Master the Game: Tips and Tricks on How to Be the First Person in Fortnite

Looking to dominate in Fortnite and be the last person standing?

We explore what it means to be the last person in Fortnite, strategies to achieve this goal, common mistakes to avoid, and tips to improve your chances of success.

From choosing the right landing spot to mastering building techniques, we’ve got you covered.

Gear up and get ready to become a Fortnite champion!

What is Fortnite?

Fortnite is a free-to-play, open-world, console and computer video game developed and published by Epic Games. The player plays as a survivor of an apocalypse and uses picks and weapons to eliminate opponents, gather materials, and build defenses while exploring and combatting the ever-worsening storm that contains zombies (husks).

200 player-controlled characters, technically not all humans as players can disguise themselves for a tactical advantage, are dropped onto the island map in squads or alone (solo) and compete against each other in a battle royale to be the last person standing. The game is available on Microsoft Windows and macOS computers, Android and iOS mobile devices, and Playstation, Nintendo, and XBOX game consoles. New seasons are always part of the game and often include themed narratives, characters, items, or map changes.

One day in May 2018, a man only identified as GruesomeGus on Reddit posted he had been the first and only person on Fortnite to land on a Viking ship. At the center of the new Viking Village Point-of-Interest (POI) from the previous week’s Season 4 update, Gus approached the large wooden ship with a green parasail. “I wanted to find a way to land on the Viking ship,” Gus told his followers. “I’m the first, this is for the reddit (sic). People started coming over because they saw me broadcasting, but I died just before they landed.” As the first person to make it onto the deserted ship and not be killed, he had the opportunity to explore the mostly empty deck as he awaited other players. It was somewhat a distinction of passivity and he was unable to defend his position or ensure his survival upon encounter with others.

What Game Modes are Available in Fortnite?

These are the available game modes in Fortnite.

1. Solo Mode: Mode with everyone playing solo.
2. Team Rumble: Mode with no elimination. Good for training and practicing weapons.
3. Duos Mode – Similar to Solo Mode, except teams of two players against competitor duos.
4. Squads Mode – Teams of four. The largest number of players in a game.
5. Party Royale – An experimental game mode with no weapons, building, or eliminations.
6. TRIOS – Classic Battle Royale with three players on a team fighting in a world of 100 individual players.
7. Solid Gold – Classic Battle Royale except the loot is all golden weapons and items.
8. Skyfall – Battle Royale mode with emphasis on skydiving. Not available anymore.
9. Steady Storm Duos – Shortened Battle Royale with a constant moving storm that never stops shrinking.
10. Vaulted – The Battle Royale mode from season 9 with all the weapons and items that have been “vaulted” since original release.

What Does it Mean to be the First Person in Fortnite?

When you are the first person in Fortnite, people in your community are alerted when you are beginning to broadcast via your screen. Just as you have a message that says how many of your friends are online, the system alerts everyone that you are about to start a stream. In reality, the only advantage one would derive from being the ‘first person’ in Fortnite is greater viewership. Broadcasters Dr. Disrespect and Ninja were very important people who played Fortnite and helped build up the game through their more popular streams, especially Ninja.

What is the ‘First Person’ Perspective in Fortnite?

In First Person Perspective (FPP) view in Fortnite, players cannot see their in-game characters, which makes the course look like a first-person shooter. Despite contentious foresight such as low FOV and bad peripheral vision, this viewpoint offers very beneficial benefits such as optimizing response time, improved player foresight, and a better player focus on tactical play.

How is Being the First Person Determined in Fortnite?

Being the first person determined in Fortnite is based on a shuffle algorithm according to a post by a Fortnite staffer that has since been corrected. The exact formula is Math.random() * N, where N is the number of users. A new first person is determined each time the game is loaded up for the first time after a patch, and then once every three hours after that regardless of a patch. The current first person is not based on account age, account level, purchase history, playing history, nor any other user statistics.

Strategies for Being the First Person in Fortnite

The primary strategies for being the first person in Fortnite include keeping to the middle of the game circle as it shrinks, taking the defensive advantage, checking the map radar often, using cover well, not moving too much if already in a safe zone, not forgetting to heal, and taking proper advantage of glitches and errors.

