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Fortnite 8.30 Patch Notes: Reboot Vans, Buccaneer’s Bounty Event, And More

April 10, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by faxfox

Epic Games has rolled out another new update for its hit battle royale title, Fortnite. Following a round of downtime on Wednesday morning, patch 8.30 is now live across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. As the developer details in the update’s patch notes, this week’s biggest additions are a new limited-time event called Buccaneer’s Bounty and the recently announced Reboot Vans.

Similar to the respawn stations found in EA’s rival battle royale game, Apex Legends, Reboot Vans allow you to revive fallen teammates during a match. To use them, you’ll need an ally’s Reboot Card, which is dropped upon their elimination. Once a card has been collected, any member of the squad can bring it to the Reboot Van and respawn them, regardless of who actually picked it up. The vans can’t be found in Solo matches, large-scale LTMs, or any mode that already has respawns enabled.

The other big draw this week is the aforementioned Buccaneer’s Bounty event, which runs until April 15. Throughout the event, Epic will feature a different limited-time mode to play every day. Treasure maps will also spawn a bit more frequently during matches, and there will be daily Buccaneer’s Bounty challenges to complete and rewards to unlock for all players–no Battle Pass necessary.

Also new following the update is the Fly Explosives LTM, which Epic says “combines the explosive fun of the High Explosives LTM with the Jetpack.” In this mode, the only weapons you’ll be able to find are explosives, and Jetpacks will occasionally spawn as Floor Loot. Beyond that, Epic has made numerous bug fixes and UI tweaks. You can read a portion of the patch notes for Battle Royale mode below; the full patch notes can be found on Epic’s website.

Week 7’s challenges are slated to arrive on Thursday, April 11, bringing players another step closer to unlock Season 8’s Legendary Ruin skin. If you still have any outstanding challenges you need to complete in the meantime, you can find tips and guides for this season’s trickier tasks in our full Season 8 challenges roundup.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 8.30 Patch Notes

Limited-Time Mode: Fly Explosives

Summary

This mode combines the explosive fun of the High Explosives LTM with the Jetpack. Take to the skies and blast everyone else back to the lobby!

Mode Details

Only explosive weapons can be found in this mode.
Floor Loot spawners will occasionally spawn Jetpacks.
- Jetpacks are only available in this mode in Battle Royale.
Reduced storm wait times.
Rocket Ammunition capped at 120.

Weapons + Items

Reboot Van / Cards
- Reboot Vans have now been added to the map at all major POIs.
- When squad members are eliminated they now drop their Reboot Card, which can be collected by other squad members.
  - Reboot Vans / Cards are disabled in Solos, Big Team Limited Time Modes, and any modes with respawns enabled.
  - Reboot Cards remain in the world for 90s after they’ve been dropped.
  - Pickup Interaction time: 0.5 seconds.
- Bringing Reboot Cards to Reboot Vans will bring each squad member whose card has been collected back into battle.
  - Collected Reboot Cards can be turned in by any squad member regardless of which member picked up the Card.
  - Interaction time: 10 seconds.
  - A Reboot Van goes on cooldown and cannot be activated again for 120 seconds after it’s used.
- Rebooted squad members return with:
  - 100 Health
  - 1 Common Pistol
  - 36 Light Ammo
  - 100 Wood
Infantry Rifle
- Damage decreased from 40/42 to 38/40.
- Fall-off damage at maximum range increased from 26/28 to 32/34.
Poison Dart Trap damage ticks will no longer cause the camera to shake repeatedly.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented weapon fire from queuing for shotguns after switching weapons without re-pressing the fire key.
Fixed an issue where if a Clinger is attached to a player and they entered a Baller that it wouldn’t deal damage.
Fixed sniper rifles playing fire animations twice per shot from the point of view of other players.
Fixed grenade projectile trajectories lagging behind slightly when moving and rotating.
Fixed Traps not activating if a player blocks line of sight with a structure but then the structure is destroyed.
Fixed Balloon sound effects occasionally playing when entering a vehicle without Balloons active.
Fixed an issue with single shot weapons not reloading properly while in targeting mode.
Fixed Peppers not granting movement speed while walking.
Fixed Minigun Rev Up/Down sound effects persisting after boosting on a Driftboard.
Fixed an issue with Ziplines after using a Launch Pad that could cause the player to jump higher.
Fixed an issue with players getting knocked backward when firing the Pirate Cannon upwards.
Fixed Pirate Cannons getting stuck in an indefinite horizontal rotation.
Fixed an issue with Boom Bow not showing up with the Visualize Sound Effects option.
Fixed an issue with vehicles shot by Boom Bow not playing hit notification sound effects.
Fixed an issue with the Boom Bow having longer than expected projectile trail effects.
Fixed an issue with Boom Bow projectile effects occasionally flying through enemies.
Fixed a spelling error in the elimination feed with Boom Bow.

