The new Fortnite season brought more than craters and important dances. It seems that Epic is planting the seeds for something elaborate. Perhaps even a storyline of sorts, based on new areas that players are finding.
While the new update has only been live for less than a day at this point, Fortnite players are scouring the map to see what’s changed. Some tweaks are obvious: there are huge holes doting the island, for example, as well as consumable power-ups. Some of the most interesting changes are easy to miss, though, because Epic has kinda hidden them. On social media, however, there’s chatter of new bunkers that weren’t in the game before. They appear to be superhero themed, which jives with the general aesthetic of the new season.
On a mountain near Snobby Shores, for example, there’s now a menacing building that has its own rocket silo:
If you manage to go in without dying—the fall is very steep—you’ll step into a full-blown lair. The purple color, along with the command room-style decor, makes it seem like someone probably isn’t going to use that giant rocket for good:
There’s even a bedroom at the bottom of the lair, so it seems like someone is living here. But why? Who are they?
On a different part of the map, there’s another lair that seems to provide the villain’s foil. Near the bottom of Lonely Lodge, you’ll find a mansion that has a basement with another command room. (Excuse the colors, I got there in the middle of the storm.)
In case there’s any doubt this has something to do with superheroes, the hideout here even has a mask in it:
There seem to be a ton of little details here, from diagrams to sketches that appear to depict some of the unlockable armor pieces in the new Battle Pass. While both major areas are empty, there’s the sense that something should be happening here, which is making players hopeful that as the season progresses we’ll see more change on the island. After all, that’s what Epic pulled off with the comet: week-to-week, sometimes even day-to-day fluctuations on what was on the map. A sense of progression. What are the developers leading up to here, then? Will there be a big showdown between the two lairs? Which side will win? Will the rocket go off? One can only hope.
Beyond these two locales, there’s also a smaller secret basement beneath the floor in Salty Springs. To see it, you’ll need to head into this blue house:
And destroy the junk near the stairs:
Voila:
What does any of this mean? Are there more lairs that players haven’t found yet? Epic did not respond in time for publication, but whatever it is planning, it’s impressive that the developers have managed this kind of hype after the comet event. The Fortnite momentum is not slowing down any time soon.