Fortnite characters have made their return to the battle royale, after taking a quick break during the OG flashback season. As is standard for the start of a new season, the initial offering of Fortnite NPCs has been significantly pared down, but there are still plenty of new faces to meet as The Underground starts to fight back against The Society in Fortnite Chapter 5. These include Hope, the founder of The Underground, and Vengeance Jones who is trying to track down his friend Peely after they were kidnapped by The Society.
Watch out for the Scout, Heavy, Supply, and Medic Specialists who are denoted by a specific icon and can be hired during matches, as they each offer a unique set of skills and can be issued with Fortnite commands to deploy them strategically, gaining you a tactical advantage. Scouts can mark targets and snipe them from distance, Heavies are immune to fire and throw explosives, Supplies keep you topped up with ammo, while Medics provide healing and even revival where possible. It's likely that future quests will require particular characters to complete them, so it pays to know their locations in advance to quickly track down and meet them when it counts.
Although characters are no longer responsible for handing out Fortnite quests, it still pays to know their locations as they'll give you useful items for free when you meet, as well as selling services such as rifting you up into the sky for a quick getaway, or fighting alongside you as your personal bodyguard. If you want to benefit from their abilities, then you'll need to know where to find these eight different NPCs.
Fortnite characters accept payment in the form of Fortnite gold bars, which you can spend with them on weapons, items, and useful services. Because the world of Fortnite is so large you might not stumble upon them by accident, so follow my guide to all of the Fortnite characters locations and you'll be meeting up with these elusive NPCs in no time.
Fortnite Characters locations in Chapter 5
There are currently just eight official Fortnite characters, and you can keep track of the ones you've met so far by visiting the Characters tab on the Quests screen in-game – which is now also accessible through the Collections option at the top of the Quests tab in the lobby. They currently only spawn in one specific location each, which makes them easier to find, so I've marked all of the Fortnite characters locations I've encountered on the map. Bear in mind that if another player has already hired or eliminated them, that will remove the character from their location.
You'll know when you're close to one as you'll see a speech bubble icon on your map, as well as on your screen above their head which you can see through walls – this is replaced with a specific Hire icon for characters you can recruit to fight by your side. Interact with them and the first time you meet you'll add them to your Collection, with a confirmation appearing on screen. This list shows where all of the Fortnite characters can be discovered:
- 1) Sun Tan Specialist - Beach southwest of Pleasant Piazza
- 2) Metal Mouth - The Cemetery (northwest of Reckless Railways)
- 3) Vengeance Jones - Underground HQ (southeast of Pleasant Piazza)
- 4) Hope - Train tunnel base northwest of Hazy Hillside
- 5) Snow Striker - Summit Base Camp (south of Grand Glacier)
- 6) Steelsight - Rebel's Roost (balcony of main building)
- 7) Contract Giller - Docks northwest of Classy Courts
- 8) Mecha Team Shadow - Riviera Station (southeast of Ritzy Riviera)
What do Fortnite Characters do
When you find one of the Fortnite characters and interact with them, you'll be given a variety of options to choose from, either taking on a task for them or buying something from them. Possible choices include the following, though not all are currently available:
- Duel - Defeat the character in combat to collect their weapon
- Healing - Recover your health
- Hire - Recruit the character to fight alongside you
- Prop Disguise - Turns you into a prop until you use an item or take damage
- Rift - Opens a rift to teleport you into the sky so you can glide
- Storm Circle Hint - Shows where the next Storm phase will form on your map
- Tip Bus Driver - Post a tip to the Battle Bus driver in the feed
- Upgrade - Upgrade your equipped weapon
- Weapon - Purchase a weapon (including Exotics) from the character
Which Fortnite Characters do what
If you're looking for a particular service from one of the Fortnite characters, then these are the folks you should be seeking out.
Duel
- (currently not available)
Healing
- Sun Tan Specialist
Hire
- Contract Giller - Scout Specialist
- Mecha Team Shadow - Heavy Specialist
- Metal Mouth - Heavy Specialist
- Snow Striker - Scout Specialist
- Steelsight - Supply Specialist
- Sun Tan Specialist - Medic Specialist
Once you've hired one of them, you can give a hired Specialist Character a command in Fortnite by holding left on the d-pad then selecting an option.
Prop Disguise
- Vengeance Jones
Rift
- Contract Giller
- Hope
Storm Circle Hint
- (currently not available)
Tip Bus Driver
- (currently not available)
Upgrade
- (currently not available)
Weapon
- Hope - Grapple Blade (Epic)
- Mecha Team Shadow - Shield Potion (Rare)
- Metal Mouth - Cluster Clinger x2 (Uncommon)
- Snow Striker - Ammo: Heavy Bullets x6 (Common)
- Steelsight - Grapple Blade (Epic)
- Vengeance Jones - Cluster Clinger x2 (Uncommon)
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