Mistake #1: Not playing for high ground

The high ground is key to victory in Fortnite.

When you have the high ground you are able to put a lot of pressure on your opponents.

Especially when you have the ultimate high ground. In other words, when you’re above anyone else in the game at that point.

Of course, there are some risks when taking the high ground, and I will explain that later.

For now, you should know when you have height it’s hard for opponents to see and shoot at you. But it’s easy for you to see and shoot down at everyone else.

The problem, though, is that most people don’t know how to get the high ground.

Yes, you might know how to build.

But what do you do when someone builds over you?

If you’ve come from a different shooter, for example, PUBG, Apex Legends or Call of Duty, then building and the high ground might seem unnatural to you.

The best way to learn how to get the high ground is by jumping into a creative game. You can do that either by yourself or with a friend.

I recommend playing against a friend. Because, when you play with a friend, you can quickly practice build battles against each other.

This will help you learn what to do in build battles faster than if you were to play just the standard game modes. Since you can get into more fights this way.

Now you can practice the common building techniques and high ground retakes until they feel comfortable. And you are confident you can consistently pull them off.

Next, start applying what you’ve learned in a real game.

Against real opponents.

You see, it’s easy to be a great builder when you play in a low-pressure setting. like creative mode against a friend.

But to be a good Fortnite player you need to be able to use what you’ve learned in a real game.

And the only way to do that is to start today.

Mistake #2: Jumping too much

Do you lose a lot of 1v1 close-quarters fights?

Well, it could be because you jump too much and it’s a common mistake new players make. Let me explain why.

When you jump you move in a standard arc. In other words, your movements are predictable so it’s easy to track and hit you.

As you know, you don’t want your movements to be predictable. You want them to be unpredictable.

You can make your movements more unpredictable by making them dynamic. In other words, by mixing strafing left and right with crouching so you’re difficult to hit.

Also, when you jump your crosshairs expand. Therefore your bloom gets worse and you’re more likely to miss your shots.

Jumping and shooting are especially difficult if you play with a controller because you have to take your thumb off the right stick to jump.

But you can use the claw grip to hold your controller. So you can jump without losing control of your aim and take full advantage of aim assist.

If you’re jumping a lot of the times in a fight, then it’s time to stop.

However, you do want to regularly jump as you run around the map, so you’re hard to hit from a distance.

You see, you’re an easy target to hit if you just run in a straight line. Because enemies can easily track you with a sniper rifle or an assault rifle.

Just take it easy with the jumping in your next fight, OK?

Mistake #3: Building with wood

Wood is the weakest material for building in Fortnite.

Here is a chart that shows the health of a wall for each building material over time:

As you can see, wood has the lowest starting health and lowest max health. So it has the lowest health at all times.

Then why do so many players build with wood? And why are there guides that advise you to build with wood?

Listen, wood used to be the best material to build with because it had the highest starting health. But there have been so many patches and balance updates and this isn’t true anymore.

Of course, wood is the easiest material to farm, because it’s found all over the map. How many trees do you think there are in Fortnite?

You should focus some of your time in Fortnite farming for material. But don’t spend all your time farming wood.

Instead, consciously look to farm for stone and metal and use it first when you’re in a fight. Because your structures will be stronger so you will be better protected.

Do you want to learn more about material in Fortnite? Read this post that goes into detail about the best material for building in Fortnite.

Mistake #4: Not Playing Kovaak’s

Kovaak’s FPS Aim Trainer is the most effective way to train and improve your aim in Fortnite.

But it’s only available to PC players, sorry console players.

Of course, controller users playing on a PC may play Kovaak’s. However, that’s a minority of the Fortnite player base.

Anyway, if you play on PC with a mouse and keyboard, playing Kovaak’s is a must. Even playing for just 10 minutes a day can be enough to have tremendous benefits.

You see, Kovaak’s is very useful if you’re someone that doesn’t have enough time to play several hours a day. But you want to be able to keep up with players that do.

Listen, one of the biggest weaknesses Fortnite players have is their aim. Because Fortnite has a lot of time where you aren’t playing and practicing.

Aim trainers are a solution to the problem of downtime and Kovaak’s is the best aim trainer available right now.

Here is my complete guide to Kovaak’s FPS Aim Trainer. In this post, you’ll get a suitable routine to follow no matter your ability to help you get godlike aim in Fortnite.

Mistake #5: Getting stuck in the storm

A mistake I see some players make is simply not paying attention to the storm.

You know the storm is dangerous.

Especially as the game progresses because each tick of the storm does more damage.

So why are you getting caught in it?

Listen, the map in the top right-hand of your screen has a timer. And the timer lets you know when the next zone is going to move.

You can also open your map to see where the next circle is and how far you need to travel to get there. So you can plan when you need to move accordingly.

Also, you may find it useful to know that the further you’re away from the next circle, the faster the storm moves. And, the closer you are to the next circle, the slower the storm moves.

So if you can get yourself in a good position, you can actually outrun the storm.

This can be helpful for getting to the next circle because you feel confident no enemies are following behind you.

Mistake #6: Using a sensitivity that’s too high

Using a sensitivity that’s too high is a mistake players make when playing shooters in general.

For example, if you’ve come from playing a MOBA such as League of Legends, you may be used to playing with a high DPI and sensitivity.

MOBA players want a high sensitivity because it helps keep the actions per minute (APM) high.

But it isn’t the same in shooters like Fortnite.

You see, in shooters, you want your mouse movements smooth and under control. So you’re able to aim accurately.

Let’s look at Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CSGO) for a moment. CSGO is a first-person shooter and one of the most popular and well-known shooter games of all time.

In CSGO all the best players use a low sensitivity because a low sensitivity lets them aim better.

Below you’ll see a chart showing the sensitivity of CSGO players in relation to their rank:

As you can see, the higher the ranks get, the lower the sensitivity gets. In other words, lower rank (bad) players use a sensitivity that’s too high.

Now, I’m not saying simply lowering your sensitivity is going to make you Global Elite overnight. Of course not.

But it does give you a better chance to compete with other players when you’re using sensible settings that allow you to aim properly.