When moving toward the center of the circle, the player is more likely to be attacked from the rear or sides and less likely to detect attackers early. So, the first probability for guessing enemy locations (the innermost circle) is the player, with enemies dedicating their attention elsewhere at their moment of advantage. This first-mover strategy is often the most advantageous while resistance is low.

Scouts when exploring the map always keep the center of the shrinking circle behind them to reduce the likelihood of an attack from the rear, and to give them maximum time to avoid any incoming fire. While confidence in a win might overextend a kappa’s attention, unwarranted paranoia equals complete surprise. Erring on the side of caution when being the first person to switch to a vigorous attack, or retiring to defensive posture in the case of any surprises.

Land in a Less Popular Area

Landing in a less popular area can reduce the chances of an early gunfight. Early gunfights in built-up areas often result in first person elimination. Jarkih Iguazon (Suteme) created a map showing where the most popular spots to land are. This map shows both where players have to fly over and land to get into the battle zone when dropping directly from the battle bus, as well as where players are forced to move through on the way to a shrinking zone.

The easiest way to avoid an immediate gunfight is to get out of major zones of high congestion. Players can increase their chances of being the first person in Fortnite by avoiding a lot of other players when they drop off the battle bus. Suteme from Twitter quantified a higher likelihood of death by measuring how often players dropped gear in certain regions. To avoid them, consider other regions of the Fortnite island when you exit the battle bus, as the other recommendations target locations with high-quality loot.

Gather Resources Quickly

To gather resources quickly in Fortnite, you must approach every available resource with these principles in mind to maximize your efficiency and initiatives.

1. Locate resources in Break Time locations. Look for resources in areas of easy fighting that are not likely to yield first-person fighting results as Break Time locations.
2. Within communities, go to Break Time locations where there are not likely to be other players fighting.
3. First off the Battle Bus, land in faraway places that are not likely to have other players such as abandoned houses and sheds scattered all around the island. This is especially important for locating Pumpkins, quickly accumulating weapons and health, and identifying areas of low activity.
4. If you are not good at vantage fighting, are only interested in easy first-person engagements, and have low health, designate a location of forthcoming activity as a Break Time location and obtain resources to prepare for the coming confrontation.

The best way to locate Break Time locations is to scout the location on the administrative map for easy locations with sufficient resources and cover that few opponents are likely to come before long.

The best means of quickly obtaining resources within Fortnite are items that allow you to rapidly break and accumulate wood, brick, and metal. The available harvesting tools are the Pickaxes, of which the Assault Pickaxe breaks wood and brick at the fastest speed of 13, the Peb Axe breaks metal at 13, and the Far Out Squid Axe breaks wood at the fastest speed of 9. These may be purchased with Uncommon V-Bucks and are part of the Sriracha Pack and Boardwalk Bodega Packs.

Engage in Early Fights

To be first person in Fortnite, engage in early fights before the storm circulates. High-elimination matches can usually be found at locations with named POIs, like Tilted Towers where at least 20 people are guaranteed to land per game. Success in early engagements is important, as it is possible they will give you the gear necessary to fight for control of the map leading into the mid-game.

Use Stealth and Avoid Detection

Whether you are first person in Fortnite, Call of Duty, Counter StrikeStealth. This is even harder to perform in the third person. Effective stealth and silencing your weapons are key steps for not getting detected early. Reduce your movement to a minimum and use the cover of natural elements such as shrubs and trees, where possible.

Utilize Building Techniques

Fortnite building techniques are crucial to maintaining a first-person advantage. It is uncontroversially agreed that if a player finds themselves outside a full-enclosure box structure with an opponent inside, they have a significant disadvantage. While building within a box may make an opponent impossible to see, it is also true that it may allow a player who was at a LOS disadvantage to secure the first-person edge of their own through the intelligence of movement and smarts available to them due to build structures. If an opponent is frequently getting an opening or an angle on you, utilizing floors, pyramids, or cone locations can prevent them from achieving a first-person advantage towards you without actually bringing them into range.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Order to be the First Person in Fortnite

• Avoid using the legendary Pump Shotgun (not even the Dragon’s Breath variant) except in desperate circumstances.
• If you have to enter a house to increase your loot, know which Weapons and Ammunition to use most effectively.
• Do not avoid Outfit Changes. Change outfits at least every 10 games to prevent enemy players from locking on to you specifically.
• Understand each of the things other players have done to win in the past and try them out yourself.

