Fortnite Season 2 was released on March 20, giving fans of Epic Games’ popular Battle Royale a lot to think about. Building has been mostly removed and replaced with advanced player movement options. The updated map has been split up into two factions. If this all sounds a bit confusing, here’s what you need to know about the tactical sprint and how it relates to the removal of building — along with some other important new details.
How to tactical sprint in Fortnite
One of the most perplexing new features of Fortnite Season 2 is the addition of a tactical sprint mechanic. It arrives in tandem with an increased default movement speed, but the concept itself is a little different from what active players likely already know. While it’s popular to turn on auto sprint to let one’s characters run all the time, tactical sprint offers a new top threshold for how quickly one can escape danger.
In most of Fortnite’s default control schemes, activating tactical sprint is as easy as pressing in the left thumbstick. When you do, you’ll see a small stamina bar appear above the shield bar on the left-hand side of the screen. In the event you don’t see one, go to your options menu and map the sprint action to whatever you like. Unfortunately, a bug introduced at the start of Chapter 2 has messed with key bindings for some players.
You move very fast while tactical sprinting, but that advantage comes with a few caveats. For one, you’ll notice that this additional stamina bar depletes very quickly, meaning you can only do it for a few seconds at a time. The sprint meter replenishes as long as you’re not pressing in the stick, but that fast-as-lightning movement is always fleeting.
Secondly, tactical sprint forces players to put down their weapons. As such, it’s a mechanic meant purely for traversal with no meaningful combat hooks. That emphasis on high-speed traversal, however, unlocks the opportunity for players to leverage tactical sprint to cross large chasms that couldn’t be scaled in the past. And, if you don’t quite time your jumps as cleanly as you’d like, simply double-tap to mantle the wall and climb up. Building has been removed in the early days of Chapter 2, but that controversial cut comes with some awesome new tools for combatants to take advantage of.
How long is building gone from Fortnite?
Epic has made a big statement by removing building from Fortnite at the start of Chapter 2, but players should know this change isn’t as meta-shattering as it initially sounds. As an alternative to ramps and structures, Fortnite pro CourageJD has shown players that the game’s new vehicle attachments can be thrown to act as a form of deployable cover. While not perfect, these shields essentially act as the only adequate way to avoid being a sitting duck when approached by a well-armed squad.
But, as creative as this alternate strategy might be, some fans may be relieved to know the removal of building from Fortnite is rumored to be extremely temporary. Just prior to the launch of the new season, trusted leaker HYPEX suggested building would only be removed for the next week, with others envisioning a restricted play period of around 10 days. Given HYPEX’s background, we presume this information was found in data-mines of the Season 2 update.
Data-mines are hardly a factual confirmation of anything, but these hints should allow build pros to rest easy knowing that Fortnite’s trademark mechanic won’t be gone for good. Narratively, the Imagined Order has removed building from Battle Royale as a way to disrupt the plans of the Seven. We imagine, if the Foundation has his way, he’ll be able to restore the feature quickly enough for fans to forget it was even gone in the first place.
What do the red and blue lines mean in Fortnite?
Also related to the ongoing conflict between the IO and the Seven is a complete redrawing of the Battle Royale map, dividing it into factions supporting either side. Wondering what those red and blue borders around the various POIs mean? It’s just an indicator of which side controls that given territory.
- Blue is the color chosen to symbolize the Seven and the Resistance. In these territories, you'll find special items like the Striker Burst Rifle, Combat SMG, Sentry Guards, and turrets.
- Red is used to symbolize territory belonging to the Imagined Order. Stuff like Blimps, Titan Tanks, and Siege Cannons can be found here.
