Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1, called Pacific Break, is set on the new West Coast-themed map of film studios, casinos, golf courses, tech labs and theme parks.
Learning a new Fortnite map can be overwhelming, so in this guide I'll tell you everything you need to know about it, including how rift anomalies change each round, how to find mythic weapons, and why there are hot air balloons floating around.
If you want to know all about the new weapons and items you'll find on the map, read my weapons tier list and loadout guide.
First, let's look at the map in full. It's called Golden Coast.
Glorious, isn't it? It's one of the most detailed, varied Fortnite maps that I can remember, and you don't need to head to a named POI to get excellent loot.
When the season started the Battle Bus was out of service and players surfed in from the edge of the storm, but the bus is back so you can drop anywhere you want, and the Winterfest update has brought snow to the top of the map.
Also, you may sometimes see a triangular storm rather than the regular circle: there's a low chance this will happen in any given match. When you get to the final, moving storm it reverts to a circle.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Winterfest: What's new in festive update
Aside from snow settling on the map, the Winterfest update brings other festive changes to Fortnite.
Christmas trees which chests underneath spawn at most POIs, giving you new spots to loot.
Christmas presents also drop as an item in the world. If you throw them down they'll create a giant gift, like in the photo above. Break the box for solid loot including a chance of Shockwave grenades.
There are new items: the sneaky snowman, snowball launcher, blizzard grenade, and icy feet. None of them changes the meta but they're fun gimmicks.
Finally, the update adds a new boss, the Yule Trooper, who we'll discuss below in the boss section.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Bosses and Boss Locations
Fortnite Chapter 7 Bosses: Boss Locations, Mythic weapons, and transformation kits
The three bosses this season are Beach Brutus, Hush, and Human Bill – and a fourth, the Yule Trooper, has arrived for Winterfest.
Rather than fixed spawn points, they land at random locations at the start of each round. You can actually see them jump out the battle bus: watch for a golden trail. It's difficult to pinpoint where they'll land exactly because the trail quickly fades, but it'll give you a rough idea of where they're going.
If you see a boss icon nearby—a skull wearing a crown, shown in the image below—then head towards it. Be careful because that icon might be a boss or it might be a player who has defeated a boss already. Bosses will stay still, but if the icon is moving a lot, it's a player.
Boss fights are easy and you can usually take them down with a basic weapon.
When defeated, the three bosses each drop a mythic version of one of the weapons in the game, all with boosted stats.
Hush drops the mythic Deadeye assault rifle, Brutus drops the mythic Twin Hammer shotguns, Human Bill drops the mythic Arc-Lightning gun, and the Yule Trooper drops a mythic Holo SMG.
Bosses also drop a "transformation kit". You equip them irreversibly and they turn you into the boss, granting extra health and shield plus a unique ability: low-gravity for Human Bill, shield regeneration for Brutus, blink-style teleports called Zero Point dashes for Hush, and icy feet for the Yule Trooper, meaning faster, slippier movement.
But these kits have three huge downsides. First, they take up an inventory slot, second, they show your exact location on the map at all times, and third, when you're shot your health bar is visible on enemy screens. I don't think they're worth it.
Two other mythic weapons: Classified Canyon car jump and Ripped Tides weightlifting
The boss mythics aren't the only ones in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1: there are currently two others that the game doesn't tell you about, and you get them by completing challenges in two specific locations.
The Pinpoint Iron Pump Shotgun is a mythic version of the iron pump shotgun. To get it, you'll need to lift the giant weight at Ripped Tides, in the west of the map.
Before you try your rep, eat the steaks dotted around the POI because they'll help you lift it much faster.
The Enhanced Enforcer assault rifle is perhaps the hardest mythic to obtain. You need to drive a car over the big stunt ramp on the east side of the map, north of Classified Canyon. Then, this mythic has a chance to drop.
There are fewer cars than ever this season so I never actually plan for this jump, but if you find a car and you're in the area, give it a go. Make sure you drive to the higher portion of the ramp first and then boost as you approach the end. You'll need your boost to make the jump.
Golden Rift Gates and the Forsaken Vow blade
As you drop into the map you might see small, golden portals dotted around. Entering these portals—called Forsaken Vow Rift Gates—nets you the Forsaken Vow Blade, one of the best mobility items in the game.
It's a melee weapon but I wouldn't recommend using it that way: instead, hit right click to slash a mile in the direction you're facing, including skywards. A few clicks will get you out of a tight spot.
You'll know a rift gate is near when you see the yellow icon, shown above, on your minimap.
