Fortnite Chapter 6 | First Impressions

Fortnite Chapter 6 kicked off today with the hype before it setting high expectations. We got a new Neo-Tokyo themed map with all sorts of gimmicks and Easter eggs as well as new traversal mechanics, and new weapons. 

As a solo player my first few playthroughs were met mostly with what I like to refer to as the "PUBG" experience. By this I mean running into other players rarely happened until closer to the end. I think the map orientation, and locale positions play a huge part in this mostly barren experience. There's also the matter of quests that have people at different levels heading different routes making the cross ups fewer and far between.

While I have no doubt there are hotspots, and legendary weapons that players will settle on for the looting which will be a priority later on once the meta is established the gunplay seems to be mostly balanced for now with the only truly advantageous weapons being the new double barrel shotty, and the Masamune Katana blades. 

In the way of Battle Pass options this chapter introduces multiple battle passes for the Crew Members including an OG pass with it's own separate map and mode. A feature that is to arrive on the 6th. This will set you back $11.99, and is a reasonable price considering the base entry fee of $8.99 for the standard Battle Pass. In the way of skins we've got a decent few in the mix including the cyber cat Nyanja, Godzilla, Baymax, and a horned female oni, whose name slips my mind. The rest of the skins are okay, but slightly generic in design. On the flipside the remixed OG skins look amazing, and as one might expect they pay homage to the originals without being copycat versions of the actual early chapters' offerings. A win-win situation for those concerned about rarity, and exclusivity. Epic wins with FOMO once again ...

In the way of XP earnings the new season has done away with the battle stars system, and has throttled XP earnings across all modes in a ridiculous move that is no doubt meant to have players committing more time than usual to the main modes of play instead of farming Legos, or other older means. I did test out the XP earnings in Lego, and they are so throttled it's not even worth the effort to farm it for XP anymore. It is also stuck in it's Halloween theme making it obsolete for diehard Lego fans.

I think it's fairly obvious this early in where this Chapter is headed, and it's going to be one helluva grind. The commitment required for battle pass completion has not only been increased, but now you've got two passes to complete in the time given for the season. I'm not sure what I think about that, but I'm leaning more towards it being a bad business model that is not gamer friendly. Those are my early impressions. What are your thoughts on the new chapter, it's map, and the battle pass offerings? Do you think it's worth investing in? Feel free to comment here or send me a tweet on X (@OtakuDante) or Bluesky (@otakudante.bsky.app) letting me know your thoughts!