That being said, you don’t want to use the same sensitivity of the best CSGO players in Fortnite because Fortnite is an entirely different game.

Fortnite is a third-person shooter and Battle Royale.

In fact, you want your sensitivity to be high enough so you have the mobility to move around when you get shot from behind and to build well and so on.

Do you want to know what sensitivity you should use in Fortnite? Check out this guide to Fortnite sensitivity where I break down the sensitivity of more than a hundred Fortnite pro players.

Mistake #7: Having an unorganized inventory

Your Fortnite inventory is where all your items are stored.

And not taking the time to organize your inventory into a logical order is a big mistake.

Because when you don’t know what order your items are in, you have a high chance of switching to the wrong item. Or you won’t be as quick and confident when switching between items.

This can get you killed.

Listen, you want to be able to switch to each item in your inventory quickly, without even thinking about it. And the best way to develop muscle memory is by keeping your items in the same order in every game.

So if you like your shotgun in slot 1, then it should always be in slot 1. And if you like your assault rifle in slot 2, then it should always be in slot 2. And so on for slots 3, 4 and 5.

Want to know more tips and tricks for keeping your inventory in good shape? Check out my guide on how to optimize your Fortnite inventory.

Mistake #8: Not taking advantage of sound

Sound is important in Fortnite.

And I don’t mean for just listening to music in the lobby.

I’m talking about the ability to hear where enemies footsteps are. As well as listening for nearby chests.

Obviously, knowing where your enemy is based on the sounds they’re making is a distinct advantage. But to be able to do this you need to know the direction of the sound.

You’re not going to get very good directional sound cues from your TV speakers, either. This can only be accomplished with a good headset.

The headset I recommend in Fortnite is the Hyper X Cloud II Gaming Headset. It’s one of the few gaming headsets that’s worth every penny.

Of course, you could enable the visualize sound effects option in the Fortnite settings. You can find this option in the “Accessibility” section of your Fortnite settings (I don’t know why it’s not in the “Audio” section).

For example, Ewok is a 13-year-old deaf Fortnite streamer for Faze clan. And she uses the visual sound feature because of how important sound is.

Mistake #9: Trying to eliminate downed enemies too soon

When you down an enemy, your initial instinct is to finish them immediately because you want to secure the kill and get the loot.

This is a big mistake and gets a lot of players killed. Let me explain.

There is a period of invulnerability when you first down an enemy. In other words, it takes a few seconds before you’re actually able to do damage and eliminate a downed enemy.

So, instead of trying to finish a downed enemy right away, pay attention and focus on everything else that’s going on.

You see, when you’ve downed an enemy, they can’t do anything. They aren’t a threat. All they can do is crawl around on the ground.

Also, leaving downed enemies alive a while longer puts pressure on their teammates to come and revive them. This pressure can net you some easy kills because enemies will become to you.

There is rarely any reason to rush finishing a downed enemy.

So take your time and build some walls around you to get yourself safe.

Then, and only then, get the elimination.

Mistake #10: Getting intimidated by skins

Do you know what the disclaimer says in the Fortnite item shop?

It says this:

“These items are cosmetic only and grant no competitive advantage.”

But is it true?

Clearly, there is a psychological factor involved with Fortnite skins. For example, when you see a default skin, you’re more likely to assume that player is a bot.

So you approach that fight with more confidence. Perhaps, however, you let your guard down and don’t play with the same focus you normally would.

What if it’s a good player? You know it could be a fake default.

This is something that Tfue used to do. He would play as a default skin, even though he was one of the best players in the game and this would catch players out who weren’t expecting it.

On the other hand, there are absolutely skins you would associate with being a good player. What skins do you have the most trouble fighting against?

Some people find soccer skins scary and typically call them “sweat skins”. This can also be the case with rare skins in Fortnite.

But, as you know, skins are cosmetic only and grant no competitive advantage.

Moreover, we don’t know if there’s any link between a players skin and their ability.

So, stop giving a particular skin special treatment. Treat every skin the same and with the same level of focus.

And you should find you play more consistent as a result.

Mistake #11: Using vague callouts

When you play duo or squad mode and say things such as “he’s over there” it isn’t helpful to your teammates.

You know, there is a compass on the top of your screen for a reason. So use it to let your team know the precise location of an enemy.

For example, “250” or “North East”. You can use the ping system which may be even more helpful because it shows the distance, too.

Moreover, when you damage an enemy there is a hit marker with the amount of damage done and a color. The color will either be blue to signal the enemy has shield remaining or white to signal there is no shield.

There is also a clear sound cue for when you have broken the shield and none remains. You can use this information to communicate exactly how much damage you’ve done.

For example, “25 blue” or “33 white”. This way your team will know exactly how much health remains on your enemy. And whether or not it’s a good idea to push for the kill.

One more thing, when you damage an enemy and say “he’s one-shot” when he’s clearly not, your team will not enjoy playing with you. So make sure your communication is accurate and true.

Mistake #12: Overbuilding

For the first mistake, I said it was not playing for the high ground.

This one is a little different.

You see, today most Fortnite players understand the basics of building. In other words to “just build LOL”.

But, as a result, a new problem has emerged: Overbuilding.

What is overbuilding?

Overbuilding is, simply, building too much. Or, more precisely, building unnecessarily.

And you’ve probably encountered an overbuilder at some point in your Fortnite career. You know, like a sweaty soccer skin that has built something that resembles the Taj Mahal when you only shot at them once.

Now, I’m not saying you should not build. Because, in general, there’s nothing wrong with building.

In fact, when you get shot at the first thing you should do is build a wall in that direction to protect yourself and not take damage. And I recommend you use all your material if you’re going to die anyway.

But if you need to use over 500 material in every fight just to get a kill on a player that’s a bot then you have a problem.

Moreover, you can build too high and get knocked down and fall to your death. Obviously, you don’t want that to happen.

So, how do you fix overbuilding?

Well, by not building of course. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t build at all. What I am saying, though, is that you should try to consciously limit the amount of building you do.

