The newest season of the hit battle royale game Fortnite has officially gone live. Season 8 introduces a variety of pirate-themed elements to the game as well as a new party assist feature that lets players help each other with challenges.
The cinematic trailer for the newest Season dropped recently. Narrative-wise, the new Season is all about a three-way battle between the Ice King, the Prisoner, and a ragtag crew of pirates. As for items, classic pirate cannons now dot the landscape. Players can fire cannonballs at their opponents to deal 100 damage on a direct hit and 50 damage to anyone in the blast radius. Anyone who wishes to embrace their inner daredevil can also fire themselves from the cannon to reach new heights.
As for the island, the upper-right portion of the map has gotten a re-work. Most notably is the addition of an active volcano to that part of the map. Touching the flowing lava deals a single point of damage and causes players to bounce off the surface like a high-risk trampoline. There are also volcanic vents that can shoot players and vehicles into the sky.
When it comes to new gameplay additions, there’s a neat party assist feature that can make it easier to complete challenges. Before a match, players choose a challenge they want help on, and their fellow party members will be able to assist in completing the task through their own efforts.
Of course, a new Season brings new cosmetics, and Season 8 has a bunch of them, which can be seen in the Battle Pass Overview above. As well as some new pets, including a blocky-looking dog that looks like it came out of a voxel-based game, battle pass owners automatically unlock two progressive outfits – Blackbeard and Hybrid.
Fortnite Season 8 is available now. You can read the full patch notes here.