The Rarest Skins In Fortnite: Battle Royale

Fortnite has a distinctive look that's been celebrated through cosplay, fan art, and the ardent pursuit of skins and items by players. Since Season 1 of the game, Epic Games has made its battle royale mode all the more interesting by ditching the standard character models and shaking things up with unique designs. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds might have a frying pan, but Fortnite gets playful with skins for every season, occasion, and in some cases, phone release.

There's a certain satisfaction with collecting them all; diehard fans have the ability to stand out and show their dedication to the game through loading into the lobby with skins earned through pixelated blood, sweat, and countless gameplay hours. That, or show their willingness to throw some serious cash to get exclusive skins in unexpected ways.

For this list, we're going beyond the run of the mill legendary skins. For those up to the challenge — of gameplay or of budget — here's some of the very rarest Fortnite skins for the most discerning of flair aficionados.

Fortnite might be known for its outrageous outfits, but some of the game's rarest and most sought after skins are pretty plain. When players first joined the battle royale mode upon release, they took for granted the skins available to them at the time. Many Season 1 skins are gone: unavailable to the many, many players who later jumped on the Fortnite sensation that was sweeping several nations.

One such skin is debatably the most rare in all the game, one of the very first skins to be released: the Recon Expert. Outwardly, there's not much to fuss over. The Recon Expert is a military-themed, female skin. She has dog tags, a hat, and a star on her chest; she's no googly-eyed Panda Team Leader. But her rarity is directly connected to the lackluster look.

When she was first released, this skin was a little pricey at 1,200 V-Bucks. Not many people felt compelled to drop that kind of in-game cash on a lame skin like that. But now that the Recon Expert has disappeared from the shop, those who missed out will continue to miss out on this exclusive skin unless Epic Games makes the unlikely decision to reinstate it to the shop.

Another Season 1 throwback, the Aerial Assault Trooper was one of the very first skins available in the battle royale mode. As such, only those who first joined the Fortnite hype train had access to this skin. Even those who were around at the very start didn't necessarily spend the V-Bucks required to acquire the skin. Some players were total noobs to this type of game and buying skins was an alien concept.

Like with the Recon Expert skin, lots of people missed out on the Aerial Assault Trooper because of its lack of flashy appeal. The Aerial Assault Trooper is a military-themed black paratrooper wearing a beige scarf and an orange-decaled helmet. He was available in the Season 1 shop for 1,200 V-Bucks after the player got to Level 15. Despite not being one of the most exciting skins, this one definitely has the power of nostalgia behind it, and the same considerable rarity associated with the Recon Expert.

Excluded from this list are skins that any player with enough V-Bucks could pop into the item shop and pick up for themselves. However, not every one of the remaining skins can be earned purely through gathering experience and moving up tiers. For some Fortnite content, the players have to drop some real, cold, hard cash in order to obtain the most exclusive of skins.

The Royale Bomber is a classed-up military-themed skin with a charming smirk that was exclusive to the Fortnite PS4 bundle that was released in Europe in the summer of 2018. His description reads "searching for a target rich environment" and he found it in Europe, and only in Europe. At least, for a while. By the fall, he'd made his way across the pond in a PS4 controller bundle available to American players.

Either way and on either continent, the Royale Bomber is still locked to one console, and even then, only for money. The aviator sunglasses and fur-hooded bomber jacket he wears so well might be worth it for players with the means to drop enough cash, however. Man, it's a good-looking skin.

The official Epic Games description for the Rook Fortnite skin is, "Promoted from desk jockey to field agent." And by the looks of the Rook, truer words were never written. Her wardrobe is a definite mix between office and action, sporting a dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and a tie, along with plenty of ammo to keep investigative targets at bay. And given the Rook's prior experience at the desk, she's probably very good at finding those targets.

What you'll have a hard time doing, though, is finding this skin.

The Rook was an exclusive to the Season 5 Battle Pass in Fortnite, requiring players to reach Level 87 before unlocking her. That's a whole lot of playtime — or, if you're the type who doesn't mind buying your way ahead, a fair amount of money. But even if you wanted to spend that dough now, you couldn't. Season 5 is long gone, which means a whole slew of new skins have come along to fill this season's Battle Pass.

If you missed out on the Rook, there's a good chance you missed out for good. Which makes this Fortnite skin one of the more rare items you'll find in the game.

A more recent but nevertheless rare skin that Outfit aficionados covet is the Ragnarok skin. A solid six on the coolness scale, this skin becomes increasingly more metal as players met Season 5 challenges. Like the Black Knight, this dark viking has the appeal of glowing eyes and a distinctly serious look. But unlike the Black Knight, the Ragnarok skin is initially shirtless and blue-bearded.

Which is, again, pretty neat to begin with. But it just keeps getting better. At stage one, the Ragnarok skin finds some effective-looking armor. Stage two adds on some arm bracers, then shoulder gear at three. The crowning achievement of the Ragnarok skin is the skull helmet players unlock after gathering 250,000 season experience. It's all horns, teeth, and a considerable upgrade to the blue beard. This does the most to exaggerate and emphasize the icy aura of this harbinger of fate. The viking-themed fun doesn't end there. The Ragnarok's final form is extra spiky and adds a dash of magic: the horns glow cold blue too.