In other words, only build when you need to. This can also help you learn how to play from the low ground.

You see, material management is an important skill to have and to master in Fortnite. Because you will invariably need material in the end game when the zone starts to move.

Mistake #13: Placing traps on the side of walls

This is something I learned from ItsJerian.

It’s the first mistake in his video.

And a mistake I found myself making a lot.

You see, when you trap someone in your box. And you have spike traps available in your inventory, then you want to go in for the kill.

But the problem with placing the spike traps on the side walls is that they’re easily avoidable. Let me explain.

Your opponent can pickaxe the wall down to break it, especially if you’re using a weak material like wood.

Or, if you only have 1 trap, they can run to the other side of the box and avoid the damage.

But when you place your trap on the ceiling, it’s harder to avoid.

And a guaranteed kill if you are a fast editor and can rotate the stairs.

Of course, a player could break the bottom to escape.

Most players, however, won’t have this level of awareness.

Conclusion

Congratulations on reading to the end.

I hope you’ve identified some mistake that you are making.

And now have a plan for how to correct it so you can become a better player as a result.

You see, the more you know and learn about Fortnite, the better you can get. That’s why I have a free guide teaching you more than 50 Fortnite tips and tricks.

And it doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner or a pro Fortnite player you will learn something new when you read that post.

Anyway, I have one final piece of advice for you: Don’t let your mistakes hold you back.

Mistakes are human. And expected. But so is learning and adapting.

When you embrace learning you will grow and improve as a player.

What Fortnite mistake are you making right now?

Let me know in the comments below and I will help you fix it.

The post Do You Make These Mistakes in Fortnite? appeared first on Kr4m.

Destroy stop signs

One of your Battle Pass challenges is to destroy 10 stop signs when using the Catalyst skin.

This is easy enough because you can find many stop signs at:

1. Pleasant Park
2. Salty Springs
3. Mega Mall
4. Paradise Palms

Basically, areas of the map where there are roads (otherwise there would be no stop signs). But the Season X Battle Pass brings all-new Prestige challenges to Fortnite.

So when you complete a set of regular challenges, you can Prestige them to unlock slightly harder versions. And unlock even more rewards.

The Prestige version for the destroy stop signs challenge is to destroy 7 in a single game. This is quite challenging.

An easier way

But what if there was an easier way?

Well, there is.

And it’s called: Team Rumble Mode.

Listen up. In Team Rumble mode you play as a team of 50 vs another team of 50.

This is good for you because you spawn with 50 gliders redeploys. And you respawn if you die. So you have many chances to complete the destroy stop signs challenge.

Team Rumble is generally a great way to complete Battle Pass challenges and get to Tier 100.

Now, here’s the best way to complete the destroy 7 stop signs in a single game challenge:

1. Start at Pleasant Park because it has the most stop signs. But if there are too many players doing this or you don’t chop enough signs then go to step 2.
2. Make your way to Salty Springs because it is close and has more stop signs. You can use the rift at Loot Lake to help get you there faster.
3. You should have the challenge completed by now. But, if not, proceed to Mega Mall and then to Paradise Palms.

And don’t even think about going to Lucky Landing, Snobby Shores, or Happy Hamlet. Yes, there are roads. But there aren’t any stop signs.

I hope this has helped you complete the Prestige challenge.

Now I’m going to explain more about the Catalyst skin.

The Female Drift

Does Catalyst look familiar to you?

That’s because you’ve seen it before.

Or, at least, the male version before.

You see, Catalyst is the female version of the Drift skin from the Season 5 Battle Pass. You also unlocked Drift when you bought the Battle Pass.

Of course, the difference is gender.

Conclusion

There are some interesting new skins in the Season X Battle Pass.

Because we are revisiting old Battle Pass skins but in an alternate reality.

Instead of creating new and original skins.

Do you like the new skins?

What do you think is the biggest Bot skin?

And what is your favorite skin so far this reason?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post What is the Catalyst Skin in Fortnite Season X? appeared first on Kr4m.

More desk space

Many streamers are pro (or former pro) players that have competed at LAN tournaments.

At LAN tournaments, desk space is usually limited. Because players need to be seated close to each other for there to be enough room for everyone at the event.

Image credit: Curse adRen over the shoulder view

So, to create enough room to freely move their mouse, players learned to angle their keyboards. Otherwise, they could smash the mouse into the keyboard which is obviously not ideal.

Listen, many Fortnite pro players use a low sensitivity. Especially if they used to play another shooter like CSGO before moving to Fortnite.

They use a low sensitivity because it generally allows you to have greater precision when aiming. But it also means you need to move your mouse further to make shots.

So, you need more space between your keyboard and mouse.

This is why smaller tenkeyless keyboards are becoming more popular, too.

However, if you use a standard full-size keyboard, then angling might be a requirement for you to have sufficient space.

Thumb position

When your keyboard is horizontal, you can’t easily hit any keys other than your spacebar with your thumb.

So, your thumb in a horizontal position is only really good for one key: jumping.

But when you angle your keyboard, even slightly, you change the position of where your thumb naturally rests on the keyboard.

In other words, you enable your thumb to be able to hit more keys when you angle your keyboard.

And the more of an angle you use, the more keys your thumb can hit.

Therefore, you could use your thumb to hit keys such as V, B, N, M, G, H, and Y. Think about how useful that is.

In Fortnite, you have lots of things you need to assign to your keybinds. You have important things like your weapons and building and editing and so on.

Then you have essential, but not as important things. For example, your pickaxe, inventory, map, and repair.

Now angling your keyboard could allow you to use your thumb for some of these keybinds. And free up other keys for the more important things as a result.

Ergonomics

When using your keyboard you want your shoulders to be roughly in alignment with a 90-degree angle between your elbow and forearm.

Also, you want your wrist in a natural position. In other words, it should be “square” with no unusual bends.

But when you angle your keyboard, it could force your elbows out and away from your body. Moreover, you have to alter the position of your wrist to access the keys.

