Dignitas Fortnite player Khanada explains how to be a consistent top player in Fortnite arena games. Read on and learn how you can also start placing at the top of all of your games!
Leon “Khanada” Kim stands in a league of his own, being one of only 2 players in the North American region who has clinched a spot in every FNCS Grand Finals, an unprecedented feat of 17 consecutive qualifications. This awe-inspiring accomplishment is a testament to his unwavering consistency, a trait many players struggle to possess.
We sat down with Khanada to unlock his keys for consistent gameplay and have compiled them into a comprehensive guide to help you improve your consistency.
Identifying your weaknesses within your Fortnite gameplay is crucial to improving your consistency, so it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself some pointed questions.
If you want to become more consistent, start by learning your weaknesses. Ask questions. What’s wrong with your gameplay? Why are you not able to qualify? What are you doing wrong? If these mistakes aren't something that happens once in a while, if it's something that's always happening, you need to make sure you're fixing it.
Setting a goal before a game or tournament is an effective way to track your progress. Don't feel pressured to aim for a lofty target right away; it can be something as simple as aiming for five eliminations per game or placing in the top 200 of a tournament. Write your goal down, take it seriously, and periodically check your progress to stay on track.
For me, I want to make sure that I keep qualifying for every single Grand Finals. That is definitely something that keeps me wanting to always compete and also try to win an FNCS. Because I don't think I would ever quit this game until I win an FNCS. In order to keep qualifying season after season, I just have to take it seriously.
While no one enjoys losing, it's important to remember that gaming is often a roller coaster of wins and losses. Rather than letting past performances bring you down, use these setbacks as motivation to improve. Take time to reflect on what went wrong, identify areas that need improvement, and then get to work on honing your skills.
After I didn’t qualify for Week One of Major 2, I realized that the feeling of not qualifying was so, so bad. I really hated it. It was so stressful. After knowing what it feels like, I know that I will never ever want to experience that feeling ever again. I will 100% step up my game and make sure that I qualify.
One of the easiest ways to identify your areas of weakness is by VOD reviewing, which is essentially watching back your gameplay replays. This can be done in replay mode on Fortnite and allows you to see your entire game from all angles and other players’ points of view. Take notes as you review and go over them with your teammates before you begin your next tournament or game.
When I VOD review, I will sit down for an hour or two, reviewing all the games and learning everyone’s rotates. I write everything down too. We have this Discord, just me and Ajerrs, where I write down everything that I think we need to be doing. Before the tournament, I'll remind him. The best time to do it is right before the tournament because you won’t forget.
In an FNCS broadcast interview, Khanada spoke about how he decided to VOD reviewing in the middle of a tournament to identify why he and his teammate Ajerrs kept getting eliminated due to Storm Surge. This exemplifies his exceptional problem-solving skills and ability to make decisive changes on the fly and is a testament to what makes Khanada one of the best players in the world.
Warming up before a game may sound like standard practice, but it’s something many players overlook. With Fortnite’s Creative mode, there are endless maps created specifically for improving your gameplay mechanics, such as building, aiming, and editing.
There’s this angle map that all the pros are using right now. It's an angle map where you load in with a duo, and you run around and try to out-damage or duel each other. Your duo runs around and goes into these orange boxes while you're shooting them from meters away, trying to do as much damage as possible in a certain amount of time. And then it switches to where you're the one running while he's shooting you. It’s very competitive.
1v1 Aim Duel -- Map Code: 3029-7883-3701
I also like to do playground maps where you 1v1 someone else. Just getting your mechanics warm is important.
1v1 Build Fights -- Map Code:1832-0431-4852
Even if you have the best mechanics and game sense, if you aren’t in the right mindset, it will affect your gameplay. Approaching the game with the right mindset is crucial for success, as a positive and focused mentality can give you the edge needed to perform at your best.
To be honest, it’s a very mental game. It's not always about your skills. You need to make sure your mind is strong going in. How well are you going to do in this game? Make sure everything that you're thinking of is positive before going to play the game.
Fortnite is an ever-changing game, and with each new season comes new weapons and items that change the meta or gameplay strategy. By learning the new changes as soon as possible, you will set yourself up for success and start to quickly earn those coveted Victory Royales.
When I first load up the new season, I'll see what the new drop spots are and where everything is on the map. Then, I'll play some arena to see the new guns. You have to know what guns are good to hold and what loadouts you want to be running.
Much can be learned by simply observing the top players, and the most successful pros are those who aren't afraid to learn from each other to gain a competitive edge.
You don't know what the meta is until the first tournament starts. Because nobody knows what it is. Nobody's played, everyone's on the same page. The meta is definitely something you can learn in scrims, but scrims aren't as realistic as tournaments. So, you need to make sure that you learn the meta while playing. Recently, we were playing a qualifier, and I saw Trashy and PXMP, another good duo, winning five games, and I was hardly winning. I just saw them on height every single game. So, I thought, “Let me try height.” And then I won my first game doing it. So, you can just learn off of other people.
While confidence is important for maintaining a strong and focused mindset, it's crucial to strike a balance and remain conservatively confident.
When I'm playing, I just have to think that I'm the best player, with all this confidence. Confidence is really key with Fortnite, but not being too confident. You want to be just confident enough to where you're not selling your tournament by doing something stupid because you think you're the best, but at the same time, you're playing well because you think you're the best. You have to balance it out.
Overconfidence can lead to reckless decision-making, while an overly cautious approach can stifle your gameplay and prevent you from taking calculated risks that could pay off. By finding a healthy balance, you’ll approach each game with a clear and level-headed mindset that will give you and your teammates the best chances of success.
Keep a confident mentality instead of being nervous or thinking that you're going to sell. If you do think like that, you're going to eventually sell the game. That’s the worst thing you could do. Money is on the line, and your teammates need to be on top of their game too. No matter how good you may be playing, if your teammates are not on the same page as you, you can't do as well. You both need to be making sure that you're on your A game, together.
Consistent gameplay is essential to succeed in Fortnite, and Khanada’s unparalleled success is a testament to the importance of this trait. By identifying your weaknesses, setting goals, using your failures as fuel, reviewing your gameplay, warming up, getting in the right mindset, and mastering new metas, you too, can become a more consistent Fortnite player.
