Fortnite: Making Good Rotations

Rotation 101

Lynx rotating to soccer stadium looking for players from tilted // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera

To make good rotations in Fortnite, there are a few things to consider. Rotations vary based on playstyle, bus route and location. Every player will have a different rotation from one another even if the landing spot is the same. Players will even switch up rotations due to material or eliminations needed. The zone is another huge influence on rotations and can really mess up a player’s late game plan.

Rotating in Fortnite just means how a player gets from one location to the next. This is done by moving from point A to point B with the intent to do a specific task. For example, players can rotate to Fatal Fields to farm brick and gather materials. Others like to rotate to player dense areas, such as Tilted or Salty Springs. The more passive players like to get to the zone without fighting, so pushing into zone early gives time to go around the fights.

Play-style

Play-style is a huge influence on where a player will rotate to. For aggressive players, Titled and Retail Row are great places to start. These locations provide player dense drops where lots of early game fighting occurs. These places also have very great rotations for players who are looking to keep active during the entire game. Retail allows players to rotate towards crates or Dusty Divot, catching players who may still be looting the area. Tilted allows rotations towards Shifty and Salty, both spots having players and mobility to keep on moving toward the fight.

For the more passive players, landing anywhere on the outskirts of the map is a great move. Lots of players do not like early game engagements and want to loot up before the fight. Landing on the outskirts of the map allows players to get materials and weapons all before seeing anyone. Planes and rifts are also saturated around the map, allowing for those border players to get into zone safely. If these items didn’t spawn in, rotating to the map is easy since players will be doing the same. That means the chances of the player seeing an enemy before the second circle is very low. Junk Junction, Haunted Hills and lucky landing are great places to start.

Location

Lynx landing passive at Junk Junction // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera

Drop location is very important depending on what game players are playing. If a player is playing scrims, material dense areas and empty areas are ideal. Places like Junk Junction are almost always empty since it is so far from the action. Junk allows for great rotations to the track next door and using vehicles to head to motel, where there are rifts and trees. Players who want a moderate amount of action will find Tomato Temple a great place to land. In the pop-up cups, Tomato is usually contested by one or two people and supplies max wood and steel. The head on top of the temple gives 150 metal and the trees grant 70 a piece.

A players drop location is also not for the drop itself, but for the places around it. Players who like to land, for example, at Lonely Lodge may not like it, but it provides a lot of upside. Lonely is covered in trees and mushrooms, making material and shield gathering easy. With planes just a zip line away, players can rotate to Wailing, race track, the block or Retail. All of these places have metal and brick to farm, as well as low player counts. These places are safe and offer minimal risk to a player who needs to save resources for later on. While this is just one example, there are countless spots on the map to land for this reason. Every player has a favorite spot to land, so master that spot and find the best rotation for you.

Bus Route

Bus route map before the game // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera

The bus route is a big influence on where to drop on a game to game basis. Using the bus route shown as an example, aggressive players will drop in places like Pleasant Park and Lazy Links. These places are early and right under the route, making them very dense in players. Both locations also offer lots of loot, which attracts many as well.

Moderate players who just want to get a kill or two before looting will go to places like Retail or Salty. These places are off the bus route but are not so far out where players do not consider them.

For the passive players, landing Paradise or Lucky is ideal as these locations are the farthest from the bus. These locations are based on this map, but the bus changes every game. Players should have a rotation plan for a few spots in case the bus is not in that location’s favor.

Tracking

Lynx shotgunning enemy as storm closes in // In-game capture by Nicholas Rivera

For the player who only goes to one location no matter what, the bus route is useful for that as well. Based on the bus route shown, a player who lands Tomato knows that there will be plenty of players on the left side of the map. Lazy being the first drop, it is safe to say players will be there to rotate too. If the player takes a plane at lazy, that player can fly to Pleasant Park or tilted where there will be players as well.

The bus path is great at dictating where players will be because of player patterns. All active Fortnite players know what spots are hot or not, so using the bus path helps to see if more or less people went to that spot than usual.

Tracking these players to specific spots is not an exact science, but is effective. Knowledge of the route not only gives information about a player’s rotation but to enemy rotations as well. If a player can learn where enemies tend to rotate and how enemies play, it puts that player at an advantage. In the later stages of the game, players can get to zone early and watch the edge of the storm, trapping people in between. This allows the player to get easy shots on the enemy while they burn material just to get to zone. Now they must fight hurt and rushed, which puts the player at a huge advantage. Repetition of this practice will put players in a great spot game after game, improving skill, win rate and K/D.

Feature Image Courtesy of @_NicholasRivera

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