Building and editing are two of the most important skills to master if you want to win more often and start placing high in competitive Fortnite. We are joined by Dignitas Fortnite player and five-time FNCS Champion Matthew “Mero” Faitel, who shared with us some advice to help hone these skills.

Practice by Yourself First

If you’re struggling to win a build fight or if you just want to work on improvement, sometimes the best way to boost your performance is to take the fight out of the island. Although playing against real players will give you a sense of what to do as you fight, it doesn't hurt to take one step back so you can take two steps forward.

A good way to do this is to swap over to Creative Mode and practice there first. In Creative Mode, you can focus on your specific weak points that need improvement. Building techniques, editing, speed, etc. It’s also good to practice with a friend, so you get a better sense of those 1v1 duels. There are also a ton of maps to try out that will help.

Here are two map codes that I think are the best: 9368-1814-9691 and 0377-0055-2829. Of course, you don’t want to spend all your time in Creative Mode because you’re not going to be playing in a controlled environment during a real battle. That’s why it’s best to hop over and play a couple of matches of Battle Royale to transfer your practice into an actual fight!

I would say Creative is the best game mode. Finding good Creative maps can help a ton where you can focus on improvement without being disrupted by anyone. After some time with that, playing solos where you can transfer what you learned on to a real game and learn off of that as well can make a substantial difference.
- Mero

Learn Some Building Techniques

Building in Fortnite has evolved tremendously since the game came out. Building techniques have been around for a long time now and have been refined, so learning a couple of them will make the difference. There are many to learn and each one has a different difficulty associated with it. I will go over three, ranging from basic, intermediate, and advanced. Like I mentioned before, practicing these in Creative will make it much easier for you, and feel free to research other ones or tweak them however you like.

90s - Basic

The first one to go over and the most popular are 90s. This technique has become popular for its simplicity and effectiveness. They are used to quickly build up while turning 90 degrees in any direction which is where it got its name. To start, you will have to place a ramp followed by a wall in front. Next, place a wall either to the left or right depending on what you prefer. And finally jump and place a floor and another ramp which resets the process back at step 1. There are variations from the 90's but this is the simplest and fastest way to do them.

Side Jumps - Intermediate

This one is slightly harder but still just as useful. If a player places a roof over your head, instead of building the opposite way, try jumping to the side of the roof and placing a floor to land on. This way, you can continue your momentum and take the high ground. This move works well because it's unexpected by most players.

Phasing - Advanced

This one requires quick movement and several factors. There are many different types of phases ranging from beginner to advanced but the latter is safer. Phasing is when you want to get into an enemy’s box to eliminate them. Depending on which one you want to do, you will have to use cones, ramps, and editing. I recommend watching this video by Jivan TV if you are ready to learn them.

Learning how to phase through people’s boxes I'd say is a really helpful technique to learn just because it’s one of the more advanced tricks. It’s kinda hard to do but it is very useful to learn.
- Mero

Settings

When it comes to settings, it’s mainly going to focus on what you prefer. I would say to keep your sensitivity and keybinds to what you like. Everyone plays and thinks differently, so I would tune them to your preference. Make sure however to bind your building and editing keys in a spot that will be very comfortable to you as you will be using these very often.

Finding a sensitivity that is good for you and not copying others is probably the best advice I could give, because there are a lot of players out there who will copy other people's sensitivity and it messes up what they can control. It all comes down to preference.
- Mero

If you scroll down to the Building section, you will find a couple of settings to tweak with. The first one is: Reset Building Choice, which I would say is also your preference. The second one is: Disable Pre Edit-Option. I would turn this off as it could mess up your gameplay during a fight. The third one: Turbo Building, which if you haven’t already, turn that one on. Finally: Confirm Edit On Release. This one is again preference, but most pros turn this one off as fast flicks can mess up the edit but if you feel confident in your editing, this is faster.

Editing

While editing may be a bit scary to start getting into, it is very useful to learn. Editing is used to either trick your opponent or quickly move into or out of an area quickly without destroying your buildings. I already went over Creative Mode but make sure you practice there first.

Images courtesy of EversorA on Reddit

Walls are very complex, and they can be edited in numerous ways. I would focus on the ones that will be the most useful to you. Windows and triangles are the most used with techniques.

Floors are good for moving and shooting below you as you can edit to make holes.

Editing Ramps are good for making a barrier between you and an enemy in a box which are also used for phasing. Moving the position of ramps is also useful for full coverage on a vantage point.

It’s good to edit cones for maneuverability inside a box. They act like traps for enemies during a push and they act as cover for you during a push.

As you start to edit more and more, you will get faster but remember that it might mess you up. Start slowly and learn the edits first, and as you improve, try doing it faster and faster.

I would say being fast is good because it pairs up with editing really well. Of course, it’s going to take some practice and you’ll have to go slow at first, but it gets really fun with muscle memory.
- Mero

Conclusion

Building and editing is what makes Fortnite stand out from other battle royale games. It is used by every player to their advantage. Although it may seem a bit overwhelming, practicing in Creative, learning some techniques, and adjusting your settings will guide you towards improving your skills.