Fortnite Friday: Season 5 reveal, map changes, week 1 battle pass challenges

Fortnite Friday is a weekly review of what is going on in the world of Fortnite. We cover the battle pass challenges, new game modes and any update information you need to know.

Fortnite Friday is a weekly column covering everything happening around the popular 100-person multiplayer showdown game, Fortnite: Battle Royale. This week we cover the first week of the new season, map and game play adjustments and your first week’s battle pass challenges.

As you may have heard, Fortnite season 5 started yesterday and with it came new map areas, means of transportation and more. We also get new battle pass challenges, tiers and prizes. If you haven’t logged on yet, here is the new season’s introduction video.

Before we get into the big changes to the map and game, here are the week 1 challenges and how to solve them.

Battle pass challenges: Week 1

Deal damage with SMGs to opponents (0/500)

This is relatively easy opening challenge considering it is only 500 damage. SMGs mow down opponents, especially in close range so add one or two to your load out and go to work. It should not take you long to reach 500 damage with these.

Search a supply llama (0/1)

Seriously, Epic Games? This task is going to involve some luck as there are only three supply llamas in each game. They can be anywhere on the map, including tree tops or on buildings, so pay very close attention to every area you visit in a match.

The saving grace here is that the llamas are purple and are relatively easy to spot if they are in your general vicinity. Still, with only three random spawns per match, this is not going to be a very fun task.

Clinger, stink bomb or grenade eliminations (0/3) 

It’s too bad C4 wasn’t included in this challenge because not only is it fun to use, but it’s easier to get eliminations with than the other explosive devices (also can be more creative). This challenge isn’t overly difficult if you usually carry explosives and know how to use them, but if not it’s a great time to learn.

Lob grenades into 1×1 bases or throw stink bombs at opponents inside buildings and watch them scramble to try to escape. If you are finding this challenge difficult, you can always try to stick opponents with a clinger in close range.

Search chests in Snobby Shores (0/7)

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Snobby Shores is a good location for searching chests as there is a good chance you’ll be able to pick a house and knock out multiple chests per match. The first and third houses from the south usually spawn a couple more chests, so try to start there.

Search floating lightning bolts (0/7)

These are a little tricky. Much like “search” tasks in the past, the map will be littered with lightning bolts for you to collect. They are relatively easy to see once you know what you are looking for. What makes this challenge tricky is that you’re likely going to have to build to get to them.

These are the locations of the lightning bolts. Once you get to these spots, look up and you should be able to reach them with a few quick ramps. You can also look for other seemingly random ramps around the map as other players will be collecting these all week.

Follow the treasure map found in Risky Reels (0/1)

Here is where the map can be found, as well as the location of the battle star.

Eliminate Opponents in Retail Row (0/3) 

This is a rehashed season 4 challenge but chances are they are saving the newer locations until the buzz dies down and they are a little less busy. Head into Retail Row when you’re done exploring, chances are it’ll still be busy enough for you to grab these three eliminations.

Update v5.0 patch notes and news

Obviously, this update was huge. You can find all of the patch notes here, but I will summarize what is most important for you so you don’t have to sift through everything. You can also get a detailed breakdown on the new locations by hitting this link, of by clicking on the “next post” link at the bottom of this post.

First and foremost, there are four new/upgraded locations on the map. The biggest of these four is easily the entire Southeast section of the map from Lucky Landing to the racetrack. In the center of this sits Paradise Palms, the location that is going to pull-in half of the teenagers from Tilted Towers on any given match.

Epic Games has also changed Anarchy Acres to Lazy Links, a brand new golf course (and huge upgrade) from the lesser of the two farms on the map. Dusty Divot has overgrown into a mix between Wailing Woods and Moisty Mire. It will be a good location for materials and no longer a danger to travel through.

Finally, to go along with the new battle pass level 100 Ragnarok skin, Epic has added a viking outpost to the top of the mountain between Snobby Shores and Greasy Grove. It features a viking ship and a new waterfall with truly breathtaking views (if you’re into that). Here is a look at the new map:

The developers at Epic weren’t done with awesome map changes. They also graced us with two new means of transportation for this season, both of which are game-changing and great additions.

First, you can now drive golf carts, or All Terrain Karts (ATKs) across the map. They seat up to four players (squad up, the storm is coming) and the roof acts as a bounce pad because why not! The ATKs are very fun to drive and add a true means of transportation that gamers have been asking for.

The second is slightly different but as interesting. The rifts/portals/warps are still around and are now usable features. The rifts teleport you to the sky above their location, a great means of getting away from the storm quickly. It’s hard to explain how they work, so watch the following video:

All of these additions add so many new dynamics to Fortnite that it almost feels as if it is a completely different (better) version of the game. If you haven’t logged on yet, you are in for a treat.

Between the map upgrades, the rifts and the ATKs, anyone who was growing bored of the game is sure to fall right back in this week.

Elimination of the week

This week’s EOTW combines everything in a self-elimination that has “season 5” written all over it. Thanks @radkatz55 for showing us that we should probably land on the wheels of the ATK.

Next: Fortnite season 5 map upgrades

If you come across anything we might have missed or have any ideas on what should be included in these posts in the future, hit me on Twitter @TheRealBruin. Until next week!