How to Win a Solo Game of Fortnite

Improve your Fortnite skills and earn a solo Victory Royale

Are you getting eliminated early on in your solo games of Fortnite? Taking on 99 other players all alone may sound like a lot, but winning the game is easier than you think if you’re using the right strategies. Whether you’re a brand-new player or a seasoned Fortnite veteran, we have all the best tricks to help you survive throughout a game. Keep reading to find out how you can get better right away and become the last one standing in a match!

[Edit]Things You Should Know

• Turn on “Visualize Sound Effects” in the Settings menu so you can see the direction of enemy footsteps or gunfire. Use headphones to listen for approaching players.
• Land in secluded map areas, like Restful Retreat, Lotus Lookout, and Mega City. Gather a variety of guns, healing items, and building materials for later in the game.
• ​​Stay hidden and avoid other players as long as you can so you have a better chance at survival.
• Aim for other players’ heads to deal damage quickly. Keep firing at them to maintain pressure and prevent them from healing.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Starting Strategies

1. Adjust your controller’s sensitivity and button settings. Click on the Menu icon with three horizontal lines (☰) and select the Settings option from the list. Choose the icon that looks like a game controller to adjust the settings. If you want to look around faster, raise the controller sensitivity so you can quickly aim at enemies. Then look at the button controls and select the “Builder Pro” option to make it easier and faster to build in the game.^[1]
   
   • Your sensitivity and button settings all depend on what you feel the most comfortable with. Play a practice round to test out your new settings, and continue tweaking them until they feel good to you.
   • If you’re using a keyboard and mouse, select the icon that looks like arrow keys to adjust the settings and change the mouse sensitivity.
   • Familiarizing yourself with your controls is important so you’re not looking down at your controller during intense moments of the game.
2. Turn on “Visualize Sound Effects” to help you detect players and chests. Open the game settings and choose the speaker icon to access the audio options. Toggle “Visualize Sound Effects” on before you start your game. Now when you’re in the game, enemy footsteps and gunshots appear as a directional marker on screen so you know which direction the noises are coming from.^[2]
   
   • Knowing where enemies are in a solo game makes it easier to get away from an attack or sneak up on another player.
   • Plug headphones into your controller or game console as well. That way, you’ll have the best in-game audio so you can hear enemies as they’re approaching.
3. Practice building in Creative Mode. Open up Creative Mode so you can practice without worrying about other players. Familiarize yourself with the building controls and practice quickly building ramps and boxes so you can get better at the game. Work towards building as fast as you can since it will help you get into cover or get a better vantage point in an actual game.^[3]
   
   • One simple drill to try is building a box around you and placing a ramp inside. Break one of the side walls, and jump off the top of the ramp. Try building a floor below you before you land on the ground to get better at evading attacks.
   • If you don’t feel confident in your building skills yet, try playing the “No Build” mode for a simpler game without walls or towers.
4. Start in a landing spot away from other players. When you’re starting a solo game, check the blue arrows on the map to find the bus route. Check for any challenges listed on the left side of your map. If there’s a specific challenge at a location, avoid it because other players will most likely land there to compete for it. Watch where other players jump off the bus and try to pick a spot that’s secluded so you have time to find good loot and equipment.^[4]
   
   • The best landing spots will vary depending on the map updates between seasons and chapters. In Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2, some of the best landing spots for a solo game are Restful Retreat, Lotus Lookout, Drift Ridge, and Mega City. These places are secluded, but still have a lot of loot or building materials to collect.
5. Vary the types of weapons you carry. Rather than carrying weapons that have similar ranges, try looking for a mix of short-, medium-, and long-range weapons to pick up. Look for an SMG for taking enemies out when they’re nearby and an Assault Rifle to get rid of enemies at a medium distance. Then, try to carry a Sniper Rifle or DMR to attack other players from far away.^[5]
   
   • Check for weapons in any buildings or cities on the map. If you knock down an enemy, check what weapons they dropped as well.
   • Shotguns are great for taking out a chunk of an enemy’s health, but they take a while to reload and leave you vulnerable.
6. Gather healing items to use later in the match. Look through chests and go to any vending machines you find on the map to collect healing items like Bandages, Med Kits, Med-Mist, and Chug Jugs. If you get damaged, run to a safe location and select a healing item in your inventory to heal yourself.^[6]
   
   • It takes about 3 seconds to heal yourself with an item.
   • Try to maintain full health throughout the game, especially before you plan on attacking another player, so you have the best shot at surviving.
7. Look for gold and building materials early in the match. Swing your pickaxe at trees and rocks, as well as wooden, stone, and metal structures to break them apart and gather materials. Try to stay in cover so you’re not out in the open and exposed while you’re collecting them. Try to get as many materials as you need early in the match while the other players are still scattered over the map.^[7]
   
   • Building materials let you construct walls and upgrade your weapons.
   • Gold lets you buy medical supplies and better weapons during your game.
   • If you find any available vehicles, take them. Driving makes it easier to get around the map and avoid attacks. Just be sure to get out of your vehicle once it gets damaged.

