Fortnite Heat Level is shown by four flame icons in the top left of your screen, and it's an important new mechanic as Heatin' Up can significantly affect you in the battle royale. There's a risk vs reward element at play, because the higher Heat Levels bring helpful perks such a regenerating health and shields outside combat, but you'll also attract more Cold Blooded goons and opponents to come after you. This is all part of the Fortnite Most Wanted event, and if you want to get the most benefit from the system then you need to understand its effects. With that in mind, here's how your Heat Level in Fortnite works and what changes as it increases.
How to increase your Fortnite Heat Level
Your Fortnite Heat Level can be increased through various methods, with the main one being eliminating other players or Cold Blooded members. However, you'll also earn some heat for other actions such as opening chests, and you'll know if this is happening as your character will briefly glow and be surrounded by flames, as the icons in the top left of your screen fill in.
Another way to increase your Heat Level is to use Fortnite Burner Pay Phones, which are located in named locations and are marked with a phone icon on your map when you're close. Interact with the phone and follow the prompt, which will cost you 500 bars for each Heat Level increase.
What does your Heat Level in Fortnite do
As your Heat Level in Fortnite increases you'll have additional effects applied to your character, based on how many flame icons you've filled in from one to four:
- More Bars dropped from eliminations
- Movement speed up 15%, 100 Health regenerated outside combat
- Movement speed up 20%, 100 Health + 50 Shield regen outside combat
- Movement speed up 25%, 100 Health + 100 Shield regen outside combat
However, aside from the above benefits, increasing your Heat Level will also cause Cold Blooded members to be more hostile towards you, and make your character more visible to other players on the minimap and through the environment. Therefore, you need to weigh up the risk vs reward of getting lots of Heat, though it is unavoidable to a certain extent if you're opening chests and getting eliminations, so be prepared. It can be helpful to have a high Heat level if you're trying to open Fortnite Cold Blooded Vaults, as although this will draw more attention to yourself it does mean you can retreat to a safe distance and heal when trying to get a vault keycard from the boss.
