Fortnite season 8 is finally here and along with it comes some new changes to the map. If you’re still trying to get adjusted to the Battle Royale island’s new features, our guide will certainly help you get better acquainted. While season 8 didn’t bring the massive overhaul season seven did, it did bring some earth-erupting additions that have been teased for a while now.
The majority of these changes are limited to the northeastern quadrant of the map so if you drop there, don’t be surprised if it looks different than you remember it. We’re going to go over everything you can expect to see in the updated season 8 Battle Royale map.
Unlike the more focused theme of season seven, there are a couple of themes that make up the changes and additions in season 8. For starters, the recent earthquakes and rumbling did indeed hint at a volcano that has now emerged. Pirates have also landed and seek to stake their claim on the Battle Royale map.
Additionally, a trailer for the new map hints that even more is on the way. This season seems to be focusing on the three factions of the Ice King’s army that were introduced in season seven, along with the new factions of the fiery volcano people and the pirate crews.
There is still a lot more to unpack regarding the changes to the Battle Royale map. There are a few new named and unnamed locations, as well as changes to existing places. There have also been some minor adjustments that you might miss such as a (sort of) new vehicle. All of it adds up to create the most diverse and varied map yet.
The single biggest change to the season eight map is the volcano. For some time now, Epic Games has been hinting at a huge change coming with season eight using frequent earthquakes and rumbles in the map. It’s all culminated to the emergence of a massive volcano that has shaped the map but it’s not as detailed as many players expected.
The volcano can be found in the northeastern section of the map where the majority of the changes took place. It is rather large and interestingly enough, not a named location, even though it takes up a good portion of the map. The volcano has replaced Tomato Temple/Town, which no longer exists. It has shaped the areas around it as now there is a large lava river flowing south from its mouth.
This lava is dangerous. Touching it will damage you one health per second so be sure to avoid it. Of course, there is a lot of volcanic rock around the volcano as everything has changed to a molten color near it. If you head to the summit of the volcano, you can see that it is still open and you can see down below but it has a draft that blows you up, similar to the area around the floating island in season six.
The volcano isn’t the only major change to come to season 8 Battle Royale. As we mentioned, pirates have landed on the map and started their invasion, bringing along a new location called Lazy Lagoon. Lazy Links is no more and has been transformed from a relaxing golf course to a gorgeous watery retreat.
The lagoon has a large lake that you can chill in as well as a river that runs out to the large sea that surrounds the island. There is a nice resort building that you can visit in addition to a huge pirate ship that is docked in the lagoon. Both the buildings and the pirate ship offer some great scenery as well as plenty of treasure chests and loot. You can find Lazy Lagoon west of the volcano and east of The Block.
Another totally new location is Sunny Steps. It is found east of the new volcano and Risky Reels. While it is a rather cool new area to explore, it does come at the removal of Wailing Woods. If you’re anything like us, you will dearly miss this most underrated location.
Sunny Steps looks to be inspired by the Aztecs and possibly other Mesoamerican cultures. The buildings are mostly temples with a few other smaller structures scattered around them. There are plenty of places to explore in Sunny Steps and you can find a good amount of treasure chests and loot here so it’s certainly worth checking out.
The volcano, Lazy Lagoon, and Sunny Steps take up the majority of the changes in the northeastern section of the Battle Royale map. The Block may not be a new location but it can now be found in a different spot. It is now west of Lazy Lagoon and east of Junk Junction in the northwestern section of the map.
For those who don’t know, The Block was introduced last season as part of season seven. It was surprise announced at The Game Awards 2018 and is constantly adding new things and creations made by fans. Epic Games hand selects the various cities, buildings, and more, shown off here.
As of right now, at the start of season 8, The Block is featuring a super awesome castle that you can explore, complete with tons of loot and treasure chests to find. The Block took up the spot that was formerly reserved by the broken down motel that harkens back to the earliest days of Fortnite Battle Royale.
You might be wondering what happened to the area where The Block was previously. Well, that spot is now replaced by Risky Reels, which used to occupy that space before being replaced by The Block last season. Players can now revisit this fan favorite location and, hopefully, watch some movies there in the future.
While those are the major changes and additions to the season 8 map, there is much more beyond just that. However, these are more minor changes that aren’t as easy to spot.
There are now seven pirate camps across the Battle Royale map that are basically large forts with a pirate flag. These camps are integral to one particular season eight, week one challenge.
The pirates are spreading their influence but not just with their camps. There is a new vehicle that players can utilize and we’re not talking about the recently released driftboard. Planes are now gone and in the vault but pirate cannons are in their place. You can grab yourself a traditional pirate cannon and blast players across the map.
It is an extremely powerful but unwieldy cannon. It can blow up a ton of buildings (and players) with one shot but it will also blow you and the cannon back in the process. The cannon acts as a kind of vehicle since you have to pilot it and you can push it around anywhere. It also has a cruise method and controls that are very similar to the shopping cart.
There are also little geysers sprinkled throughout the Battle Royale map. Water gushes out of it and if you run into it, you’ll be blasted up. If you’re looking for a nice vacation, there is a hot springs area that can be found just east of Lazy Lagoon and west of the returning Risky Reels.
As always, Tilted Towers is, once again, undergoing repairs so you can find the city with a few fresh changes. Speaking of repairs, the broken down house in Salty Springs is now fixed and can be explored. The starting island is also different. Lastly, this isn’t a change but, thankfully, the snowy season seven changes in the southwestern quadrant still remain.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
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It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
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