Fortnite Patch Notes: Season 8 Update Adds Battle Pass, New Skins, Map Changes, Shared Challenges

It came a couple weeks later than usual, but Season 8 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is officially underway. On Thursday, Epic Games released a major patch, update 8.0, that includes all of the typical "new season" stuff: gameplay changes and tweaks, new areas of the map, new weapons, and a brand-new Battle Pass, with more than 100 rewards (including new skins). But there were also some unexpected inclusions, such as a way to share challenge progress with friends. Below, we dive into the full patch notes detailing exactly what's now new and different in Fortnite. [Update: We've now gotten the first update following the start of Season 8; you can read about what it does in our rundown on patch 8.01.]

The most notable change in Season 8 is to the Fortnite island. As with previous seasons, Epic likes to mix things up by introducing new themes and altering the map. This time around pirates, ninjas, and creatures from within a newly emerged volcano are all set to tussle over some treasure. Along with the volcano, new locations for Season 8 include Sunny Steps and Lazy Lagoon.

Tying into the volcano, a big gameplay addition is that of lava, which will deal one damage per touch and will make the player bounce off the surface. There are also volcanic vents that shoot out gusts of hot air that players can use to launch themselves into the sky.

In terms of weapons, there's a new Pirate Cannon, which can be used to destroy structures from a distance. You can also get inside the barrel of the cannon and launch yourself across the map. You have to manually push the cannon to face the direction you want to fire it, and it can send you quite far. Wherever you (or the cannonball) head, the projectile can go through multiple objects. A direct hit deals 100 damage to enemies, while landing near an enemy will do 50 damage. The cannon also inflicts a knockback effect to enemies near the target.

A variety of weapons and items have been vaulted, meaning they're no longer accessible for the time being. Those include the Sneaky Snowman, Chiller Grenade, X-4 Stormwing, Shopping Cart, and All Terrain Kart--that covers many of the game's vehicles. Specifically regarding assault rifles, drop rates have been adjusted to make the high-tier ones less common, although assault rifles in general will still be available at the same rates as before

Excitingly, Epic has also introduced Party Assist which, when enabled prior to a match, will allow daily or weekly challenges to be completed with the help of friends in your party. In Season 8, daily quests will be automatically claimed and the reward will be delivered once they are done. There are some limitations to this feature--it doesn't work in larger team-based modes, and it doesn't allow you to work together with random players who fill your squad. Still, that there is any way to share challenge progress with friends is an encouraging move.

In terms of limited-time modes, there are two going on right now. The first is Close Encounters, which gives players jetpacks and shotguns. The other is 50v50, which pits two large teams against one another; that's perfect for the start of a season, as it's an easy way for new players to grasp the game's mechanics without having much pressure on them.

Check out the full Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 8 patch notes below. You can head to Epic's website to see what's new for the Creative and Save the World modes.

Fortnite Season 8 Battle Royale Update Patch Notes

Weapons + Items

• Pirate Cannon
  • Push the Cannon into position, take aim, and fire! Alternatively, climb into the barrel and launch yourself!
  • The cannon will fire cannonballs or players a great distance. Cannonballs and players can plow through a number of objects before stopping with a bang, causing damage and knockback to nearby players.
  • Deals 100 Damage to enemies on a direct hit and 50 Damage to enemies within a small radius.
  • Found throughout the environment.
• Vaulted
  • Sneaky Snowman
  • Chiller Grenade
  • X-4 Stormwing
  • Shopping Cart
  • All Terrain Kart
• Updated Hunting Rifle Icon
• Reduced the availability of high tier Assault Rifles
  • Total number of Assault Rifles available remains unchanged
    • Increased chance of receiving a Common quality assault rifle from 48.56% to 56.30%
    • Increased chance of receiving an Uncommon quality assault rifle from 26.83% to 28.15%
    • Reduced the chance of receiving a Rare quality assault rifle from 16.17% to 10.91%
    • Reduced the chance of receiving an Epic quality assault rifle from 7.02% to 3.52%
  • Reduced the chance of receiving a Legendary quality assault rifle from 1.82% to 1.13%

Bug Fixes

• Supply Drops now properly appear on the map.
• If the fire button is pressed while the shotgun cooldown is still active after swapping weapons then the shotgun will automatically fire once the cooldown is over.
• Fixed Clingers causing damage through walls / floors when stuck to a player.
• Fixed players accidentally sticking Remote Explosives onto themselves after applying a Consumable Bush.
• Fixed Legendary/Epic Pump Shotgun pellet tracers and muzzle flash sometimes not replicating to other clients.
• Fixed an issue where players couldn’t use Auto-Run while using a Hoverboard with a gamepad.
• Fixed items occasionally being invisible to some players.

