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Fortnite Season 8 patch notes feature pirates and new LTM

A new Battle Pass, updates to Battle Royale, Save the World, and Creative, and a host of changes and fixes are coming to Fortnite in the Season 8 patch.

Sam Chandler

February 28, 2019 2:05 AM

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The Fortnite Season 8 patch notes are here. Players have been waiting with baited breath for the reveal of Fortnite’s eighth season, and now they get to peek behind the curtain and see what lies ahead. From pirate skins and pirate cannons to pirate-themed areas, Season 8 of Fortnite is dedicated to all things piracy.

Epic Games has unveiled some of the items that are included in the Season 8 Battle Pass (which some players have received for free thanks to the Overtime Challenges). Those who have the Battle Pass will receive: the Blackheart skin, a skeleton pirate; and the Hybrid skin, a dragon-ninja-thing. The Season 8 Battle Pass will also include new pets (that wooden dog is too cute), emotes (peanut butter jelly time, anyone?), and weapon wraps. Seen in the trailer is a hilarious banana skin, which is obviously the best skin the game, despite the tactical disadvantage of being vibrant yellow.

There is a new area to explore on the island as well. A volcano has cropped up on the edge of the map and is pouring lava over the ground. Sunny Steps and Lazy Lagoon are just two of the new locations to appear thanks to the tectonic activity.

The Fortnite Season 8 patch notes also mention a new Party Assist feature. This feature lets the leader select a challenge for the squad to focus on, which should help build some more cohesion between teams looking to quickly level up their Battle Pass.

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.

The 50v50 Limited Time Mode is also returning to Fortnite in Season 8. Two buses will appear over the map, each containing one whole team. Players will be able to drop down to the island, which is split in two, and start working as one giant squad to defeat the opposition. This mode is no doubt where the new addition of the pirate cannon will be most effective.This huge cannon can launch cannonballs at structures, dealing significant damage. Much like Sea of Thieves, players can also climb into the cannon and fire themselves off.

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.

This isn't the only Limited Time Mode available at the start of Season 8. Simply called, Close Encounters, this LTM features shotguns and jetpacks only. Expect a lot of – as the name suggests – close-range combat, with some added verticality to keep things interesting.

Close Encounters

Close quarters combat with Shotguns & Jetpacks!

• 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.

Fortnite Battle Royale isn’t the only area getting some love. Creative and Save the World will be receiving some new content for players to experience. A new Jungle Temple is coming to Creative, giving players the opportunity to create some cool Aztec-like puzzles and courses!

A major overhaul has come to the hero loadout systems in Save the World. This update is now live, so players should find a vast array of changes and improvements. You can read all about the Save the World hero loadout update on the Epic Games blog. Outside of the hero update, the missions and systems have received some love. There’s a new 10 minute mission, focusing on faster gameplay, and the chances of receiving duplicate heroes has been decreased.

There are a whole lot of bug fixes and tweaks in the patch notes, which you can read over on Epic Games.  Season 8 is shaping up to be one of Fortnite’s most exciting seasons yet.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler