Everything New In Fortnite Season 7: Biggest Changes Explained
Chapter 2, Season 7 of Fortnite makes some important changes, not just to the map but also to the Battle Pass system and how upgrades & rewards work.
As it likes to do to keep people playing, Epic has made some dramatic changes for the latest season of Fortnite. Chapter 2, Season 7 is named "Invasion," and its alien conquest theme is practically omnipresent - not just in modifications to the map, but in weapons, skins, and more. There are also some unrelated changes, but it's important to understand the sum total to get the most out of Fortnite's battle pass each season.
Map evolution needs to be addressed immediately, since it forms the basis for everything else in Fortnite Season 7. The Spire, previously the centerpiece of Fortnite in Season 6, has been literally torn out of the ground, replaced with a section of map known as the Aftermath. A number of alien landmarks are scattered elsewhere, most obviously satellite dishes situated near places like Slurpy Swamp and Dirty Docks. Sweaty Sands has been turned into Believer Beach - an alien party town - and Colossal Crops has become Corny Complex, growing in size in the process.
The alien presence isn't just cosmetic. Patrols are scattered around Fortnite's map, and there are even Alien-style parasites that slowly drain health if they're allowed to attach to a player's head. There are only two options for removal: having someone else shoot them off, or jumping into nearby water. One positive side effect of the aliens, though, is the option to jump into UFOs, identified by flickering purple map markers. These may need to be shot down, but once under control can hover, fly, fire an energy cannon, and even lift most objects and players using a tractor beam. It should be noted that the cannon is better against structures than players - presumably a balancing decision to avoid aerial slaughters.
Epic has further introduced Alien Artifacts, purple orbs scattered around the map but mostly in alien-controlled areas. By way of Fortnite's Battle Pass menu, these can be put towards customizing a new Kymera character with variable heads, eyes, skins, and armor designs. Speaking of the Battle Pass - people participating this season now get five "Battle Stars" for each tier instead of automatic rewards. Stars can be saved up for specific items, although rewards are still grouped in a way that people will have to have reach a certain level or spend a base amount of Stars to unlock anything further. One example is the new Rick Sanchez skin from Rick & Morty, reserved for people at tier 90 unless they spend a lot of Stars. Superman is another planned character, but details will have to wait until he arrives in August.
In-game reward changes include the addition of Cosmic Chests. These only appear in Fortnite's team play, since they require an entire squad to surround it, at which point beams will link everyone and they can start smashing weak points. Opened chests offer Alien Artifacts and other items such as weapons - new guns this season include a beam-firing Pulse Rifle, the chargeable Rail Gun, and the Kymera Ray Gun, the last being associated with the Kymera character. A Recon Scanner can fire a bolt to ping nearby enemies and chests. Scavenged nuts and bolts can be used to craft and upgrade previously vaulted weapons.
Fortnite's gold bars, finally, can now be earned not just through NPC quests, but by quests received from payphones. Stashes can be spent with characters, at weapon upgrade benches, and at vending machines, the latter of which have been renamed to "mending" machines. It remains to be seen how long changes like this will persist - Season 7, though, is scheduled to end September 12.