Fortnite Update 40.40 Brings Overwatch, Zero Build Changes via Patch 1.000.220

Fortnite update 40.40 is out today on all platforms, and this appears as console patch 1.000.220. Alongside the crossover content, Epic Games is also ushering in the next era of Zero Build with today’s patch.

Expect the Overwatch content to be available in Fortnite’s Battle Royale, Zero Build, Reload, and Blitz, where we’ll also see familiar places from the Overwatch universe bleed into Fortnite.

Read on for the new items and Zero Build changes that will freshen up the Fortnite experience starting today.

Fortnite Updated on May 14 for Overwatch Content and Zero Build Changes

Here’s an overview of what to expect from today’s patch:

New Overwatch outfits added:

Event/season branding:

• “Answer the Callâ€
• Showdown | C7S2 | Act III

New map landmarks:

• Hanamura
• Busan Drum Pavilion
• King’s Row
• Watchpoints

New hero weapons:

• Caduceus Staff
• Pulse Pistols

Gameplay changes/features:

• No lethal fall damage
• Zero Build
• Infinite sprint with pickaxe
• Starting loadout
• Overshield siphon
• New pocket items

New Showdown milestones rewards/items shown:

• Red vehicle cosmetic/item
• White aircraft/glider cosmetic/item
• Loot box/backpack-style item

Fortnite x Overwatch

Busan Sanctuary, Hanamura Courtyard, King’s Row Tower, and bases inspired by Watchpoint: Gibraltar are now on the BR Island. Recruit Overwatch allies like Genji and D.Va, and fight with Overwatch loot like Tracer’s Pulse Pistols and Mercy’s Caduceus Staff.

At King’s Row Tower, a Payload spawns each match after it unlocks in the Showdown, rewarding Overwatch loot to everyone who escorts it home. Here’s what else will unlock in Act III:

Tracer, Mercy, Genji, and D.Va Outfits will be available in the Shop on May 14 with matching accessories and LEGO Styles. You can also pick up the Overwatch Porsche Cayenne EV bundle with 4 custom Decals and a custom Wheels set.

As for what’s new in Zero Build, read on.

Fortnite Zero Build Next Era Starts Now via v40.40

Here’s what’s new:

• New ‘Pocket Items’ have replaced the old Build button. Pocket Items are unlimited-use utility items with cooldowns; you start every match with one equipped and can swap at Vending Machines around the map. Shockwave Grenades, Med Mist Grenades, and Shield Bubbles are the three Pocket Items available at launch.
• All players now start matches with a Pistol, a Small Shield Potion, and their Pocket Item.
• You can now rush to the ground from the Battle Bus. Instead of auto-deploying your Glider near the ground, you can manually cut it and free-fall the last stretch. Be careful!
• Glider Redeploy returns from elevated positions for cleaner rotations across the map.
• Holding your Pickaxe grants unlimited Stamina so you can cover ground without burning out.
• Eliminations now restore your Overshield, rewarding aggressive play.
• Environmental structures now take significantly less damage from weapons. A boulder, a tree, a random shed will all now hold up as much better cover.
• Reboot Van timers have been reduced so you can get the squad back in faster.

NEW ITEMS AND LOOT POOL

The Zero Build loot pool has been rebalanced with more defensive and utility items in rotation. There’s also new, Zero-Build exclusive items:

• Improved Smoke Grenades give you better coverage and more utility for the moments that matter, covering a revive, breaking a sightline, and resetting a fight.
• Brick-a-Bunkers are Zero Build’s version of Port-a-Bunkers, deploying with a full ramp and doors on either side of the walls. When you need a wall, you have one.

NO MORE FALL DAMAGE ELIMINATIONS

For the third act of the Showdown, lethal fall damage is gone. Would-be fatal falls now trigger a Splat animation, drop your health to 1 HP, and remove all shields and overshield, giving you one last chance to survive. This change is now in both Build and Zero Build.

• Design Note: As we enter Act III we asked ourselves the question; what should fall damage look like in 2026? Is it fun or funny to get eliminated from falling? Are there other ways we can create a consequence that doesn’t involve getting eliminated in a single-life mode? What would, or should, be inherently Fortnite?

So alongside this large Zero Build update comes a big global change*; players in Unranked matches (i.e. *NOT competitive play), will no longer be eliminated from fall damage. Instead, the punishment now is that if the fall would have eliminated the player, they will now see a unique animation of the player falling on their face (splat!), their health will be reduced to 1HP, removing all other health and shield, and there will be a short delay as they stand back up – making them vulnerable. 

Once a significant amount of content has been spotted, we might add in the datamined stuff later today, so sit tight.

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