With the v29.20 patch, Fortnite significantly updated the item store and every player’s inventory by removing the cosmetic rarity system.
The previous rarity system color-coded each cosmetic item except special bundles, denoting their value with colors including green (uncommon), blue (rare), purple (epic), and gold (legendary). After the changes, however, cosmetics are no longer color-coded and you can’t differentiate between legendary and standard skins.
How did Fortnite’s item store change?
The sudden changes surprised many players because they drastically affect the item store. Skins no longer have rarities and their backgrounds are plain blue by default, while others have colored backgrounds unrelated to rarity. Epic Games also removed the traditional 24-hour skin refresh window from the item store. Now, the store rotation is unique to your time zone. This change should make it easier to track individual skins.
The developer said it would add the date that every item rotates out of the shop to the item description page in late May this year. We’ll explain the changes made to the Fortnite Item Store in further detail below.
What do Fortnite’s item store changes mean?
According to the Fortnite dev blog, the developer “retired” the old item store because the shopfront has evolved significantly in the past few years to support multiple types of cosmetics. The exact reason for removing rarities entirely is unclear, but it’s a double-edged sword.
After the changes, you might have difficulty discerning which items to buy. You could find it tricky deciding where to spend your V-Bucks since you won’t know whether the skin you’re considering is (or was) a legendary.
Having said that, removing the rarity system could be good for underrated skins that didn’t grab players’ attention because they were lower-rarity products. Now, choosing to buy a skin only depends on whether you like the aesthetics and want to add the skin to your cosmetics collection. Additionally, every item except the Gaming Legends Bundle or Icon Series has an equal chance of appearing in the shop.
If you haven’t seen the changes yet, dive into Fortnite to check them out for yourself. It’s currently Chapter Five, season two, which is themed around Greek mythology and has an ongoing Avatar collaboration.
