Season 5 marks a return to form, kicking off with a classic ‘scavenger hunt’ style challenge. This challenge functions almost identically to those in the same vein, mirroring the behaviours of the ‘Rubber Duckie’ and ‘Hungry Gnome’ challenges from season 4. Besides looking or sounding different, the main change is really the logic behind where they spawn.
Ultimately, the goal is to search for seven different ‘Floating Lightning Bolts’. Once you interact with a Lightning Bolt it will make a sound and disappear from view, counting towards your running tally. Like previous challenges of this kind, you do not need to find all seven in one match. So, no pressure to survive. Just don’t quit the match (die instead) as it’ll undo any progress you may have made during that match.
The ‘Floating Lightning Bolts’ have a very obvious rule that dictate their spawn locations; height (as the name may suggest). They will always appear high up in the air and they mostly appear in locations where they are either above or next to elevated terrain or buildings. That is to say, you’re looking for an elevated location first then checking for a Lightning Bolt above that location. Hills, cliffs, watchtowers and buildings are the usual places you’ll find a Lightning Bolt near.
Not every high place will have a Lightning Bolt watching over it, as a matter of fact most won’t (because there are a lot more elevated pieces of terrain than there are Lightning Bolts), but the Lightning Bolts will – most of the time – be near or above these types of locales. There are some locations that are an exception to this rule, but they’re not common. They also tend to not spawn in close proximity to each other, meaning there is quite a distance between each Lightning Bolt. Additionally, Lightning Bolts lowest to the ground tend to have sightlines that allow you to spot them easily, while the very high ones are obscured from view by trees or buildings. This means lower ones are easier to spot in closer proximity to them and higher ones generally require you spotting them from quite a distance (Wailing Woods and Lonely Lodge are good examples of this).
Finally, the Lightning Bolts are quite easy to see from a distance, but their height makes them impossible to listen for. Meaning you’re reliant on looking for the Lightning Bolts. I tend to find this makes the challenge easier than the usual scavenger hunter overall though, as they can’t use terrain to hide from view as effectively.
Below is an overview of the main map with all the Floating Lightning Bolts I could locate, circled in red. There are more Lightning Bolts on the map than the challenge requires (i.e. there is more than seven Lightning Bolts on the map). Personally, I found 17 Lightning Bolts, but there are almost assuredly more than the 17 I found. This means you can locate and interact with the seven most convenient for you. The rest will disappear from view after you’ve completed the challenge.
Fortnite Floating Lightning Bolt MAP LOCATIONS
Dusty Divot
Floating directly in the centre of Dusty Divot, above the central building. This one is floating very high in the air, about as high at the edges of the crater. Located on the intersecting points of F5, F6, G5 and G6 on the main map’s grid.
Greasy Grove
Floating between the camping store and Durr Burger buildings (two largest buildings in the town) at a relatively low altitude. C7 on the main map’s grid.
Haunted Hills
Not situated in Haunted Hills per se, however, it is the closest named ‘town’.To the south and the east of the graveyard, are two very large hills. Situated between these hills is a Lightning Bolt at about the maximum height of the two hills. Located on the intersection of B3 and C3 on the main map’s grid.
Junk Junction
This Lightning Bolt is floating quite a ways up in the northwestern corner of Junk Junction. Intersection of B1 and B2 on the main map’s grid.
Loot Lake
On the westside of Loot Lake lies two parallel piers. Between these two piers at a modest height lies a Lightning Bolt. D4 on the main map’s grid.
Lonely Lodge
Quite difficult to spot from Lonely Lodge itself, but if you climb to the top of the large watch tower on the southside and look west, you’ll see a Lightning Bolt floating very high (about the height of the watch tower) above the trees. Intersection of I5 and J5 on the main map’s grid.
Lucky Landing
On the very most northeastern corner of Lucky Landing lies a large, lone building and a hill. The Lightning Bolt lies between this hill and the building, hovering at the height of the hilltop. Intersection of F9 and G9 on the main map’s grid.
Paradise Palms
A brand new area to the main map. Paradise Palms is quite a large area with a few high rises (kind of like a small Tilted Towers). On the western edge is a luxury high rise apartment building. The Lightning Bolt is floating to the west not far from the roof slightly above roof height. Intersection of H8 and I8 on the main map’s grid.
Retail Row
A Lightning Bolt hovers a moderate height above the dead centre of Retail Row. H6 on the main map’s grid.
Risky Reels
Not located in Risky Reels exactly, but it is the closest nearby town. South of Risky Reels is a hill with an RV parked a top it. A moderate distance above hovers a Lightning Bolt. H3 on the main map’s grid.
Salty Springs
On the southwestern corner of Salty Springs, between the a small single story house and the blue house that hides the listening outpost, float a Lightning Bolt at roof height. F7 on the main map’s grid.
Snobby Shores
Another Lightning Bolt not technically in the listed town, but it is the easiest location to illustrate where it spawns. To the northeast of Snobby Shores lies the hidden supervillian mountain base. The Lightning Bolt hovers about 7/8ths of the way up the mountain to the southwest. It’s only a very small distance from the mountain. B5 on the main map’s grid.
Tilted Towers
A Lightning Bolt is situated between the two largest building in Tilted Towers. Specifically, between the rectangle apartment building and the large square tower, floating at roof height. Intersection of D5 and D6 on the main map’s grid.
Tomato Town
Once again another Lighting Bolt not at the listed town, however it is quite close to Tomato Town. To the west of Tomato Town is a hill overlooking the river. The Lightning Bolt hovers quite a distance to the northwest of this hill, quite a distance up as well. Intersection of F3 and F4 on the main map’s grid.
Unnamed Town 1 (Abandoned Motel)
This Lighting Bolt resides in an unnamed town that I refer to as the ‘Abandoned Motel’. The ‘Abandoned Motel’ is situated along the northern edge of the map offset slightly to the west. The Lightning Bolt hovers above the car park of this location. D2 on the main map’s grid.
Unnamed Town 2 (Disco Warehouse)
Another Lightning Bolt situated in an unnamed town. This one sits in the warehouses to the northeast of Flush Factory, that I refer to as ‘Disco Warehouse’. On the northwestern edge of this area is a warehouse with a disco inside, the Lightning Bolt floats near this building at roof height to the southeast. E9 on the main map’s grid.
Wailing Woods
This is probably the trickiest Lightning Bolt to find as it is only visible from outside of Wailing Woods. On the northeastern corner, floating very high up above the tree canopy is a Lightning Bolt. It takes considerable materials to build your way up to this one. Located at I3 of the main map’s grid.
Once you’ve collected your seven, you’re done with this challenge. This challenge and the typical weekly treasure hunt challenge are the two more search intensive challenges that kick off season 5, if you’re looking for some help with the Risky Reels treasure map challenge, you can check out that guide here. If you’re looking for a synopsis on those changes or a quick, but complete overview of the Week 1 challenges, check out that guide here.
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