How-to Get Better at Fortnite (2020 Update)

If you are looking for How-to Improve and Get Better at Fortnite, then this guide will run you through some of the basic strategies you will need to employ to get better quickly. While you can't get to an elite skill level right away, you can accelerate your early learning by using some of the methods described below.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Pretty simple really, but all the best players you see have put hours upon hours into the various games they are good at. You will have some that can pick up any game and be naturally good, but to become a master at a game you have to put in the time. Players like Ninja & Tfue have likely put in 1,000+ hours into the game each. Ninja was a pro Halo player and played in many competitive events. You might not ever be as good as them, but the first step towards getting there is putting in the time.
Head into the Playground mode and work on your building. Set aside 20 - 30 minutes a day to only focus on practicing your technique. The more you work on it, the better you will do when you get into a real game situation.

Pick Keybinds & Stick With Them

Find a set of keybinds that you think will work for you and don't change them! Having muscle memory on exactly what you need to press in every situation is extremely important when getting better at a game. If you change your binds a lot, you will never build up that practice and you will be slower than you could be. Here's a look at some of the Best Fortnite Keybinds that some of the pro players are using. This tip also goes for your sensitivity. When you are putting in the hours, don't be constantly adjusting things. Just get used to whatever feels good to you and stick with it. You will notice that a lot of pros have different settings, one solution isn't going to be the best for everyone.

Don't Try to Win!

WE PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!! Well, if you want to get better at the game in the early stages then going for wins is the worst way to increase your skill. Winning a game usually requires you to go to less populated areas, take less fights, generally camp areas and get yourself into the top 5. From there you can continue to camp and hope for a 1v1 situation that allows you to have a chance to win. This will double or triple the time you need to play to get better. This leads me into my next point...

Land in Semi-Populated Areas

I've walked this one back a bit. You probably won't get better by taking a ton of fights too quickly. If you don't even have time to grab more than a single weapon before getting eliminated then you aren't really learning anything. You'll want to head to some semi-populated areas. Have enough time to grab a weapon or two and maybe some shields. You generally want to avoid areas on the map that are far away from the bus path, or are on the extreme edges of the map. These areas rarely have people at them unless a battle pass challenge requires them to be there. The key to getting better is taking on fights, but not being so overwhelmed that you just get destroyed instantly.
Avoid areas that are brand new to the map. These always have a lot of people landing at them, and are quite crazy in the early game.

Build, Build, Build

While aim is certainly important in this game, building is even more important. Just about every time you get shot at you should be putting up a wall or throwing up a ramp. If you are pushing against someone you should be building ramps to block any shots coming at you. Once you get close you should be trying to build yourself above your opponent. If you are healing up after a fight you should wall yourself in to protect yourself. Just about every gunfight situation you get into calls for building.
Editing is another key component to getting good, once you've mastered your ability to build proficiently, you will need to master editing. The good news for players now-a-days, is that there are specific maps made for practicing these skills. Head to our curated list of the best warm up courses for some practice options!
Check out our Building Tips and Tricks Guide to learn more about this key skill in the game!

Gather Resources Constantly

Since you are building so much, you'll want to be gathering resources constantly. You are rotating or moving towards an area then what a great time for you to gather some wood and brick! You'll be amazed how quickly you are cycling through resources when you are engaging in battles. Make sure you are never in a position where you run out of resources and can't build because you'll be naked without the ability to wall up!

Review Your Play

When you get killed, don't get angry about it and use an excuse to justify why it happened. Look at it objectively and ask yourself: "What did I do wrong? What could I have done to win the fight?". Figure out how to better approach your next fight when you get in a similar situation and learn from your mistakes. The worst thing you can do is chalk every death up to a bug in the game or that your opponent got lucky. Analyze it and improve your game!

Take a Break

If you are playing constantly and you feel yourself start to play poorly or are getting to angry at the game, then it's a good idea to step back and take a break. This can be as little as 20 minutes, or as long as a few days to a week. Clear your mind and then head back into the game and you should start to feel things clicking again. Always remember that this is a game at the end of the day, and you should be having fun!
I hope these quick tips help you get better at the game. If you are looking for more detailed help, check out our Fortnite Beginner Guide & for more advanced players check out our Fornite Tips and Tricks Guide!