Fortnite’s Season 6 update has arrived, and there are some major changes. From new POIs and the unvaulted Pump Shotgun, to new weapons and tameable wolves appearing on The Island, here’s what players can expect to see in patch v16.00.
After three months of bounty hunting, pop-culture crossovers spanning Star Wars, Hollywood, and other video games, and plenty more, Season 5 is finally bowing out to make way for the highly-anticipated Season 6 update.
The new Fortnite season is set to shake up the battle royale all over again.
Jonesy, the now-nailed-on protagonist of the series, will be taking on the Zero Crisis Finale in a season-starting event. After that cataclysmic event, Fortnite players will find themselves battling on a changed island, taming wolves, and wielding iconic Save The World weapons in a new ‘primal’ world.
While Epic Games has become notorious for not releasing patch notes for their big changes, we’ve made sure to get all the juicy details together for you. Here’s everything we know about Fortnite Season 6.
Fortnite Season 6 patch notes
Zero Crisis Finale event
When players first load up Fortnite after Season 6 begins, they’ll take part in a solo experience called the Zero Crisis Finale. It’s a one-off event that will conclude the events that happened during Season 5.
Players will work alongside Agent Jonesy as he turns against the Imagined Order and joins forces with a member of the mysterious organization The Seven in an attempt to stop the Zero Point from destabilizing.
Epic will also be streaming the Zero Crisis Finale event online here.
Fortnite Season 6 theme — “Primal”
The new Fortnite season theme has officially been confirmed: Primal.
This makes sense too, considering we’re seeing crossovers like Lara Croft, hunting weapons, and new tameable NPC wolves (see below).
The Season 6 battle pass also shows chunks of the island changed into prehistoric areas, and characters with bows, Black Metal weapons, and using magic.
Everything has come down to this. Agent Jones is putting a stop to it.
Play through the Zero Crisis Finale in-game now. #FortnitePrimal pic.twitter.com/S8i1HlE03f
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) March 16, 2021
Crafting weapons
One of the biggest new features in Fortnite Season 6 is one that’s been rumored for a long time now: Weapon customization.
Fitting with the Primal theme, players can collect resources like animal bones as well as ‘technology untouched by the pulse’ to craft new upgrades for the weapons they find around The Island.
You’ll be able to use resourced to craft primal weapons like the Primal Rifle, classic weapons like the Revolver, and powerful new bows like the Flame Bow and Metal Bow.
Pump Shotgun returns: All vaults & unvaults
Several popular weapons including the Lever Action Rifle have been vaulted at the beginning of Fortnite Season 6, which is most likely to make way for new weapons as well as the new weapon crafting feature.
Vaulted weapons
- Suppressed SMG
- Dragon’s Breath Shotgun (Epic/Legendary)
- Tactical Shotgun
- Charge Shotgun
- Lever Action Shotgun
- Lever Action Rifle (Uncommon/Rare/Epic)
- Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle (Rare/Epic/Legendary)
- Heavy Assault Rifle (All)
- Pistol (All)
- Common Assault Rifle
Perhaps the biggest weapon news is the return of the fan-favorite Pump Shotgun. The super-popular close-quarters gun has been absent since v15.00, but is being unleashed again heading into Season 6.
Unvaulted weapons
- Pump Shotgun (Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary)
- Revolver (All)
It’s likely that more weapons will get vaulted and unvaulted as Season 6 progresses, so make the most of the current lineup while you can.
Magazine sizes nerfed
According to VastBlastt, gun magazine sizes have been nerfed across the board.
Heading into Season 6 all weapons boasted the same magazine size — 999 — with ammo reserves very rarely playing a part in Fortnite combat.
That may change this season, however, with changes for all guns.
- Shells: 999 ⇒ 150
- Light Bullets: 999 ⇒ 500.
- Medium Bullets: 999 ⇒ 500.
- Heavy Bullets: 999 ⇒ 50.
