Everything you need to know about Blitz Royale, Fortnite's newest mode

Blitz Royale is Fortnite’s newest mode, and it often draws more players than Fortnite’s core 100-player battle royale.

I love its frantic firefights and I hope it’ll be a gateway for new players to other game modes.

It has a new map, faster rounds, mythic weapons, boons, and medallions that transform how you play—basically, there’s lots to learn. In this guide, I’ll explain the fundamentals, including the Blitz Royale event schedule and how medallions work, and get you started on your journey to a victory royale.

About Blitz Royale

What is Fortnite Blitz Royale?

Blitz Royale is a no-building, 32-player battle royale on a mini Fortnite map. The play zone shrinks quickly, and rounds last roughly five to six minutes. You can play Blitz solo, in a duo, in a squad of four or in a Six Stack squad, which is a temporary addition.

If you really want to sweat, there’s a more competitive variant of Blitz for six-person squads called Pure Chaos, which Epic says will match you with higher-level opponents.

Blitz Royale is defined by its speed, the abundance of top-tier weapons, and by the powers you get from medallions and boons.

Everyone starts with the same medallion, which grants powerful abilities such as infinite ammo, or invisibility while sprinting. Three supply crates will drop from the sky every match, each containing an extra medallion. Boons, found in golden chests, also give you powers, albeit less extreme ones.

Players also begin the round with the same items, usually bubble shields plus a mobility item and a weapon. Currently you start with the Kinetic blade—which is a solid mobility item—plus the O.X.R. rifle from Chapter 6 Season 4.

Blitz's theme rotates every Tuesday. Right now, it's Oathbound Citadel, with a shrunken version of a POI from Chapter 4 of the same name replacing Lazy Laps on the Blitz map.

As you kill enemies or survive storm circles you improve your Blitz Level and at each level up you’re granted either a high-level weapon (legendary, mythic, or exotic) or a boon.

Blitz Royale schedule, events, and end date

Blitz Royale was initially due to end on July 15, but it now looks like it’ll be a permanent mode: Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has all-but-confirmed it by reposting an X post by a Fortnite leaker, and other leakers say Epic has updated some seasonal quests for the mode to end in 2027.

The theme rotates and changes the loot. Currently we’re in Oathbound Citadel week. On August 19, Shocking Medallions week will add the medallions from the current Battle Royale season, August 26 is Asteria Awakened, and from September 2 it's a "players' choice" week, where the community picks the loot.

Blitz Royale map and items

Blitz Royale map

The small Blitz Royale map includes locations from Fortnite’s past, including Mega City and Oathbound Citadel.

Golden chests remain in the same spots every round, so if you find a drop location you like you can stick to it.

I personally like to drop onto the eastern edge of Mega City, which has lots of chests, or on the hilltop just east of pleasant park, which has multiple chests. From that central spot you can get anywhere on the map fast.

Blitz Royale medallions list

There are 13 medallions in total in Blitz Royale, although you’ll only ever see a handful in each match. They’re split into four categories—offense, movement, healing, and wildcard. Here’s a list:

• Offense
  • Aspect of Combat: Increases damage of ranged weapons
  • Ringmaster Scarr: Infinite ammo and buffs all damage
  • Night Rose: Weapons constantly reload themselves
• Movement
  • Aspect of Speed: Buffs sprint speed and jump height. You take no fall damage on sprint jumps
  • Shrouded Striker: Invisibility in sprint jump, and you jump further
  • Unstoppable: Increases sprint speed and knocks back enemies you sprint into
• Healing
  • Aspect of Siphon: Grants shields or health when you kill an enemy
  • Infernal defenses: Shield passively regenerates, and reloads are faster
  • The Machinist: Shields passively regenerates up to 75%
• Wildcard
  • Shogun X: Infinite stamina and you’re invisible while you sprint
  • Megalo Don: Infinite Nitro effect. Nitro boosts almost every aspect of your play: it gives you faster movement, sprint knock back, infinite stamina, faster reload, and more.
  • Aspect of Agility: Gives you Underworld Dash, which is basically a short-range teleport when you double jump. You get three charges, and they replenish over time

The final medallion is the Reveal medallion, which occasionally marks nearby enemies. It’s only available from supply drops.

Remember, each player starts with the same medallion, and you can find extras in supply drops. Having one or two extra medallions is a huge advantage, so check your map for the supply drop locations. In my experience, they aren’t as contested as you might expect.

Blitz Royale randomizes the medallions you start with and the supply drop loot, so it’s possible to find duplicates.

All the medallions are good, but I always hope for the Wildcard medallions (invisibility is just so good) or the infinite ammo of Ringmaster Scarr, which means you’ll never have to reload in the middle of a fight.

If you open your inventory by pressing 'I' you can check your medallions and adjust your playstyle accordingly.

Blitz Royale boons list

There are 14 possible boons. They’re split into the same categories as the medallions, and you get them from golden chests or from levelling up.

The chests are everywhere, so it’s worth memorising a good starting route that takes you past four or five of them. When boons are left lying on the ground by other players, you’ll see a blue ray of light shining skywards.