This puts you into a poor ergonomic position. And that is not something to take lightly because it could lead to:

• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Wrist Tendonitis
• Tennis Elbow
• Neck & Shoulder Pain

You see, good ergonomics are important. Particularly if you are someone that spends many hours a day at your desk playing video games such as Fortnite.

However, when you angle your keyboard, it can bring your keyboard more inward and close to your body. Allowing your hands to be better aligned with your shoulders.

And you don’t necessarily need to flare your elbows while still have enough room for your mouse.

But your wrists may still need to be in an awkward position.

Want to learn more about keyboard ergonomics? Check out this post from Dr. Levi Harrison about proper keyboard placement in gaming.

How much should you angle your keyboard?

Before you go ahead and tilt your keyboard 90 degrees, like Tfue, you need to consider the risks. Such as a poor ergonomic position and risk of injury.

But you may only need to angle your keyboard a small amount to get the benefits of more room for your mouse and a better thumb position.

So start by angling your keyboard slightly, say 20 or 30 degrees, and see how that feels. Then adjust as needed until you find your desired position.

You should pay close attention to the position of your wrists and elbows, too. And make sure you aren’t putting yourself into an ergonomically poor position.

It could be beneficial for you to do some hand and wrist exercises. As well as to take regular breaks from gaming.

I recommend you check out the video below from Dr. Levi Harrison for some ideas and inspiration.

Conclusion

Angling your keyboard helps to create more space between your mouse and keyboard.

So that you are free to move your mouse without the worry of hitting your keyboard.

Moreover, angling your keyboard gives your thumb better access to more keys. This is very useful in Fortnite because of the number of keybinds you require.

But angling your keyboard could be dangerous because of the position you need to be in.

So start with a slight angle and then gradually increase it as you find necessary.

And remember to take regular breaks and take time to exercise your wrists and hands.

How much do you angle your keyboard?

Comment down below!

The post Why Do Some Fortnite Players Angle Their Keyboards? appeared first on Kr4m.

Why do controller players have aim assist?

First, let’s discuss why controller players even have aim assist in the first place.

Well, controller players only have these tiny sticks (called thumbsticks) to aim with.

The movement of the thumbsticks is, of course, very limited. Because you are restricted by the range of motion of your thumb and of the sticks themselves.

So it’s very difficult to aim precisely when you use a controller because of this small range of movement.

And that’s why controller players need aim assist, to compensate for their poor hardware.

It would be a difficult and frustrating experience to try and aim well without aim assist. Fewer controller players would play shooters in general if it didn’t exist.

Have you ever tried to track your teammate’s movements? It’s incredibly difficult (you could say impossible). Because aim assist doesn’t work when you aim at teammates.

The mouse vs the controller

On the other hand, we have PC players that use a mouse.

And it seems like a good time to compare the two.

Do you agree?

When you use a mouse you have the entire arc of your arm to aim with. As well as the ability to make finer adjustments using your wrist or fingertips.

The only real limit is desk space (as well as the length of your arm, I suppose).

So, obviously, a mouse is far more precise than a controller. Especially if you play with using low Fortnite sensitivity because you have more surface area to move.

The speed in which your crosshair moves is governed by how fast you can move your mouse. In other words, it’s possible to turn around and snap onto targets very fast when you use a mouse.

Much faster than controller players, at least. Because controller players are bound by the speed of their sensitivity. Of course, you could set the sensitivity higher, but that comes at a cost of the control you have.

Furthermore, mouse players have greater choice in their hardware. There are thousands of mice available from many manufacturers.

So you can get a mouse that is specific to your hand size and even has additional features like side buttons and so on.

Controller players, however, are stuck using the default controller that comes with the console. Yes, there are custom SCUF controllers with added paddles. But they are quite pricey and the size cannot be customized, either.

Finally, mouse players have the choice to use their scroll wheel in Fortnite to instantly reset edits.

The winner? Mouse.

The keyboard vs the controller

Now that we have looked at the mouse vs the controller, it makes sense to look at the other hardware available to PC players: The keyboard.

One big difference between the keyboard and controller in video games is how you move your character.

Keyboard players use the WASD keys. And controller players use the left thumbstick.

Now, you could give the movement advantage to controller players here. Since controller players have more freedom to move because they have a 360-degree range to work with.

Which is why controllers are typically preferred for certain types of games like RPGs, driving games and sports games.

But we’re not concerned with those types of games today. We are only interested in shooters and, in particular, Fortnite.

A keyboard lets you have better control over your movements in the horizontal plane. In other words, when you move left and right.

Which is useful in shooters because you need to be strafing in order to avoid damage. Of course, you can strafe fairly well with a controller, too.

So it’s not obvious who is the winner when we are considering movement.

But let’s look at something else that is more specific to Fortnite: Your keybinds and building.

As you know, a keyboard has many more keys than a controller. So there is more flexibility and choice when choosing your keybinds.

Moreover, keyboard players are able to instantly switch to any building piece or weapon. Regardless of what was already equipped.

Controller players, however, must cycle through weapons to get to the desired one. And press a button to go into building mode before being able to build.

The winner? Keyboard.

Why are we even having this debate?

We have just concluded that both a mouse and keyboard, when considered in isolation, are superior to a controller.

So it’s logical that the two together are superior as well.

And this isn’t new information, either.

It has been generally agreed upon for many years that PC players are at an advantage against controller players. Otherwise, the PC Master Race wouldn’t exist.

And there are many good reasons why this is true. For example, the hardware available to PC players is better so you can get more FPS when playing Fortnite and a high FPS is a competitive advantage.

But also because the hardware (keyboard and mouse) is simply better.

So what’s going on? Why are so many Fortnite players arguing about this?

Well, the problem is when high profile Fortnite pro players like Tfue tweet things like this:

This tweet was written during one of the Fortnite World Cup qualifier weekends. And, I suspect, Tfue was getting killed by controller players.

By the way, PC players do, in fact, have an option for aim assist. You just have to play using a controller.

This tweet from Tfue’s teammate, Cloakzy, came immediately after:

Now, this tweet is a little more sensible.

It could be a good idea to group console players into their own lobbies. Because that would give PS4 and Xbox players more of a chance to qualify.

