Fortnite for Boomers: Choose Your Weapons!

How you stock your ‘loadout’ (choose your weapons) is a matter of personal choice. And of great discussion – you can find a good, in-depth analysis here.

But when you first land – you need… anything! Grey pistol the only thing available? Grab it… Anything you can use out of reach of an opponent’s pickaxe is an advantage.

So, 5 spaces to fill. Good, self-preservative sense suggests two will be bandages and shields – your insurance policy. That leaves 3.

When you do get to choose your weapons, you’re looking a mix that can deal with: Close combat, middle distance, long range – it’s not rocket surgery. For me that is best covered with a shotgun, assault rifle (AR) and scoped sniper rifle. If I can collect that mix, I’m ready to face anything.

Weapon Rarity: What it is and why it’s important

As I say, you’ll be feverishly picking up any weapon at first – but you should start getting a bit more selective. when you get the opportunity

All weapons are colour coded for ‘rarity’. A ‘common’ grey weapon is exactly that, common. As they increase in rarity, they also increase in desirability. The rarer they are, the faster the fire rate and – crucially – the damage they can deal out. If it comes down to a blazing standoff, the shooter with the highest ranking weapon usually walks away.

So, here’s what to look out for:
Grey = Common
Green = Uncommon
Blue = Rare
Purple = Epic
Gold = Legendary

“Rare” weapons aren’t all *that* rare, and they pack a lot of punch – if you’re equipped with all blue weapons you’re in a good place. When you fire a Legendary, though, you’ll discover why they’re so sought after…

Anyway – what do I generally grab, if I can?

As a stealthy Boomer, you’re probably going to use an AR a lot. They have a good fire rate, are effective over a considerable distance and do an impactful amount of damage. They’re even useful up close at a pinch – but your aim needs to be pretty precise.

There are standard and ‘heavy’. Heavy ARs do a little more damage but their fire rate is notably slower so they are not my first choice.

Season 7 has ‘nuts and bolts’ (usually found in red toolboxes) to upgrade any AR to a ‘Burst AR’. This keeps the same rarity rating but delivers its firepower in ‘bursts’ – great for an elevated attack on a distant player. Though there’s a couple of steps to activate this feature (“Crafting“) and probably not worth worrying about when starting out.

If you find yourself in unavoidable close combat, what will best get you out of trouble IMHO is a shotgun, where precision is far less of a concern. Whenever you’re about to enter any situation where you could confront someone unexpectedly – like inside a building – it’s good policy to have one locked and loaded.

Shotguns do big damage when close – 2 or 3 good shots can down an opponent. They are not effective at a distance – though that can surprise you sometimes.

There are a variety of shotguns… Pump and Lever Action models do the most damage, but have a far slower reload rate than my top choice – the Tactical. I’ve won a number of games with an Uncommon (green) – but grab an Epic (purple) or a Legendary (gold) and you feel unstoppable…

#BadassDad tip: Using the left trigger on your firearms – #1

When you find yourself in a position where you can, or have to, take a shot at someone (Preferably somewhere they have the least chance of firing back), the right trigger will discharge the weapon.

So far, so obvious. But what I didn’t know until I’d played many games is that the left trigger is super-useful in this situation. When you’re lining up a shot, using it gives you greater accuracy – I think they call it ‘lining up your sights’.

If you have time, try pulling and holding it before right-triggering – on most weapons you will get a slight ‘zoom’, the cross hairs will become a little more distinct and the weapon feels more stable. This makes a small difference to shotgun effectiveness, a significant difference to AR, but is vital when using a scope. Man, I love left-triggering on a scope and bringing the target into close view!

Which brings us to my personal favourite…

Sniper rifles go hand with hand with the whole #badassdad stealth and cunning philosophy. If I can snaffle one of these babies, my entire game plan shifts.

Like all weapons they have a rarity range (though there is no ‘common’ or ‘uncommon’) and like all weapons, have incrementally greater damage and faster reloads (reloads are fairly lengthy). But, to be honest, I think the more exclusive models mostly just look more schmick. That’s because a ‘rare’, blue scope can do over 100 damage on a body shot and well over 200 damage on a head shot. That means even with full health and shield, nobody will survive a head shot from even the ‘bottom of the range’ scope. 

#BadassDad tip: Using the left trigger on your firearms – #2: “Am-bush”

A practice which is both looked down on and yet done by everybody is ‘bush camping’. All over the island you’ll find bushes scattered at ground level and they are a great place to hide. You can run right into them for complete obscurity. Mind you, unlike a solid object like a rock or tree, they offer zero protection against gunfire – so if someone sees you run it you could be toast. (Though it’s difficult to judge exactly where you are)

Once you’re in though, you can take advantage of your temporary invisibility. Maybe you’re on the run after a shootout – good time to replenish health and shields. Perhaps there are other players nearby running toward the storm centre – if you’re not up for engagement, you can let them pass.

But the coolest use of a bush is as a sniper post. Bushes tend to be a reliable, permanent fixture on the landscape – you can get to know where good ones will always be. And good ones are perched high on the edge of a cliff overlooking the field of battle – the perfect sniper’s nest.

Now, the most useful feature of being inside a bush is; if you position yourself just inside the edge – ie: still definitely out of sight – you can probably get glimpses of the surrounding terrain. Apply the left trigger however and that screen of leaves in front of you disappears from your view while still keeping you hidden. Awesome!

If you’ve got your scope up to your shoulder and left trigger it, suddenly you can zero in on your target unimpeded – and unseen… 

This is great especially as your best shots will need a little patience – I mentioned the difference between body and head shots. If you can, wait until you can guarantee a head shot for an absolute elimination. A body shot might also do the trick but it may also only alert them to your presence – and if you’re made, they’ll be pissed and fire back with gusto – erk.