Fortnite Season 3 patch notes: Underwater map, Sharks, Charge Shotgun

Epic Games have finally released Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 3 on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices on June 17, introducing new weapons, items, points of interest, and more.

After a number of delays to the new season, Fortnite fans can finally sink their teeth into the latest major update for the game, which continues the story debuted in Monday’s Device event that saw massive waves submerge huge parts of the island.

As always, Epic dropped a new trailer to kick the new season off in style, showing Meowsicles waterskiing around the island and a massive new Point of Interest, while meeting a host of new faces who make up the Season 3: Splashdown Battle Pass.

What’s New?

Splash Down

After weeks of rumors and leaks, Fortnite’s map is submerged! Midas and his Doomsday contraption caused the waters to cover large portions of the island, so players will need to find new ways to navigate across the Season 3 map as they search for Victory Royales. Of course, a new map means new locations including Catty Corner, Rickety Rig, and The Fortilla, a massive location constructed out of scrap metal that sits in the south-west corner.

On top of that, Epic have created tides, which will see the water recede throughout the season, which they state will “uncover even more locations,” hinting that we may not have seen all the new Points of Interest just yet.

On top of that, the developers also revealed that once the water does head back out to sea, we’ll be able to jump in all-new vehicles to traverse the roads across the island, including a sports car and a pick-up truck.

Sharks

Players and NPCs aren’t the only inhabitants of Fortnite Season 3, as Sharks have infested the waters around the island. While the creatures may have a big bite, there’s no reason to avoid them entirely, as they can actually prove to be a handy mode of transportation across the submerged island.

• Read More: All Fortnite Season 3 map changes: Islands, changing tides, more

Grab a fishing rod, hook yourself onto one of the big fish, and speed around the map with ease. Don’t drop any items though, or they’ll be gobbled up, never to be seen again.

Marauder NPCs

Fortnite Season 2 say players taking on Henchmen at various Agency and Ghost locations across the island, and NPCs make a return once again in Season 3, in the form of new rivals Marauders.

According to Epic, these new enemies crash down onto the island with the sole intention of taking players out, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled and your trigger finger ready to ensure they don’t end your match early. As always though, there is a reward with the risk, as Marauders will drop loot when eliminated.

New weapons, items, and vaults

Of course, no new Fortnite season is complete without some new hardware to play with, and the main addition in this patch is the Charge Shotgun, which fires explosive rounds that are sure to hurt anyone who gets too close to you.

On top of that, Epic Games have also used the Vault to freshen up the weapon pool, with five items returning to the fray while waving goodbye to the classic Pump Shotgun, which will be removed from the game for the time being. You can view the full list of unvaulted guns and items below.

Unvaulted

• Hunting Rifles (All variants)
• Chug Splashes
• Chug Jugs
• P90 SMG
• Bolt Action Sniper Rifle

Vaulted

• Pump Shotgun

Chapter 2, Season 3 Battle Pass

The Season 3 Battle Pass also launches with the 13.00 Update, stacked full of new skins, back bling, gliders, and more, all following the aquatic theme of the new season. Players can purchase the new Battle Pass for 950 V-Bucks, or splash out and spend 2,800 V-Bucks to unluck the first 25 Tiers immediately.

Bug Fixes

The official Fortnite Trello page has also revealed some of the major bug fixes and exploit patches that have arrived with this season, as Epic attempt to make the transition to the new map as smooth as possible. You can view all the changes below.

Battle Royale:

• Fixes issue causing hit/damage indicators to sometimes appear to be coming from the wrong direction than the source of damage.
• Emote music will no longer be heard while at the Main Stage in Party Royale
• Addressed some players missing styles for the Specialist Pickaxes and Arroyo Pack Back Bling.

Mobile:

• Shadows will no longer display at a high contrast that was causing most texture to appear as black.
• “New Landmark” text will no longer appear multiple times when discovering new locations on the Battle Royale map.
• Addressed issue where the swipe-up feature on iOS devices was reported to be interfering with buttons near the bottom of the screen or closing the app on players.
• Fixed bug causing build pieces to not always place when quickly switching between combat and build modes when firing.