You see, no console player has yet qualified for the Fortnite World Cup. Since they are at a disadvantage because of the weak hardware.

But it doesn’t look like Epic Games want to take Fortnite in that direction. And they would rather have everyone play and compete against each other.

The problem with aim assist in Fortnite

First, the aim assist in Fortnite is stronger than it is in other games.

And I can say that with confidence because of the number of console shooters I’ve played.

But the issue is not because of the strength of aim assist in general.

The real problem is how players can abuse L2/LT spam to achieve accurate aim in Fortnite with little effort.

L2/LT is how you aim down sites (ADS) on a controller. And controller players discovered that by constantly aiming in and out you could “reset” the aim assist and “snap-to” enemies indefinitely.

Epic Games attempted to fix L2/LT spam by introducing adjustments in patch v7.40. In this patch, they added a time delay to the aim assist feature when using L2/LT.

But the problem was the delay could last up to 5 seconds.

As you know, 5 seconds in Fortnite is a long time. And there were numerous complaints throughout the Fortnite community and the change was reverted on the same day.

The next problem with aim assist is that its strength appears to be largely dependent on the amount of FPS you have. As demonstrated by UpshallGames.

In other words, the more FPS you have, the better your aim assist will be.

Now, this creates further problems. Because how do you balance aim assist for controller players across consoles and PCs?

I don’t know. And I don’t think Epic Games do, either.

Is aim assist overpowered?

Let’s think about this logically, for a moment.

If aim assist were really overpowered, wouldn’t all the best Fortnite players use a controller?

And wouldn’t the majority of Fortnite World Cup qualified players use a controller, too?

The fact is that all the best Fortnite players play on PC and use a keyboard and mouse. And more than 90% of players that have qualified for the Fortnite World Cup use a keyboard and mouse.

No one pro player would consider switching from a keyboard and mouse to something that’s objectively worse: The controller.

What do you think, is aim assist overpowered?

Let me know in the comments!

The post The Truth About “Aim Assist” in Fortnite appeared first on Kr4m.

• W – Forward
• A – Left
• S – Backward
• D – Right

You see, pressing the W-key is how you move forward when playing Fortnite on PC. And to W-key is to play very aggressive and run down your opponents.

The movement keys are ,AOE on Dvorak keyboards and ZQSD on AZERTY keyboards.

WASD has been the default movement keys on PC games for decades. And you are probably familiar with them.

In the very early days of PC gaming, the arrow keys were the movement keys. But they weren’t ergonomic and were difficult to press while moving a mouse with your right hand.

So, WASD became a thing and Half-Life (1998) was one of the first games to use WASD by default.

Another advantage of WASD is that it allows you to press many of the other keys surrounding it.

For example, you can use your thumb to press the Space bar and your little finger to press Ctrl or Shift.

And your index and ring fingers can press keys like Q, E, R, F and the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on. Which is helpful in Fortnite because there are so many keybinds.

What’s the problem with W-Keying?

W-keying is frowned upon in Fortnite scrims. A Fortnite scrim is when competitive players play against each other for practice.

And because there is no custom matchmaking in Fortnite, players have to queue up at a similar time and hope they get into the same game. This is usually done in a Discord server with one player counting down the time for when players should search.

Of course, this isn’t an exact science and not all the players searching will get into the same game. But, until Fortnite makes custom matchmaking keys available to everyone, it’s the best we can do for now.

The goal of a Fortnite scrim is to play against players of a high level. To prepare themselves for the Fortnite World Cup and other competitive tournaments.

So, Fortnite scrim players want to get as many players as possible to the end game circles. Because they want to simulate and practice those tournament scenarios.

But when a player is mindlessly W-keying it can ruin the whole purpose of the scrim.

You see, W-keying is not how you play in competitive Fortnite games, in general. Because you want to get a high placement to earn the most points possible.

And when you W-key in a Fortnite scrim you run the risk of being kicked and banned from that particular scrim lobby.

Now, I don’t think that’s fair. After all, you should be free to play Fortnite however you want. But it is what it is and, ultimately, you have to respect the rules of the scrim lobby.

When should you W-Key someone in Fortnite?

As you know, W-keying is when you play aggressive and try to run your opponent down.

But you should only W-key when you know you have an advantage and, therefore, have a high chance of getting the kill.

Otherwise, you run the risk of dying or getting yourself into an even worse situation. Which is sometimes just as bad as dying.

A good time to W-key someone is when you know you have a health advantage.

Listen, when you shoot an enemy your hitmarker will appear with a number showing the amount of damage you dealt. The color of the number will either be blue or white.

If it’s blue then it means your opponent has some shield remaining and you should avoid playing too aggressive.

But if a white hitmarker appears then that means your opponent has no shield. So, they are weak.

And because you know they are weak you can feel more confident when you go for the kill by W-keying them.

Conclusion

When you W-key in Fortnite, you best make sure you have the skill to back it up.

Yes, I believe in an aggressive playstyle is an effective way to play Fortnite.

However, there is such a thing as playing too aggressive. And this can lead to you getting punished.

So, you must find a balance.

And the only way to do that is by experimenting in-game and trying new things.

Because that’s the only way you’re going to get any better.

The post What Does W-Keying Mean in Fortnite? appeared first on Kr4m.

You see, PUBG started out ahead because it had been out longer and had a larger player base.

And then along came Fortnite with the release of its free to play Battle Royale version.

So, the popularity between the two games was very close at the end of 2017.

But, as time went on, Fortnite began to catch up.

Here is how things looked in 2018:

Do you see that big spike of growth for Fortnite?

That’s when Drake and Ninja played Fortnite together in March 2018 and broke the viewership records on Twitch.

It looked like the battle of the Battle Royales had come to an end. With Fortnite emerging with the victory royale.

Now, however, we are in 2019. And things are starting to look interesting again.

Listen, not only can you use Google Trends to analyze search terms in the United States, but you can look at Worldwide trends, too.

Shall I explain?

PUBG is catching up to Fortnite in 2019

The above chart shows the worldwide search popularity for Fortnite vs PUBG in 2019.