• Offense
  • Fire Boon: Reload faster
  • Void Boon: Knocking or eliminating players reveals others enemies nearby
• Movement
  • Combat Acrobat: Parkour (such as mantling cover) partially reloads your equipped weapon
  • Adrenaline Rush: Gain the Slap effect when you mantle, hurdle, or wall jump. Slap gives you unlimited stamina for a short amount of time
  • Wind Boon: Move faster with your pickaxe out
  • Icy Slide: Gives you a speed boost while sliding
  • Super Spring Jump: Higher sprint jump with a low-gravity effect
  • Swift Combatant: Move faster while aiming down sights or reloading
  • Zero Chance: Temporarily gain a blink-style dash when you break an enemy’s shield. Double jump to teleport a short distance
• Healing
  • Storm Caller Boon: Replenish shields in the storm
  • Agile Healer Boon: Sprint while using heal items, and gain Slap after you use them (try using the Chug Jug while sprinting—it looks hilarious)
• Wildcard
  • Reactive Ping Boon: Players who attack you are marked, pinging red on your screen
  • Vulture Boon: Players who die are briefly marked on your map
  • Gold Rush Book: Opening chests and other containers gives you Gold Rush, which makes you faster

A few of the boons barely matter. The duds are Storm Caller, because you’ll rarely be standing in the storm in Blitz Royale, and the Wind Boon, because there are plenty of other ways to boost your speed without defenselessly carrying your pickaxe.

Open your inventory to check with boons you’re carrying.

Blitz Royale weapons and items

There are too many weapons in Blitz Royale for me to go over every single one, but it’s important to at least understand how gear works in this mode, and how to get the best guns.

Everyone starts with the same loadout, usually bubble shields alongside weapons or items specific to the theme of the week. This week, you'll start with the O.X.R. rifle and the Kinetic Blade, which is a fantastic mobility item when you use its right click attack.

There are multiple ways to get better items. The first, and most obvious, is from chests. Alongside regular wooden chests you’ll find larger golden chests that always spawn in the same spot. There are also some rare (blue) chests. The loot in the golden chests is so good that you can essentially ignore regular chests, except if you’re caught short early in the round.

You can also get top-level gear from supply drops (three per round) or from llamas, either gold or silver. Their loot rotates weekly too.

Finally, you obtain either a boon or a weapon every time you gain a Blitz Level. This is often how you get the most powerful weapons in the game: every weapon you get this way is either legendary, exotic, or mythic. Basically, the best weapons in Fortnite.

Weapons from chests, drops, and levelling up are randomized, and the loot pool is massive, so the best way to learn your favourite weapons is to play, and play aggressively. I’d advise carrying a mid-range weapon like a rifle and a close-combat option, ideally a shotgun.

Right now, my favourite weapons are the Spire Rifle for mid range, and for up close, the Unstable Frostfire Shotgun gives you a speed advantage in any fight (although the majority of the high-end shotguns are powerful, too). But most of the mythics and exotic weapons are worth carrying, so try them all out.

Blitz Royale rewards

You can earn three rewards from playing Blitz Royale. You get the Blitz Knight outfit if you earn 10 account levels or place in the top 10 players in 20 matches, the Blitz ‘Brella glider by winning three times, and the Blitz Wings back bling by winning five matches or earning five account levels.

Blitz Royale tips and strategy

Here are seven quick tips for getting better at Blitz Royale.

Learn a few drop spots

Your immediate priority should be opening golden chests. As you explore the map, learn a handful of locations with more than one golden chests, and then consistently drop there. Explore the area to find other nearby golden chests. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll have a couple of consistent 'rollout' options that reliably get you boons and powerful weapons within the first minute.

As I mentioned earlier, I like to drop onto the snowy building at Snobby Shoals, which has three golden chests, or onto the hilltop building on the far south-east corner of the map, which has two and is next to Retail Row (slide down the hill and pickaxe the truck for another golden chest).

All-out aggression

Blitz Royale rewards aggression: the faster you kill enemies, the faster you’ll level up, and the faster you’ll get the best weapons. Because matches are so short, and restarts so fast, you can afford to get out of your comfort zone, which will help you improve your mechanics.

Don’t sleep on shield bubbles

You start each match with them, and they can save your life. Hold onto them, and know how to switch to them quickly and throw them down if you’re ambushed. There are plenty of online guides for improving at shield bubble fights: here’s a good, recent one.

Know your medallions and boons, and adapt

Medallions and boons are what make Blitz Royale so unique, but you accumulate so many that you might forget what you’re carrying. Check your inventory, and adapt your playstyle accordingly. It should be common sense: if you have the Aspect of Combat, for example, which boosts ranged weapons, you’ll want to carry a rifle (it works brilliantly with the Spire Rifle).

Prioritise supply drops

Grabbing extra medallions can immediately make you the most deadly player on the server, so check your map and head for the supply drops. Take care: other players will have the same idea, so peek at them from cover before you run into the open.

Mobility and two weapons is still a killer combo

In my Fortnite battle royale weapons and loadout guide I recommend carrying at least two weapons and a mobility item, and I think that same advice applies here. You need something for mid-range fights, and something for close quarters.

Mobility is less important in Blitz Royale because the map is smaller and, by the end game, you’ll be moving faster because of the boons you’ve collected. But a mobility item will still help you escape a sticky situation, or help you third-party other players as they fight each other.

Play cover

Some Blitz players like to sprint directly at their enemies and take them on in an even 1v1 duel, relying on their mythic weapon to pull them through. But remember the fundamentals of Fortnite: if you play around cover you’ll always have the upper hand. Look for rocks, trees, buildings, even the lips of hills. Fortnite’s third-person view is over your right shoulder, so favour the right side of whatever cover you’re using.