You've been playing Fortnite wondering why you aren't getting good. You do learn stuff and you are making some progress but people keep wrecking you in game. I have been playing Fortnite and YouTubing (both) since 2018. There is one thing I have consistently seen getting in the way of people's progress learning to play.
First let's go over what you SHOULD be focusing on. Then we will get into the one mistake as it has everything to do with all these game skills and strategies.
Keep in mind and focus on: "The Core Skills."
You want to get good and you want the shortest route to get there? You will need to focus desperately on the core skills of Fortnite. Some skills transfer from other first person shooter games. So, the rate at which you get good will be determined by previous gaming hours of experience.
BUILDS
You may be comforted and relieved to know this simple fact. Building and editing is lower on the priority list for skills. People believe commonly that building and editing are essential but they are in reality not "immediately" essential. I'm referring to Battle Royale with builds. Which in my opinion IS Fortnite. Anything else is transitory fluff.
So, you will want to learn how to build but do not stress about it. It's more like learning piano or guitar chords. Once you have the shapes and patterns down with your key binds; builds become second nature pretty fast.
THE CORE SKILLS in FORTNITE
I. Aim
If you can't hit the broad side of a barn at mid range you're going to experience a lot of grief in game. Keep in mind 3 distances: close range, mid range, long range. You will have different weapons for each in your loadout and you can tailor your loadout to the range you prefer.
2 key things you want to remember about aim is:
1. Resting reticule is 100% accurate on hit scan weapons, AND
2. Crouching and sighting in on your weapon adds stability if you need to move while shooting.
Resting Reticule and Hit Scan
To dominate in Fortnite you will want to watch for targets at mid range. See them before they see you. Sighting in and waiting 1 second the resting reticule will become a very tight t shape. Shooting targets at distance you will be 100% accurate if when you pull the trigger the reticule is directly on their tiny little figure. Most guns in game are hit scan. Which means that there is no travel time for the bullets.
Crouching and Sighting-in to Move
As you are crouched it takes even less time to get a 100% resting reticule. So, keep that in mind. An extra added benefit is that crouching reduces the amount of bloom from how accurate your weapon is.
The width of spray from the inaccuracy of your weapon will be shorter crouched compared to standing. When you move your accuracy is also affected. Some players will be mindful to shoot while standing still or at least in a crouched position.
There are situations you want to take shots quickly rising from a squatted position but typically those weapons are not hit scan and are sniper maneuvers from within their build.
II. Positioning
At one point I decided to look into military tactics. Many of them are useful in game to protect your position and leveled up my game intelligence very quickly. Positioning is about surprise as well as defendable protection and stealth (among other things).
A lot of people give up natural high ground or don't know how to properly defend it. Think of natural high ground as a build people can't shoot out from under you. Spot it, play around with it, see if you can make sense of how to use it to your advantage. It really is one of the least used advantages and is over powered in some situations used properly.
Positioning as you cross the map and positioning as you encounter others (especially in the end circles) can mean the difference between the dub and second place.
III. Surprise and Mobility
It is an understatement to call surprise and mobility a core skill in Fortnite. If you can't build yet you will need to focus on surprise and mobility skills to keep a tactical advantage over your encounters. Once you start adding building to surprise and mobility you will be quickly on a path to domination.
There are many mobility items in game. They change every season and throughout the season. Whatever is available in game for mobility can give you an edge over everyone else who just walk around and shoot hiding in or behind existing game structures. You can even take over someone else's build or destroy their build completely with some mobility items.
The one thing I keep in mind constantly is to keep an element of surprise in my favour. If someone surprises me I evade and defend until I have reason to believe they've lost me for a split second or I disengage successfully and then attack them on my own medded up terms. Hellz yeah.
First thing, I keep in mind as I move around to spot others before they spot me. If they are far enough out I will pop a shot or two safely to harass them, make them waste builds, and meds for 20 hit points down. People 90% of the time wont be able to determine your position from 2 shots. Sometimes even 3 shots can keep them in confusion. At mid range it is also easy to disengage and/or check your position for 3rd parties.
This is also why position is important on natural high ground or some other safe position to fire from. You can easily see 3rd parties or determine no 3rd parties are possible (or choose to draw in a 3rd party by firing to a mid range target) being mindful to maintain surprise and stealth.
Keep in mind: "The 20 Hour Rule."
There are 2 numbers I want you to keep in mind. It takes 10K hours of any "skillset" (example - the whole game genre) to be considered a genius or savant or gifted. That's the long road you are on. However, It takes 20 hours to learn a single new skill from scratch!
This means that each separate skill within the game you are trying to master (like the core skills) it will only take you 20 hours for each one to add it to your total skillset. This is the time it will take you to be decent at one skill (not proficient, not genius, not gifted; just decently good). As you crack away at learning the core skills keep the 20 hour rule in mind.
You can circle around through the skills and play with other skills not mentioned as core skills. You can also focus on the 3 skills individually for the entire 20 hours. Simply, keep the 20 hour rule in mind to manage your expectations like a pro. So like, focus on aim and aiming for 20 hours (1 hour of play a day is like a month of aim practice) or focus on positioning only for the same time. But as you can see, it is compatible to work on the 3 core skills at the same time with a lot of overlap.
I would still suggest you desperately work on one of the skills at a time for the 20 hours while being mindful of the others. You will progress more rapidly. In 3 months you could be decent in the core skills and adding in building. Bearing in mind, we are talking about someone who has never played first person shooters and Fortnite is their first big pvp game.
(Adding more time each day to learning will not really get you more results. It's just how the brain matter works. Which is where the one big mistake I want to mention starts to come into play.)
Keep in mind: "The 3 Qs to Hindsight."
You will not learn efficiently without the 3 Qs of Hindsight. Alright, so we went over The 3 Core Skills and talked a bit about Building as well. But it is the quality of the questions that you ask that will determine how quickly you learn from your successes and failures.
Early on I heard this advice about the 3 Qs and it is so good I need to pass it on to you.
The 3 Questions:
What did I do right in this situation?
What did I do wrong?
What did the other person do that brought about the outcome?
These 3 questions will bring crystal clarity to events you have just come through. Replay recordings are great to review. Any time I have been stunned or confused as to what the hell happened replays played a key role in me determining what happened and what to do next time. Frustration is part of the journey but it gets easier.
Ask yourself The 3 Qs more often than you can bear. Especially in the beginning as you learn that steep learning curve of anything you do (Fortnite or otherwise). They will guide you and provide insight. Any other questions you can add to learning from your recent past... the speed of your progress will be heavily influenced by the quality and honesty of the questions you ask and the answers that land in your lap that you humbly embrace.
Spilling the Tea...
THE ONE BIG MISTAKE
All the skills and strategies discussed there is still that one big mistake. I've seen it happen over and over again. Frustrations and tensions and expectations managed poorly. The one big mistake I see over and over again is a lack of patience and consistency. If you want to get good fast you must be of a disciplined mind.
Being around supportive other people helps a great deal with consistency and the discipline needed. But often those friendships will turn toxic as emotions run high, frustrations, and mismanaged expectations get the best of others in the group. Finding the right community to grow in is key. Sometimes learning solo is the only and best choice for learning.
Whatever your style, your preference, and your desire for speed I hope this paints a clear picture and roadmap for you to choose how you want to tackle the skills and most of all... have fun gaming.
Shoot for the stars! Dream big.
- ZymaPro :)
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