Now, that looks a lot different from the previous chart that only showed the United States, doesn’t it?

What appears to have happened is PUBG is increasing in popularity. While Fortnite is on the decline. Some even think that Fortnite is dying.

But Google Trends lets you go even deeper because you can see which countries each game is most popular in.

Would you like to know what countries PUBG and Fortnite are most popular in?

Here are the countries where PUBG is most popular

So, now you see that Fortnite is most popular in Western countries like the United States and Europe.

And PUBG, on the other hand, is most popular in the Eastern countries. Countries like Russia and certain regions of Asia. For example, China and South Korea, are big gaming countries. And they have a very high population, too.

For reference, the population of the united states is about 320 million. While the population of China is about 1.386 billion, which is more than 4x the United States.

Of course, Fortnite is more popular when you consider the worldwide search trends. But that’s according to Google Trends. And Google Trends is limited to the data from Google.

In other words, we can’t see the data from other search engines that aren’t Google.

Yes, Google is the leading search engine with over 5.6 billion searches per day. So, it serves as a good indication for the popularity of a game in general. Especially if you are a citizen of a Western country like Europe or the United States, for example.

But it doesn’t tell the whole story.

What are the differences between Fortnite and PUBG?

As you know, Fortnite and PUBG are both Battle Royale games.

However, despite that, they have a number of differences.

For example, Fortnite Battle Royale:

• Is a free to play game
• Is a third person shooter
• Has the element of building
• Is not realistic and has cartoon-style graphics
• Has only one map

Whereas PUBG:

• Is not a free game
• Is a first-person shooter
• Doesn’t have the element of building
• Is a realistic shooter game with high-quality graphics
• Has more than one map

So, you see, they are quite different.

That’s why it came as a surprise, then, when PUBG tried to sue Fortnite. Because PUBG felt Fortnite their concept.

Of course, Battle Royale games existed long before PUBG did.

But PUBG’s claim was that Fortnite copied how it’s 100 players that drop from the sky to fight on a map that gets smaller over time.

The lawsuit was eventually dropped.

What is going to happen in the future?

Listen, when PUBG first released it had a lot of problems. It wasn’t well optimized and when the console version came out on Xbox it was a disaster.

You see, PUBG required a very powerful (and expensive) PC to play PUBG. So, it wasn’t accessible to everyone.

Plus, you had to pay like $40 to buy the game.

So it’s no surprise then that when Fortnite came along with a totally free to play Battle Royale that ran well on older PCs and consoles that it took most of the player base.

However, today things are different.

Today PUBG runs a lot better. And it has been extremely successful with its mobile version.

Fortnite, on the other hand, has gone from a game that runs very smooth to a game that, well, doesn’t.

Fortnite releases a new patch every week and that means a lot of new content has been added over the 2 years since its release. And because of the sheer amount of content, the game has become harder to run, especially on console.

Pro Players and Streamers have also expressed negative opinions about where Fortnite is headed. And, as you know, many people think Fortnite is dying.

But, no one knows the future. Not even Google.

In a year’s time from new, both games could be dead and we’ll all be playing something else.

Anyway, we’ll see.

What’s your favorite Battle Royale game?

Is it Fortnite or PUBG? Let me know in the comments below!

The post Fortnite vs PUBG According to Google Trends in 2019 appeared first on Kr4m.

• Wood
• Stone
• Metal

But which one is the strongest?

Here is a table showing the starting health, max health, health per second and time to max health for a wall of each material:

Because wood has the lowest starting health and max health it is obviously the worst material to build with.

Wood and Metal gain health at the same rate (16 per second). But Stone gains it a little faster (18 per second).

So which should you build with?

Here is a graph showing a graph of your wall health over time for each type of material in Fortnite:

Listen up: For the first 6 seconds, metal has the most health. Then, at precisely 6 seconds, your stone wall and metal wall have the same health (198).

Then for the next 6 seconds stone has more health. But when it completes its building after 11.5 seconds metal is stronger because it has 200 more health.

So metal is the best material for building in Fortnite Battle Royale because it has the most health for the majority of the time.

But that’s just for a wall.

Building stairs, floors or pyramids

Did you know that the material health when building a wall is different from the other building types?

Here is a table showing the starting health, max health, health per second and time to max health when you build stairs, floors or pyramids:

If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that stairs, floors, and pyramids are strictly worse than walls because they have a lower starting health and max health.

And, of course, wood is the worst material again. But stone and metal now both gain health at the same rate.

Therefore metal is strictly stronger than stone when building a ramp, floor or pyramid in Fortnite because it has more starting health and max health at all times.

Here is another graph to prove that point:

Wood used to be the best material to build with

Did you think wood was always the best material to build with?

Well, it was.

In Season 5 (2018).

Here’s what happened in patch v5.10:

• Wood wall starting health to 80 from 100.
• Stone wall starting health to 80 from 90.
• Wood wall max health to 150 from 200.

And a further change in a later building balance update:

• Wood wall initial HP increased from 80 to 90
• Stone wall initial HP increased from 80 to 100
• Metal wall initial HP increased from 80 to 110

So, you see, wood is the material that has been nerfed the most by going from the highest starting health to the least.

Here is how Epic Games explained the changes: “By increasing initial wall health values based on material type, material strength should feel more intuitive when making decisions”

In other words, they made the materials more intuitive by basing their values more in line with what they are in real life.

Because in the real world metal and stone are more robust than wood. And now that is true in Fortnite, too.

However, there are still guides that tell you that wood is best. But as you now know this is not true.

When should you build with wood?

Because wood is weaker than metal and stone in all situations you should avoid using it when possible.

But wood is the easiest material to farm because there are so many trees and other things in Fortnite that provide a lot of wood.

So, you are probably going to have more wood than your other materials.

But the question is: What do you do with all that wood?

Well, wood is best used for scaling mountains or to reach a chest. So you can save your stone and metal for when you really need it to protect you in a fight.

Build with a different material to your opponent

Here is my final tip regarding material in Fortnite: Build with something different to what your opponent is using.

