5 Things Fortnite Needs to Keep it on Top of Apex Legends in the Long Run

Apex Legends is the only real competitor Fortnite has ever known. Here's how they can stay on top in the long run.

I want to start this off by saying that Apex Legends and Fortnite are both excellent games. There's not a "Fortnite is better than Apex" argument here. Both are great and deserve our time and attention.

Still, Fortnite is arguably the biggest video game of all time, and this didn't (entirely) happen by accident. Epic is dedicated to their game and has made a lot of changes for the better.

We saw the immediate impact that Apex Legends had on Fortnite, though. The patch after Apex took off, Epic addressed several key problems with Fortnite and added the Pop Up Cup rules to all game modes. They even offered season 8 as a reward for completing their challenges.

All of these changes are great, but Apex is still growing. Here are a few things that Epic can do to keep Fortnite at the top.

1. Add a Tutorial

This is the first and most glaring fault in the Fortnite experience - at least in my opinion. There is so much to Fortnite, and it's extremely intimidating for new players.

My roommate has been playing a lot of Apex Legends lately but never got much into Fortnite. He decided to play with me and a few friends the other night, and I quickly realized that the game is much more difficult to understand than I thought.

First and foremost, you need to have video game instincts to play Fortnite. Fortnite CAN NOT be your first game ever, which automatically gives you a barrier to entry that games like Apex Legends don't have.

Seriously, if you don't know what buttons to press to sprint, aim, shoot, and reload, you're not going to have fun with Fortnite. There are too many other elements at play in this game, and you need a solid foundation of video game experience before picking it up.

Fortnite was relatively simple when it first came out. Building was secondary, so most players treated it like a traditional third-person shooter.

Since then Epic has added dozens of new items, new locations, and a skill gap that few other games have. There needs to be a guided tutorial that will teach new players the ropes.

Not everyone watches Fortnite streamers. Not everyone has friends who can hold their hand through their first 10 or 20 games. Even Realm Royale has a tutorial! It's long past time Fortnite added one of their own.

2. Respawn Mechanic

A respawn mechanic is one of the top additions Fortnite players are calling for in the wake of the success of Apex Legends. The latter game allows you to bring a dead player's banner to a respawn beacon and bring them back into the game.

Dying early and watching your team play for 20 minutes is one of the more frustrating situations in any BR game, and Apex Legends nearly eliminated it.

It seems like Epic could add a respawn mechanic into Fortnite rather easily, and it's probably only a matter of time until they do.

3. A New Map

Sure, the map has changed A LOT since Fortnite originally came out. In fact, it's arguably a completely new map when you compare it to the original.

Still, I think it's time that Fortnite seriously consider adding a new map into the game. The consistent changes to the original map are great, but some people are getting bored with dropping in the same old locations.

Those on the other side of this argument might point to a game like PUBG, which focused on creating stale, uninteresting, new maps instead of working on the original. This is a good point, but I still think Epic can do a better job of it.

Maybe, we can even see a Bizarro Fortnite map that includes some of the locations that were taken out of the original map. I just want to go back to Moisty Mire.

4. Twitch Prime Pack 3

Streamers have been the lifeblood of Fortnite's success since the beginning, and are one of the main reasons Apex Legends is so successful right now.

Apex just released their first Twitch Prime pack, which incentivizes streamers to play their game. Players will log onto Twitch, redeem their free pack, and might subscribe to a streamer who is playing the game they're interested in.

That's why Twitch Prime packs exist in the first place. I think a Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack 3 is long overdue at this point. Big streamers like Ninja and TimTheTatMan will go back to Fortnite for the uptick in subscribers.

5. More Free Stuff

One of the automatic edges that Fortnite has over Apex Legends is in its publisher. EA is notoriously greedy, and the success of Apex Legends will undoubtedly lead to some suspect micro-transaction practices from the game's publisher.

Fortnite has an undeniable edge on Apex Legends when it comes to microtransactions. For some reasons, the cosmetics in Fortnite are a lot more appealing than the ones in Apex - especially when you consider the loot box system in the latter.

Epic has already opened the door to free loot with their recent Overtime challenges. Those who complete the required number of challenges by the end of the season will get the next battle pass for free.

It's strategies like this one that will keep players coming back to Fortnite, and Epic needs to keep up the good work.

Like I said in the beginning, there really shouldn't be a debate about Fortnite vs. Apex in terms of which game is better. Both are great and different enough from one another so that they can both survive.

When companies compete, the consumers win. Gaming is no different. Apex Legends might have been the best thing to ever happen to Fortnite.