Despite the recent addition of the Zero Build mode, Fortnite has always set itself apart from other shooters by having players put their construction skills to the test.

In order to gain the advantage, and outclass highly skilled enemies, you need to outbuild them. In this ultimate building guide, you’ll learn the best tips and strategies to do just that.

Getting Started

First and foremost, this guide is aimed at those playing on a PC with a keyboard, although many of the tips will translate to a console too. If you happen to be using a controller on a PC, I’d recommend switching over to a keyboard, the dexterity will give you a major advantage.

If you can’t aim, you can’t build. I highly recommend installing Aim Labs off Steam. By training your arm’s twitch response you’ll be able to move faster than your opponents and perform some impressive tricks. The existing keyboard binds are a little clumsy, create some original binds that work best for you personally. If your mouse has additional buttons, these will be extremely useful!

Resource Gathering

There’s little point in having world-class building skills if you have nothing to build with! It’s easy to get distracted by finding weapons and filling up on shield pots, but it’s very important to make a point of gathering resources to protect yourself with.

A common mistake that many players make is thinking that they should reserve their stronger materials such as brick and metal for later in the game, but this is lethal! You need to play each fight like it could be your last, as it very well could be! It used to be the case that wooden structures would build faster, so it made sense to use them, but this is no longer the case, and it can be next to impossible to build anything worthwhile when structures are being torn down faster than you can create them. Go ahead and use that metal you collected; your enemy will likely drop a ton of it upon their death anyway!

I Have the High Ground!

Obi-Wan isn’t the only one that should have the high ground, it’s crucial that you stay above your opponent, or risk taking a lethal shotgun blow to the head. The best way to practice taking height is to go into creative mode and time how quickly you can build a structure that is 10 stories high. You’ll find, over time, that you’ve shaved several seconds off that time, and every millisecond counts!

The building meta is constantly changing and heading over to YouTube will be extremely valuable in helping you keep up with the newest building trends. If you are someone that can barely place a wall without taking a few shots, practice the classic wall and ramp technique. Even this small change will greatly increase your survival rate.

Is the Fight Right?

Sometimes, there is just no shame in running. It’s best to keep a cool head while fighting, as that will allow more of your attention to go towards winning (as opposed to panicking). If you do find yourself sweating a little, there’s no shame in impacting away or finding another means of escape. In fact, you may very well have enough time to heal and eliminate an overconfident and clumsy player chasing after you!

If your builds resemble a small house, it would be best to avoid those two enemies in the distance who keep putting up skyscrapers in mere seconds. Confidence is great, but having a strategy will take you farther. If you’re able to, it can be a great help in the late game to simply throw a ton of grenades at the base of these giant structures and pray the player falls to their death. No need to worry about them later!

Editing Is Key to Victory

So you can build upwards at 100 miles an hour… Great! Now it’s time to get advanced.

Existing structures you’ve placed can be edited to provide opening and escape routes, if an enemy is getting too close for comfort, you need to be able to make a clean exit and reposition. You’ll also learn to make peek holes to shoot your enemies from and to quickly close them up again. This is a case of fake it 'til you make it, as an opponent that really knows what they’re doing won’t be easy to scare off using flashy tricks, but for your intermediate builders, you may just be able to induce enough panic in order to worsen their gameplay. Never forget that mindset is crucial to winning, both yours, and your enemies.

You’ll quickly discover that you’re now getting yourself into box fights fairly often, these are almost always a quick brawl to the death, and you need to make sure it’s you that will be leaving the ring. Along with being able to quickly edit and place down structures, you’ll need to have each weapon in your loadout in your muscle memory. Keep shotguns, SMGs, and Rifles in the exact same slot, always. The split-second faster than it takes you to pull out your shotgun is where your first advantage over your enemy will be. Practice box fights against random players in Fornite’s creative modes, you can get the code to several box fight maps online.

Practice 'til Your Thumbs Go Numb

Perhaps not literally, but it’s important to remember that the best way to improve at something is to do it often. Get a ton of practice and find a sensitivity that you feel comfortable with and stick to it. Changing it will mess with the hand-eye coordination that you’ve built up. Ninja didn’t get as good as he is in a single day, and he understands the fundamentals needed for success. Do not worry about every failure, instead, embrace and praise yourself for every success. You don’t want to beat yourself up, it isn’t conducive to learning. There are a ton of building game modes in Fornite’s mode selector, these have you do tasks that will help immensely. Have fun out there and I’ll see you in the Arena once you’ve become a Pro-Builder!