Gameplay

• Added Lava
  • Lava will deal 1 damage per touch and will cause players to bounce off the surface. Watch out!
• Added Volcanic Vents
  • Volcanic Vents will boost players and vehicles into the sky in a gust of hot air!
• Party Assist Added
  • Prior to a match, enable Party Assist on a Daily or Weekly challenge to complete it with the assistance of everyone in your party.
  • Party members are able to provide progress to the selected challenge in addition to yourself.
  • This functionality excludes "fill" players who are added into the party during matchmaking or teammates from large team modes such as Team Rumble.
• Increased Infinite Dab duration from 11 hours to 12 hours in the lobby.
• Cozy Campfire now glows while active when viewed through a Thermal Scope.
• Starting in Season 8, daily quests will be automatically claimed once they've been completed.
  • Any Challenges that were ready to be collected will be auto completed and all rewards will be delivered. However, at this time there will be no in-game notification for you receiving these rewards.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where the Lynx Outfit would jitter very badly when playing the original Wave emote in the lobby.
• Fixed an issue where players were able to aim down sights while jumping.
• Fixed an issue where weapons picked up would sometimes be incorrectly unloaded. This would happen if a player looted a weapon dropped by a player immediately after being eliminated.
• Fixed Bush consumable not being destroyed if player takes damage from a great distance.
• Fixed aim assist to work through windows.
• Fixed an issue where players could stop themselves from getting on a Zipline by standing too far behind it and colliding into the ground as they try to enter.
• Fixed an issue where the player couldn't pick up items dropped around the Zipline pole.
• Fixed an issue where entering a vehicle while ziplining left the fall damage immunity visual effect on the player.
• Fixed auto-pickup of items not working when first landing from skydiving.
• Weapon auto-reloading no longer cancels emotes.
• Fixed an equipped Trap being swapped after dropping a stack of items or after using the last item of a stack of consumables or explosives.
• Fixed equipped traps being dropped when using hold to swap to pick up items.

Limited Time Mode: 50v50

Summary

Two teams of fifty players fight to the finish!

Mode Details

• Each team has a bus, approaching the island from opposite directions. On the map, the friendly bus has a blue outline, enemy has red.
• The map has a dotted line, which indicates the "battle lines" between the two teams. Crossing the line will make running into enemies more likely.
• Farming materials increased 25% over default.
• Chests & Ammo Crates spawn more often than usual, and carry extra ammo.

Limited Time Mode: Close Encounters

Summary

Close quarters combat with Shotguns & Jetpacks!

Mode Details

• Players start with a Jetpack in their inventory.
• The only guns in this mode are the various types of Shotguns.
• The Storm moves in more quickly than normal mid to late game.

Audio

• Above/below footstep improvements.
  • More distinct sound for above footsteps.
  • Tuned the distance at which above/below footsteps travel to be more realistic.
• Improved footstep audio timings when the game simulation is under heavy load.
• Set Down-But-Not-Out alert sound spatialization from the location of the downed player.
• Added stereo sounds for all weapons for those carrying the weapon.
• Added foley audio feedback when crouching and ADS’ing with a weapon.
• Improved Rocket Launcher incoming audio. It now plays an additional warning layer if the rocket is coming towards you.
• Added distant perspective to the enemy glider audio tell.
• Improved damage/elimination audio feedback.
• Added a new shield break sound.
• Improved the “weak-point” hit sound when harvesting.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed in-air wind audio restarting when eliminating an enemy while they're in mid-air.
• Fixed sniper projectiles not playing impact audio.
• Fixed "Hootenany" emote getting stuck on infinitely.
• Fixed Suppressed SMG sound effect occasionally looping continuously incorrectly.

UI

• Added the ability to access the Patch Notes website from the News Screen.
• Visual improvements made to squadmate names and indicators.
• World Marker Improvements
  • World Markers are now visible in the world when placed close to you.
  • Double-clicking the World Marker hotkey will place a “danger” version of that marker. World Markers placed while aiming with a weapon will also place the danger version.
  • Added 2D UI indicators to the World Markers, making them easier to see through objects.
  • World Markers now have an off-screen indicator and display the distance your character is from them.
  • Placing a World Marker on an item will display that item’s icon and rarity.
  • Placing World Markers remains on the same key for PC and console (KBM: Middle Mouse Button, Controller: D-Pad Left).
    • This button can be remapped to any button you want. Let us know on our social channels what works best for you!
  • Mobile also has a button that can be added to the HUD. Place this button by using the HUD Layout Tool.
• Added filter tabs to the locker for animated loading screens and pets.
• Added a card corner icon for certain types of animated cosmetics.

Bug Fixes

• Fix cases where the Bad Network Indicator would appear at the beginning of the match due to slow loading conditions.
• The Battle Pass / Battle Bundle purchase screen now shows your supported creator if one is set.
• Fixed an issue where the team elimination count was sometimes inaccurate.
• Fixed an issue where eliminations weren’t properly counting when playing in Playgrounds.

Replay

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where scrubbing through a replay could cause the player's hero model to disappear in the lobby.
• Fixed issue with cosmetic styles not displaying properly during replay playback.
• Fixed elimination damage numbers being inaccurate in replays.
• Fixed weapon firing animations sometimes playing twice in replays.

Mobile

• Added more visual feedback when buttons are pressed.
• Changed gliding/freefalling HUD visibility to be more consistent between mobile/other platforms.
• Player are now able to toggle between crouch and standing states while in build and edit modes.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed bug which caused the lobby background to disappear when closing the Report Player dialog.
• Fixed an issue where trying to switch to build mode and tapping the quickbar at the same time would switch back to combat mode.
• Fixed an issue where attempting to place a trap using a mobile controller made the player animate as if they were trying to open a door several times before the trap is placed.
• Fixed players ability to un-crouch while gliding.
• Fixed action button remaining on the UI during the Battle Bus phase.
• The 'Resources' HUD setting now properly shows in-game after making changes on mobile devices.
• Fixed an issue where using touch to edit a structure breaks the ability to continue crosshair editing until the button is pressed again.
• Fixed an issue where dragging an item off the hotbar triggered a double click.
• Fixed an issue where pick up and zip line activation icon's default position overlapped with the aiming icon.
• Fixed controller art sometimes missing in the Controller Setting screen.