Category: News

Battle royale sensation Fortnite has parachuted onto mobile in all its glory. While it’s still only on iOS for the moment (Android version when?) the fact that this is the same game, pretty much feature-for-feature, on a phone is mind-boggling.

Whether you’re a victory royale veteran, or someone discovering Fortnite Battle Royale for the first time, playing on mobile is quite the unique experience. The smaller screen, reduced visuals and bespoke touch controls totally change the way you must play what is essentially a third-person shooter, and one that can get pretty intense.

If only someone could provide you with some essential Fortnite tips & tricks to help you to stay competitive on your mobile…

Controls refresher

Limit your long-distance fighting

This partly comes down to the current Fortnite meta across all platforms, but even more so on mobile you shouldn’t really look to be fighting at range. Even on PC/console it isn’t ideal with the power of shotguns, poor accuracy of auto rifles, and the ease of movement.

Playing on another platform you probably have at least 18 inches of screen to look at, with all those high-quality pixels allowing you to spot every bit of movement. On mobile that real-estate could shrink to something like 4 inches with an iPhone SE. That movement becomes much more difficult to spot, meaning keeping track of opponents at a distance is near impossible. The touch controls also make it much harder to hit long distance shots without a scope.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid them like the plague. Instead, prioritise SMGs, LMGs, explosives, and shotguns over precision death dealers – especially when you are just landing. If you do want to use a rifle, make sure to crouch and use the aim zoom to improve your accuracy. Additionally, don’t bother with tactics such as shotgun weapon swapping until you get comfortable with the controls. The icons are quite small and it’s easy to mistap on the wrong gun.

Be Aggressive

If you want to survive longer than a minute, you’ll need to start getting into firefights with other players. Typically, Fortnite’s building and plethora of ranged weapons allows users to stay back and pick off foes. However, since aiming on a mobile device is tricky the best option is force enemies to fight on your terms. Get in players faces when the bullets start flying and make them panic as you shoot them.

Moving is not nearly as fluid, so you can fluster you foes by destroying their cover and pressuring them with a hail of bullets. Weapons like C4, minigun, LMG, and even basic grenades are fantastic for forcing opponents out of position. Try to use the environment to break line of sight with your foes, especially if you can get the drop on them. Since rotating the camera can be a bit awkward, it’s not as common for someone to check behind them. Use this to your advantage and strike when they don’t have time to react.

Don’t be afraid to build

Building is key to success in Fortnite allowing you to travel across terrain quickly, get the drop on opponents and keep you safe when caught out. The touch controls on the mobile version are a little trickier than other versions since you have to move your hand away moving and/or shooting to select your building type, once you get some practise it becomes easier.

We have seen so many people on iOS only servers not build anything when they really should, and it almost always results in an early death. Assembling cover can be tricky at first, so accept that you may die in the early hours while learning the new control scheme. If you’re coming over from PC or console don’t expect to quickly assemble the elaborate structures. Swapping between materials and parts takes more time, so focus on constructing simple pieces of cover.

The basic three walls and a single ramp will offer decent protection and simultaneously give you a height advantage. Traps are also quite potent since navigating your character can be a bit awkward and it’s easy to accidentally stumble into one. Always practice your building because it can and will make the difference between a victory or the defeat screen. 

Moving Will Be Awkward At First

As mentioned above, real estate on your screen is at a premium on mobile, as those big ol’ thumbs will take up a lot of room. The positioning of your digits usually means you won’t miss too much, but there is always a chance some loot or even an enemy, manages to go undetected thanks to being covered up. There’s also a chance that you’ll accidentally tap the jump or crouch button. Because of this, it’s absolutely vital that you keep your right thumb in the lower corner of the screen. You can still tap the screen and quickly access your weapons without the risk of hitting another icon.

Remember, double tapping the virtual joystick used to move around will keep your character running forward until you take back control. This frees up screen space to use for scouting the area, and you can still move around by changing your camera angle to turn. Of course, once a fight breaks out you’ll need to take back control right away: strafing, jumping and climbing all needs extra precision that simple running doesn’t.

There may be visual clues, but still play with sound where possible

The most obvious new addition to the mobile version is visual indicators for footsteps, gunshots and chests, as well a direction indicator. It’s a wonderfully clear and obvious addition to the UI, and boy is it useful. Being able to know exactly the direction footsteps are coming from allows you to instantly target whoever is around the corner. It also allows you to plant those traps in places you know they will be.

That doesn’t mean sound isn’t useful though. It can help identify what specific weapon or weapon class is being shot, and other subtler clues that a simple UI tweak can’t provide. Obviously don’t be that person with sound coming out of the speakers in public, but in private/with headphones having sound will give an edge.

Do you have any tips or tricks of your own you want to share? Post them in the comments below!