The latest content update for Fortnite — the 9.00 patch — is out today, and with it comes the introduction of the latest season for the battle royale. With Fortnite now officially in its ninth season, some big changes came to the game, including the addition of some new locations and means of travel. Of course, that's not the only thing that's getting changed with the new season. To celebrate Season 9, a brand new weapon — the Combat Shotgun — has been added into the game. Perhaps the biggest change to the game, and one that's surely going to get people riled up, is the fact that the Pump Shotgun has been "vaulted," or put away and unable to use in the current game. A ton of other items have been vaulted as well, and some other weapons have been tuned to create more fairness across the board. You can check out the full list of changes to the Battle Royale portion of Fortnite below, and jump into a game now to check out the changes: New Weapons: Added Combat Shotgun Semi-Automatic Holds 10 Shells. Fires 9 pellets per shot for 73 / 77 / 81 base damage. Tight spread and fast fire rate. Headshot multiplier of 1.70x. Reloads 2 shells at a time. Weapon/Item Changes: Adjusted Tactical Shotgun damage Base damage increased from 66/70/74 to 71/75/79 Reduced Drum Gun availability from 16.732% to 7.155% Reduced Boom Bow availability from 1.292% to .755% Unvaulted Grenades Vaulted Clingers Vaulted Buried Treasure Vaulted Pump Shotgun Vaulted Poison Dart Trap Vaulted Scoped Revolver Vaulted Suppressed Assault Rifle Vaulted Thermal Assault Rifle Vaulted Balloons For a full look at the list of updates that hit Fortnite earlier today, make sure to head over to the Epic Games blog and check them all out, as there are quite a bit across all three game modes. 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Fortnite is estimated to have more than 250 million players, and it has proven to be a major money-spinner for Epic thanks to sales of seasonal Battle Passes, skins and virtual items for avatars. That’s very much the focus for Season 9, which dropped today and is really about the cosmetics, with the latest Battle Pass unlocking more than 100 rewards, including a range of new skins and characters. Season 9 is an upgrade that’ll keep existing gamers locked into Fortnite through evolution — there are no radical changes to excite new or less-active players. In terms of gameplay, Fortnite has added at least three new locations. Neo Tilted replaces Tilted Towers, which was destroyed by a volcano eruption last week, then there’s Mega Mall, which is an upgrade on Retail Row, and Pressure Plant which is where the volcano used to be. Epic has added “Slipstreams,” which are turbines that power a wind-based transport system for getting across the map quickly, and potentially adding an interesting new combat angle. There’s also a new “Fortbytes,” which is essentially a hidden item challenge. Gamers who bought a Battle Pass can collect a series of 100 collectible computer chips that are scattered across the map. There are an initial 18 released, with a new arrival each day — those who collect them all can unlock rewards and “secrets.” There’s just one new gun on offer, the combat shotgun, which doesn’t seem particularly impressive, while grenades have returned. A large number of weapons have been removed — or “vaulted” in Epic parlance — and they include clingers, pump shotgun, poison dart trap, scoped revolver, suppressed assault rifle, thermal assault rifle and balloons. That’s about the sum of the new update, although Fortnite does now include three new limited time games: three-person squad “trios,” a “solid gold” mode that uses legendary weapons and “one shot,” a sniper-only battle set in a low-gravity environment. Note: The original version of this article has been updated to correct that Pressure Plant is another new location added in Season 9<doc-sep>The ninth season of Fortnite is here, and it brings the battle royale game into a new sci-fi future. The biggest changes to the game are two locations: the destroyed Tilted Towers has been rebuilt as a futuristic cityscape called Neo Tilted, while Retail Row has turned into Mega Mall. The Neo Tilted structures are also available to build with in Fortnite’s creative mode. Other smaller changes to the island include some kind of power plant built around the volcano, a banana stand, and drone-like hovering platforms. Along with new locations, there’s a new form of transportation called the “slipstream,” which is essentially a wind tunnel that moves you quickly from one spot to the next. Developer Epic has added a new weapon called the “combat shotgun,” while removing a long list of items from the game, including the treasure map, balloons, and a slew of weapons. Check out all of the changes in the patch notes here. A new season also means a new battle pass, and here, the sci-fi trend continues with a number of unlockable items that include a Gundam-style suit and a robot cat. Also new are collectible computer chips called “fortbytes.” You have to collect 100 of the hidden items to complete certain challenges as well as “uncover the secrets of season 9,” according to Epic. Meanwhile, Epic has also added Arabic language support, and it says Middle East servers are in the works. “We’re still a few months from having services come online and hope to provide a more meaningful update on server support before then,” Epic says. The developer started teasing season 9 on Monday, hinting at the sci-fi aesthetic. Later teases included taglines like “the future is bright” and “the future is