Respawns Are Coming To Fortnite, Apex Legends-Style
Following a month of fan speculation, Epic finally confirmed the addition of a respawn mechanic in next week's patch.
Fortnite's newest feature, the Reboot Van, lets teams use special vans to bring back their fallen squadmates. When a squadmate dies, they will drop a Reboot Card along with their other loot. After retrieving a Reboot Card, any ally can take it to one of the Reboot Vans scattered across the map to respawn their teammate back into the match.
Each van has a cooldown period and using them comes with an inherent risk. Upon activation, the Reboot Van unleashes a loud honking noise accompanied by a beacon of light. This notifies players in the surrounding area that a respawn is in progress, and how many people will be returning.
Players familiar with Apex Legends will probably recognize Fortnite's new system. In Apex, fallen teammates drop banners, which allies have 90 seconds to retrieve. After securing the banner within the time limit, they can take it to one of the Respawn Beacons placed across the map to revive the downed comrade.
Using the Respawn Beacons also has its risks. The ally with the banner must interact with the beacon for 7 seconds. Though they can look around, moving or shooting will interrupt the respawn's progress. Once the process has finished, the lost teammate returns to the match via aircraft, betraying the location of both players to nearby enemies.
Though unconfirmed, a closer look at the announcement video reveals what appears to be a timer limit for the Reboot Cards. The developer also advises players to "toss some items to your rebooted teammates to get them back into the battle," implying, like in Apex, the loss of all items upon death.
Fortnite has borrowed popular features from Apex Legends before. Season 8 added a ping system, a method of non-verbal communication praised by Apex players. Similarly, the Apex respawn system remains a fan favorite. Only time will tell if Fortnite's Reboot Vans will meet with similar success.