How do I get better at Fortnite?

A community-sourced guide

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This is an honest and genuine question. I have only now started to play Fortnite with the advent of Season 5. I haven’t even played many battle royale games at all, really. I’ve played some Fortnite in squads back when it was new and shiny (and barely anyone knew how to utilize building). Now, for whatever reason, I’m all in.

There’s a problem though. I suck. Like, pretty bad. Sure, I can get top eight (I like to call that “A MySpace”) often enough when I’m relatively unseen until towards the end, but that’s no fun. Plus, the building is something that is integral to the game, and I tend to think of it after I’m dead like “oh yeah, I can build stuff.”

So I’m asking for help.

This isn’t a guide — not yet. Obviously I am not the person to write such a thing. But I know you guys are good at it. Or, at least, know how to be good. So here’s the deal. I’m sure many are in the same spot as me and want to learn how to perform better in Fortnite. I’ll take the best advice from the comments, as tested by me, and structure them into a guide with what I’ve learned from the advice and any impact it has had on my ability.

So here’s some topic I’d like to know more about. Feel free to answer in the comments, as well as throwing in your own tips and tricks to help out others!

What are some things you wish you knew when you first started?

What’s your drop strategy? 

What the best way to level up a Battle Pass?

How do I get better at building?

What keybinds (for PC) do you find to be best?

Any console-specific tips?

Who did you learn from? Twitch streamers? YouTube videos?

What are the best cosmetics? I understand that some have certain…reputations? 

Anything else worth knowing?

Please, let me know in the comments! I will edit in the information you post under the corresponding question and (of course) attribute the credit to you. Any videos or links are especially awesome!

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Author
Patrick Hancock
During the day, he teaches high school kids about history. At night he kicks their butts in competitive games like Rocket League, Dota 2, Overwatch, and Counter-Strike. Disclosure: I've personally backed Double Fine Adventure, Wasteland 2, Dead State, SPORTSFRIENDS, Torment: Tides of Numera, STRAFE, and The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls. I have previously written for AbleGamers.com and continue to support them whenever possible (like HumbleBundle).