GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Fortnite 1.6.3 Update Out Now Alongside Free PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds-Like Battle Royale Mode

Battle Royale goes free-to-play today.

18 Comments

The next patch for Fortnite arrives soon. Update 1.6.3 rolls out on September 26 and introduces new weapons, squads, and more to the multiplayer survival game. [Update: Fortnite's new patch is now available, as is the new PUBG-style mode.]

Perhaps the most notable additions in tomorrow's update are its new Duos and Squad matches for Battle Royale. Following the update, players will be able to form groups of two or four players to take on other teams. Epic says that Squad matches are available to play immediately, while Duos "will be activated when there are enough players to support matchmaking in both modes."

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Fortnite - Battle Royale Mode Announce Trailer

In addition to the new match types, Epic is adding a trio of new weapons with tomorrow's update, along with supply crates that drop from the sky during matches. These contain "valuable items and weapons" that players will want to get their hands on during a match. The update also makes a number of tweaks and bug fixes to the game's PvE Save the World mode.

We've posted a selection of the patch notes below; you can find the full list of tweaks and additions in update 1.6.3 on Fortnite's website. The update coincides with the release of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode as a standalone experience, which will be free to play on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. However, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer Bluehole spoke out about the mode and threatened taking some "action" against Epic due to similarities between the games.

Fortnite Update 1.6.3 Patch Notes

Battle Royale (PvP)

Squads

  • Invite friends to play on your team using the in-game Friends List.
  • Use the "Fill" option to automatically fill your team with other players.
  • When your health falls to zero you’ll be "down but not out" (DBNO). Your squadmates only have a short amount of time to revive you before your health bar drains.
  • You can see your team members’ status on the HUD, including Health and Shields.
  • Use the map to place location markers which are visible to your team and will display on the compass at the top of the HUD. Keep an eye out for markers from your squad!
  • Cooperate with team members to build awesome defensive structures!
  • Friendly-fire is enabled, so be careful where you aim! Intentionally attacking squadmates violates the code of conduct.

Gameplay Balance

  • Skydiving and paragliding lateral speeds have been reduced when moving backwards or strafing.
  • Falling damage when landing on slopes is reduced depending on the angle of the slope. Full damage is applied for horizontal surfaces, and reduced at steeper angles.
  • Foot dust no longer kicks up when crouched, aiming down sights or making small movements.
  • While using Health and Shield items, you can now move your character a short distance without cancelling the action.
  • Increased distance that you can see other players to 275m (was 250m).
  • Greatly increased distance that you can see player-created structures to 275m (was 180m). This fixes issues where players could appear to be floating in the sky, or projectiles would impact an “invisible” distant wall.
  • Additional changes from the Live Update on 9/20:
    • Adjusted Storm safe zones to reduce likelihood of the next zone appearing against the far edge of the previous zone.
    • Reduced falling damage. Falling damage now begins just above 3 stories, dealing 10 damage. Damage will continue to increase until becoming lethal at 6 stories.
    • Fixed an issue with the Storm safe zone locations.
    • This will on average reduce the amount of long-distance running per match.

Weapons

  • Added new weapons:
    • Scoped Assault Rifle
    • Zapotron
    • Tactical Submachine Gun
  • Added new Cell Ammo type for use with the Zapotron.
  • Added stars to each weapon’s icon to indicate the level of rarity.
  • Grenades now drop in stacks of 3 (was 1).
  • Increased Grenade maximum stack size to 10 (was 5).
  • Reduced Shield Potion maximum stack size to 2 (was 5).
  • Increased ammo stack sizes found in loot.
    • Shells increased to 5 (was 4).
    • Medium Ammo increased to 10 (was 6).
    • Heavy Ammo increased to 6 (was 4).
    • Rocket Ammo increased to 2 (was 1).
  • Submachine Gun now fires 50% faster, but accuracy is reduced (compared to Tactical SMG).
  • Increased Grenade Launcher projectile velocity to 2750 (was 2000).
  • Minor movements will now have reduced impact on weapon spread.
  • Hit feedback at long distances appears immediately instead of being delayed.
  • Added new tracers that better reflect the behavior of instant hit weapons.
  • Added the ability to immediately interrupt shotgun reloading.
  • Sniper Rifle
    • Improved the sniper projectile visuals.
    • Added new sniper scope visuals with distance marks.
    • Fixed sniper rifle projectiles not playing impact effects at hit location.
    • Fixed sniper projectiles being destroyed too early under some network and collision conditions.
  • Muzzle-blocked reticle is now colored red instead of white.
  • Fixed muzzle-blocked reticle becoming blocked by players.
  • Fixed handgun not firing consistently when tapping very quickly.
  • Fixed weapon fire interrupting reload on weapons that individually reload bullets.
  • Fixed tracers going to unexpected locations when not hitting any collision.
  • Fixed reticle size not displayed accurately in certain display resolutions.
  • Additional changes from the Live Update on 9/20:
    • Increased sniper rifle projectile speed by 25%.
    • Increased weapon accuracy.
      • This is roughly a 50% increase in accuracy in the ‘worst-case’ scenario. Accuracy in best-case scenario (while crouched, aimed, and immobile) is unchanged.
      • Increased accuracy while running.
      • Increased accuracy while shooting full-auto.
      • Increased accuracy while hip firing.