Landing in Highly Populated Areas

Highly populated areas in Fortnite are where the most players in a match generally begin. These are locations around or near the center of the battle bus route that have the most buildings and best gear for friendly loot distribution. Some of the best known overly populated areas are Tilted Towers and Pleasant Park, though other locales such as Frenzy Farm, Salty Springs, and east of Lazy Lake are similarly risky but rewarding. Slurpy Swamp is not as overly populated, but because of the large number of buildings and the swirling effluvium of electronics there, it similarly can lead to quick violent confrontations. Striving for first person can be accomplished by optimizing inventory management. Some players simply prefer empty desolate Fortnite areas in order to slowly gather necessary resources without worrying about enemies.

Not Prioritizing Resources

Resources do not help you be the first person in Fortnite. They are helpful, but the first priority is staying alive. Don’t risk your life for resources unless you absolutely need them. If you are the first person in you have plenty of time to find and collect resources in a fun and leisurely manner.

Good first person in Fortnite strategy means balancing need and risk. The build battle is an integral part of Fortnite. Using match stick analysis – if you have over 200 of each resource then you don’t need to farm and can move on to the next objective. Even techniques like wall replacement are entirely unnecessary when playing as the first person in Fortnite. Using resources to dominate positioning conflicts might help you secure center map positioning, but your only goal when playing as the first person in is to seek out contact with enemies and attempt to eliminate them. Use resources to block off ramps and force opponents to fight in battlegrounds of your own choosing.

Running Away from Fights

Running away from fights in Fortnite certainly looks and feels different when playing with a first or third-person perspective. On the positive side, being in first-person gives the player a tighter sense of the field and may simplify the ability to quickly find and use weapons, potentially providing more latitude to successfully run or fight when necessary. This is particularly true in close-quarters situations where dynamics are more simple and you are able to track opponents more quickly.

On the negative side, a first-person perspective gives you less context on the overall battlefield, potential defensive positions and secondary (or third party) opponents. You have less time to assess a situation and adjust strategies when outnumbered in situations such as at the beginning of the game. Because of this, if you are on defense, a third-person view is recommended, particularly in open or multi-front engagements.

Being Too Loud and Attracting Attention

When people are too loud in Fortnite, they attract attention to themselves which will make them die more quickly. To be first person to be killed on Fortnite, it is critically important to stay as invisible as possible and noise plays a very big factor in this. Time markers throughout the game are great features where sound is concerned, as you will remember that these are key actions that require implementing quieter movement. In addition, there are different noise levels that can be done in-game to ensure that an enemy player will not hear you past a certain distance. Background or foreground noises in Fortnite will cover you even having to whisper which can allow you to be detected within a certain radius. The following image highlights the numerous markers that guide good sound behavior in Fortnite, making sure players regulate their noise activity to avoid detection.

Tips for Improving Your Chances of Being the First Person in Fortnite

Tokens and opponents begin to spawn at the start of a Fortnite match but are very scarce initially. You may randomly see a few opponents in the sky or far distances, but they are too dispersed to interact with unless you are in their immediate vicinity. There are some things you can do to increase the odds of seeing an opponent early on, so you are the first to eliminate someone or be eliminated.

1. Land at named points of interest or near established transportation routes. These areas have a higher chance of opponents, helping you be the first.
2. Don’t land too high, as most opponents are dropping from the bus so the lower you land, the more likely you are to see opponents who landed early.
3. Stay near center islands. Loot Lake and other islands or peaks surrounded by water can get you into the action quicker and with fewer directions from which to be attacked.
4. Use nearby obstructions to obscure your movement. This gives you an advantage when engaging opponents who may not know your whereabouts.

While the map is limited at this point, moving towards where nobody starts can be an indirect way of making yourself the first person this early in the game. Players typically lose health dice to the storm moving from the edge towards the center of the map, so holding off on moving towards the center can improve your survival odds.

Practice and Familiarize Yourself with the Map

You should always know the five locations that will feature named locations and possible hot spots. You should familiarize yourself with the terrain of these locations. Just as in sports, where players learn about the field or court of play so that they can predict odd bounces or changes in the surface, Fortnite is no different.