Gameplay

Buccaneer’s Bounty Event
- A different Limited Time Mode rotates in every day from April 10 – April 15.
- Drop in and Complete free Challenges to earn in-game rewards.
- Increased the spawn rate of Treasure Maps for the duration of this event:
  - Floor Loot: Increased availability from .25% to .5%
  - Chests: Increased availability from 1.55% to 3.05%
All aspect ratios will have the same vertical FOV on Mac and PC.
- In the near future, ultrawide monitors will be limited to 16:9 in competitive game modes.
Added separate controller sensitivities for building and editing structures.
The Glider Redeploy item is now sorted to the right along with other consumables when “Auto sort consumables to the right” is enabled.
Added ability to cycle hotbar items while gliding.
Hit markers are now server authoritative.
- We’ve heard the feedback that hit markers are sometimes seen for shots but don’t apply damage, so we’re going to delay showing them until the server has confirmed the hit.
Fixed sniper damage not causing damaged players to play a reaction animation.
Adjusted how Storm damage is applied so that players entering the Storm will have a set amount of time before damage is applied.
- The initial instance of damage will start 1 second after entering the Storm.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where players would incorrectly edit structure behind them when backed up close to a player built wall.
Players dropping in warm-up will not award eliminations if another player caused them to receive fall damage.
Fixed Traps being hidden underneath certain floor pieces that don’t completely align with the grid.

Performance

Various level streaming performance optimizations for Switch and Xbox One to reduce cases where players see blurry buildings.
Improved texture streaming performance and memory overhead on Switch.
Improved performance for Traps.
Improved performance of the Challenges UI.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a source of hitches due to spawning weapon drops.
Fixed a source of hitches due to replay recording.
Implemented a fix that should resolve cases of invisible characters after skydiving.

Audio

New separate in-air audio tell for enemies.
- More of an “incoming” audio tell that should give more awareness when an enemy drops in on you from above.
Reduced volume of building audio loops while being structures are being built.
- This sound is now ducked by enemy footsteps and gunfire.
- Prevents unnecessary noise when lots of buildings are placed in quick succession.
Slightly increased the volume of footsteps below the player.
Increased volume of the landing sounds of enemy footsteps.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug where all offscreen enemy footsteps and weapon switches/reloads would be silent when more than 5 players were nearby.
Fixed a bug where the Boom Bow wasn’t playing the correct vehicle damage notification sound.

UI

Vehicle controls can now be hidden in the HUD Options.
Added minimum and maximum values to the in-game FPS overlay and added the option to “Show FPS” on all supported platforms.
Push To Talk
- Enabling the menu option for consoles
- Defaulting the option to Off for consoles.
Wraps can now be applied to most types of weapons, everything that doesn’t fit elsewhere is now covered by a catch-all “Misc.” slot in the locker.
The health bar for vehicles has been adjusted to now display health values of vehicles.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue with the friend list was always displaying a notification symbol in the frontend.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-830-patch-notes-reboot-vans-buccaneers-bo/1100-6466152/

Here’s How Fortnite’s Reboot Vans Differ From Respawns In Apex Legends

April 10, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by faxfox

Fortnite and its latest big-name competitor, Apex Legends, are locked in something of a duel for battle royale supremacy. Apex roared onto the scene with features like a robust “ping” communication system. Fortnite answered back by rolling out a system of its own. Apex launched a subscription-like battle pass that’s pretty much exactly like Fortnite’s monetization model. And now Fortnite’s latest update has patched in another signature Apex idea: the Respawn Beacon that allows you to revive dead teammates in the middle of a battle.

In Fortnite, these new respawn items are called Reboot Vans, and they’re scattered around the map in certain team-based game modes. Both Reboot Vans and Respawn Beacons offer one game-changing ability: if a member of your squad is eliminated from a match (rather than just taking enough damage to be “knocked down,” at which point a teammate can revive them), you have a chance to save them if you’re quick and daring. In both games, your dead teammate drops an item–in Apex, it’s their banner card; in Fortnite, their reboot card.

