This article contains Amazon affiliate links, see my full disclosure
When talking about Fortnite we’re really talking about the free game Fortnite Battle Royal. The game so many millions play over all the world. So what is the difference between Fortnite and Fortnite Battle Royale?
A short history of Fortnite
Fortnite first saw its daylight in the year 2011 as a trailer at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.
The game was a survival type (gathering resources, building forts and fighting enemies). According to Epic, it was no shooter.
In 2014 Epic told about their new project called Fortnite Save the World.
Epic in 2018 about Save the World
We decided to move the free-to-play launch of Save the World out of this year. We’re working on a broad set of features, reworks, and backend system scaling we believe are needed to go free-to-play. Save the World has grown consistently since our launch in July 2017 and Fortnite overall has experienced unprecedented growth. Scaling up for the legions of player heroes who will be joining the fight is key to providing an excellent experience. This applies to all of our players, old and new, so we’re taking the time to get this right.
The cooperative PvE Save the World mode was the original pitch for Fortnite, and has remained in development as the free-to-play PvP Battle Royale has exploded in popularity.
If you’re new to Fortnite? See our beginners guide
It’s fair to say the free version of the game has overshadowed its original vision, especially since the PvE isn’t available for some versions, including the Nintendo Switch or mobile games. But at least some of its large audience is likely to jump into Save the World once it’s free, so Epic is looking to be prepared.
This game mode stands for Player vs Player. This is recommended for the more seasoned players given that there is a heightened element of danger. Not only can the elements, wild dinos, and hunger/dehydration, drowning and fall damage potentially kill you, but also any player that is not either in your tribe or alliance.
The playstyle has to primarily be either aggressive or defensive to survive in a PvP map. It is also recommended to build a compact well-fortified base as opposed to a larger base in the open (dependent on the server and players involved).
Of course, the style of play is totally up to you, but it is common to experience being raided on a regular basis, at least on the majority of the official servers.
Fortnite Battle Royale
Like other battle royale games, Fortnite Battle Royale is a competitive shooter. Between 100 players are air-dropped out of a moving plane or “battle bus”. Then they fight to survive as the play space slowly shrinks to force people into combat.
The formula for surviving this battle royale is that you need to find all of your weapons and equipment on the map because you don’t land with anything other than a pickaxe.
While you could try attacking someone with your axe but it is best used to harvest building materials from trees, cars and other free-standing objects so you can make your own walls, ramps, and platforms. This is the main ingredient that differentiates Fortnite Battle Royale sprang from other battle royale games like Players Unknown Battleground and this is the ingredient that makes it stand apart.
Player costumes can also buy V-Bucks at any time through which either they can buy skins, and emotes separately. You can also buy the Fortnite Battle Pass for 10$ or 950 V Bucks through which you can earn skins, emotes and other extras by completing the challenges of the battle pass. Every day the store cycles through new inventory that can be bought with V-Bucks, so check back frequently for skins you want. Battle Pass skins change out with every content season, which usually lasts three months.
Occasionally, very special skins are offered for a premium price. The raven skin is a very detailed skin sold in early April for a short time for a hefty $20 and is no longer for sale. Epic may sell it again in the future, so keep your eyes peeled if you missed it.
Save the World
Fortnite: Save the World is a co-op game in which you play on a team of up to three other players to fight AI-controlled waves of enemies, known as husks. It’s also playable solo with AI allies to help you on your missions, but even those can be turned off for a completely solo experience.
The thrilling experience involves missions in which you defend locations against waves of enemies or venture out and find stranded survivors amid roaming monsters. In defense missions, you’ll spend some time preparing and building fortifications as well as scouting for materials to make the items you need. Then, you’ll trigger combat and begin protecting your base.
Each map is randomly generated for each mission you undertake except for the map on which your home base is located. You’ll return to your home base’s map, the location of your Storm Shield to increase the radius of this shield to take back the world from mysterious creatures that resemble zombies. The story is a light-hearted affair that gives enough justification for you to set out and get to work without involving too-long cut scenes or too much dialogue. If you’re looking for an engrossing plot, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
