Fortnite Season 8 has finally arrived, after months of speculation and battles with invading alien forces culminated in an explosive showdown aboard the Mothership. Just as the huge craft was being torn apart, the Cubes reappeared in force after a long absence and were then rained down upon the island amongst the falling debris. The impact on the world of Fortnite has been immediate, with ominous rifts opening up to The Sideways and replacing the aliens with a whole new monstrous threat to deal with. If you want to know about the biggest changes in Fortnite Season 8, we've got a round up of all the details you need to know about.
Fortnite Season 8 is being corrupted by The Sideways
A gateway to The Fortnite Sideways has opened up, where dark monsters lurk and attack players while low gravity and building restrictions make combat trickier. You'll see a large dome appear at a random POI each match, known as a Sideways Zone, which will remain in place for the whole match with a regular supply of monsters inside. You'll also spot dark rifts on the map with a purple glow, and approaching one of those will create a temporary Sideways Anomaly, where you have a limited time to defeat all of the fiends and brutes that attack.
New weapons can be crafted from Cube Monster Parts
There are a number of Fortnite new weapons arriving in Season 8, including the Sideways Rifle and Sideways Minigun, which can be upgraded by crafting them with Cube Monster Parts. These new Fortnite crafting materials can only be obtained by defeating the monsters coming from The Sideways, either in Sideways Zones or Sideways Anomalies, so you'll need to put in a fight to get them. There are also several unvaulted weapons, such as the Automatic Sniper Rife and Harpoon Gun, with more on the way as the season progresses.
There are Mothership crash sites around the island
Although none of the named points of interest on the Fortnite map have changed significantly, other than Corny Complex returning to its pre-abduction state, there are large areas that have been scorched by parts of the Mothership crash landing there. As well as being a source of loot and Shadow Stones, there are also glowing purple tunnels above that you can jump or bounce into then fly around to move quickly from one part of the area to the other.
The IO Guards have moved on to Outposts
In the last season you'd find Fortnite IO Guards at various satellite stations, and although those buildings still exist they are now uninhabited. Instead, they're patrolling around the new IO Outposts, and you'll also encounter several of them plus Doctor Slone if you discover the IO Convoy.
Shadow Stones return
Shadow Stones are the small purple cubes mainly found around wreckage sites, which you can consume to temporarily become an apparition. Although you can't use any weapons while in this state, you are almost invisible to opponents and can phase through obstacles to sneak around. The effect wears off after a certain amount of time, though you can also manually exit this state early to spring a surprise attack on opponents.
Quests have changed and Punchcards are back
Punchcards are back, providing a new way to earn XP in conjunction with the Fortnite quests. There are daily and weekly punchcards to work through, plus Fortnite characters punchcards specific to certain NPCs. For the characters, you can pin their location to the map to help you find them initially, so you can get their individual questline up and running.
New Wildlife has been sighted
Along with the boars, chickens, and wolves we're familiar with from previous seasons, the crow is a new animal populating the island. At this point we're not sure if they have any particular abilities other than being able to fly around, which makes them harder to hunt unless you wait for them to perch first. There have also been sightings of dinosaurs, who are making a reappearance having not been seen since the island was Primal.
Toona Fish can be customized with Color Bottles and Rainbow Ink
Toona Fish is the new customizable character for Season 8, who can be restyled by finding collectible Fortnite Color Bottles at specific locations around the island, noted by hovering over them on the Paint A Toona Fish menu. You'll also earn Rainbow Ink as a random drop from chests, and once you've found three of the same Color Bottles to unlock that style, you can spend 10 Rainbow Ink to unlock the corresponding character style for that color.
Funding Stations develop the war effort
Funding Stations have appeared at various named locations, where players can deposit bars to contribute to the community total. This will unlock Turret Stations to aid the fight against The Sideways monsters, and players can also decide on new weapons to develop and unvault. After you contribute bars, the funding progress as a percentage will appear when you check the station.
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