YouTuber KobesMind does a great job of explaining how the secret challenges work and even features a list of all of them above. There are almost 50 challenges the game doesn’t tell you about, and you can easily complete a lot of them by simply being aware of what they are. As soon as you make progress toward one of them, you’ll see a notification on-screen, indicating that you’re closer to completing it.
Loot chests and ammo boxes
Another really easy way to level up is to open chests and ammo boxes around the world. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s something you should always focus on if you’re trying to level up — even if you’re stocked up on loot at the end of a match. In fact, there are XP grinding methods that focus solely on opening chests and ammo boxes.
For example, if you land in the mountains of Catty Corner, you’ll find lots of chests and ammo boxes to open, and most of the time, this area is not too busy — meaning you can hoard the loot for yourself. From here, you can rotate around the area, opening chests and ammo boxes as you come across them. If you focus on only doing this, you’ll find that your XP counter will climb quickly.
The other thing to keep in mind with this method is to never destroy the chests or ammo boxes. Always open them, because if you destroy them, you won’t get XP. Remember, there are all sorts of different chests you can open, from safes to regular Common chests, Rare chests, Faction chests, and even supply drops. Opening any of these will grant XP, and you should make a habit of focusing on them, even if you have the weapons you think you need.
Collect and consume foraged items
The other main way of gaining XP is to collect and consume foraged items. Foraged items are consumable food items found around the world such as apples, cabbage, bananas — anything like this. You gain quite a bit of XP for simply collecting them. So, you should try to visit locations you know will contain lots of foraged items. As you can see in the image above, you earn 272XP for simply gathering a foraged item — not bad for pressing one button.
One area we frequent is the cabbage patch at the farm just north of Colossal Coliseum. Here, you’ll find dozens of pieces of cabbage that can be collected. Once you’ve grabbed all of them, continue exploring and picking up foraged items around this area. It’s not the most effective method, but it’s easy and can be integrated into your normal gameplay routine for maximum efficiency.
Combining all three listed methods will result in a huge XP boost, getting you closer to the coveted Baby Yoda Back Bling, which is unlocked at Battle Pass level 100. Some challenges stack with other means of earning XP — like the quests that require you to open chests in certain locations.
You gain XP for opening the chests anyway, but then a big XP boost after you’ve opened seven — and completed the challenge. Other quests, like ones for hitting weak spots, can be combined with another, such as destroying enemy structures with your pickaxe. The point is that with a little planning, you can make better use of your time. Keep this in mind when planning your play session and you’ll find that the XP will come much faster.