unknown.” The most overt tease came yesterday, with an image accompanied by the text “the future is tilted.” The new update arrives after a fairly eventful season 8. It kicked off in February and introduced a new adventure theme, complete with major additions to the Fortnite island like a volcano, pirate ship, and jungle area, along with a terrifying banana suit. (It also removed some notable features, including the short-lived airplanes.) There was also another Avengers crossover event, along with the very important option for players to pet the in-game dogs. More recently, developer Epic orchestrated another large-scale event that lasted a few weeks. It started when a strange alien rune floated its way across the island before the new volcano showed signs of erupting. Then, last weekend, a mysterious vault opened up, and players were able to collectively vote on which classic weapon to bring back. (They chose the drum gun.) After that, the volcano finally exploded, and it devastated two of Fortnite’s most iconic locations: Tilted Towers and Retail Row. As always, the start of a new season of Fortnite is just the beginning. So expect plenty of changes and updates as season 9 continues to roll out.<doc-sep>Season 8 is drawing to a close in Fortnite and we’re finally getting some clues for what we can expect in Season 9. The volcano erupted in the Unvaulting Event and Tilted Towers is now gone. Retail Row’s parking lot is also in shambles and there’s a big crack in the surface of the map near Polar Peak. Other areas of the map were hit by flying boulders, so more changes could be on the way. The Overtime challenges are live and will run for the remainder of Season 8, which ends this week. The first Season 9 teaser has dropped, with a sci-fi character who looks a lot like Cayde-6. More will appear over the course of the next few days, so we’ll keep you updated on all things Fortnite. Fortnite Season 9 rumours Fortnite Season 9 start time Season 9 will begin on May 9, as confirmed by the latest teaser.There will likely be some downtime for a few hours and based off previous Seasons the downtime will likely begin at 9 am BST/ 4 am EDT/ 1 am PDT. Fortnite Unvaulting event The volcano has now erupted and Tilted Towers, Retail Row and Polar Peak have all been seriously damaged by it. Players were able to cast their vote and choose which weapon they wanted to see appear again in Fortnite, and the Drum Gun is back. The dragon eggs still haven’t hatched yet, and given that Game of Thrones’ final season is well underway, we may see them hatch over the next week or so. A volcanic eruption would be another means of melting the map quickly and we might be able to see the full castle that’s currently buried at Polar Peak, as well as giving the baby dragons a blast of heat to help them hatch. The latest teaser hints at a sci-fi theme at last, and another teaser will likely drop today, so keep your eyes peeled. There’s also the rumour that Season 9 will have Battle Pass gifting, meaning that you could give your friend a Battle Pass if you felt so inclined. Fortnite Season 8 Weekly challenges You can also check out where to find the Fortnite Season 8 hidden Battle Stars and Banners here and the Overtime challenge list here.<doc-sep>
Fortnite Season 9 kicks off today, and the patch notes have been revealed. Check out the cinematic reveal trailer above, where the dark fate of banana man Peely is revealed. The highlights of Season 9, then: New locations like Neo Tilted and Mega Mall have emerged in the wake of the volcano's eruption, bringing the map some more futuristic-looking new locations to check out. Peely's Banana Stand and Nugget Hut are among the places to see. A new transportation system called Slipstreams are also a major part of this update, which let you travel around the map using streams of wind. Here's how Epic describes Slipstreams: These tunnels of wind passively carry players down the stream. Players can move faster and change direction when actively trying to move down the Stream. Use directional input to gain extra velocity. Experiment with bobbing up and down for higher speeds. Players can move faster and change direction when actively trying to move down the Stream. Use directional input to gain extra velocity. Experiment with bobbing up and down for higher speeds. Players are launched when exiting the tube based on their movement speed and exit angle. Projectiles and Vehicles can also enter the Slipstream. A new environmental item called Air Vents also provide players a boost across the map, with no damage penalty for doing so. A semi-automatic combat shotgun has been added to the game, too. Battle Pass owners can collect 100 of a new item called Fortbytes, which go some way to revealing the mysteries behind this season. Here's how Epic describes them: Fortbytes are a series of 100 collectible computer chips available to Battle Pass owners. As you collect Fortbytes, you’ll decrypt a mysterious image. Collect them all to unlock rewards and uncover the secrets of Season 9. On the first day of Season 9, there are 18 Fortbytes available to find. At least 1 new Fortbyte will be unlocked each day. Check the Challenges Tab for detailed information on which Fortbytes are currently available and when the others unlock. Fortbytes cannot be collected after Season 9 ends. Vaulted weapons and items include Clingers, Buried Treasure, Pump Shotgun, Poison Dart Trap, Scoped Revolver, Suppressed Assault Rifle, Thermal Assault Rifle, and balloons. Find the full list of patch notes here. Find all battle pass items here.