They spawn at set locations, which you can see on the map above (this map is from Fortnite.gg, an excellent resource).
How to get OG weapons from the DeLorean in Fortnite Chapter 7
It's official: Fortnite has time travel now.
If you see a car icon on your map, that means a DeLorean—the car from the Back to the Future films—is nearby. If you go fast enough while driving it, a snazzy mini cut-scene greets you as you travel through a time vortex, returning with a shiny crate on top of your car.
If you open that crate, you'll find high-rarity weapons from Fortnite's past. The possible weapons are:
- Pump shotgun
- Assault rifle
- Hunting rifle
- Lever-action shotgun
- Drum gun
- Minigun
- Six Shooter
- Infantry rifle
Fornite Chapter 7 Season 1: Pacific Break map tips
Vending machines and gold are more vital than ever
Gold has never been so important: in previous Chapters it carried over between rounds but now everyone starts each match on zero. Every chest contains gold. Cash registers and safes give you extra.
To spend it on juicy loot, find a vending machine. They're in plenty of POIs and are automatically marked on your map, and minimap, when you get close. The game will also ping them for you when you have enough gold. I recommend seeking them out when you’ve built up a bank.
This season's must-buy item is the self revive, which costs 2,500 from a medical vending machine. But if you don't have that much on you you should still buy weapons, ammo, and healing items.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Hot-Air Balloons
Hot-air balloons float above Chapter 7's map. They're basically a slow-moving transport system, moving between stops in a network, with each journey taking a couple of minutes.
As well as just looking in the sky to find them, they're marked on your map. The stations are also marked with a wind-sock icon.
Are they worth it? They're an inefficient way of getting around but they do give you automatic high ground and the compartments in the corners of their baskets drop solid loot. I've had some success jumping on one with a Deadeye assault rifle and picking off enemies below.
(Some) reboot vans are driveable
No more travelling miles to reboot a friend: some of the reboot vans are driveable in Fortnite Chapter 7! If you find one in team-based modes it's always worth hopping in and using them to get around the map—you'll also come across static vans, like the one shown above.
That's not the only improvement to reboots: you can pick up downed teammates and throw them into the van to start the reboot process, so you no longer need to walk up the van and hold a key for 10 seconds. You can even drive away from danger as your teammate is being rebooted.
Map-wide rift anomalies can grant invisibility or gold bars
Also new to Chapter 7 are rift anomalies. These are map-wide conditions for all players, and they have a chance of triggering at the end of a storm circle. So far I've spotted four:
- Care packages drop from the sky and contain a self-revive
- Gold rush: Gain gold bars from harvesting materials
- Hide and Seek: If you stand still or crouch you turn invisible, and anyone who gets shot is pinged red on enemy screens
- Rifts that teleport you to the sky spawn all over the map, and are marked on your minimap
- Winter Ball anomaly, specific to Winterfest. Enter the shielded dome and become a snowman to heal yourself
- OG weapons: Chests containing weapons from Fortnite's past spawn on the map
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1: Pacific Break best drop spots
Where to land
This season's map is remarkably balanced and most locations are viable drops, but there are a few things to prioritize.
The first is bosses because they drop mythics. These spawns are random but if you see one on your minimap as you drop, go straight at them.
The second is vending machines, which will instantly upgrade your gear. Don't head straight for them: instead, loot the surrounding area to get gold, then buy what you need.
The third is the Forsaken vow blade: it spawns in portals at set locations, as detailed further up this article.
With that in mind, here are four drop spots I'm enjoying:
- Wonkeeland shooting gallery: This shooting gallery, in the middle of Wonkeeland (it's next to the grey-green statue), rewards you with high-tier loot. Grab the chest that spawns there, hit the button to start the minigame, shoot a single target, and 30 seconds later a cannon will blast out goodies. There are vending machines next to it, too.
- Ripped tides: Go there to eat steaks and lift the weight for the mythic Iron pump shotgun. You'll also find vending machines at the POI and a Forsaken Vow blade just to the east.
- Gas station east of Wonkeeland: Just to the east of the theme park is a gas station with a slurp truck, which you can break to get full shields. Loot everything then use the vending machines, before heading down the road to the east for a Forsaken Vow blade.
- Classified Canyon: A spicy one, but you're aiming for a secret room hiding a legendary Lightning-arc gun and some rare chests. Head inside the POI by entering the doors and go down until you see a large room with a circular red hatch on the floor. Look around the outside of the room for a zipline down behind a chain-link chest. Take that down and you'll be greeted by a big red door. Open it for your goodies.
