Fortnite--Initial Thoughts On My First Multiplayer Game

I tend to avoid multiplayer games such as CoD, Destiny and so forth because I'm always afraid that there aren't going to be players for missions, whereas you don't have to worry about such things in single-player games.

Despite watching delinquentMuse on Twitch and chat members loving and finding the game addictive, I hesitated getting Fortnite because of the heavy COOP elements, where it appears that you really need others to complete missions after the beginning stages. While watching gameplay, I knew that I'd probably need teamwork at the very first mission.

Further, I was wary about the building aspects of Fortnite. Any game where you have to make your own entertainment, such as those "build your own game" games where you create your own level design, and games where you build things, are games I avoid. I want all the gameplay there for me, for the instant gratification. The games I've played don't require "work", which is the last thing I want to do when I want to unwind and veg.

Given my lack of spatial and design abilities (it's no wonder I didn't go into interior decorating, architecture, and so forth), building forts is a no-no, which is also a major component of Fortnite.

We should take Metacritic with a grain of salt, but the reviews noted the heavy pay-to play system and the alleged paywall behind the game. Reading the Fortnite forums, quite a few players note that it takes a long time to gain experience, that it encourages you to buy so-called V-Bucks that are used to buy Llamas (they're pinatas), that give you experience and other helpful items. Though, the consensus appears that this is not necessary as you earn V-bucks in-game, but it saves a lot of time and hassle.

The forums also point out another one of my gripes, that the Fortnite community is dead when you get to later stages of the game. 

However, despite all these weighty reservations, watching delinquentMuse and chat members play Fortnite for the past weeks, it looked very addictive with a gameplay loop that's very RPG-ish. You gather resources in preparation for the missions, and I love gathering and scouring for things. You level up using the skill-trees, also another aspect I look for in games. delinquentMuse's stream notes that you get used to building, and others help if you're not pro. Every time I see the game in action, it just looks fun so I broke down and got the game.

Fortnite is even more fun than it looked watching! My thoughts may change, since I'm still on the first area of the map, completing the Stonewood Storm Defense Shield 4, which is very early in the game. Even so, I was pleasantly surprised that the story and your mission guide, Ray, is very humorous. You are the "Commander" but you play as a Hero. Each hero class also has sub classes. There are male and female counterparts to each Hero. The classes are: Constructor, Ninja, Outlander, Soldier.

I picked Constructor Kyle as my main to compensate for my poor building skills as he makes the strongest forts that have the most health, regenerates and deals damage to enemies that melee attack the fort. Kyle was much more humorous than his woman counterpart, Penny, so he was a no-brainer for me.

Since I have poor vision and miss treasure, when I grind for resources, I chose Outlander Jess, because she's much more funny than her male counterpart, A.C., making sarcastic remarks and jokes in her intentionally dry manner. The Outlander is the best at gathering resources and has "keen sense" that spots treasure chests.

Ninja class tends to be very fast and picked if you want a more melee character. Lastly, the Soldier class is the "mascot" of the game as you start out playing as the hero Ramirez. The Soldier is expert at ranged weapons and grenades.

From my experience, you do need other players as the hordes of enemies (called husks) are unrelenting, and often attack your fort at multiple sides in almost all missions, unless you're an expert shooter and good at running around the fort and shooting at the same time, which I'm not.

I had no clue what I was doing, so I was carried during the first few missions, being amazed at some of my teammates constructing a 3 story building with ramps, trenches and the like in under a minute, while it takes me a minute to think through how to open the building menu, chose whether I want ceiling, wall, floor, trap, hampered down by still not getting into grips with the paddles as opposed to face buttons (I'm still struggling with memorizing the paddles).

However, you do learn and I got much better, but I'm limited in my building abilities and still a bit slow working around the building menu. As a result, for the defend missions, I make a bee-line to the object that needs protecting, put up 4 walls and roof around it, put two tiles around the structure with trenches (if possible), and then let the rest of the team add more complex structures such as ramps, stairs, and bridges, so at least making some contribution to the building.

Then, while the rest of the expert builders perfect the fort defenses, if there are other objectives in addition to guard and protect, I complete those sub-objectives. After that, I gather materials and then do other in-game activities that include saving survivors, whacking trolls, gathering resources, finding special treasure chests, and the like. 

I had difficulty building the fortress around your home-base storm shield (this will be a permanent fort, unlike the missions), so I recommend joining a Twitch stream to ask for help if you're not comfortable at building.

I highly recommend delinquentMuse, of course, and if you connect your account to Twitch, she offers special Twitch-only quests. In her chat room, there are members like me who are at the beginning stages all the way up to 50. Some of the level 50 members are able to complete level 70-plus missions, so there are experts here!

I'm a beginner, and being "carried" at the initial stages, I'm definitely very willing to team-up with the starting levels through Stonewood Storm Shield 4, since I sort of know what I'm doing right now. This game is extremely addictive and fun so everyone is willing to complete missions with you in Muse's chat room.

I can see the issues that other gamers, who played a lot of multiplayer games unlike myself, may have with Fortnite. Even so, Muse and her chat members are very heavy multiplayer gamers and hardcore, so they have experience with the genre and adore Fortnite.  

Even so, I can see the gripes such as the extensive grinding for resources in preparation for missions. Also, it doesn't make sense when you chose quests and level-ups how you're outside of the map, as opposed to being able to bring up the menu when you're at your home-base location, tinkering around your permanent fort.

For example, if I want to store my items (also equipping different weapons and dropping items you have to be at your home base or on a mission as you can't do that in the menu screen), I make sure I'm in the private setting (so no one will join accidentally). Chose the home base on the map to travel there, store the items in the base storage, and then quit the "mission" to go back to the main menu. Do you see how it doesn't make sense having to travel every time you want to store supplies?

Given the resource intensity of the game, they really need to give you a very large backpack to start out with. There are skills that you can acquire that expand your backpack, but the beginning space is not nearly enough.

I agree that it takes a lot of time and luck with the Llama pinatas to get Legendary heroes (not to mention the Mythic ones), defenders, survivors, weapons, and traps, but I've read that you can get by late game having Epic levels, which you can grind for without depending on RNG and luck.

I'm not sure if Epic items can reach Legendary status, and I see that's where less experienced gamers like myself will buy the limited edition, which may be the complaint of the game critics. Initially, I got the standard, but because I wasn't good at the game and needed compensation as well as loving this game so much, I admit I upgraded to limited edition (it comes out to the same price if you get the standard and then the upgrade). This was worth it for me. However, if you're really good at shooting and the like, you can get by with paying nothing. I just need extra help.

Though you have to pay for early access to play and it becomes free in 2018, I highly recommend getting this game right now if you're on the fence, as long as you join a Twitch stream where members are available to join your party, though I've been getting anonymous players all the time at least in the early stages.

To get unknown gamers, set the game to Public for this feature. So far, all my anonymous teammates have been very helpful and aren't "leeches" as people complained in the Fortnite forums.

However, I cannot speak for the later stages of the map in terms of how active the COOP is. But again, if you watch gameplay and it looks like fun to you (if it does, I almost guarantee that you'll love the game), and you're on the fence, I would take the plunge!

I will write more thoughts on Fortnite as I play through the game.

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