How to use the Fortnite Falcon Scout to search chests

Fortnite Falcon Scout
(Image credit: Epic Games)

The Fortnite Falcon Scout is a magnificent mechanical bird that you can send out to do your bidding, whether that's to search chests or mark enemies. Either of these will provide you with a tactical advantage in the battle royale, as you can retrieve loot from a distance without having to leave cover, or ping your opponents then use the red markers that appear to keep tabs on their locations so you can preempt their next move. Doing all of this while remaining safely behind protection gives you a major benefit over everyone else in Fortnite, so it's definitely worth taking full advantage of this tool when you can. To get started on that, here's where to find a Falcon Scout in Fortnite and how to search chests or mark enemies with them.

Where to find the Falcon Scout in Fortnite

There are lots of places to find a Fortnite Falcon Scout, including:

  • Floor loot
  • Regular Chests
  • Oathbound Chests
  • Supply Drops

This gives you plenty of locations to search for the mechanical bird, though it's likely this high-end item will appear more frequently in Fortnite Oathbound Chests alongside other quality gear. You can find those in the spots marked below, so for a greater chance of success you can focus on those areas.

(Image credit: Epic Games)

There's also one of the Fortnite characters who sells this item, so if you head to The Hall of Whispers found southwest of Brutal Bastion, you'll meet Rebel who'll sell you a Falcon Scout in exchange for gold bars.

How to use the Fortnite Falcon Scout

Fortnite Falcon Scout

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The Fortnite Falcon Scout takes up one slot in your inventory, and you can deploy it as many times as you want by following the prompt once equipped. Bear in mind that while using the airborne spy your player character will be left unattended and exposed, so make sure you hide out of sight before you fly away. The Falcon Scout is able to interact with objects such as doors, meaning you can tuck yourself away in a building, fly the bird outside and then close the door behind you for extra protection. Keep an eye on the two bars above the reticule, with the green one on the left representing its health and yellow on the right showing the range you can travel from your starting position – if either fall to zero then the bird will reset and you'll return to your character.

How to search chests in Fortnite with the Falcon Scout

Fortnite Falcon Scout

(Image credit: Epic Games)

To search chests in Fortnite with the Falcon Scout, you just need to fly up and interact with them, after which you can pick up items – by dropping them in a stack you can grab multiple items at once, before flying them back to your character for collection. You can even pick up a down but not out teammate to fly them out of danger, just make sure you don't drop them from a height!

How to mark enemies in Fortnite

Fortnite Falcon Scout

(Image credit: Epic Games)

The best way to mark enemies in Fortnite is to fly around with the Falcon Scout and repeatedly follow the Scan for Enemies prompt to ping any nearby opponents with a red marker, which will also flag any wildlife or vehicles in the area. Each time you pulse the scan and it finds opponents it will register as marking enemies, so you can keep tagging the same player(s) over and over again to increase your count. Interestingly, scanning crows is also flagged as marking enemies, though other wildlife is considered friendly despite attacking you if not tamed first.

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.