The in-game competitive landscape of Fortnite is completely changing with Epic Games scrapping Arena and implementing a new, comprehensive Ranked system for both Battle Royale and Zero Build mode.
A massive change to competitive play had been in the works and rumored for some time before Epic made the announcement official on Saturday, May 13. In-game seasons of Fortnite will now be accompanied by a Ranked season, complete with seasonal rewards to unlock and ranks to climb.
Aside from the big changes to competitive, v24.40 of Fortnite also includes some major balance changes and bug fixes.
All Fortnite Ranked details
What modes support Ranked play?
Ranked play will be supported in the Solo, Duos, and Squads playlist for Battle Royale, as well as the Duos playlist for Zero Build. Players will have separate ranks for both Battle Royale and Zero Build. Other playlists like Solo for Zero Build will likely be added in the future.
What are the Fortnite Ranked ranks?
- Bronze I, II, and III
- Silver I, II, and III
- Gold I, II, and III
- Platinum I, II, and III
- Diamond I, II, and III
- Elite
- Champion
- Unreal
- Upon reaching Unreal, you’ll be given a number signifying your standing among Unreal players globally.
Your starting Battle Royale rank and Zero Build rank is based on “past match performance” as well as your first performance in a Ranked match. Only one match is needed to reveal rank.
Progress toward ranking up is determined by match placement and eliminations. Eliminations later in a match contribute more progress, as do eliminations against higher-ranked opponents.
What are the Fortnite Ranked rewards?
Players will get a Ranked Urgent Quest at the start of a Ranked match. Completing this quest unlocks seasonal cosmetic rewards. The final cosmetic reward for the first Ranked season, Season Zero, is the Burn Bright emote, which shows off your current rank color.
Fortnite Ranked rules and requirements
New Fortnite accounts will have to complete a quest that requires them to outlast (finish higher) than 500 opponents before Ranked can be enabled.
Related: Best Fortnite PC settings: How to maximize your FPS
The rank of a Duos or Squads team will be determined by the highest-ranked player on the team. Your team will be matched against teams with the same or similar party rank.
Fortnite v24.40 balance changes
Some major changes have been implemented with this update, affecting both Ranked and non-ranked competition in Battle Royale mode:
- Material caps will be decreased from 999 to 500.
- Harvesting rates will be slightly increased.
- Players will drop 50 of each material when they are eliminated.
Fortnite v24.40 bug fixes
- Continuing to make improvements regarding some large rocks on the Battle Royale Island not providing as many materials as intended.
- Fixing an issue preventing players from being healed with Slurp Juice after being DBNO.
- Back Blings equipped with the Clone Trooper Outfit will no longer appear detached.
- The Clone Trooper Outfit’s head movement will no longer be static.
- Fixing an issue causing some Outfits to appear glossy.
