As the final week of Fortnite Season 8 arrives, so too do the final clues and hints that reveal the direction Season 9 is heading. Season 8’s conclusion appears to be pushing towards a big ‘cataclysmic’ event that will alter the map significantly. This isn’t a particularly mind-blowing revelation considering every Fortnite season seems to introduce massive map changes.
Volcano
Currently, dataminers have ‘confirmed’ that the biggest map change being introduced to Season 9 is the destruction of Retail Row and Tilted Towers. This is going to be tied to the volcanic eruption in the northeastern area of the map. As the above image demonstrates, the volcano itself is beginning to show signs of wanting to erupt..
The current running theory is that the eruption will ‘bury’ Tilted Towers and Retail Row, essentially destroying them. If the datamined buildings are an accurate representation, Tilted Towers will have all its buildings destroyed all bar the building west of‘Trump Tower’. This building in particular has gone through a fair few reconstructions, but in a twist of irony will be the sole survivor of the city as an insurance company’s HQ.
Dusty Divot Lava
It is possible, however, that the map will suffer a lot more damage to it than just Retail Row and Tilted Towers being buried. While Retail Row and Tilted Towers have been confirmed thanks to the datamined buildings, volcanic eruptions tend to not be so surgical in nature. It’s fairly likely a large amount of the map will be altered.
The central crater of Dusty Divot has been filled with lava and it is likely when the volcano blows its top finally; the entire crater may fill up entirely. It may even form into a mountain or landmark depending on how creative Epic decides to get with the concept.
Loot Lake Construction
Loot Lake has undergone a serious revamp. The centre region that used to be home to a crater and some waterfalls has been drained entirely and replaced with construction buildings. The main centerpiece of the area is a ‘sci-fi’ looking metal contraption at the bottom of the basin.
Nexus Vault
This futuristic machine (linked to the Nexus event) currently has a single activated rune on it (the orange symbol), which seems to correlate with the blue energy being emitted turning off. Therefore, we’d expect each rune’s activation to indicate some kind of change with the blue energy being emitted and its overall function. This seems to fit the theming of the Endgame event and the Infinity Gauntlet in general (5 runes, 5 stones, etc.). How this impacts Season 9 is yet to be determined, but the guess would be the gate either opening up a portal, physically opening or altering the map somehow.
Polar Peak Castle
Another predicated change that makes a lot of sense is the polar region melting in response to the volcano blowing its top. This will reveal parts of the map that have been frozen over, like Greasy Grove hidden under the frozen lake or the Polar Peak castle being fully revealed. This is a likely outcome, but not guaranteed as the biome is relatively new, only being introduced last season, so having it removed may be premature on Epic’s part.
Finally, there has been a few rumours floating around that could also make sense in context. The first is that the Nexus vault is going to play a part in Season 9’s ‘space theme’ which was rumoured a while back. The other is the Kraken will attack the island, sending Season 8’s pirate theme out with a bang.
Season 8 ends on May 8th, 2019, with the expectation that Season 9 will come out the week Season 8 challenges have run their course (so the 9th). There is no guarantee of this, but it does seem likely unless Epic wants to delay like they did for the Season 7 break. Regardless, not long to wait before Epic really shakes things up again.
Tomorrow’s Unvaulting event will be available as a LTM #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/59zMVtAiVy
— Fortnite News | LootLake.net (@LootLakeBR) May 3, 2019
MORE FORTNITE SEASON 8:
– Fortnite Season 8 Reboot Van Locations & Map
– Fortnite’s Shadow Bomb Trailer Makes It Look Very OP
– Fortnite v8.51 Patch Notes: Shadow Bombs & That’s It
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