You’re playing Fortnite when you see a squad seemingly picking daffodils, and a smile stretches across your face. They don’t see you coming, and your squad has the drop on them.

So, like kids racing downstairs to open presents on their birthday morning, you race into the fight, excited to open your new loot presents, when much to your surprise, another squad shows up and joins the fray.

Ah, third parties—the most exciting and frustrating part of the game. Every Fortnite player knows the pain of being third-partied. Fall victim to one, and you’ll end the game faster than you can say “rage quit.” Survive one, and you and your squad will be rolling in loot riches.

But how do you survive being third-partied? Well, I, your best friend you never knew you had, am going to give you tried-and-true tips to survive being third-partied. Because let’s face it, there’s no better feeling than beating and dancing on the squad that tried to kill you.

Step 1: Identify the Threat

It’s hard to win a third-party fight if you don’t know where you’re being shot from. So your very first reaction needs to be identifying where the third-party threat is coming from so you know where to watch. Being blindsided is a recipe for disaster, so it’s time to open your eyes and pay extra attention to the map.

Step 2: Find Cover

Your very next move needs to be finding cover—fast! Getting cover obviously makes it harder for someone to shoot you if they can’t see you. And oh yeah, the protection… that’s nice too.

Try to look for the high ground, a large structure, the edge of a hill, or simply start building to protect yourself. Think steel. Right now, your only goal is to get out of the fight so you can get back into the fight.

Step 3: Maneuver to the Edge

So now that you know where the other two parties are at and where their shots are coming from, your goal is to try to maneuver your squad to the edge of the fight while keeping the other two squads in front of you.

I always try to position my squad like a triangle so the other two squads are positioned at angles—like a triangle. This is because it keeps both squads in front of me, reduces the angles I can be shot from, and allows my team to make a pincer move… more on that to come.

The key here is at all costs to make sure you’re not the squad sandwiched in the middle between the other two squads, as that’s a fight you may not win.

Step 4: Make a Pincer Move

So now that the fight is positioned like a triangle, your goal is to move behind the nearest squad so that they are the squad fighting in the middle, having to dodge bullets from sweats on all sides.

Quickly move or build from cover to cover until you’re directly behind one of the opposing squads, effectively sandwiching and squeezing them in the middle. They’ll hate this.

Step 5: The Bait and Switch

For a moment, only for a moment, try to lay low and let the other squads fight. With some luck, you’ll have aggressive players on both sides who are all too trigger-happy with terrible impulses.

Our goal here is to let the other squads duke it out while we grab some popcorn and watch. This is basically a bait and switch; we’re baiting the other two squads into fighting each other so they do all the dirty work, then switching into the fight when they’re fewer people to kill.

Step 6: Go on the Offensive

Now that these two squads are spraying bullets into each other like how a graffiti artist sprays paint, the tables have turned, and we are the new third-party squad. Funny how that works.

Leap into action and knock them right out of the game. Focus on the stragglers first and fight as a team. If possible, communicate with your team to fight all at once for maximum efficiency. After all, it’s a team game.

Step 7: Collect the Loot

Now that you’ve baited these suckers... err, squads into fighting each other and picked off the remaining survivors, it’s your right and duty to take all that sweet, sweet loot. I mean, come on—they went through the trouble and collected it for you… taking it is the least you can do! Oh, and maybe dance on them, too. You paid for those V-Bucks, right?! Congratulations—you just won a third-party fight, my friend!

A Few Variables

You Got Third-Partied, and Your Squad Is Down

This may not be a fight you’ll win. Your best bet is to be a coward to lay low or escape and come back to grab your squad's cards when it’s safe. Remember, it’s about winning the game, not winning every fight.

Fortnite is a lot like poker in the sense that you’ve got to know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. If you don’t have the advantage, protect yourself to get the advantage later in the game.

There’s No Cover!

Oh no, there’s nowhere to hide! In that case, your best bet is to fight your way out one bullet at a time. Do yourself a favor and fight as a team. It’s easier to win when you fight as one, instead of everyone taking on a solo fight or walking into a lion’s den—one person vs. two or more.

Healing?

If you’re not immediately in danger, feel free to heal, especially if you have Chug Splashes or anything that heals quickly. If not, you’re better off fighting your way out.

General Tips and Tricks

Destroy Their Cover

If the squad you’re fighting’s only cover is a big tree, you might want to destroy the big tree. The same goes for builds, houses, rocks, gas stations, or whatever the heck they’re hiding behind.

Kill the Stragglers

There’s usually some player trying to be Rambo and take the fight head-on away from their team. Take them out and remind them who the real Rambo is. If you knock one player from the opposing squad, you automatically get a numbers advantage.

Use All Your Items

If the opposing squad is huddled behind a rock or a bunker, don’t forget your other items. A well-placed grenade, a lightning bolt, or any other area-of-effect damage item can work wonders if people are huddled together.

Communicate

You have comms for a reason. Make sure you talk to your team so that everyone is on the same page. A coordinated attack is ten times more effective than a spray-and-pray approach.

Positioning

At the end of the day, your positioning is the most important element of the game. The beauty is you have some control over that. At all costs, make sure you’re not the squad sandwiched in the middle, as it’s hard to fight on two fronts. Always try to keep the high ground and, if possible, stay towards the edge of the ring to minimize more threats.

Final Thoughts

Being third-partied is at the heart of Fortnite’s fun. It’s survival at its finest, and it keeps you on your toes. Your only goal should be to minimize the threats so it’s easier to take action, then react calmly. Remember:

• Figure out where the threats are coming from.
• Take cover.
• Maneuver your squad to the edge of the fight and keep the other squads in front of you like a triangle.
• Move to get one squad sandwiched in the middle.
• Try to bait the other two squads into fighting each other.
• Then take out the survivors.

You got this, my friend… gold crowns await!