“Fortnite” is a free game – stop wondering.
There’s a paid version of it, and you can buy stuff in it, but it costs nothing to jump into the game’s wildly popular “Battle Royale” mode that pits 100 players against each other in a fight to the death.
If you are going to buy something in “Fortnite” – or you want to give a “Fortnite” fanatic a great gift – there’s one item that’s more important than anything else: the so-called “Battle Pass,” which costs roughly $10.
Here’s why it’s such a crucial item.
1. The Battle Pass makes "Fortnite" into a much more rewarding experience.
The draw of "Fortnite" is the game's "Battle Royale" mode, no doubt, but part of what keeps people playing is the game's progression system. The more you play the game, the more stuff you unlock for your character - outfits, dances, and a variety of other cosmetic inanity.
Crucially, none of these unlocks offer a competitive advantage.
They're intended as a fun addition - for personalizing your avatar, and showing off a bit. Maybe you've got a rare backpack, for instance! Experienced players will know it's something you could only get by playing a ton of the game, or mastering a specific challenge, or whatever else.
By buying the Battle Pass, the game's progression system instantly becomes more complex and rewarding. You'll unlock far more stuff in a far shorter period of time, and the stuff is also much better.
2. Better still: There are a ton of challenges to complete with the Battle Pass, which turns the game into something much more interesting.
In buying the Battle Pass, you unlock Battle Pass challenges, which are lengthy lists of objectives that turn each round of "Fortnite" into something different.
Tired of trying (and likely failing) to reach first place? Why not tackle some challenges!
Go collect the letters that spell out "Fortnite," for instance, or loot eight different chests in Tilted Towers - whatever the objective may be, however silly.
It's a subtle layer of additional objectives, and one you could fully ignore, but why would you? It's a ton of fun, and it's a nice additional push that keeps me playing.
Even if you're not interested in tackling specific objectives, it's entirely likely you'll accidentally complete some just by playing the game. Often, challenges are as simple as, "Kill two players using shotguns." - the kind of thing you're likely to do in the course of play.
Thus: Having the Battle Pass is a worthwhile purchase even if you're not interested in tackling side objectives.
3. The stuff you get is beyond worth the $10 asking price for the Battle Pass.
You can buy some pretty swanky stuff for your avatar in the "Fortnite" digital store.
4. It provides a level of community to the game.
You can instantly tell who's got a Battle Pass and who doesn't if you're a regular "Fortnite" player.
There's obvious stuff, like wearing an unlockable item that's only available through the Battle Pass. And then there's less obvious stuff that's hilarious, like certain parts of the game's map becoming red hot from a particular objective in that area.
Currently, there's a challenge for killing three players in the "Flush Factory" section. As such, the Flush Factory is absolutely rife with extremely aggressive players - which can be a ton of fun, and something completely different. It's also a hilarious in-game effect that makes the game feel alive in a way that it doesn't without a Battle Pass.
Pulling back another layer, the Battle Pass is tied to the game's seasons. Buying in feels participatory in a surprisingly meaningful way.
5. Battle Pass smartly doles out challenges on a weekly basis, incentivizing repeat, regular play.
As if it weren't already hard enough to put down "Fortnite," Battle Pass keeps me coming back nightly to take down the weekly challenges.
New challenges unlock each Tuesday, but if you don't finish the weekly challenges for each week in the seven-day span, don't worry! You can complete challenges at any time - that allows players that buy the Battle Pass several weeks into the season to complete the challenges from prior weeks.
Like all other challenge lists in "Fortnite," you only need to complete some for the bigger unlock. But if you so choose, there are seven challenges in total to tackle - each objective completed gives out stars that go towards the ever-important player rank. And in the current season, you get special rewards for completing every challenge in a given week.
6. At $10, it feels like tipping the game's developers for making a great game.
Given that "Fortnite" is a free game, dropping $10 on Battle Pass doesn't hurt so much - especially given how much joy it offers.
For the cost of a budget movie ticket, you get several months of new challenges and unlocks.
There's a strong possibility that some of those unlocks are V-bucks - the in-game currency - and you can put those towards your next Battle Pass. You could also use them towards sweet outfits, emotes, and other stuff in the in-game store. But if you've got enough willpower, stacking V-bucks will provide valuable savings the next time you buy a Battle Pass. Maybe you'll make enough to pay for it outright! Hot dog!