Epic Games is giving the Zero Build version of Fortnite Battle Royale a massive makeover on May 14, with the last major update in Chapter 7 Season 2. Among Epic’s many new additions are a new utility slot exclusive to Zero Build, glider re-deploy at any time when jumping off tall objects, and unlimited sprint when your pickaxe is out–and you’ll no longer die from fall damage. These are some pretty fundamental changes that are likely to significantly alter the flow of battle in Zero Build. This is the first time since it was first introduced in 2022 that Zero Build is getting its own overhaul completely separate from build mode.
These changes aren’t necessarily permanent, as Epic’s announcement referred to the changes as an “experiment.” So the final three weeks of Season 2 will be a test to see how the new mechanics go down with players, and the new stuff may or may not stick around beyond that. But it seems likely that at least some of it will, since this sort of overhaul was probably years overdue. Zero Build hasn’t really had enough of its own identity to have real gameplay balance in a mode that was designed for building.
Since there are a lot of changes coming to Zero Build BR in the May 14 update, let’s go ahead and lay it all out there.
- Pocket items are rechargeable utility items in a dedicated inventory slot, and every player starts each match with one that can be swapped at a vending machine. The three possible items are Shockwave Grenades, Med Mist grenade, and Shield Bubbles.
- All players also start each match with a pistol and a small shield potion.
- You can trigger your glider when jumping off cliffs, and you can manually cut your glider so you can dive closer to the ground, just like Call of Duty: Warzone
- Getting a kill immediately regenerates your overshield
- Unlimited sprint with pickaxe equipped
- Reboot vans reboot players faster
- Buildings taking more damage
- New Zero Build-specific Improved Smoke Grenades and Brick-A-Bunkers
- You no longer die from fall damage, but you still take damage when you fall. Falls that previously would have killed you will now take you down to 1 health point and make you do a “splat animation,” as Epic described it.
Up to now, Zero Build has been almost exactly the same as the build-based version of Battle Royale, just without the building, and with a regenerating overshield. Epic has occasionally added unique loot pool items to Zero Build, but this will be the first time since the mode originally popped up in Chapter 3 Season 2 that the Zero Build has gotten its own major update separate from build-based BR.
If we’re being honest, it’s these sorts of updates that keep me playing Fortnite after all these years, because major changes keep the experience from getting stale over time. And several of these changes are long overdue, like glider redeploy. In build mode, players are able to save themselves from fall damage by building, but there’s never been any unique equivalent in Zero Build–but allowing players to fire off their gliders when they jump off a cliff fills that niche perfectly. Giving buildings more durability is likewise a great change, since players can’t throw up a wall to patch a hole.
This update is coming alongside a collaboration with Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch, which is adding Tracer’s dual pistols to the loot pool and inserting some Overwatch-themed locations around the island. The final three weeks of Season 2 are going to be pretty wild, apparently.
