Fortnite Alien Nanites - where are they and what do they do

Fortnite Alien Nanites locations — (Image credit: Epic Games)

Finding Fortnite Alien Nanites can be a particularly tricky task, whether you need them to craft a weapon with Alien Nanites, to deploy Alien Nanites anywhere other than Holly Hatchery, or for some other less specific reason. If you're able to pick this item up and then throw it, you'll create a temporary low-gravity environment where it lands so you can float around and hopefully get an edge over any nearby opponents in the process. They can also be used to craft alien weapons, which makes them a generally handy all round item if you know where to source them from.

But, because these are still a relatively new item in Fortnite, you might need a little help finding them when you need to locate them on cue. So if you're looking for Fortnite Alien Nanites, then here's everything you need to know about them.

Fortnite Alien Nanites locations

Fortnite Mothership — (Image credit: Epic Games)

As the Fortnite Alien Nanites function as both an item and a crafting material, you can find them as random floor loot or from opening chests. However, you're more likely to discover them in extraterrestrial locations such as on top of Fortnite Abductors, or aboard the Fortnite Mothership in the section where you collect your rewards after the minigame. You should be able to easily spot Fortnite Alien Nanites when they're available, as they appear as a brightly colored and pulsating cube.

What do Fortnite Alien Nanites do?

Fortnite Alien Nanites biome — (Image credit: Epic Games)

As we briefly touched on above, Fortnite Alien Nanites have two main functions. The first is as a throwable item held in your inventory, working in much the same way as a Firefly Jar, but instead of setting fire to the area you throw it into it will instead generate an Alien Biome over a large area for a short period of time. Inside this biome gravity will be reduced, allowing you to jump higher and further without taking fall damage, which could give you a tactical advantage to quickly reach the higher ground. You can find several of these Alien Biomes already in place at Holly Hatchery.

The other use for Fortnite Alien Nanites is as a crafting material, joining the existing Nuts and Bolts. By using Fortnite crafting to combine the Nanites with certain base weapons, you can produce upgraded alien weapons such as the Pulse Rifle, Kymera Ray Gun, and Rail Gun. Handily, you only need one unit of Fortnite Alien Nanites to craft each weapon, so it's worth hanging on to them to significantly upgrade your arsenal.