Fortnite 31.40 patch notes: Fortnitemares 2024, Chainsaw, Boom Billy, new skins & more

Fortnite’s 31.40 update for Fornitemares 2024 has been released, so here’s everything you need to know about all the new content added to the game.

Fortnite’s patch is a massive update, with the anticipated Fortnitemares Halloween event finally joining the game for another year. Epic Games first started teasing us with some of the confirmed horror collabs, and a second gameplay trailer has leaked revealing even more.

While Fortnitemares 2024 is no doubt a major highlight of this patch, there are also many more tweaks and fresh content introduced to various game modes. They can be hard to keep track of, but don’t worry; we’ve compiled all of them below.

Here are the full Fortnite patch notes for the 31.40 update:

Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 4 update 31.40 downtime details

Fortnite’s v31.40 downtime began at 2 AM ET on October 12, 2024, as confirmed by Epic via a post on X. As usual, matchmaking ended shortly for maintenance before the update went live and the servers returned back online.

Despite it previously being announced that the server downtime for the patch would start at 4 AM ET on October 11, Epic announced that they would be postponing it by 22 hours, just an hour before the original start time.

Fortnitemares event (2024)

This year, Fortnitemares has brought collabs from several well-known horror franchises, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, The Night Before Christmas, Marvel, and even Disney villains. On top of that, the map has also received a spookier makeover and there are plenty of quests, and free rewards to earn.

New skins & collabs

• Billy (Saw)
• Mephisto
• Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
• Pumpkin King (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
• Edward Scissorhands
• Cruella de Vil (Disney Villains)
• Maleficent (Disney Villains)
• Captain Hook (Disney Villains)
• Agony (Venom)
• She-Venom (Venom)
• Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
• Ravemello

Chainsaw

The Chainsaw weapon from Saw has been added as a brand-new weapon. Hack your way through enemies or rev it into the ground to propel yourself forward at frightening speeds.

You can pick up a Chainsaw from the ground and Chests

Boom Billy

The Boom Billy has also been introduced as a new weapon for the Fortnitemares event and comes from the world of Saw. Throw a Boom Billy, a mini-Billy the Puppet that’ll lock onto the nearest opponent and explode.

It’ll ride a tricycle your way then explode on impact. Outrun it so that it detonates before you’re the next victim! You can find Boom Billys from the ground and Chests. Or get one from defeating the real Billy the Puppet at Freaky Fields.

Unvaulted weapons

Here’s every returning classic Halloween weapon and item:

• Witch Broom
• Pumpkin Launcher
• Wood Stake Shotgun

Jigsaw’s Challenge

• Scattered across the Island are Billy the Puppets displayed on TV monitors waiting for passers-by.
• Approach a monitor and Jigsaw, the man behind the puppets, will challenge you to duel a player who accepts from another monitor.
• Both players in Jigsaw’s Challenge will don a Billy-inspired bear mask — which happens to be explosive.
• If you or your squad don’t eliminate your target in time, the mask will explode and you’ll be eliminated.
• If you or your squad does eliminate the target, you and your squad will be rewarded with a Boom Billy, the unvaulted Witch Broom, and other loot!

Fortnitemares 2024 Quests and free rewards

Fortnitemares XP Quests will unlock throughout Fortnitemares, and by completing them, you’ll be able to earn XP and eleven exclusive free Halloween-themed rewards:

• Complete 1 Quest: The Fangler Bass
• Complete 2 Quests: Carver’s Helm Emoticon
• Complete 3 Quests: Horde’s War Wheel Back Bling
• Complete 4 Quests: Thrills & Chills Loading Screen
• Complete 5 Quests: Nightmare’s Choice Jam Track
• Complete 6 Quests: Knight of the Patch Banner Icon
• Complete 7 Quests: Jack-o’-Drifter Contrail
• Complete 8 Quests: Fiendish Wand Pickaxe
• Complete 9 Quests: Cauldron Chill Emote
• Complete 10 Quests: Night of the Nitemares Loading Screen
• Complete 11 Quests: The Great Scarecrow Glider

Horde Rush LTM

• The Cube Monsters are back with a vengeance in the returning Horde Rush.
• This limited-time mode (LTM) challenges your team to travel the map and survive hordes of Cube Monsters.
• This year’s edition features Mod Benches. Just when you thought you survived all the hordes, the Final Boss will force your strategy to be as multifaceted.
• Rack up your score by earning combos and collecting score multipliers.
• Horde Rush will be available until Fortnitemares ends and is accessible via Discover.
• Horde Rush has its own set of Quests that’ll go live sequentially and be available ‘til the end of Fortnitemares.
• Complete these Quests for XP to help you complete the Fortnitemares XP Quests.

Symbiote Cup

In this Battle Royale Duos tournament on October 22, the top-point-earning teams in each region will unlock the She-Venom and Agony skin before they hit the Shop on October 24 at 8 PM ET.

Competitors can play up to ten matches within their region’s three-hour time window, and the specific event timing for each region can be found in the “Compete” tab in-game.

Scoring will follow the format below:

Match Placement

Victory Royale: 65 points
2nd: 56 points
3rd: 52 points
4th: 48 points
5th: 44 points
6th: 40 points
7th: 38 points
8th: 36 points
9th: 34 points
10th: 32 points
11th: 30 points
12th: 28 points
13th: 26 points
14th: 24 points
15th: 22 points
16th: 20 points
17th: 18 points
18th: 16 points
19th: 14 points
20th: 12 points
21st: 10 points
22nd: 8 points
23rd: 6 points
24th: 4 points
25th: 2 points

Each Elimination

1 point

Ghost Train

The moving train that travels around the Battle Royale map during matches has been replaced by a Ghost Train. At the front, a scary face features surrounded by glowing green and black smoke.

Battle Bus

For Fortnitemares 2024, the iconic Battle Bus has received its typical makeover during the event. The classic blue color has been altered to black, with orange detailing.

LEGO Fortnite

Fortnite’s cozy LEGO mode is set to receive an all-new “Brick or Treat Event Pass” that features various builds. Here’s a list of all the things coming to LEGO Fortnite:

• Brick or Treat Event Pass
• NaNa Village Map Markers
• The Nightmare Before Christmas LEGO Bundles
• Free Dark Studies & Eternal Restlessness Decor Bundles
• New split screen feature

Rocket Racing

Rocket Racing will also be getting several new additions. As spotted by well-known leaker iFireMonkey, they are as follows:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas Collab decals
• Potential Updates on Spider-Man VS Venom cosmetics
• New Rocket Racing Starter Pack
• Rocket Racing Season 3 Begins
• New Earnable “Ocean Breeze Beats” Jam Track
• Missing BALL-R Wheels Fixed
• Current Time Trials, Ranked Quests, and Weeklies will get disabled

Fortnite Festival

On the other hand, Fortnite Festival is set to introduce new instrument skins aside from in-game fixes according to leaks. To sum it up, here’s a list of the additions:

• Fortnitemares quests
• New instrument skins
• Animations fix, no more frozen bodies with moving mouths
• Fix on Jam Track audio quality

Teasers for the next chapter

We’re only about one month away before the next chapter begins. As with any last major update for the chapter, it’s very likely that we’ll start seeing Epic Games dropping more teasers about what’s to come, including the next season’s theme, skins, and so much more.

That sums up everything you need to know about Fortnite’s 31.40 early patch notes. Some of the information here is based on leaks, so take them with a grain of salt for now. We’ll be sure to keep you updated once the update is available to all players.