Fortnite: Season 3: First Impressions

The long awaited Season 3 of Fortnite has finally arrived and it has brought a new Battle pass, skins, an updated map, new enemies and weapons along with it! Lets DIVE right in.

Battle pass

Every new season of Fortnite has brought a new battle pass with all new skins and emotes for us to unlock, as well as a new theme. This season has achieved a water theme and the new battle pass is definitely one to get.

It contains amazing new gliders, funny new emotes and a very cute little kitten called Kit! The battle pass skins are

• Ocean
• Fade (comes with different variations as you progress and level up)
• Scuba Jonesy
• Kit
• Jules
• Siona
• Eternal Knight (another variation of the Red Knight skin from Chapter 1, Season 2 & 10)

Each character comes with different styles, gliders and harvest tools.

Just like last season, we have got a brand new lobby where our daily challenges and challenge map is held, as well as different areas for players to access and to view the battle pass.

From the above picture you may have spotted a man holding a Trident dressed in gold scales...yes! That is Aquaman! last season we saw Deadpool and now Aquaman has rode the waves to join us on the map; he also comes with his own set of challenges and styles.

Build-a-brella

Last season we saw Maya, our very own character that we could customise to how we liked her, this season we can customise our own victory umbrella! Every time a player wins their first match of the season, they unlock the Victory Umbrella glider for dedicated to that season, which is true for this season but we get a second one that we can customise! You can customise everything about this umbrella including the Shaft, Canopy, Trail and Topper, I am a big fan of the rubber duck topper.

Map Changes

The live event on Monday saw a massive tidal wave surround the map and act as the new storm, well it appears that the wave broke through the barriers and flooded the map, leaving only the highest points of the map above water. The flood has introduced new POIs and different modes of transport.

The four new POIs:

• Catty Corner
• Fortilla
• Riggerty Rig
• The Authority (Previously known as The Agency)

Along with other un-named locations and landmarks. Catty Corner is a new location and here you can find Kit...Meowscles Kitten! It was previously the Cardboard Factory. Fortilla is a massive location made entirely of scrap metal, this can be found in the South West of the map. Riggerty Rig is located East of Fortilla and finally The Authority is located exactly where The Agency was but it is now surrounded by a wall and has been taken over by Shadow!

As the weeks progress the water will begin to recede revealing new locations as well as other modes of transport.

In my opinion I love the new look of the map, the water provides challenges for fighting and since half of the original POIs are submerged it feels like there is less on the map and it feels very confined, which I love as it forces you to land at hotspots and engage in early fights.

Mythic Weapons and Consumables

Season 2 saw the introduction of mythic and powerful weapons found on the map's bosses, this season is the same but they have also introduced new mythic consumables. As usual, you have to defeat the boss in order to get the mythic weapon as well as the possibility of a vault key, so far I have only uncovered the vault key in Catty Corner as I was very unlucky to get my hands on the others in different locations.

Mythic weapons and their bosses:

• Jules: Drum Gun and Glider Gun
• Ocean: Burst Assault Rifle and Bottomless Chug Jug
• Kit: Charged Shotgun and Shockwave Grenade Launcher

As you can see, the list is smaller than last season and it is yet unclear where the locations of these weapons are, but they are easy enough to obtain. It has been said that Jules's Drum Gun is the most powerful so be prepared to fight for it.

Transport

Mobility has always been a problem in Chapter 2 of Fortnite, so far we have only had Launch pads, Helicopters and Boats. This season we have got new ways to move! Ziplines have made a return, we last saw these in Chapter 1, these are located all over the map to help you cross the water. Boats and Launch pads are still in as well as Helicopters but these are now scarce. The new and amazing way to travel is...Sharks!

Yep, you heard me...Sharks! As the map has flooded Sharks have taken over the ocean and are now found swimming around the map ready to pounce, be careful not to be caught unawares as they can do significant damage. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on a fishing rod you can entice the shark to bite enabling you to ride it and use it as a weapon.

Whirlpools have also been introduced and these act like powerful launchpads, simply swim into one and they will launch you high into the sky, allowing you to glide... these are very fun to use, but can leave you wide open to damage.

Epic have announced that as the water recedes, more modes on transport will be made available.

Marauders

Not much is known about these new enemies but they have only one purpose...to take you out. They are found all over the map, roaming the area to find you and eliminate you. They travel in squads and have different variations such as: Marauder, Deadeye Marauder and Heavy Marauder. If you manage to take out the squad, they drop loot for you to use throughout the match.

Vaulted and Unvaulted

Each new season vaults and unvaults different weapons and consumables. Chapter 1 Season 1 saw 90% of the loot being vaulted, leaving players with the bare minimum to fight with, only very little was brought back out. In Season 2 , we saw the return of the much loved Heavy Sniper but at the cost of the P90 SMG and Traps, the Heavy Sniper could only be found on henchmen and in ID chests. This season has seen the return of many loved weapons

Unvaulted

• Chug Splashes
• P90 SMG
• Hunting Rifle (All rarities)
• Bolt-Action Sniper
• Chug Jugs

Vaulted

• Pump Shotguns
• Heavy Snipers
• Mythic weapons from last season

New Weapons

With the vaulting of the Pump Shotgun, Epic have introduced a new Charged Shotgun, so far this gun hasn't proven itself worthy as it deals very little damage, takes a long time to reload and having to charge it up for a more powerful shot takes too long.

Charged Shotgun

• Ammo: Shells
• Reload Time: 5.5/5.3/4.8/4.5
• Mag Size: 5
• Damage: 10.2

Firefly Jar - Acts as a Molotov

• Damage: 40

Flare Gun

• Reload Time: 1.5
• Mag Size: 6
• Damage: 60

Overall Opinion

I can safely say that this season was long overdue and it provided the challenge we needed! Sharks and Marauders being a new threat will have any player on edge. The map providing us with more confined fighting will no longer make matches too long or boring. New and old weapons are spicing up our inventory and loveable new skins and challenges are here to keep us busy. It is too early to say if this is the best season of the chapter, but so far it is in the running. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this season and hopefully we will get another live event.