Surviving through the early to mid game can be a bit difficult but the real challenge comes when you’re in the end game. In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know to survive the end game and earn a Victory Royale.
The popular battle royale mode has always been about pushing your skills to the next level in order to beat the odds. When starting a new game, you are more likely to come across lower skill level players but that number decreases as more and more are eliminated. As you reach the end game, you will have to fight harder-to-kill players. If you are having trouble getting your footing during this stage of the game, these are some tips and tricks that will help you survive and get some wins!
There are three stages in every game: early, mid, and end game. When it comes to Fortnite, the end game has most of the lower tier players flushed out and the higher tier players running rampant. You can classify these stages better with the different storm phases.
There are 9 storm phases in a standard game of battle royale: the first 3 are early game, phases 4-6 are mid game, and the last 3 phases are classified as the end game.
The table below will help you better understand how each phase works.
The different colors represent the different stages of the game you are in: blue represents early game, green represents mid game, and red represents end game. We will be focusing our attention on the red phases but feel free to keep a note on the whole table while you are playing.
The end game is the stage of the game where awareness is key. To increase your chances of survival, take in mind what is around you and what you have in your inventory. Checking materials is a good first thing to do. You are going to want to have enough materials to push, defend, and move. If you have plenty of materials, then you can be a little bit looser with your strategies. The end game is where materials are going to be low due to conflicts in mid game so keep that in mind.
Another thing to be aware of is your surroundings. Player locations are really important to know. You don’t want to get caught in between crossfire and you don’t want anyone to flank you so always make sure to know who is around you. Another thing to take note of and one that is highly undervalued, is the environment. As the zone gets smaller and smaller each phase, so does the room around you. If you notice that the zone is moving towards a mountain, try to position yourself so you don’t get caught under that mountain as it moves. If the zone is in a flat area, then you can be more lenient with your position.
As always, be aware of the counter. While there is a loud sound to indicate the zone is changing phases, knowing exactly how much time you have to make a play can mean life or death. I know it’s a bit obvious but having a mental eye on a couple of things can really give you the upper hand.
During the end game, your rotations will have to be quicker and will require more thought process than in the early to mid game. That is because you will have no grace period and the zone will immediately move after the previous phase has ended.
As you start to move, the safest way to reach your destination is to cover any blindspots. It’s better to know where everyone is as you do this but if you don’t, then cover any blindspots with walls. A zone swap is also the best time to take high ground. As a general rule, high ground is the best place to be in most situations. And as everyone is rotating, they won’t be focusing solely on you, but on the storm as well. You can use this opportunity to take high ground for yourself.
When you start rotating, the first thing you want to do is identify where the Dead Side of the zone is, and where the Fat Side of the zone is. The Dead Side is the area where you will find the least people rotating to, while the Fat Side is the area where the most people will be rotating to. So if the zone is moving directly north of the previous zone, then everyone will start to move and land on the south side of the new zone while the north side will have less people due to congestion.
Once you have identified where the Fat and Dead Sides of the zone are, you always want to be on the Dead Side if you want to have a better chance of survival. Try to avoid taking fights and focus on moving and building only to get there faster.
Now let us focus our attention to ground levels. Knowing how to play each ground level can be really beneficial and get you some wins. There are three ground levels to talk about: high, mid, and low.
I will start off by talking about high ground. As mentioned earlier, high ground is the most popular place to be during the end game. High ground enables the ability to overlook everyone and increases the chance of getting kills. Don’t be fooled however, it is just as dangerous as any level. By taking high ground, you are placing a big target on your head. A good tip to have is to prepare yourself for defense. Apply pressure to others below you and have enough materials to ensure you stay up there.
Now when you want to take high ground, whether it be for the first time or not, you must be strategic. You have the disadvantage so don’t just gun it. I would recommend two ways to do it: shoot them down and use zone switches. While simply shooting builds down won’t do it, it certainly will make it easier as you will put players in a vulnerable position as they fall. As I already mentioned before zone swaps are the perfect time to take high ground due to distractions. It’s okay to stay in the storm as well. Don’t be afraid to wait it out and use some healing items. The more you catch players off-guard the better. A great player will be able to use this vantage point to its limits. High ground can be super beneficial in the end game and if you manage to take and hold it, you will claim some wins! Just remember with such a high reward comes a high risk.
This is the place you want to stay away from. Mid ground is the layer that will most likely get you killed in these high-pressure scenarios. While you are in the middle of two layers, you are faced with players above you, below you, and to your sides. This is never a good option, and you want to get away from mid ground as fast as possible. If by chance, there is no way you can get out of mid ground, make your way to the far left or far right of the zone. Being in the dead center of the zone leaves you open to being shot at on all sides. Sticking to the far left or right will leave your back protected so you have one less direction to worry about
Out of all of these options, low ground is the most reliable. It is the safest so if you just want to get some practice in the end game, stick with low ground. When you are in low ground you are only vulnerable to the people above you and on your sides. If the zone lies on flat terrain, then low ground can be just as good as high ground. But be mindful of mountains or hills as you can get caught under them as the zone moves. Unlike high ground, low ground is low risk low reward, but that doesn’t mean you won’t win. There won’t be as many people to worry about, so stick to this level if you don’t have as many materials or you just can’t seem to take high ground.
Now that you have a general sense of what to look out for, you are going to want to pick your fights carefully. You always want to take fights that are in your favor and allow you to weaken other players while you stay safe. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive when you need to. On the contrary, it is okay if you need to back down from a fight to heal up or to gain an upper hand. Your goal is to get a win not to get as many kills. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let it ride.
As always, keep practicing. There is no better teacher than experience. You get the least amount of game time in the end game so it may be challenging, but just a couple of games can really make the difference!
The end game is viewed as a scary and difficult part of the game. But don’t let that mindset stop you from achieving your best and having fun. With these tips, I hope you learned something that will give you the confidence you need to get that Victory Royale!
