5 things to know about Fortnite Season 6

Fortnite Season 6 is here, and it brings with it a whole host of unexpected changes. Unlike last season, where we had some expectation of what the new season’s first patch might hold, Season 6 was almost a completely mystery.

That’s because there wasn’t much to say about this season without giving it all away. The entire Fortnite island seems to have undergone some massive changes. Instead of a cartoon paradise, our new island is more like a Halloween horror-show. That means floating islands, giant castles and more scary looking additions are waiting everywhere you look.

But the island itself isn’t all that’s changing. Fortnite Season 6 also includes plenty of other in-game changes to help keep things fresh. While these might be the biggest and most impactful changes, be sure to check out our full patch notes for details on everything that’s changing with Season 6. You can also get a look at what’s coming in the Season 6 Battle Pass.

Epic Games

Mysterious new Shadow Stones are here

Shadow Stones are the newest item in Fortnite, and they appear to be some kind of personal portal to an alternate dimension. You’re instantly transported into Shadow Form and gain a whole host of new abilities if you use a Stone. You can’t use weapons at all, but you are also invisible (at least while standing still). You can also run faster and jump higher, as well as avoid fall damage. Using your primary fire button will now launch you forward and through any object you pass, while pressing alternate fire will pull you out of your lunge.

These new items are going to be consumables and will likely take up an inventory slot. It’s a little unclear where exactly they’ll be on the map, but according to the patch notes, you’ll be able to find them around areas that have been “corrupted,” according to Epic.

The map has huge new changes

This isn’t exactly the Fortnite you remember. The island is shrouded in the cover of night, and a few new locations have made themselves known. Floating Island, Corrupted Areas, Corn Fields and Haunted Caste are a few new areas we’ve learned about, but there are sure to be a few some more once in the game.

You can now play Battle Royale with a tiny companion

Epic has added the one missing thing from Fortnite: pets. Players can carry around friendly little companions everywhere they go. All of the pets in-game will react to the action unfolding around them, and even get excited when you succeed. It’s unclear if these will be unlocks exclusive to the Battle Pass, but it seems likely that just about everyone will receive a pet of their own.

Epic Games

Console players are getting custom controller bindings

One of the most frequently requested features in Fortnite is here: custom controller bindings are finally coming to consoles. Players were limited to the methods of control that Epic has already created for them prior to this patch. While there are a variety of controller options, if something wasn’t quite to your liking, you just had to deal. Thankfully, that’s a thing of the past as Epic now allows console players to bind actions to whichever button they choose.

Epic is also adding control-based matchmaking to the console version of Fortnite. For players who aren’t quite sure what that means, you’re placed into a matchmaking pool with other players using the same type of control method as you. If you’re playing on a console with mouse and keyboard, you’ll be matched with mostly PC players, or players like yourself who aren’t using a controller. If you are using a controller on console, you’ll stay in the console matchmaking pool and continue playing with people who are also using controllers. This is done in an effort to keep things fair, which means that you also can’t switch control options throughout a match.

A whole bunch of weapons were vaulted

Epic is doing a little house cleaning on old items, and taking a few out of the game that don’t quite fit right now. Impulse Grenades, Suppressed Sub-machine Guns, Light Machine Guns, Bouncers and Remote Explosives are all leaving — at least for the time being. These vaulted goodbyes don’t necessarily have to be forever, and a few of these weapons might be back before we’ve even had a chance to miss them.