Minimap

  • If you’re caught inside the storm, a second line will appear on the map showing the shortest path to safety. Better run!
  • The storm now shows as purple on the minimap, with hazard lines indicating that it’s not generally a good idea to stay in the storm.
  • You can now place map markers on the fullscreen map which are visible to team members. Choose a location using the mouse or controller movement stick, then place the marker using the Fire button. To remove the marker, use the Target/Aim button.
  • The size of player indicators were increased to make them easier to see.
  • Player indicators are now shown when on the Battle Bus or while Spectating.
  • The fullscreen map now becomes slightly transparent while your player is moving.

UI

  • Many aspects of the UI were updated to accommodate squad gameplay.
  • The HUD now displays your team member names along with their Health, Shields and whether they’re “down but not out” (DBNO) or have been eliminated. This is also visible for the team you are spectating.
  • The kill feed text has been updated with better use of colors and fonts.
  • Many icons for weapons and items have been improved.
  • Added a Code of Conduct button to the menus.
  • Placeholder buttons have been added to the Matchmaking for Leaderboards and Stats. These will be implemented in a future update.
  • Fixed not being able to access the in-game menus while waiting to deploy from the Battle Bus.
  • Fixed elimination screen not indicating when you are eliminated by yourself.
  • Fixed various formatting issues with existing text in the game.
  • Fixed reticle being displayed while skydiving.
  • Fixed visual alignment issues with certain HUD elements.
  • Fixed some issues with fullscreen map when ALT+TAB-ing in Windows.

Inventory

  • Ammo now appears in your inventory and can be dropped.
  • Building Materials can be now dropped by double clicking on them in your Inventory.
    • Controller support will be added in a future update.
  • Weapons, Items and Building Materials can be now be dropped by dragging them to the Recycling Box on the Inventory screen.
  • Traps have been moved to the Resources section of the Inventory screen.
  • Fixed bug where inventory could display more slots than were actually available.

General

  • Fixed various issues that could cause the game to crash.
  • Added an indication of time left in the warmup lobby to the taskbar icon on Windows.
  • Spawned loot will now spread out a bit farther from their container.
  • Updated the tips displayed on the Battle Royale loading screens.
  • Fixed the Storm safe zone continuing to shrink after the game had ended.
  • Fixed camera moving away from Battle Bus during network lag.
  • Eliminated camera pops when your player initially spawns into the world.
  • Fixed "You cannot do that now" appearing while holding down the Reload button.
  • Fixed "Unable to Improve Building" appearing when clicking right stick on a controller.
  • Fixed Shield Potion use being cancelled by pressing the button multiple times.

Controller

  • Improved aim assist on controller.
  • Greatly reduced speed of lowest stick sensitivity setting, and increased speed of highest stick sensitivity setting.
  • Fixed issues with grenade toss when using a controller.
  • The "Reset Building Choice" gameplay option now works while using a controller.

Spectating

  • Minimap is now visible while spectating.
  • Added Total Kills, Players Remaining, and Storm Timer to the HUD while spectating.
  • Team members are now spectated first, if you are eliminated.
  • If the player you’re spectating is eliminated, their assailant will now be spectated (rather than a random other player.)
  • Spectator camera now correctly matches the viewed player's gameplay camera.
  • Smoothed out spectator camera movement.

Save the World (PvE)

General

  • Fixed multiple client crashes.
  • Fixed multiple server crashes.
  • Fixed a rare issue that caused some players to be unable to play the Save the World mode when connected to Twitch.

Gameplay

  • Fixed an issue where the Teleporter and Banner gadgets would hover over empty space and are instead destroyed.
    • This prevents these two gadgets from being used to keep players in a "death loop."

Missions

  • Lok's Book of Monsters
    • The Floating Freaks quest will remain after the Mutant Storm Event ends and will unlock after Stonewood Storm Shield Defense 3 quest has been completed.

UI

  • Playing a Survive the Storm mission in a grey zone results in no XP gained.
    • Players will now be given a notice before playing a Survive the Storm mission in a grey zone
  • Fixed an issue that caused players to see zero XP earned after a mission, even though all XP was actually earned. Players should see the proper amount of XP earned at the end of a round.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 18 comments about this story