Fortnite season 9, week 1 challenges and where to find Sky Platforms, Slipstreams
Start the season off right.
Neo Tilted has tall buildings from which you can deal damage to rival players.
Fortnite season 9 is underway, and with it comes a new set of challenges. Players with a Battle Pass can complete all challenges, while those who don't want to spend money can complete just the free challenges.
Free challenges
- Stage 1 of 2: Ride the Slipstream around Neo Tilted (0/1)
- Visit all Sky Platforms (0/7)
- Deal Damage to opponents within 10 seconds of using a Shadow Bomb (0/200)
Battle Pass challenges
- Pick up a Legendary Item in different matches (0/5)
- Search chests at Lucky Landing or Loot Lake (0/7)
- Scoped Weapon Eliminations (0/3)
- Stage 1 of 3: Deal damage to opponents from at least two stories or above (0/300)
How to ride the Slipstream around Neo Tilted
A typical move by Epic at the start of a new season is to create a challenge that has players making use of one of the new features. In this case, it's the Slipstreams that're found in the inner part of the island as well as around Neo Tilted and Mega Mall. To easily knock out this task, plan to drop near Neo Tilted and glide right into the Slipstream. Continue in the wind stream until you complete the challenge.
Where are the Sky Platforms?
Sky Platforms are another new edition for Fortnite season 9. There are seven of these floating platforms found across the island. Players will need to head to these spots once they drop from the Airbus to get to them easily. This means these spots will be packed as other players try to complete this challenge. The good news is that players dropping on these platforms from the Airbus won't have weapons aside from their pickaxes, though there are chests available on the Sky Platforms.
Here's a map of where the Sky Platforms are:
The locations of the seven Sky Platforms.
How to deal damage to an opponent within 10 seconds after using a Shadow Bomb
The Shadow Bomb is a new rare item introduced toward the end of Fortnite season 8, which lets players become almost invisible. Since it's rare, players will have to get a little lucky to find it. But once they do, it's pretty easy to get the jump on other players and do the 200 damage needed to complete the challenge.
Pick up a Legendary Item in different matches
Like the previously mentioned Shadow Bomb, this challenge requires some luck to complete it quickly. Legendary weapons can be found in chests around the island, but the best bet is to wait for a supply drop. These crates full of loot and a Legendary Item will start falling at random places on the map once the storm circle begins closing in. The longer a player lasts in a match, the easier it is to find them, since there's less of the map to explore, but expect to have other players battle for the box.
Search chests at Lucky Landing or Loot Lake
This is a fairly straightforward task, and players should focus on this challenge right away. As other players will likely spend their time searching Neo Tilted and Mega Mall, other areas on the map will have far fewer people to contend with. Visit Lucky Landing and Loot Lake early for the chests.
Scoped weapon eliminations
Again, a fairly straightforward challenge. Find a scoped weapon (snipers are the most common ones), and proceed to take out other players. If playing a squad game, it's also possible to down an enemy first with a weapon like the shotgun, and when they're crawling on the ground, switch to a sniper to get the easy scoped elimination.
Deal damage to opponents from at least two stories above
Those players visiting Neo Tilted and other areas on the map with tall buildings can use the buildings for this challenge. Fortunately, this task doesn't require players to eliminate others from the vantage point, they just have to do damage. Players who make it into the later parts of a match can also create their own two-story buildings, but keep in mind that the requirement is to be two stories higher than the other player. This can be difficult if the two players have a build war and keep going higher and higher with their buildings.
Where to find Fortbytes
New to Fortnite season 9 is the inclusion of Fortbytes. Players who purchased a season Battle Pass can acquire these collectibles to unlock an image hinting at what's coming next season. There are 100 Fortbytes to collect. Some require players to perform certain tasks, reach a particular tier level or obtain a certain amount of experience points (XP). A list of the first 18 was made available on Thursday with a new one revealed every day until the season is over.
Fortnite Season 9 Fortbyte Challenges
- 1: Awarded for gaining 175,000 XP
- 10: Awarded for gaining 60,000 XP
- 13: Found at a location hidden within loading screen number 2
- 24: Found within Fatal Field
- 25: Awarded at Battle Pass tier 40
- 35: Awarded for gaining 225,000 XP
- 36: Accessible by Sentinel on a frozen island
- 39: Awarded for completing six challenges from Week 2
- 44: Awarded at Battle Pass tier 20
- 46: Awarded at Battle Pass tier 100
- 57: Awarded by finishing top 10 in squads, duos, or solo 25 times
- 66: Awarded by finishing top 10 in squads, duos, or solo 75 times
- 71: Awarded for completing six challenges from Week 1
- 84: Awarded at Battle Pass tier 60
- 85: Awarded for gaining 30,000 XP
- 87: Awarded by finishing top 10 in squads, duos, or solo 50 times
- 90 Awarded by finishing top 10 in squads, duos, or solo 100 times
- 96: Awarded at Battle Pass tier 80
- 99: Awarded for gaining 125,000 XP
Of the first 18, Fortbyte 36 was a little tricky. The clue for it is "Accessible by Sentinel on a frozen island." To obtain this Fortbyte, players will need to wear the new Sentinel skin and travel to the westernmost ice island that is south of Frosty Flights and West of Happy Hamlet. The Fortbyte will appear at the southern edge of the island.
Where to find Fortbyte 36 on the map.
On Friday, Fortbyte 24 appeared with the clue "Found within Fatal Field." Players will need to visit Fatal Fields and look within the house directly north of the "L" in Fatal Field on the map. Search the house and Fortbyte 24 will appear.
Location of Fortbyte 24, "found within Fatal Fields."
Fortnite is available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, and Android and iOS devices.
In the multiplayer online game, you parachute onto an island and use various weapons to eliminate opponents in a last-person-standing scenario. The massively popular game has attracted players with live events like virtual concerts and special limited-time game modes such as a crossover with Avengers: Endgame called Fortnite Endgame.
Originally published May 9, 8:57 a.m. PT.
Updates, 1:20 p.m.: Adds more details and background. May 10: Adds list of Fortbytes.