Chapter 3 Season 1 was once again the beginning of a new era in Fortnite Battle Royale. In comparison to Chapter 2 Season 1 it might at first glance have felt less impactful, since it didn't implement a completely new game engine, like Chapter 2 did (not entirely sure whether PS4, Xbox One and Switch could have handled a real next-gen engine anyway). The end event of Chapter 2 was, even though it was well done as well, less stunning than the black hole event of Chapter 1, which felt like a clear cut from the previous part of the game.
Chapter 3 Season 1 on the other hand combined new elements, like a brand new map, with a continuation of gameplay elements. That being said, there were also many new gameplay elements introduced in CH3S01 and I can already say it was probably one of the best Fortnite seasons ever. The coolest one was probably the new Med Mist, which is a healing spray that can be used during movement and that has made Med Kits nearly obsolete. Practically every week new items were dropped on the map. Some of the best were the Shield Kegs (fountains of shield slurp, that can fully shield multiple players), the Spider-Man ability (spider webs that act like a grappling hook, great for movement), the pizzas (healing item) and tents (place to store weapons for another match). There were a couple of "new", but actually rather similar weapons, like the Stinger SMG (similar to regular submachine gun) or the Auto Shotgun (similar to tactical shotgun). The really new weapons were Ranger AR (okay) and the MK7 Assault Rifle (great). The later one was probably the most popular and meta weapon of the season. It switched, while aiming down sight, from the usual third person to a first person view.
The new Season picked the story right up, where the End Event of Chapter 2 dropped it off. The 'Flipped' theme of the season explains the new map and the Seven take a leading role in the story of the season. They prepare for an invasion by their archenemies the Imagined Order (IO), which return during the season.
Most of the POIs in Chapter 3 Season 1 were obviously new, since the new chapter also introduced a new map. With Greasy Groove, Shifty Shafts and Rocky Reels there were however also some returning POIs. Greasy hadn't been seen since the earlier half of Chapter 1 and was therefore a good choice for a returning POI. Rocky Reels was just a slightly changed version of Risky Reels, which has been a constant in all three chapters. Shifty Shafts returned pretty much unchanged. I generally have to praise the new 'Artemis' map for featuring different biomes, something that Apollo (Chapter 2 map) has either been lacking or immediately replaced them in the following season. Instead Artemis has a constant snow, desert/canyon and a grassland area. From the new POIs Condo Canyon, the Daily Bugle (Spider-Man POI) and Coney Crossroads were pretty much my favourites. The Sanctuary, as the home base of the Seven, however also deserves some credit. The constant content updates during the season also brought many smaller map changes, like IO drills/outposts, melting snow in some areas, tornado storms or the new gigantic Klombo animals. The two biggest map changes during the season were the much celebrated return of Tilted Towers and the new Covert Cavern POI, an enormous IO headquarter hidden inside a mountain. Covert Cavern reminded me a lot of the Grotto POI from Chapter 2 Season 2.
The Battle Pass was also really strong in this season. Gumbo (Chewing Gum person) and Haven (customizable masks, which couldn't save the skin) were underwhelming. Lieutenant John Llama (a Llama person), Harlowe (a Yakuza assassin) and Shanta (an exotic warrior with golden armour) were really good skins. Ronin, a highly customizable Ninja, was already great. Spider-Man and the Foundation on the other hand were amazing. Spidey was an excellent choice for a crossover and even got his own POI and ability, that fit the season well. The Foundation was the skin a lot of players had been looking forward to the most and he delivered with a really nice armour suit.
Chapter 3 Season 1 also brought the real story quests back (narrated by the Scientist), which was a nice comeback after the lack of them in the underwhelming Chapter 2 Season 8. The season also introduced new features to requeue with the same random teammates, if a player chooses so after their first match and the Crown Royale feature. Crown royales measured the amount of back-to-back wins during the season and were especially prestigious. The annual Christmas event also returned during the season, but unfortunately no story event this time.
Pro:
- Cool new Map and POIs
- Relatively strong Battle Pass
- Fun new weapon- and itempool
- Good Content Updates during the Season
- Finally Story Quests again
Contra:
- Very long season (3,5 months)
- BP again till level 140
- No story event
Result:
Chapter 3 Season 1 was in my opinion one of the best Fortnite seasons and could to a large extend be used as blueprint for future seasons. The amount and quality of map changes at the start and during the season was fantastic. The content updates were generally of the highest quality and introduced many cool items and weapons. The Battle Pass was also pretty good, even though not perfect (but which BP ever is?). Just the lack of a story event and some other minor aspects held the season back. Chapter 3 Season 1 will certainly be remembered very fondly.
8/10
