Fortnite‘s first-ever Star Wars season brought with it one of the biggest meta shifts in the game’s history by tossing out almost the entire loot pool and replacing it with Star Wars weapons. The only items left over from Chapter 6 Season 2 are standard healing items and shockwave grenades–in other words, things that never go away. Otherwise, it’s a whole new ballgame out there.
The biggest surprise, however, is not really the guns themselves, but the lack of quick movement items. In Season 2, we had the Kneecapper and two different types of rockets that we could use to squirrel our way out of all sorts of dire situations. Escape was always possible with that loot pool. But those days are very much over.
For the Star Wars season, shockwave grenades are now the lone common movement item. You can train with a hologram character to get a lightsaber that will allow you to sprint a little bit faster, but this is something only a handful of players will have the chance to do each round of battle royale. You can also use Slap Juice to give yourself unlimited sprint for a short period, which works well in conjunction with the lightsaber, but Slap doesn’t make you move any faster on its own. So no, you’re not whining without cause–this season is a lot slower paced than Season 2 was.
For Build players who can throw up a wall to defend themselves at any moment, the shift in pace isn’t that big of a deal. But for those who play Zero Build, the new slow meta will constantly leave you exposed to enemy fire without many options if you get caught off guard. And with the comically overpowered IQA-11 Marksman Blaster in the game ready to two-shot you in an instant from a hundred meters, getting caught out in the open usually means big trouble. But we’ve got you. Here are some key tips for surviving in Fortnite’s slower Star Wars meta.
1. Carry shield bubbles
Shield bubbles are the kind of item that skilled sweaty players love and everyone else tends to forget about–in terms of loot priority, folks often put them behind weapons, healing items, and movement. Really, though, shield bubbles have always been extremely useful whenever they’ve been part of the Zero Build meta–they were just less than essential when folks were flying all over the place during fights.
In the slower Star Wars meta, though, shield bubbles are essential. Whether you’re just walking across an open field or trying to resurrect your teammate after a fight, having shield bubbles to throw down at the right moment can make or break a round, especially now when you can’t usually run away very easily.
2. Travel using vehicles
In a slow meta like this one, it’s not the best idea to use shockwave grenades purely for getting around–you should save those for stressful situations when you really need them. When you’re just trying to get around quickly, like when you’re way outside the circle and the storm is closing in, it’s better to drive a car or fly an X-Wing or TIE Fighter. Those vehicles can protect you from gunfire, and they move much faster than you will on foot. Plus, while you’re in one, you can simply run away from every fight if you want to.
3. Use lightsabers primarily for defense
By holding the alt-fire button, you can deflect incoming fire with your lightsaber, and if you hit the jump button while in the defensive stance, you’ll do a little jump dodge that makes you very difficult to hit. You can even spam the dodge maneuver pretty effectively, making yourself obnoxiously difficult to hit even at close range. Even better is that neither of those abilities is a thing you need to train with a hologram for–you can deflect and dodge with any lightsaber you loot off an enemy. But if you do train, Rey’s Force Push ability can become another essential tool because it will throw your enemies back and give you room to move. The bad guys won’t take fall damage from a Force Push, but they won’t be right next to you anymore, either.
Regardless of how you feel about the slow meta, it won’t stick around forever–Star Wars season will be over on June 7, after just five weeks. But the slow meta won’t stay slow even that long, as the May 22 update will add the Mandalorian Jetpack to battle royale for the final two weeks of the season.