Building Under Pressure: How To Get Better At Building in Fortnite

The most unique aspect of the video game Fortnite is that players have the ability to build cover and protect themselves from enemy damage. Building structures provide cover and protection, making it essential for survival in Fortnite. Gamers who are proficient builders are better equipped to withstand enemy fire, avoid damage, and survive until the end of the match. 

Mastering the art of building not only enhances defensive capabilities but also opens up opportunities for strategic advantages. This article explores the fundamental building principles in Fortnite, a list of tips and tricks to get better at, the basic structures, and the importance of keybinds and shortcuts. 

Understanding these elements can greatly improve a player's performance, enhance their enjoyment of the game, and help them achieve a Victory Royale!

Fundamental Building Principles in Fortnite

In order to build like a pro and quickly put together complicated structures with ease, there are a few basic concepts to master first.

1. Building Materials
   
   

There are three different types of materials you can build with in Fortnite. The first one is wood. A benefit of wood is that it has the most starting health and finishes building the quickest. However, after fully building, it has the least overall health out of the three. (Note: When you place any build piece, it starts out at a fraction of its total health and then will increase in health over time until it reaches its total health.)

The next material is brick. This has the second lowest starting health out of the three, takes the second longest to finish building, but has the second highest overall health.

The final material is metal. Metal is the strongest material in that it has the most overall health after being fully built, but has the lowest starting health and slowest time to finish building.

1. Harvesting
   
   

In order to actually place a building piece, it costs 10 of any material. Therefore, it’s important to use your pickaxe to harvest materials all throughout the game to ensure that you always have ample resources to build.

Wood is the easiest material to harvest and can be acquired by farming trees, walls, and fences, among other things, which are fairly common around the map.

Brick is slightly harder to find around the map but can still be found by using your pickaxe on rocks, certain walls, and other objects.

Metal is the most rare material to find. However, since it has the most overall health, it is a valuable resource and one you need to seek out in order to farm it.

Try to be constantly farming materials, ideally until you have 500 of each one, which is the maximum amount you can hold.

1. Building Types
   
   

Using the materials you’ve harvested, there are four structures you are able to build. 

Walls are the most common build piece. They are a great form of protection from enemy fire.

Ramps are very useful to gain elevation, as walking up one allows you to traverse upwards by 1 tile.

Floors offer a way to cover angles below and above you. They also are used to bridge the gap between structures.

Cones are a very versatile piece. Using them allows you to gain an extra layer of protection from above or below. They can also be used on offense to restrict movement by other players.

Survive and Thrive: 4 Building Tips and Tricks in Fortnite

There are an endless amount of ways to combine build pieces in Fortnite. Here are some tips to guide you when building!

Craft Instant Cover

When you start getting shot at, the best course of action is to limit the amount of damage you take. This is best done by building cover around you to stop additional fire. A combination of walls to protect your sides as well as floors to protect from above and below should do the trick! You can also add ramps to increase sightlines from within the box. 

Manage the Terrain

Within Fortnite, you will encounter a variety of natural features, elevation changes, and other things in the surroundings that necessitate different building options. For example, you might have to use ramps to scale a mountain or floors to build across the water. Make sure to use your materials and desired structures according to the surrounding environment!

Gain Fighting Advantages

Securing and controlling the high ground is a MUST in fights. This gives you better angles to work with and increases sightlines over your opponents. The best way to obtain this position is to build up for it, mainly using ramps as a way to gain elevation.

Find Loot and Resources

There are many times that loot is hidden away in awkward places. It might be in the roof of a house, on top of a mountain, or on top of a crate. Only by building are you able to reach these resources — make use of ramps and floors to navigate to these areas, and then use your pickaxe to break in!

Getting Familiar With The Basic Build Structures

By combining walls, floors, ramps, and cones, we can make advanced structures that can be used for a variety of purposes. Here are a few important structures to know!

• 1x1 Healing Box

This is one of the most basic Fortnite building techniques, only involving walls and floors, but its importance can not be overstated. The 1x1 box is an amazing way of building forts after getting shot at. It includes four walls surrounding all sides, and then a roof on the top and a floor on the bottom. These pieces block off all angles, allowing you to heal while being protected from taking additional damage.

• Sniper Tower

The sniper tower is mainly used as a base that you can stay in, and it uses ramps and walls.  To build it, create a rectangle-shaped box around yourself using 6 walls and taking up two tiles, then two ramps facing opposite directions. Repeat the same structure and move up about 3-4 tiles. This will provide you a tower that protects you on all sides with the walls, and provides you angles to observe your surroundings and take shots with the ramps.

• 90s
  
  

90s are a staple in fights. It involves using ramps and walls. They are easy to do and extremely effective, as you can use them to quickly gain elevation over your opponent. Start by placing a ramp in front of you, run up the ramp on the left side and place a wall in front of the ramp, a wall on top of that wall, and a wall to the right of that one. Position yourself on the top left of the ramp, make a 90 degree turn to the right, place another ramp, and repeat the process. 

• Tunneling
  
  

In certain situations, there will be people on all sides of you, and you need to protect yourself from all these angles while moving to another area. A great way to achieve this is to use tunneling, which basically involves building successive 1x1 healing boxes until you’ve reached where you want to go. It requires walls and floors. Start by building a 1x1 healing box. However, leave one wall unbuilt in the direction you want to move. Then, travel in that direction and continue blocking off all other angles except for where you want to go.

Keyboard Shortcuts And Controls

Mastering the keybinds and controls of building is just as important as learning building itself. In the settings menu, you are able to customize the controls that are responsible for different building pieces. The default keybinds are somewhat awkward and not that easy to reach, so I recommend re-binding the building keybinds to buttons that are easier and more comfortable to reach. One tip is to make them close to your movement keys; for example, if you’re on keyboard and mouse, try placing your build keybinds around the “WASD” keys, as this limits the amount of movement your hand has to do when switching between moving and building.

Closing the Gap

In addition to all the building techniques mentioned so far, there are countless other ones that you can do. Being able to create any structure you want is one aspect that makes Fortnite a unique and enjoyable game. We invite you to share your favorite building techniques that help you get a Victory Royale over at the Fortnite community on Metafy! If your favorite moves weren’t covered in this article, make sure to tell us what your go-to moves are. Additionally, you can also learn new ones from posts that people make, so be sure and check it out!

Metafy is also home to some of the best minds in gaming! The qualified and experienced coaches in the Fortnite community have helped countless players improve. Personally, I have been coaching at Metafy for a little over two years. My time as a former competitive player, coupled with the experience I gained from qualifying to 2 FNCS Finals, have enabled me to take my clients’ gameplay to the next level by helping them identify areas for improvement that the average player can’t recognize. Check out some of the articles posted by me and some of the other coaches, such as a guide to box fighting, a how-to article on ramp rushing, and the skills to master that only the top 2% of players possess.