Throughout Fortnite‘s lifetime, a lot has changed, especially when it comes to equipment. We saw new weapons shine as some of the best ones in the game but saw others getting put back into the vault. Season 4 is no different, with the removal of the infamous crossbow and the addition of the new epic and legendary burst assault rifle, Season 4 is looking to improve Fortnite‘s battle royale mode even more.
With all these new additions to Fortnite‘s arsenal, it is about time we made our picks for the best and most effective weapons on the battlefield. After a lot of research and playing, we came up with two loadouts that will be most valuable in combat — one for aggressive play, one for defensive play — so you can pick the one that suits your playstyle most. These loadouts are very flexible and will definitely increase your chances of getting that victory royale.
The Aggressive Loadout
First of all, you’ll always want an assault rifle. They are great at medium-range combat and can eliminate your opponents fairly quickly from a distance as long as you hit your shots.
You’ll always want to aim for a SCAR. This rifle has the highest DPS of all assault rifles and is also a decent weapon for destroying structures. A great second choice, however, is the LMG. This weapon melts structures and allows you to put a lot of pressure on your opponents; this is especially effective in squads or duos.
For an aggressive playstyle, we definitely recommend running two shotguns. This will give you a huge advantage over players with only one shotgun as soon as thing get up close and personal. Shotguns are all about personal preference; however, the pump shotgun into a tactical shotgun is by far the most commonly found and used combination. With that said, after a bit of research, we found that for the highest burst potential, either a pump shotgun into a heavy shotgun or a heavy shotgun into a heavy shotgun works best. For the highest DPS, you’ll want to switch back between two heavy shotguns. However, in addition to being hard to obtain, this combination does lack the true one-shot ability that the pump shotgun has.
For our power weapon, we chose the grenade launcher or, if you can’t find one, the easier-to-obtain hunting rifle. Both weapons are game changers in fights and can win you a big fight on all on their own. The grenade launcher is seen by many pro players as the strongest weapon in the game, and we agree. It destroys large bases in just a matter of seconds. Additionally, its massive splash-damage and unpredictable nature makes this weapon lethal in most fights. When getting shot at by a grenade launcher, you are either forced to back off out of the grenade launcher’s range or push towards it, as it doesn’t work in close-quarters combat.
With this loadout, we chose the hunting rifle over the bolt-action rifle for three simple reasons. The faster reload speed keeps you quick on your feet, allowing you to take a quick shot, reload, and push towards your enemies much faster. Secondly, crouch peeking is easier. You don’t have to find a crack in the wall to peek through with the hunting rifle; its lack of a scope allows you to aim in third-person while still zooming in a fair bit. This also explains our third reason. Because you can aim in third-person, you don’t lose as much vision. When pushing someone, it’s important to always be aware of your surrounding as it can be very easy to get pinched mid-fight.
The last things in our loadout are healing items. Preferably, you want to stack a bunch of mini shields because you can quickly use one of them mid-fight, giving you 25 shield instantly. However, if you don’t have mini shields, try to get any form of healing; even bandages can save your life from the storm or a second opponent that wants to finish you off after you just won a fight.
The Defensive Loadout
For the defensive loadout, we also start off with an assault rifle of your choice, preferably the SCAR, for the exact same reasons as we mentioned before. However, this time, the LMG is an even more valuable option. It’s great at stopping players from pushing you, and it can deal massive amounts of damage at close to medium ranges.
Because you won’t be pushing people constantly, one shotgun will do just fine. Even though your goal is to stop players from pushing your base, it’s going to happen inevitably, so you’ll always want to carry a shotgun around. With one shotgun, your best option is to do quick peeks and then hide behind cover.
This time we choose the bolt-action sniper rifle over the hunting rifle for two simple reasons. First of all, the scope makes it a lot easier to take long-range shots. Secondly, the higher body-shot damage makes it easier to finish off players that you’ve hit. Apart from that, the ability to aim in third-person is less valuable when you’re most likely going to be safe inside a one-by-one. With that said, if you can’t find any form of a sniper rifle at all, taking a Desert Eagle or even a revolver is a great alternative. Both weapons allow you to quickly peek out of your cover and take a high-damage shot at your opponents.
For the fourth empty slot in your inventory, you’ll want to take the rocket launcher over the grenade launcher for the simple reason that the rocket launcher can stop a double-ramp-push with one rocket. The rocket launcher can demolish any sort of push and puts a lot of pressure on your opponents.
If you don’t feel comfortable using the rocket launcher, or simply can’t find one, carrying two healing items is a really good option. Having both mini shields and a big shield in your inventory can give you 100 shield in less than 10 seconds. And again, carrying some bandages alongside any form of shield won’t hurt.
Hopefully, this will help you choose your loadout on the battlefield and keep you from staring at loot, wondering what to take with you. Keep in mind that personal preference still plays a big role in finding your best loadout. Some people will always take a blue burst rifle over a SCAR, while others won’t touch that gun, so good luck on getting as many victory royales as possible. And as always, don’t forget to stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Fortnite guides and other great content.