Let me explain why using an example.

Imagine you are in a build battle with an enemy. You both have 999 of each material.

Now assume you both use 900 wood during the fight and you kill your enemy. Here is what you are left with:

• 99 wood
• 999 stone
• 999 metal

Of course, your enemy has the same amount of material, too.

And when you loot his body you will gain an extra 99 wood. But you can’t carry any of the stone or metal since you already had the maximum amount.

So you will have a total of 198 wood, 999 stone, and 999 metal. Or 2,196 total material.

Listen, here’s a slightly modified scenario.

Imagine again you are in a build battle and you both have 999 material. But this time you build with stone while your opponent builds with wood. You both use 900 material.

Here is what you are left with:

• 999 wood
• 99 stone
• 999 metal

But because your enemy built with a different material, you can loot all of his stone.

Therefore, once you loot the body, you will have 999 of each material. Or 2,997 total material. That’s 801 more than before.

Have you learned something new from this post? Let me know in the comments below if you have!

The post What is the Best Material for Building in Fortnite Season 9? appeared first on Kr4m.

• Over 10,000,000 YouTube subscribers
• More than 5,600,000 Instagram followers
• 1,700,000+ Twitter followers

Then, in June 2019, Tfue takes legal action against FaZe Clan. And all hell broke loose.

Tfue claims FaZe Clan could take up to 80% of his earnings

Tfue, allegedly, signed a terrible contract.

He says he signed it because he was young and stupid.

The contract could be a violation of California’s Talent Agency Act.

Tfue has one of the best lawyers representing him in the lawsuit against FaZe Clan.

Here’s what’s happened next: Ricky Banks, the CEO of FaZe, releases a YouTube video saying he is very hurt for what Tfue has done. Banks saw him as a friend and family. He also claims that:

• FaZe Clan have never (and can ever) claim any of Tfue’s prize money earnings. So far, Tfue has earned over $500,000 in prize money
• FaZe Clan will only take 80% of brand sponsorship deals that they have brought in
• They do not earn money from his creator code: “Tfue”. Creator codes are a way Fortnite content creators can earn money.
• Banks says they have only earned $60,000 from Tfue. And this is less than 1% of Tfue’s revenue since joining the team

But Tfue said he has tried to get out of the contract for months. So that’s why, when Tfue made a response video, he started the trending hashtag #ReleaseTheContract

Have Fortnite players transcended eSports teams?

10 years ago, when I was 16 years old, I played Call of Duty at a competitive level. My dream was to play on the top team at the time. I don’t even remember the team’s name anymore.

But today it seems that the players are bigger than the organizations. Because they are able to grow a personal brand by streaming or other social media.

Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for players to join organizations. Right?

Well, that’s what I thought.

While the legal battle between Tfue and FaZe went on, Nick Kolcheff joins the organization. He goes by the online moniker: Nickmercs.

Nick is one of the biggest stars on Twitch and Fortnite. He is one of the few streamers who use a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse.

He said he joined FaZe Clan because he liked their loyalty and that he admired they have all been together since the beginning. Like a family.

So it seems, to me at least, that the players are getting different contracts and terms and conditions. Because, otherwise, why would Nick join FaZe Clan?

Should you join an eSports organization?

Listen. If your goal is to make a decent living by playing video games then I don’t think you should join a team. Unless, of course, your goal is to play professionally for a game that requires you to be a part of a team like League of Legends.

However, Fortnite is not like League of Legends because it is a Battle Royale. In other words, you can participate as a solo player.

Anyway, given all the drama that has happened you should, at the very least, carefully consider your decision to join an eSports organization.

But I still think you can make a better living when you properly brand yourself using Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

Are you trying to build an online brand for yourself? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try to help you.

The post What Does Tfue Leaving FaZe Clan Mean for You? appeared first on Kr4m.

Here’s what I think: You are good at Fortnite when you have:

• A general understanding of building
• Good aim
• Excellent movement
• Knowledge of all the weapons
• More than 75 Victory Royales

Now, how long does that take?

I find that players reach this level after 3-12 months of starting Fortnite. However, it depends on factors like; many hours you play a day and your general starting ability.

Here’s what I think: You progress the most (and the fastest) when you are a beginner. And, the longer you do something, the slower your improvement becomes.

Let’s talk about lifting weights, for example. Beginners that start strength training can expect to make the most gains within the first 6-12 months.

You see, when you start lifting weights (and follow a proper program) you will gain strength at a linear rate. Meaning that it’s possible to add 5lbs to your lifts every week.

At least, for a while. And then things will start to slow down.

You see, improvement isn’t linear like some people think:

The above chart suggests you get better at the same rate over time.

And that it takes 10 years to reach your maximum skill level.

However, that’s not how it really works.

Here’s what progression really looks like:

In other words: It’s complicated.

You see, there are times where you will plateau and times when you will even seem to get worse.

But, if you stick with it and put in the hours, you can become great.

The 10,000 hour rule

How long do you think the best players have played Fortnite for?

Ninja, for example, has played over 3,800 hours.

And Ninja isn’t even the best player.

He’s amazing, of course, but there are better players. For example, Tfue, Mongraal, Mitr0, and MrSavageM are all better, in my opinion. Because they have qualified for the Fortnite World Cup in 2019.

Now, how many hours do you think they’ve played Fortnite for? (Hint: it’s a lot!)

There’s compelling evidence to suggest that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something.

This rule was made popular in the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. In Outliers, we explore what it is that makes people great.

When looking at expert musicians and grandmaster chess players, Gladwell discovered it took them around 10,000 hours to reach their level.

To reach 10,000 hours in Fortnite you would need to play 8 hours a day for 3.5 years.

This is not possible, of course. Because Fortnite Battle Royale was released less than 2 years ago.

There are, however, people with more than 10,000 hours spent gaming.

And all of those hours spent practicing don’t disappear when you start a new game. You learn skills that are transferable to different games. Like your aiming ability, for example.

The art of deliberate practice

The mere act of doing something does not necessarily mean you are going to improve. No. You must be focused and have a clear goal you are moving toward

And that’s where deliberate practice comes in.