You’ve got 90 seconds to collect that card in both games. Once you have it, take it to either a Respawn Beacon or Reboot Van, and you can give your dead teammate a second chance at life. They come back to the game in pretty rough shape, but having your full squad back is a huge step toward recovering from a lost fight and being the last team standing.

The similarities between the two systems don’t end there. In Apex Legends, a person on your squad needs to physically visit the death box of your dead teammate in order to collect their banner, but once it’s been collected, either of the remaining two squadmates can activate the Respawn Beacon. That means that one person can go running for the beacon while the other person goes to recover the card, drastically shortening the time it takes to bring your third squadmate back. You don’t have to physically carry the card itself back to the Respawn Beacon. Fortnite’s Reboot Vans work the same way; once one teammate has the card, it’s available to any teammate to use at the Reboot Van.

In both games, you’re also pretty vulnerable while saving someone’s life. It takes time to activate both a Respawn Beacon and a Reboot Van, although in Fortnite, the danger is a lot less than in Apex. In the latter game, the beacon summons a new drop ship to bring your teammate back to the battlefield, which is highly visible to everybody around and requires your dead squaddie to jump from the ship back to the ground. They’re vulnerable that whole time, and the arrival of the ship is effectively a giant “come kill me” sign to other teams. Meanwhile, in Fortnite, the player is reconstituted right on the Reboot Van, and there’s seemingly a lot less visual flare to alert other players of what’s going on.

The other major difference between the systems is how often you can use them. There are a limited number of Respawn Beacons on the Apex Legends map, and they’re single-use–so once any player uses a beacon to respawn a teammate, that beacon no longer works for anyone else. Reboot Vans are a lot more forgiving; use one, and it becomes unavailable for 120 seconds before recharging. You can’t revive your whole squad immediately at a Reboot Van, but you could potentially hang out near one to get multiple players back in the middle of match, if you can stay alive that long.

The last big difference between Respawn Beacons and Reboot Vans is what happens to the player revived. In Apex Legends, you get a second chance at life, but it’s a pretty big bummer: Any loot you found along the way before you were killed is gone, unless your teammates grabbed it and brought it back for you. When you respawn, you return to the game with nothing, which means that you’re highly vulnerable until you’re able to loot new weapons and armor to protect yourself with. Using a Respawn Beacon helps you get your team up to full strength, but you still have to work very hard to deal with the disadvantage of having lost a member of your team.

Fortnite’s respawns are a bit more forgiving. Return from a Reboot Van and you won’t be completely empty-handed. You’ll reenter the match with 100 health, a Common Pistol with 36 rounds, and 100 wood to let you build. You won’t be too formidable right after a respawn, but you’ll at least be able to fight if you have to.

There are some slight differences, but both mechanics are close to identical. That means the strategies for using them are pretty much the same: Coordinate with your teammates on revives, avoid leaving yourself too vulnerable while respawning, and help your newly revived teammate get some weapons together so they can survive fighting the next group of enemies who show up.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-how-fortnites-reboot-vans-differ-from-respaw/1100-6466155/

Target Is Running A Buy One, Get One 50% Off Sale On Newly Released Games

April 10, 2019/0 Comments/in News /by faxfox

Target is the latest retailer to launch a huge sale on AAA game titles recently, and this time, the deal is simple: buy one, get 50% off any game title, including newly released games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Division 2, and Devil May Cry 5. The deal encompasses hundreds of PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games, and as with most BOGO deals, the 50% off price slash will apply to the cheapest game, so choose wisely. The discount will then be applied at checkout.

This BOGO deal puts many games at their cheapest price ever, such as Resident Evil 2, which is listed for $55 and would drop to $27.50; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which is still $60 and would drop to $30; and God of War, which is listed for $30 and would drop to just $15, a killer price for one of 2018’s best games.

The deal also applies to select puzzles, party games, and children’s games, which are great options if you’re shopping for any little ones this Easter.

This offer is valid through April 13, so only a few days are left to take advantage of these deals. Meanwhile, GameStop’s massive spring sale is also going on, with huge discounts on not only PS4, Xbox One, and Switch games, but also consoles, accessories, toys, and collectibles. Some special trade-in offers are also available. Note that many of the game deals overlap between Target and GameStop’s sales, so consider checking out both sales to find the best deals for you.