Fortnite Patch Notes (Update 8.30): What's New Today?

Epic Games has rolled out another new update for its hit battle royale title, Fortnite. Patch 8.30 is now live across all platforms, and while the update number might not suggest as much, this is a particularly significant event. Beyond a new limited-time event called Buccaneer's Bounty that's now live, this update introduces a new respawn mechanic that is now available in the game. Read on for a full breakdown of the patch notes.

Epic recently announced Reboot Vans, and they're now live. Similar to the respawn stations found in EA's rival battle royale game, Apex Legends, Reboot Vans allow you to revive fallen teammates during a match. We've got a full breakdown of how Apex and Fortnite respawns compare, but here are the basics of how they work: When a teammate dies, you'll need to collect their Reboot Card, which is dropped upon their elimination. Once a card has been collected, any member of the squad can bring it to the Reboot Van and respawn them, regardless of who actually picked it up. The vans can't be found in Solo matches, large-scale LTMs, or any mode that already has respawns enabled.

Notably, respawning in this manner doesn't leave you completely empty-handed, as in Apex. Instead, they'll come back with a Common-rarity pistol in ammo, 36 ammo, and 100 wood. After a Reboot Van is used, it goes on cooldown for two minutes. The vans can be found all over the map, including at each major point of interest.

The other big draw this week is the aforementioned Buccaneer's Bounty event, which runs until April 15. Throughout the event, Epic will feature a different limited-time mode to play every day. Treasure maps will also spawn a bit more frequently during matches, and there will be daily Buccaneer's Bounty challenges to complete and rewards to unlock for all players--no Battle Pass necessary. The first of these challenges is already available and asks you to visit pirate camps in different matches; you can consult our guide if you don't know where on the map to find those.

Also new following the update is the Fly Explosives LTM, which Epic says "combines the explosive fun of the High Explosives LTM with the Jetpack." In this mode, the only weapons you'll be able to find are explosives, and Jetpacks will occasionally spawn as Floor Loot. Beyond that, Epic has made numerous bug fixes and UI tweaks. You can read a portion of the patch notes for Battle Royale mode below; the full patch notes can be found on Epic's website.

Week 7's challenges are slated to arrive on Thursday, April 11, bringing players another step closer to unlock Season 8's Legendary Ruin skin. If you still have any outstanding challenges you need to complete in the meantime, you can find tips and guides for this season's trickier tasks in our full Season 8 challenges roundup.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 8.30 Patch Notes

Limited-Time Mode: Fly Explosives

Summary

This mode combines the explosive fun of the High Explosives LTM with the Jetpack. Take to the skies and blast everyone else back to the lobby!

Mode Details

  • Only explosive weapons can be found in this mode.
  • Floor Loot spawners will occasionally spawn Jetpacks.
    • Jetpacks are only available in this mode in Battle Royale.
  • Reduced storm wait times.
  • Rocket Ammunition capped at 120.

Weapons + Items

  • Reboot Van / Cards
    • Reboot Vans have now been added to the map at all major POIs.
    • When squad members are eliminated they now drop their Reboot Card, which can be collected by other squad members.
      • Reboot Vans / Cards are disabled in Solos, Big Team Limited Time Modes, and any modes with respawns enabled.
      • Reboot Cards remain in the world for 90s after they’ve been dropped.
      • Pickup Interaction time: 0.5 seconds.
    • Bringing Reboot Cards to Reboot Vans will bring each squad member whose card has been collected back into battle.
      • Collected Reboot Cards can be turned in by any squad member regardless of which member picked up the Card.
      • Interaction time: 10 seconds.
      • A Reboot Van goes on cooldown and cannot be activated again for 120 seconds after it’s used.
    • Rebooted squad members return with:
      • 100 Health
      • 1 Common Pistol
      • 36 Light Ammo
      • 100 Wood
  • Infantry Rifle
    • Damage decreased from 40/42 to 38/40.
    • Fall-off damage at maximum range increased from 26/28 to 32/34.
  • Poison Dart Trap damage ticks will no longer cause the camera to shake repeatedly.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented weapon fire from queuing for shotguns after switching weapons without re-pressing the fire key.
  • Fixed an issue where if a Clinger is attached to a player and they entered a Baller that it wouldn't deal damage.
  • Fixed sniper rifles playing fire animations twice per shot from the point of view of other players.
  • Fixed grenade projectile trajectories lagging behind slightly when moving and rotating.
  • Fixed Traps not activating if a player blocks line of sight with a structure but then the structure is destroyed.
  • Fixed Balloon sound effects occasionally playing when entering a vehicle without Balloons active.
  • Fixed an issue with single shot weapons not reloading properly while in targeting mode.
  • Fixed Peppers not granting movement speed while walking.
  • Fixed Minigun Rev Up/Down sound effects persisting after boosting on a Driftboard.
  • Fixed an issue with Ziplines after using a Launch Pad that could cause the player to jump higher.
  • Fixed an issue with players getting knocked backward when firing the Pirate Cannon upwards.
  • Fixed Pirate Cannons getting stuck in an indefinite horizontal rotation.
  • Fixed an issue with Boom Bow not showing up with the Visualize Sound Effects option.
  • Fixed an issue with vehicles shot by Boom Bow not playing hit notification sound effects.
  • Fixed an issue with the Boom Bow having longer than expected projectile trail effects.
  • Fixed an issue with Boom Bow projectile effects occasionally flying through enemies.
  • Fixed a spelling error in the elimination feed with Boom Bow.