You see, deliberate practice is regularly following a clear plan of things you need to improve on. But how do you identify the things you need to improve on?

Listen, beginners improve fast because they are open to new ideas and learning experiences.

And when you’ve done something for a while, it gets harder to see your weak points. That’s because our egos get in the way of us sometimes.

It might hurt to realize that you suck at something you’ve done for months or years.

But, when you put your ego aside and accept you are not perfect, then it gets a little easier.

Here’s an easy way to find your weak points: Watch your Fortnite replays. When you watch yourself back, you will notice things that you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Maybe your building is a little sloppy or your aim could do with some practice. Whatever it is you notice write it down and think about what you can do to get better at it.

Then, when you have that list of things, it’s time to create a practice schedule.

How to create a Fortnite practice schedule

Let’s stick with the idea that your aim might be bad and your building could do with a bit of work.

Now, here’s what a practice schedule might look like:

• Building practice
• Kovaak’s Aim Trainer
• Arena mode in Fortnite

But even this is too general.

What does “building practice” even mean and how long are you going to do it for?

How about this, instead:

• Building practice (1 hour)
• Kovaak’s Aim Trainer (30 minutes)
• Arena mode in Fortnite (1 hour)

Now, this is starting to take the shape of a practice schedule.

But, we can still do better.

Let’s go a little deeper and split “building practice” into smaller more specific scenarios:

• Practice 90s (15 minutes)
• Ramp, floor, wall training (15 minutes)
• Double ramp, double wall practice (15 minutes)
• Turtle drills (15 minutes)

When you split your practice up into small chunks and know exactly what you are doing each day, all that’s left is to do it.

Tracking progress

Of course, what good is a practice schedule if you don’t know if you are getting better?

Kovaak’s Aim Trainer, for example, uses a scoring system. And you can use that to track your performance over time.

But what about a more subjective skill, like building?

This is a little harder to track performance in.

Here’s what you need to do: Record yourself practicing.

When you watch yourself back, you will spot when you are getting better. Now, you don’t need to watch it back every day.

Because improvement doesn’t happen day on day. And you might even have days where you get worse, as we have already explored.

So, review your performances every week or every month and take notes, too.

Also, don’t compare yourself to others (like Ninja), only compare yourself to who you were before.

Conclusion

When you have a goal and a clear plan, you will move toward your goal.

When you put in the hours, that is.

Listen, practice isn’t fun. After all, it’s practice. Sometimes, however, you need to sacrifice what is fun for what is going to make you better over the long-term.

And nothing is more helpful to long term improvement than a practice schedule.

Remember, progression isn’t linear. There are times when you will stall and not see any improvement for days, weeks, or even months.

But when you stick with it, you will be rewarded.

The post How Long Does It Take to Get Good at Fortnite? appeared first on Kr4m.

Do you want to find your favorite Fortnite clips?

And watch them back to see exactly what happened?

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open your GeForce Experience App. If you don’t have already have this installed then you can download it from the official Nvidia site
2. Go to your settings by clicking the cog in the top right-hand side of your screen
3. From settings select in-game overlay (in the 3rd section) and then go to settings again
4. Click recordings and from here you will see where your videos are being saved. For example: C:\Users\kr4m\Videos

This is the file path. And, when you there, you will find all the Fortnite highlights you have saved.

Now, you can watch your replays back.

Listen, watching your own gameplay is one of the best ways to get good at Fortnite. Because you can see what you did right, and what you did wrong so you can know what you need to do to improve.

You see, when you’re playing Fortnite it’s hard to know what’s actually happening because things happen so fast. But when you watch your replays, you can slow it down and notice all the things you wouldn’t see.

For example, imagine you’re shooting at an enemy, and all of your shots miss.

Now you could blame this on the game itself because Fortnite uses a bloom based aiming system so there’s some randomness involved. Or you could say it was just bad luck. This is what a lot of players do.

But, when you watch your replay back again, you could see if you were really to blame. Then you can take responsibility for making the mistake.

And if you’re missing a lot of shots, then you can identify this as a weak point in your gameplay.

So you can start learning how to improve your aim in Fortnite and training using an aim trainer like Kovaak’s FPS Aim Trainer.

How to set up Fortnite Nvidia Highlights

Go to your GeForce Experience App and open the settings.

Next, go to the in-game overlay settings and select “Highlights”.

Now enable “Capture” at the top. This lets Fortnite automatically capture screenshots and video recordings using ShadowPlay.

From here you can see where your files are stored and set a maximum disk space. The default maximum disk space is 5GB.

But I recommend you set this higher. I have it set to 30GB so I’m sure there’s enough space to record everything.

If you’re using a drive with a low amount of storage, for example, an SSD, then you could set the maximum disk space lower to suit your needs.

How to set up when Fortnite highlights will record

You can enable your Nvidia graphics card to automatically capture your best moments in Fortnite.

Here is what you can record:

• Eliminations
• Double Eliminations
• Triple Eliminations
• Multi Eliminations
• Deaths
• Downs
• Victory Royales

To do this, open Fortnite and press Alt+Z.

Then, go to your settings and select “Highlights”.

From here you can toggle things on/off as you wish.

I have mine set up to record all the events, so I know I will never miss another highlight.

Conclusion

The Nvidia GeForce Experience is a useful tool because it allows you to capture Fortnite highlights without the need for any 3rd party recording tool.

Because you can capture and save your best (and worst) moments and then review them at a time that’s convenient for you.

This is especially useful if you’re a content creator and don’t want to record the entire game because it can use a lot of disk space.

And unlike the built-in replay system in Fortnite, you get to capture things from your perspective as it happens. So you get a more accurate perspective of your gameplay.

Also, the Fortnite replay system can lower your FPS, so some players have it disabled because having high FPS when you play Fortnite is important.

Hopefully, when you watch your content back, you will realize things about your gameplay and learn how you can get better.

What are you using the Nvidia highlights to record?

The post Where Are Fortnite Nvidia Highlights Saved? appeared first on Kr4m.