05-09-2019, 11:45 PM
Fortnite Season 9 Battle Pass Guide: Free Skins, Price, And How It All Works
<p>Mark it on your calendar, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-countdown-start-date-and-time-pa/1100-6466736/">Fortnite Season 9</a> began on May 9, and brought with it a whole bunch of new things for players to obsess about--10 weeks from now, you'll be getting all nostalgic about this moment, probably. Fortnite developer Epic Games has detailed the <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-patch-notes-slipstreams-fortbyte/1100-6466763/">major patch</a> that is ushering in all the exciting changes to the game and, as with previous seasons, there are significant changes to the map, fresh gameplay opportunities, and much more. Obviously, there's a new Battle Pass too, and below you'll find a breakdown of all the key details, including pricing information, what you'll get as part of it, and how to make the most of the Battle Pass.</p><h2 dir="ltr">What Is The Fortnite Battle Pass?</h2><p>The Battle Pass is effectively what allows players to unlock new items that can be used to customize their character. These include skins, emotes, wraps, gliders, and back bling--basically, it's all the rad stuff you see players wearing and think, "Dang, that's cool, I want that." These items are earned by playing Fortnite--taking out enemy players, scoring Victory Royales, completing the weekly challenges, and generally having a good time in Fortnite. While doing this, you'll accrue Battle Stars, which in turn level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetic items attached to the levels.</p><p>As with previous Battle Passes, there are over 100 levels to upgrade through. For Season 9, when you buy the Battle Pass, you'll automatically get two skins: Sentinel and Rox, which you can see images of below. Rox is a progressive skins, which means it can be levelled up to evolve into new styles.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-3531441" data-ratio="0.5625" data-width="1280" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 1280px"><a href="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg"><img alt="No Caption Provided" src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg" srcset="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg 1280w, https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scal...omo-11.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" data-width="1280"></a></figure><h2 dir="ltr">How Do Battle Pass Challenges Work?</h2><p>Thankfully, you're not required to have a Battle Pass to enjoy playing Fortnite. This is because, by default, everyone is able to unlock a limited number of cosmetics. This is because everyone starts off with what is a free, baseline level of the Battle Pass. With this version, however, it takes considerably longer to level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics, and many of the coolest items are exclusive to paid Battle Pass owners. Weekly challenges are the quickest way to level up a Battle Pass, and while free players will have some challenges to do, there's a portion of the weekly challenges that are exclusive to those that have spent V-Bucks on a Battle Pass. More challenges to do means more Battle Stars can be earned, which in turn results in the Battle Pass leveling up quicker.</p><h2 dir="ltr">How Much Does A Battle Pass Cost?</h2><p>The Battle Pass costs 950 V-Bucks from the in-game store. V-Bucks is a Fortnite-specific currency that you can purchase with real money. 1,000 V-Bucks go for about $10 in the US. Alternatively, you can purchase the Battle Bundle, which is 40% off and gives you the Battle Pass with 25 tiers unlocked, as well as the Bunker Jonesy skin. This bundle is priced at 2,800 V-Bucks.</p><h2>Season 9 Battle Bundle Contents</h2><p>Battle Bundle is available now through August 1 and instantly grants players with items "valued at over 10,000 V-Bucks. These include:</p><ul><li>Rox Progressive Outfit</li><li>Sentinel Outfit</li><li>Bunker Jonesy Outfit</li><li>Sentinel Wrap</li><li>Ripe Rippers Harvesting Tool</li><li>Turbo Spin Glider</li><li>Ripe Wrap</li><li>300 B-Bucks</li><li>1 Music Track</li><li>70% Bonus Season Match XP</li><li>20% Bonus Season Friend Match XP</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">What Are The Rewards?</h2><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-3531445" data-ratio="0.5625" data-width="1280" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 1280px"><a href="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg"><img alt="No Caption Provided" src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg" srcset="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg 1280w, https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scal...omo-04.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" data-width="1280"></a></figure><p>When you purchase a Battle Pass, you'll immediately receive a few skins including the Sentinel and Rox. However, beyond that there are futuristic wraps, which chance the visual style of whatever they're applied to, mechanized pets, emotes, back bling, sprays, and more. The ultimate goal, however, is a progressive outfit that unlocks at tier 100. This skin is called "Vendetta" and you can see an image of it above. It's also worth noting that if you owned a Season 8 pass, you'll start Season 9 with a 30% personal XP boost. You can see <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/fortnite-season-9-battle-pass-new-skins-emotes-bli/2900-2768/">all the Fortnite Season 9 Battle Pass rewards here</a>. </p><h2>What's New In Season 9?</h2><p>The Battle Pass might seem like a lot of work, and it certainly is--requiring hours of dedicated play, but it also worthwhile if you're an avid Fortnite fan. But how does Season 9 mix things up from a gameplay standpoint, you may be asking? Well, the biggest change that we've seen in Week 1 of Season 9 is the new Slipstreams. These are new ways to get around the map quickly and, since you can either hop in yourself to be carried around the island, lob projectiles in, or drive small vehicles through, there's sure to be plenty of opportunities to make mischief. There is gameplay depth to using Splistreams too, as you can build speed and influences trajectory, so you'll need to spend a bit of time getting familiar with how they work. You can read more about what's new in the <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-patch-notes-slipstreams-fortbyte/1100-6466763/">Season 9 patch notes</a>.</p>
