Fortnite update 15.50 patch notes: Rapid Fire SMG, MariGold skin, new LTMs

The final Fortnite Season 5 update, patch v15.50, has arrived. Here’s all the juicy details, including patch notes, teasers about a new “rapid” item, and more.

This patch is expected to be the last Season 5 update, before Season 6 drops around March 15. That means there are only be a small bundle of front-facing changes for the battle royale and Creative mode.

There will, however, be a number of leaks and early teases for the upcoming Season 5 finale event, which should be just around the corner in late March – if insiders are correct.

v15.50 is also expected to vault a popular gun, and trade it for a “rapid” new item ⁠- suspected to be the leaked “Run Gun SMG” uncovered by Fortnite dataminers all the way back in December 2020.

Here’s everything we know about update v15.50, starting with all the details on Fortnite’s patch downtime, and the March 3 patch notes.

When is Fortnite v15.50 coming?

Fortnite’s v15.50 patch update arrived on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 4AM ET, with downtime lasting for quite a while as the new additions were fully incorporated into the game for everyone.

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The Xbox One update size is 2.85GB, the Xbox Series X|S update size is 1.84GB, the PS4 update size is 2.18GB, the PS5 update size is 1.8GB, and the Nintendo Switch update size is 3GB. The size on PC varies.

Fortnite update 15.50 patch notes

Hand Cannon vaulted again

The popular Hand Cannon has been vaulted again in the v15.50 update. The heavy weapon only spent a single patch free from the Fortnite bench, after being released in patch v15.40.1 last month to replace the new Flint-Knock Pistol.

The pistol was first introduced all the way back in patch 7.40. Before its unvaulting on February 23, the Hand Cannon had spent a huge 16 months in the Fortnite vault. It now apparently is headed back in that direction.

Rapid Fire SMG unvaulted

To replace the now-vaulted Hand Cannon in the Season 5 weapon pool, Epic Games revealed they would be adding a “rapid” new item, leading to speculation over the previously-leaked Run Gun SMG.

However, we now know that it’s the Rapid Fire SMG which has been unvaulted after being removed in patch 14.0. It makes sense, given the ‘rapid’ teaser in Epic’s patch update announcement.

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The weapon is available in common, uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary variants. As the name suggests, it has an incredibly high fire rate but that comes at the cost of low damage and a short range.

In its common variant, it deals 13 damage per bullet, with a fire rate of 15.0, and 195 DPS. It has a magazine size of 20 and a quick reload time of 1.6 seconds. It’s definitely worth picking up for close range combat.

Bodyguard, Heavy Metal, and Classic Loot LTMs

Several new LTMs will be coming along with the v15.50 patch update, and they sound like a lot of fun.

The first is called Bodyguard, and will be available in squads, trios, and duos. Each team has a VIP who can’t pick up weapons and is marked for all enemies, with only a Legendary Pistol to defend themselves. The rest of the team have to keep them alive.

Heavy Metal will be a normal battle royale mode, except the only weapons that can be found are ‘Heavy’ variants. This will probably include the Heavy Assault Rifle, the Heavy Sniper Rifle, and more.

Classic Loot will also be a typical battle royale mode, but with ‘classic loot’ instead. It’s unclear what weapons or items will be featured in this mode, but we’d expect it to go back to the game’s Chapter 1 roots.

Lazarbeam Icon Series skin released

YouTuber Lazarbeam is the next creator to get his own Fortnite skin.

The hilarious new Icon skin depicts the content creator as a “tradie” — a construction worker, for those of you outside Australia — complete with his high-vis work shirt, a tool belt, and vintage grey shorts. According to Lazarbeam, the ‘tradie’ look is to “honor [his] beginnings.”

• Read More: Fortnite Lazarbeam skin: details & release date

The YouTuber has confirmed the ‘Lazarbeam’ bundle will be available in the Item Shop early in the 15.50 update: March 4, to be exact.

Female Midas finally coming to Fortnite

After months of teasing, it looks like a female version of the popular Midas skin is coming to Fortnite.

The skin is officially called MariGold, and will come with a Golden Touch challenge bundle, complete with a pickaxe, back bling, and challenges where players can earn up to 1,500 V-Bucks.

MariGold is expected to launch in Item Shop within the next two weeks, and you can find information about all the leaked skins and cosmetics in the v15.50 update here.

v15.50 adds new Island sizes in Creative update

Epic has added another new Island size in the Fortnite Creative playlist, as part of a small update to the popular battle royale building mode. Players will now be able to use Large Islands, which are 155X155 tiles.

Fortnite already boasts more than 20 islands in the Creative playlist, with players often gravitating towards simple designs like “Horseshoe Island,” “Flat Grass Island,” and the huge “Grid Island” arena that is basically just a blank slate.

 The devs also pulled the trigger on localized “Featured Creative Hub” support.

Fortnite update 15.50 bug fixes

As usual, the Fortnite dev team will also ship a few bug fixes, as documented on the official Trello board. This patch only has a few solved issues, including for the battle royale, Save the World, and Creative mode.

Here is the full list of bug fixes coming in v15.50:

General

• Split Screen “Ready Up!” issue.

Battle Royale

• Snowy Floppers do not grant Shield or Icy Feet.
• Cars not always dealing damage on impact.
• Total Bars appearing as “0” when loading into a match with high latency.

Save the World Issues

• Escalation Modifier Damage Buff does not buff Hero Skills or Gadgets.

Mobile Issues

• Cannot start or switch to Creative Mode.

So, there you have it; all the patch notes for the fifth Season 5 update. Once the unvaulted “rapid” item has been revealed, we’ll make sure to update this page.