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How to get better at Fortnite

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Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, and with a player-base in the hundreds of millions, the competition is nothing short of stiff. The fact that the title is a pillar of the e-sports community doesn’t help the matter, either, nor does it curb the game’s appeal to players of all skill levels (including your 8-year-old nephew). Fret not, however, we’re here to provide some tips on how can optimize your settings, stay focused, and clinch that coveted Victory Royale. Outlasting your opponents has never been easier.

Further reading

Find comfortable control settings

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This tip isn’t specific to Fortnite, but it’s the first thing you’ll want to adjust before progressing any further. Fortnite offers players a ridiculous amount of control over its, well, controls. Navigate to the Game section of the Settings menu and you’ll see several settings you can adjust. You’ll probably want to play around with the following:

  • Mouse Sensitivity
  • Mouse ADS Sensitivity
  • Mouse Scope Sensitivity
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If you’re a console player — or a PC gamer who uses a controller — adjust these instead:

  • Controller Sensitivity X
  • Controller Sensitivity Y
  • Controller ADS Sensitivity
  • Controller Scope Sensitivity

Adjust these until you find something that feels comfortable to you. There are also dozens of guides out there written by professional players, so you can try to mimic their settings. Just remember — at the end of the day it’s all about what works best with your skills. There’s also nothing wrong with tweaking these settings if you find your skills improving and think you’d benefit from increased sensitivities.

Study professional gamers

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It’s not enough to just watch other players on Twitch or Mixer. Instead, actively study them. Ask yourself, “Why did they pick up that weapon?” or “Why are they building this structure in this location?” There’s a lot of nuance that goes into the action of high-level players, and if you aren’t actively studying them play, you’ll miss a lot of the details.

Once you’ve studied some of the best players, try to replicate their gameplay for yourself. If you find that it’s not working properly, or you just don’t enjoy that style of play, try watching a different streamer. Keep this pattern up until you’ve found a pattern that you want to master.

Practice building structures

Fortnite week 4 challenges fortnite tomato head
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Regardless of what strategy you settle on, you’ll need to hone your building skills if you want to snag a Victory Royale. We’ve covered this extensively in another Fornite building guide, but it all comes down to “intentional practice.” That doesn’t mean randomly throwing up the same dopey structure round after round, but actually learning from your mistakes.

Do you have trouble building quickly? Try to work on your manual dexterity so you can put walls up at an incredible pace. Are you creating shelter in odd locations? Figure out how your opponents are breaking in and take steps to fix it. There are so many things players can do wrong when it comes to building, so it’s important to figure out what is giving you the most trouble and then look into the specific issue.

One of the most common mistakes people make is actually building too much. Since the storm will constantly be closing in on you, don’t waste precious resources early in the round. It’s best to wait and build until it’s an absolutely necessity. Otherwise, you’ll have to expose yourself and go collect more materials right in the heat of battle.

Practice aiming with the best weapons

Fortnite Chapter 2
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The last step to improving your Fortnite skills is one of the most tedious and requires hundreds of hours of practice. Improving your aim doesn’t happen overnight — it’ll take even the best players years to master their aiming technique. However, there’s one way to speed up the process, and that’s by practicing with the proper weapons.

While each weapon isn’t as unique as those in Counter Strike: Global Offensive — where players meticulously study recoil patterns of different rifles — there’s still a bit of nuance to each gun in Fortnite. The M16 is a common weapon you’ll encounter during a round, so it’s one of the first you should try to master. Bullets begin to spread out as you engage long-range targets, and learning how to properly tap the trigger when firing is key to dealing out significant damage.

Once you’ve tackled the M16, move on to the Tactical Shotgun. Memorize how much time passes between each shot and the range at which it’s accurate. Learn how to switch between two different shotguns quickly, too.

One of the strongest weapons in the game is the SCAR, and it’s one you’ll need to master if you have any hope of competing at the highest levels of Fortnite. It handles similarly to the M16 but comes with its own set of quirks. Plus, it’s an extremely difficult gun to find as it’s exclusively an Epic or Legendary weapon. Should you manage to get your hot little hands on a SCAR, be sure to make it count. Otherwise, it could be a while before you have the pleasure of playing with one again.

Improving your Fortnite skills takes time

Fortnite Chapter 2
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Becoming a better Fortnite player requires a lot of hard work and patience. Once you’ve found comfortable settings, it’s easier to progress. At that point, you can try to replicate your favorite streamers’ gameplay styles. 

It’s a good idea to focus on improving your building and aiming skills, and both skills take time to master, so commit to the long-term if you want to get better. Fortunately, the skill ceiling is seemingly limitless, so you have time to grow and learn. 

Keep a lookout for any new locations or weapons that come into play in the game, as Fortnite receives regular updates. This strategy is a great way to figure out if anything overpowered has entered the game.

Through Epic, players can connect with others and compare creative maps through Island Codes. The creative maps feature is useful if you ever start to feel bored or overwhelmed by the base game. 

The gaming company allows players the opportunity to really work on their skills and enhance them. You can also always choose to forget about an opponent killing you shortly after you hit the ground. We think it’s always useful to have a fresh and optimistic outlook on the game. 

All of this said, players still have to earn their spot in the rankings. You’ll need to build up to higher ratings. However, the strategy we’ve outlined in this article is a great starting point for facing new obstacles or battles. 

If your overall goal is to become a Fortnite protege, you’ll need to practice some determination and devote your spare time to the game. It may also be best for your ultimate outlook to accept that many of the best players around the world are significantly younger than you’d expect.

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Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…
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