'Fortnite' Season 10 Map Changes, New Vehicle, Patch Notes, and More

Fortnite: Battle Royale Season X is here, and with it comes a new version of the island that overlaps the future and the past in weird sci-fi ways. But how will that affect the core battle royale experience? What’s new with the map, what’s been vaulted, and what do you need to know from the patch notes? Here’s all that and more.

Season X launched early Thursday morning, and the official overview trailer notes that the “world is destabilizing fast.” Like everyone predicted based on Wednesday’s Season X story trailer, the explosion of the Zero Point caused all kinds of contradictions in space-time. Some areas of the map appear normal, but near the center of the map, the former Dusty Divot has reverted back to Season 3 era Dusty Depot with the meteor suspended in the air.

These “mysterious Rift Zones” affect the gravity at a few key locations, but they can also alter players’ appearances in surprising ways. Here’s a deeper dive into all the changes players should expect in Season X:

Map Changes: Dusty Divot Is Back

For six full seasons (4 through 9), the spot just northeast of the map’s center was ground zero for a meteor impact. Over time, a research compound and then a forest emerged on that spot. For Season X, the area has reverted back to its original state, but so has the meteor destined to destroy it.

Several buildings on the outskirts of the named area, sometimes referred to as “factories,” has also been restored. “The world you play today may not be the world you play tomorrow,” the Season X overview trailer states, implying that preview destinations like the original Tilted Towers could return in a limited capacity — or maybe even Moisty Mire!

Rift Zones

The new technical term for what’s happened at Dusty Divot/Dusty Depot is that the Zero Point explosion has turned it into a “Rift Zone.” Most locations will probably remain in a state of flux throughout the season, maybe even shifting on a weekly basis.

Here’s what the version 10.0 patch notes have to say about it:

“The Zero Point Explosion has made the island volatile! Locations once thought to be lost are beginning to appear, but they aren’t the same as they once were… Drop in and explore to discover what mysterious gameplay changes they have in store.”

Dusty Depot is only the beginning. Inside these zones, gravity seems to slow, and skins receive seemingly random alterations.

The B.R.U.T.E., a Two-Player Mecha Vehicle

Perhaps the sole remaining vehicle in the game, the B.R.U.T.E. is a new mecha that presumably comes from the future. (We first glimpsed it in Wednesday’s story trailer.) Two players — a driver and a gunner — can pilot it to do devastating damage.

Few suits make you feel as powerful as a mech suit does. In this two-person vehicle, players can control its movement while their partner controls its firepower. Those feeling extra adventurous can operate it solo by switching between moving and shooting!

The controls looks somewhat similar to stomping around as Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame crossover events, except rather than Infinity Stones, it wields the power of a large shotgun and a missile launcher system that can fire up to 10 rockets at once.

Patch Notes — What’s Been Vaulted?

The Baller and Quadcrasher have been vaulted, so mobility and methods of travel have been greatly diminished. Epic Games wrote in the patch notes that they feel “that Season X is better experienced with a reduction in mobility.”

The following items have also been removed from the game:

• Flint Knock Pistol
• Shadow Bomb
• Semi-Auto Sniper
• Tactical Assault Rifle
• Mounted Turret
• Air Strike
• Itemized Glider Redeploy (still available in large team modes)

The patch notes also note the new Missions, “a series of thematic objectives that grant rewards. These will seemingly replace Fortbytes as the bonus challenge types this season.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Season X is now available.