Pyramids in Lazy Lake provide excellent vantage points, and low-lying bunkers in The Zero Point provide safety and excellent opportunities for sneak attacks. Towers and trees in Misty Meadows are loaded with chests, while The Spire’s map lends cunning players choke points for quick kills. Constant surveillance of high-ground terrain features is essential because seeing other teams before they see you greatly increases the odds that you can succeed on a sneak attack. Wow your foes by being the ninja assassin.

We know you might not be this guy, but being aware of changes in terrain such as new construction, damaged buildings, or the absence of player-generated structures, that allow you to lower your guard when moving down from some high speed builds, is essential in having control of the battlefield rather than letting it control you.

Learn from Experienced Players

Learn from experts by watching their streams or watching analysis of their play. Seeing how they set up their hotkeys or how they take on certain fights or how they how they build in build fights can be very beneficial. The biggest platform for watching trusted experts is Twitch.

One of the biggest experts and analysts of Fortnite in the industry is Ballatw. An analyst for the Fortnite World Cup, Ballatw has a cult following because of his deep understanding of the game and his consistent support and explanation of game changes and tricks through streams.

Stay Calm and Focused

Remaining calm is essential in high-stress situations like Fortnite battle royale. When engaged in conflict, adrenaline surges and tunnel vision often narrow the scope of attention, impact motor control, and heighten stress.

The following strategies can help stabilize focus under duress while psychological balancing acts of excitement and aggression with stability:

Control breathing: Take meditative deep inhales and exhales, counting each one. It helps to control extreme emotional reactions.

Clear the mind: Focus solely on shooting/hitting the target, disregarding any contextual background, other players or potential distractions inside the game. No need to think over the next decision, just the immediate one.

Visual guidance: Move deliberately and register spatial pathways that could lead to enemy attack or secure retreats should things go wrong. Scan peripherals of the game field frequently and quickly against target silhouettes.

The competitive gaming team at Florida Polytechnic University in the USA titled their article Staying Hard Focused in Fortnite.

Experiment with Different Strategies

You can be the first person in Fortnite by experimenting with different strategies. To achieve this, expand your fortnite knowledge. Knowledge is power in the Battle Royale world. Knowing every corner of the map and the myriad of item locations will give you a strategic advantage. If you know where to land, you already have a head start against the other 99 players in the game.

The color system of item rarity can give players a tactical advantage as well. Here are the weapon colors in ascending rarity (from least to most rare): grey, green, blue, purple, orange/gold. Use this knowledge to make decisions accordingly. If you are out of ammo, don’t waste time fumbling around with a lower-rarity weapon while an opponent guns you down with a stronger one. Get to safety as fast as possible until you can reload with something that can get the job done.

Lastly, make sure to explore the game’s map to find spots that you want to land the next time you are dropping in at the start of a match. Knowing where you want to go when you land is the best way to ensure you are not the first person to face death, as most of the map is often a field of traps where players are waiting to kill you. Aside from that, the map is always changing! Epic Games updates the map with every season. Staying up-to-date on the map’s new locations, terrain, and look is essential for keeping your game tight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Be First Person in Fortnite?

1. What does it mean to be the first person in Fortnite?

Being the first person in Fortnite means that you are the first player to land on the map at the beginning of a round.

2. How can I increase my chances of being the first person in Fortnite?

To increase your chances of being the first person in Fortnite, try to land at a location that is far away from the route of the Battle Bus.

3. Is being the first person in Fortnite important?

Being the first person in Fortnite can give you an advantage in looting and finding weapons before other players, but it is not necessary for winning the game.

4. Can I become the first person in Fortnite by using cheats or hacks?

No, using cheats or hacks to become the first person in Fortnite is against the game’s terms of service and can result in a ban from playing.

5. What strategies can I use to be the first person in Fortnite?

One strategy is to aim for a location that is close to the edge of the map, as fewer players will likely land there. Another strategy is to deploy your glider early and aim for a spot on the ground that is close to the Battle Bus’ route.

6. Is there a specific location on the map that can guarantee being the first person in Fortnite?

There is no specific location that guarantees being the first person in Fortnite, but some popular landing spots such as Tilted Towers or Retail Row may have more competition for being the first to land. It ultimately depends on the route of the Battle Bus and the timing of your jump.