Gameplay

  • Buccaneer’s Bounty Event
    • A different Limited Time Mode rotates in every day from April 10 - April 15.
    • Drop in and Complete free Challenges to earn in-game rewards.
    • Increased the spawn rate of Treasure Maps for the duration of this event:
      • Floor Loot: Increased availability from .25% to .5%
      • Chests: Increased availability from 1.55% to 3.05%
  • All aspect ratios will have the same vertical FOV on Mac and PC.
    • In the near future, ultrawide monitors will be limited to 16:9 in competitive game modes.
  • Added separate controller sensitivities for building and editing structures.
  • The Glider Redeploy item is now sorted to the right along with other consumables when "Auto sort consumables to the right" is enabled.
  • Added ability to cycle hotbar items while gliding.
  • Hit markers are now server authoritative.
    • We’ve heard the feedback that hit markers are sometimes seen for shots but don't apply damage, so we’re going to delay showing them until the server has confirmed the hit.
  • Fixed sniper damage not causing damaged players to play a reaction animation.
  • Adjusted how Storm damage is applied so that players entering the Storm will have a set amount of time before damage is applied.
    • The initial instance of damage will start 1 second after entering the Storm.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where players would incorrectly edit structure behind them when backed up close to a player built wall.
  • Players dropping in warm-up will not award eliminations if another player caused them to receive fall damage.
  • Fixed Traps being hidden underneath certain floor pieces that don't completely align with the grid.

Performance

  • Various level streaming performance optimizations for Switch and Xbox One to reduce cases where players see blurry buildings.
  • Improved texture streaming performance and memory overhead on Switch.
  • Improved performance for Traps.
  • Improved performance of the Challenges UI.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a source of hitches due to spawning weapon drops.
  • Fixed a source of hitches due to replay recording.
  • Implemented a fix that should resolve cases of invisible characters after skydiving.

Audio

  • New separate in-air audio tell for enemies.
    • More of an “incoming” audio tell that should give more awareness when an enemy drops in on you from above.
  • Reduced volume of building audio loops while being structures are being built.
    • This sound is now ducked by enemy footsteps and gunfire.
    • Prevents unnecessary noise when lots of buildings are placed in quick succession.
  • Slightly increased the volume of footsteps below the player.
  • Increased volume of the landing sounds of enemy footsteps.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug where all offscreen enemy footsteps and weapon switches/reloads would be silent when more than 5 players were nearby.
  • Fixed a bug where the Boom Bow wasn’t playing the correct vehicle damage notification sound.

UI

  • Vehicle controls can now be hidden in the HUD Options.
  • Added minimum and maximum values to the in-game FPS overlay and added the option to "Show FPS" on all supported platforms.
  • Push To Talk
    • Enabling the menu option for consoles
    • Defaulting the option to Off for consoles.
  • Wraps can now be applied to most types of weapons, everything that doesn't fit elsewhere is now covered by a catch-all "Misc." slot in the locker.
  • The health bar for vehicles has been adjusted to now display health values of vehicles.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue with the friend list was always displaying a notification symbol in the frontend.