[Edit]Surviving Battles

1. Hide from other players. When there are still a lot of players left in the game, try to find cover so you don’t want to create attention to yourself. Try to stay inside buildings, behind trees and rocks, or in bushes so other players are less likely to see you. As long as no other players see you, it’ll be easy to survive until the end of the game.^[8]
   
   • Try your best to stay hidden until there is only one player. If the other player has to spend time looking for you, they’ll be more exposed and give you an advantage.
2. Stay away from fights that you’re not involved in. Getting into unnecessary fights will put you at risk of dying. When you see someone shooting or engaging in a fight with another player, keep your distance and seclude yourself so you have a better chance at surviving.^[9]
   
   • When you get to the top 10 in the game, players are more skilled so be more cautious. Hiding in a fort or structure ensures that you won’t be damaged by other players and helps you safe materials.
   • Try to stick near the edge of the storm circle since there’s usually more action and players near the center.
3. Sneak up on players and deal damage to them. If you see a player and they haven’t noticed you yet, try to slowly sneak behind them to attack from their blind side. Since the other player will scramble trying to figure out where you are and how to get to cover, you’ll wrack up a lot of damage and knock them out.^[10]
   
4. Eliminate other players as quickly as possible. If a player engages you in a fight and won't leave you alone, eliminate them as fast as you can by aiming for their head. If a player is aggressive towards you and tries to get into your fort, keep building walls so they won’t be able to come in.^[11]
   
   • Build a trap with your extra building materials and place it inside your fort so enemies get hurt when they try coming in. A trap is the safest and quickest way to deal damage to a player.
5. Maintain pressure on enemies after you damage them. To stop the enemy from healing after you deal damage to them, spam them with shots to keep up the pressure. Even if they are constantly building walls to block your bullets, it’s okay because they won’t have the time to heal and they’re wasting materials. Continue to damage them as much as you can to knock them out of the game.^[12]
   
6. Position yourself on high ground so you don’t have to move much. At the end of the game, hide in a tall tower or on higher ground away from the edge of the storm circle. As they get closer to you, continue shooting and dealing damage to the enemy. Since they’re getting hurt by you and the storm, they’ll feel a lot more pressure and may make a mistake.^[13]
   
   • This is especially important when you're down to the last enemy.
7. Keep practicing after you’re eliminated. If you get eliminated the first few times you try a solo game, don’t get discouraged. Continue to join games and practice so your accuracy and building skills improve. Once you’re more familiar with the map, guns, and building controls, it’ll be a lot easier to rank higher and win in a solo game.
   
   • Watch replays of your matches to learn from your mistakes and see where you could improve next time.
   • Check out streams or videos of professional players to see what strategies they use so you can try them out the next time you play.
   • Get Better

[Edit]Tips

• If you’re playing Fortnite in Duos or Squads, stick close to your teammates and communicate clearly when you see an enemy or are being attacked for better chances of surviving.^[14]

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ https://esports.gg/guides/fortnite/best-fortnite-controller-settings/
2. ↑ https://youtu.be/5QyY9mPLZoo?t=42
3. ↑ https://youtu.be/JIUvh6ZEmgc?t=76
4. ↑ https://youtu.be/F6HhNDq9g9E?t=37
5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Psp0UL3PZcw?t=275
6. ↑ https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-healing-consumables-in-fortnite-creative
7. ↑ https://youtu.be/Wgm5qHTcZLc?t=9
8. ↑ https://www.aboutpvp.com/guides/fortnite-battle-royale/how-survive-solo
9. ↑ https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/1398-fortnite-battle-royale-tips.html
10. ↑ https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/1398-fortnite-battle-royale-tips.html
11. ↑ https://youtu.be/mOewHijzrLo?t=127
12. ↑ https://youtu.be/CbxL-Wo2ETs?t=380
13. ↑ https://www.ign.com/wikis/fortnite/Best_Battle_Royale_Solo_Tips
14. ↑ https://youtu.be/rN0be0EhdlI?t=31