Ninja’s Fortnite skin has a surprising effect the better you play

Tyler ‘Ninja‘ Blevins is the first content creator to receive an exclusive skin in Epic Games’ popular Battle Royale title, and the unique cosmetic item comes with a surprising effect for impressive players.

After years of the Fortnite community pleading Epic to release custom streamer skins, Ninja announced on January 15 that he had an exclusive cosmetic coming to Fortnite with the game’s next update. 

Ninja’s skin captures his iconic blue hair and prominently features his logo on the left sleeve, allows players to embody the streaming sensation. However, the first of its kind skin also comes boasting a surprising feature under the hood that rewards players for exceptional performances.

Performing well in Fortnite and racking up eliminations has only ever been displayed through the in-game tally on the Heads Up Display (HUD). However, the brand new Ninja skin comes with a new effect and puts an end to just that.

With each successive elimination, the yellow headband appears to grow. From a standard piece of apparel that Ninja often wears throughout his streams on Mixer, to a lengthy item that almost matches the size of the swords on his back.

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The better you perform throughout any match, the longer the headband becomes. Starting out in a fresh lobby will have all Ninja skins on an even playing field, but the further into a match you get, the more headbands you’ll be able to spot across the map.

Moreover, the unique aspect of the cosmetic reaches another level entirely if players continue with their exceptional performance. While the length of the headband caps out at 10 eliminations, reaching such a streak will make the iconic apparel glow for all to see.

Allowing others around you to instantly recognize the magnitude of your performance, a glowing headband is one of the most unique ways to flex on everyone else in the lobby.

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A surefire way to gauge just how imposing the final remaining enemies are as well, if you see a full squad of Ninja’s heading your way – each with a glowing headband – it might be time to bunker down and hope for the best. 

Ninja’s very own skin was made available through Fortnite’s in-game store at 6PM CST on January 16.  

While a detailed blog post from Epic Games teased a similar treatment would be on the way for Australian streamer Kathleen ‘Loserfruit’ Belsten and Spanish YouTuber David ‘TheGrefg’ Cánovas, there’s no telling whether each skin from here on out will feature unique functions like Ninja’s iconic headband.