Only available to players skilled enough to kill their way up to Tier 100 in that season, the Ragnarok skin is the mark of a dedicated player and testament to the acknowledgement Epic Games' tries to give its best and most brutal Battle Royale players.

Winter isn't coming; it's here. As part of Fortnite's Season 7, a slew of holiday tributes made their way into the game, including new snow-covered areas, and vehicle and weapon wraps (inspired by wrapping paper, of course). But there's a certain skin that everyone playing Fortnite will likely be gunning for in Season 7, and because it's that awesome, it's going to be the hardest one to get.

It's the Ice King, and he's come along with the cold weather to bring the pain.

Now, we can't say for certain if the Ice King is a playful reference to Game of Thrones' Night King, but because he's such a creepy presence that arrives alongside winter in Fortnite and he calls himself a king, we're going to assume that's the case. The Ice King is going to be incredibly challenging to get for those who purchase the Season 7 Battle Pass. You can't unlock the skin until you reach Tier 100, and even then, you aren't finished. There are four color variations on the skin, each with its own challenges. For a red tint, you must outlive 1,000 opponents. For silver, you'll need to survive longer than 7,500 others. And to unlock the last color, orange, you'll need to outlast 25,000 opposing players.

Because Season 7 of Fortnite is all about winter, the game would probably be remiss if it didn't include some kind of skin based on a cool winter creature. Perhaps the game could roll with the Game of Thrones thing and introduce some kind of (spoilers) ice dragon. That would rock. Or how about something more friendly, like a snowman? Fans would probably be okay with that, too.

It seems Fortnite combined those two ideas and ended up with Trog. And to be totally honest, we don't know what Trog is.

At first glance, one might presume Trog to be a yeti. But Trog isn't the abominable snowman type of yeti that folklore depicts as large and intimidating. Trog is human-sized, with blue skin and fur in the places you might find pants, sleeves, and shoulder pads. But he has some monster qualities, too. He has large, protruding bottom fangs, and he lacks a human nose.

Based on what we've seen of Trog, we're left with only one conclusion: he is a human-yeti hybrid, and the less we dive into how that's possible, the better. Just know that you can unlock Trog by reaching Tier 71 in Fortnite's Season 7 Battle Pass.

Have you been a good boy or girl this year? We sure hope so. Because Santa Claus isn't coming to Fortnite — at least, not the one you know and love. Something finally must have snapped in his brain, and in his place is someone who is really fed up with the holiday season. And he's not going to take it anymore.

Say hello to Sgt. Winter. You better watch out.

Don't be fooled by the big white beard and the "HO HO" on his tactical vest. Sgt. Winter isn't Santa Claus. He's an elf who saw some really messed up things in 'Nam. He only likes boxes if they have his enemies trapped inside. He's a one-man murder machine.

Or, depending on the different styles you unlock, he's definitely Santa Claus. Or a burly llama-man. Because Fortnite is weird.

Sgt. Winter requires the Season 7 Battle Pass, and can only be unlocked if you reach Tier 23. After that, he has two more variants available. To unlock his cartoon Santa face, you must complete 7 daily challenges. And to unlock his llama mask, you must complete 14 of those same challenges.

There's nothing like a good, creepy Fortnite skin. And things don't get much creepier than vampires. These creatures of the night look just like people — very charming people. You may not even know you're in the presence of one. But goodness, you will at some point. Because when the thirst kicks in, vampires look to humans to satiate it. And if you happen to be on the menu, you won't know it until it's too late.

But come on. That's not going to happen in Fortnite, where players wearing the Dusk skin can't suck blood. Instead, they use weapons just like everyone else.

Right? Right?

The Dusk skin is pretty much the gothiest-looking female vampire you could ask for in Fortnite, from the black leather gloves and boots to the blood-red eyes. If you think this skin is right up your alley, there's some good news and bad news. The good news? The luck of the Fortnite item shop couldn't have kept you from obtaining Dusk. It showed up as a part of Season 6's Battle Pass, requiring players to hit Tier 71 in order to unlock it.

The bad news? Season 6 is long gone. So if you didn't unlock Dusk then, there's no shot you'll be able to get it now.

Seriously, what is it with Fortnite and llamas? It's one of those things that, try as we might, we've never understood. The llama seems to be a sort of mascot for the game, showing up in the form of player masks and in-game loot containers. But our research has never helped us discover why Epic Games chose the llama, or what significance this animal has to the team behind Fortnite.

Let the Giddy-Up skin serve as further proof of Epic's apparent obsession with nature's goofiest camelid.

The gag behind Giddy-Up is the same one used by those kids you see wearing horse costumes. As you could probably tell by the legs underneath the llama, this character is not actually riding it. The llama itself appears to be inflatable, even. But you probably knew it wasn't real. It's blue and purple, for crying out loud.

But that doesn't mean this skin isn't great! You hopefully have it already after reaching Tier 23 in Fortnite's Season 6 Battle Pass. If you didn't have the Battle Pass then, or weren't playing enough to hit that tier, you're never going to see Giddy-Up available again. It rode off into the sunset forever. Or, you know, it was carried.