<p>Mark it on your calendar, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-countdown-start-date-and-time-pa/1100-6466736/">Fortnite Season 9</a> began on May 9, and brought with it a whole bunch of new things for players to obsess about--10 weeks from now, you'll be getting all nostalgic about this moment, probably. Fortnite developer Epic Games has detailed the <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-patch-notes-slipstreams-fortbyte/1100-6466763/">major patch</a> that is ushering in all the exciting changes to the game and, as with previous seasons, there are significant changes to the map, fresh gameplay opportunities, and much more. Obviously, there's a new Battle Pass too, and below you'll find a breakdown of all the key details, including pricing information, what you'll get as part of it, and how to make the most of the Battle Pass.</p><h2 dir="ltr">What Is The Fortnite Battle Pass?</h2><p>The Battle Pass is effectively what allows players to unlock new items that can be used to customize their character. These include skins, emotes, wraps, gliders, and back bling--basically, it's all the rad stuff you see players wearing and think, "Dang, that's cool, I want that." These items are earned by playing Fortnite--taking out enemy players, scoring Victory Royales, completing the weekly challenges, and generally having a good time in Fortnite. While doing this, you'll accrue Battle Stars, which in turn level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetic items attached to the levels.</p><p>As with previous Battle Passes, there are over 100 levels to upgrade through. For Season 9, when you buy the Battle Pass, you'll automatically get two skins: Sentinel and Rox, which you can see images of below. Rox is a progressive skins, which means it can be levelled up to evolve into new styles.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-3531441" data-ratio="0.5625" data-width="1280" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 1280px"><a href="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg"><img alt="No Caption Provided" src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg" srcset="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531441-fortnite-season-9-promo-11.jpg 1280w, https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scal...omo-11.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" data-width="1280"></a></figure><h2 dir="ltr">How Do Battle Pass Challenges Work?</h2><p>Thankfully, you're not required to have a Battle Pass to enjoy playing Fortnite. This is because, by default, everyone is able to unlock a limited number of cosmetics. This is because everyone starts off with what is a free, baseline level of the Battle Pass. With this version, however, it takes considerably longer to level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics, and many of the coolest items are exclusive to paid Battle Pass owners. Weekly challenges are the quickest way to level up a Battle Pass, and while free players will have some challenges to do, there's a portion of the weekly challenges that are exclusive to those that have spent V-Bucks on a Battle Pass. More challenges to do means more Battle Stars can be earned, which in turn results in the Battle Pass leveling up quicker.</p><h2 dir="ltr">How Much Does A Battle Pass Cost?</h2><p>The Battle Pass costs 950 V-Bucks from the in-game store. V-Bucks is a Fortnite-specific currency that you can purchase with real money. 1,000 V-Bucks go for about $10 in the US. Alternatively, you can purchase the Battle Bundle, which is 40% off and gives you the Battle Pass with 25 tiers unlocked, as well as the Bunker Jonesy skin. This bundle is priced at 2,800 V-Bucks.</p><h2>Season 9 Battle Bundle Contents</h2><p>Battle Bundle is available now through August 1 and instantly grants players with items "valued at over 10,000 V-Bucks. These include:</p><ul><li>Rox Progressive Outfit</li><li>Sentinel Outfit</li><li>Bunker Jonesy Outfit</li><li>Sentinel Wrap</li><li>Ripe Rippers Harvesting Tool</li><li>Turbo Spin Glider</li><li>Ripe Wrap</li><li>300 B-Bucks</li><li>1 Music Track</li><li>70% Bonus Season Match XP</li><li>20% Bonus Season Friend Match XP</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">What Are The Rewards?</h2><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-3531445" data-ratio="0.5625" data-width="1280" data-embed-type="image" style="width: 1280px"><a href="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg"><img alt="No Caption Provided" src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg" srcset="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/43/434805/3531445-fortnite-season-9-promo-04.jpg 1280w, https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scal...omo-04.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" data-width="1280"></a></figure><p>When you purchase a Battle Pass, you'll immediately receive a few skins including the Sentinel and Rox. However, beyond that there are futuristic wraps, which chance the visual style of whatever they're applied to, mechanized pets, emotes, back bling, sprays, and more. The ultimate goal, however, is a progressive outfit that unlocks at tier 100. This skin is called "Vendetta" and you can see an image of it above. It's also worth noting that if you owned a Season 8 pass, you'll start Season 9 with a 30% personal XP boost. You can see <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/fortnite-season-9-battle-pass-new-skins-emotes-bli/2900-2768/">all the Fortnite Season 9 Battle Pass rewards here</a>. </p><h2>What's New In Season 9?</h2><p>The Battle Pass might seem like a lot of work, and it certainly is--requiring hours of dedicated play, but it also worthwhile if you're an avid Fortnite fan. But how does Season 9 mix things up from a gameplay standpoint, you may be asking? Well, the biggest change that we've seen in Week 1 of Season 9 is the new Slipstreams. These are new ways to get around the map quickly and, since you can either hop in yourself to be carried around the island, lob projectiles in, or drive small vehicles through, there's sure to be plenty of opportunities to make mischief. There is gameplay depth to using Splistreams too, as you can build speed and influences trajectory, so you'll need to spend a bit of time getting familiar with how they work. You can read more about what's new in the <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-9-patch-notes-slipstreams-fortbyte/1100-6466763/">Season 9 patch notes</a>.</p>