Season 6 map changes: The Spire, Colossal Crops, more
The Zero Crisis Finale event appears to have changed The Island in Fortnite Season 6. A top-down look at the updated battle royale arena shows a number of new Primal-themed POIs littered around.
These include The Spire, which has been placed right at the heart of the island, and Colossal Crops to the north. There’s also a new southern POI, titled Primal Pond, which has replaced Hunter’s Haven.
One last new POI, called Boney Burbs, has appeared but is not marked on the map.
The Spire
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Colossal Crops
Primal Pond
The new map also has a number of Guardians that will appear across the map. These are NPC bosses that will patrol their chosen area, and will likely play a role in Fortnite lore as the season progresses.
Like bosses The Mandalorian and Predator that appeared in previous seasons, they’re very powerful and each one has its own special powers like teleportation, so they’ll be incredibly difficult to take down.
Here are all the new Guardians added in Fortnite Season 6:
- Guardian of the Bay
- Guardian of the Woods
- Guardian of the Lake
- Guardian of the Mountains
- Guardian of the Fields
- Guardian of the Sea
Season 6 Map With Names! (via @VastBlastt) pic.twitter.com/m4Y3ZHwqoU
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 16, 2021
Tamable Wolves added on the Island
Fortnite’s March 16 update has added tamable pets for the first time in the game’s history.
First leaked back in December 2020, wolves have seemingly been in the pipeline for quite some time. Now, after teasers from Epic Games as well, they’re finally in the game.
“Tamable wolves are confirmed to be in this season,” prominent Fortnite leaker HYPEX shared on Twitter. This means players will be able to tame their own pets while traveling the map. Wolves could be hostile at first, but after taming them, they might even fight beside you.
- Read More: Fortnite adds tamable pets in Season 6
Alongside the new wolves, three other animals were also highlights: Chickens, Frogs, and Boars. These can also help players out. Chickens, for example, can be used to float like in classic series The Legend of Zelda.
Tamable wolves are confirmed to be in this season, also new Chickens, Frogs & Boars!
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 16, 2021
Bunker Chests
It seems a few thrify characters on The Island were well-prepared for the Zero Point destroying parts of The Island, as they left behind a number of Bunker Chests containing rare items.
These desirable chests can be found scattered around the map, and will contain powerful weapons ranging from Rare to Legendary, including Rocket Launchers.
As the season progresses, new weapons and upgrades will start to appear in the Bunker Chests, including a new Chonkers Tire Set that will let you “tear it up off-road”. Sounds like a vehicle mod to us.
Neymar Jr. is coming to Fortnite
There’s one more planned, very much star-studded crossover coming in Season 6 as well — according to recent teasers, Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. will be joining the Fortnite universe in some way.
The teaser clip features images of Neymar’s number 10 jersey and what appears to be the 2014 World Cup football. This was all solidified when Neymar himself retweeted the teaser alongside the side-eyes emoji.
- Read More: How to get Neymar skin in Fortnite
Our best guess is that Neymar Jr. will get his own skin in the game, which could either appear in the Item Shop or be unlockable with the new season’s Battle Pass.
Who knows, he might even end up being a boss fight…
— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) March 13, 2021
Fortnite patch v16.00 bug fixes
As usual, the Fortnite dev team will also ship a few bug fixes, as documented on the official Trello board. This patch only has a few solved issues, including for Battle Royale, Save the World, and Creative modes.
Here is the full list of bug fixes coming in Season 6:
General
- Balloons item temporarily disabled.
- Unable to edit color Styles for the Phantasmic Pulse Pickaxe in the Locker.
Battle Royale
- Inventory menu selector appearing on multiple slots.
Creative Mode
- Pressing the default key in pre-game lobby starts the game.
- Main Player rift can sometimes show as a Seasonal Rift.
Save The World
- The Val Defender doesn’t have perks when unlocked from the Valor Questline.
Keep up to date with the latest Season 6 news, leaks, and guides over on our Fortnite Season 6 live hub.