Epic is diligent and now brings new items to Fortnite: Battle Royale weekly. With so many weapons and items, it’s easy to lose track. However, with only 5 equipment slots, you must weigh your options carefully. Thanks to our item guide, you’ll only take the most useful weapons and items into Fortnite!
In Fortnite: Battle Royale, you can find an increasing variety of weapons, healing items, and shield potions. The grenade arsenal is also constantly expanding. With only five inventory slots, you need to carefully consider which items you want to carry with you.
Although Epic recently removed a category of weapons (standard submachine guns), the selection is still enormous – and is likely to continue growing.
We categorize all weapons and items, and which items you should carry in each category.
Standard Weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale
THE standard weapon in Fortnite: Battle Royale is the assault rifle. You should always have an assault rifle on hand, as it is the best all-round weapon. However, at the start of a round, you are likely to come across another weapon more frequently: the pistol (or the revolver or the hand cannon).
As long as you don’t find an assault rifle, take the pistol with you. Skilled shooters can deal significant damage even with the common variant. Depending on personal preferences, the burst assault rifle is also an extremely strong alternative.
The following ranking applies to standard weapons (the weapon at the top should be ideally included):
- Assault Rifle
- Burst Assault Rifle
- Hand Cannon
- Standard Pistol
- Revolver
A blue rarity burst assault rifle might be preferred by some players over the assault rifle. Take what feels better for you!
Melee Weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale
With the nerf of the double pump shotgun, new options have opened up in the melee category. The shotgun is still powerful (especially with critical hits), but the double version has become useless.
A proper boost has conversely been given to tactical submachine guns. The magazine has been enlarged. Since the weapon can also be found in epic quality, it is a strong alternative to shotguns in close combat.
Since the fire rate of tactical shotguns is higher than that of pump shotguns, they should be preferred starting from the rare rarity (blue).
You should always have a melee weapon with you. The crucial question now is whether you
- want to use only a shotgun or submachine gun, or
- want a combination of pump shotgun / shotgun / submachine gun
This depends on your personal preferences, but also on your available slots. A combination of pump shotgun and tactical submachine gun is brutal, but requires two inventory slots.
By the way: The tactical submachine gun is always preferred over the suppressed variant. It offers a larger magazine and kills more reliably than the suppressed SMG.
If you like, you can also use a suppressed pistol for close combat. Critical hits deal devastating damage.
The weapon or combination you use depends on several factors. How many inventory slots do you have available? How well can you aim with the weapons? Are you aggressive or more passive players?
Ranged Weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale
Ranged weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale include the crossbow, the hunting rifle, and the sniper rifles. While the crossbow primarily uses its strengths in infinite ammo and suppression, the hunting rifle is also excellent for medium distances.
However, the best ranged weapons are still the sniper rifles. The bolt-action sniper rifle stands unchallenged at the top. Even the rare variant kills any player with a critical hit, regardless of the opponent’s shield and health points.
If you find a ranged weapon, you can use the following ranking to determine whether you should take it with you – or leave it behind:
- Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle
- Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle
- Hunting Rifle
- Crossbow
Explosive Weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale
Heavy weapons are extremely rare in Fortnite: Battle Royale. If luck is on your side and gifts you a grenade or rocket launcher – take it! Especially in the endgame, heavy weapons will serve you well!
Furthermore, rocket launchers are considered the rarest weapons in Fortnite: Battle Royale – and there’s a good reason for that. Whether you want to smoke out enemy fortifications or take your enemies out from above, the rocket launcher is a true all-rounder.
Since standard grenades are also considered explosive weapons, they also appear in the ranking:
- Rocket Launcher
- Grenade Launcher
- Minigun
- Grenades
Even though the minigun looks good on paper, it is rarely used. If you shoot at a fortress with the minigun, you often present an easy target. The damage against mobile opponents is also poor. The rocket launcher offers more options here.
Healing Items and Shield Potions in Fortnite: Battle Royale
You also have a wide selection of bandages, medkits, and shield potions at your disposal among other items. The slurp juice is the ultimate item in the game – the slurp juice heals your entire health and fully restores shields to the maximum.
Ideally, you should carry items that restore your health as well as reserve shield potions that can replenish your shield after a fight. At the beginning of each round, make sure to maximize your shield. You can then take any excess items with you.
Your shield is full? Then the ranking provides a good indication of which items you should take with you:
- Slurp Juice (Maximum: 1) – Fully restores health and shields
- Medkit (Maximum: 2) – Regenerates up to 100 health points
- Shield Potion (Maximum: 2) – Restores 25 health and shield points each
- Mini Shield Potions (Maximum: 10) – Provide 25 shield points per piece up to a maximum of 50
- Shield Potions (Maximum: 2) – 50 shield points upon use
- Bandages (Maximum 15) – Restore 15 health points up to a maximum of 75
Mini Shield Potions are excellent for regenerating shield points in short combat breaks. If you find two large reserve shield potions, take them with you. With Mini Shield Potions, shield points can only be built up to a maximum of 50.
If you haven’t found a slurp juice yet, it makes sense to reserve one item slot for shield potions and one for medkits.
So what does the best loadout look like in Fortnite: Battle Royale?
Ideally, you should have the following weapons and items with you:
- An all-round weapon like the assault rifle
- A melee weapon like the tactical shotgun / submachine gun
- A ranged weapon like the sniper rifle
- An explosive weapon like the rocket launcher
- A slurp juice for complete healing after a fight
Depending on your personal playstyle, you may also choose to skip an explosive weapon and opt for two melee weapons instead. If you haven’t found a slurp juice, take one item for shield healing and one for health regeneration with you.
What weapons and items are you using in Fortnite: Battle Royale?
