Not too long ago, Epic Games introduced Balloons as items in its wildly successful free-to-play title, Fortnite: Battle Royale, giving players of the multiplayer survival shooter yet another way to traverse the game’s ever-changing map. Of course, since Balloons have just recently been added, it’s safe to presume that not many have a firm grasp of how they will work. With this being the case, follow along to find out just how to get the hang of using Balloons in the game.
Where to Find Balloons
It’s worth noting that Balloons are of Epic rarity in Fortnite Battle Royale. However, they ought to show up all around the map.
As a matter of fact, Balloons can be found as floor loot, discovered in chests, taken from Supply Drops, picked up from a Supply Llama, and even traded for resources in Vending Machines. That said, while they’re relatively simple to find, it might be difficult for some to master how they work.
How Balloons Work
Once a player finds Balloons as a usable item, they will notice that pickup contains a pack of 20 that have various colors. It’s not necessarily an extremely limited quantity, but there’s no need to waste them either.
To use a Balloon, select it out of the item bar in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, and blow one up with the button used to fire a weapon. Players can inflate and hold up to six at a time, and once five are inflated, players will immediately start to float into the air. It’s worth noting, though, that each balloon has a shelf life, and will pop after a certain duration.
Of course, should one want to remain somewhat grounded while using the item, it’s not impossible. Holding anywhere from one to four at once will allow players jump and float, but eventually they will descend back down.
How to Avoid Balloon Fall Damage
While using Balloons to silently sneak up on an enemy in a raised position should be an exciting prospect for most, if not all Fortnite Battle Royale players, it’s important to realize the drawbacks of using the item, too. As previously mentioned, since the Balloons eventually pop, if players are too high in the air and run out of Balloons to inflate, depending on the height, they will either plummet to the ground and receive fall damage, or plunge to their death and get eliminated from the match.
Taking this into account, it’s best to keep an eye on one’s Balloon count after deploying them. Not to mention, be wary of any opponents nearby, as there’s always the chance to be shot out of the sky while using them to float. It would be a shame to use Balloons as a strategy to take out one enemy, only to be picked out of the sky by another with a sniper kill.
All things considered, Epic Games’ addition of Balloons is yet another example of the studio thinking outside of the box when it comes to adding different items for traversal across the map. And with vehicles such as the All-Terrain Kart and Quadcrasher available, too, Fortnite fans now have a plethora of ways to hoof it instead of simply sprinting.
Fortnite is available now for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
