Fortnite Season 6 detailed: The four biggest changes (so far)

Today marks the launch of Fortinte Chapter 2 – Season 6, a season we now know is officially called 'Primal.' The season was largely a surprise thanks to a complete lack of big leaks, making it as exciting as it was surprising. Logging into the game for the first time will introduce you to a solo player experience, but what can you expect when that ends?

Crafting

Once upon a time, the weapons you found on the battle royale island were the weapons you were stuck with. That changed the first time with the introduction of the Upgrade Bench, which allowed users to trade resources in exchange for weapon upgrades.

The Upgrade Benches were soon removed and replaced with the upgrade NPCs, which can upgrade your weapons in exchange for gold bars. Things have changed yet again, and in the biggest way so far: Fortnite now has a proper crafting system. With this, users can upgrade weapons using mechanical parts and bones collected during gameplay.

Hunting

The Fortnite island is now a primitive place, and so it makes sense that players must utilize primitive tactics to survive. The weapons are largely now 'makeshift' weapons cobbled together from various parts, ones you can upgrade through crafting — which, as mentioned above, requires parts. The mechanical parts are acquired by breaking down vehicles.

Bones, meanwhile, are acquired by hunting animals or, when possible, trading gold with select NPCs in exchange for four bones. The new hunting capability is joined by a new bow in the battle royale game – which players had correctly guessed based on a small image included in Epic's previous teaser video. The bow can be upgraded to explosives but is distinctly different from the Boom Bow.

Meat and bones

Meat and bones are two unique items players can now acquire and carry around. As mentioned, the bones are acquired from trading and hunting; they're used to upgrade weapons. What about meat? This new item is likewise gathered by hunting wildlife, but for a different purpose: you can use the meat to tame wolves, another addition to Fortnite.

Epic also teases wild boars on its official Fortnite website, while the island is also now home to chickens, which are prey animals used to lure the predators. Epic goes on to mention that more fearsome predators will also be arriving, but it seems they're destined for a future update.

New POIs

As you've surely noticed by now, the entire Fortnite battle royale island has been redesigned; the buildings and other structures are now primitive (except for the cars, of course), there's a huge spire in the middle of the map, and the center appears to be in perpetual autumn.

Many of the locations remain the same, but Chapter 2 – Season 6 has added three new Points of Interest (POIs): Boney Burbs, Colossal Crops, and The Spire. As with the past few game seasons, these new regions are shaded grey on the battle royale island map; you'll need to visit each area to reveal it.