Fortnite planes are officially a thing now that Fortnite season 7 has begun. Within just a day of getting access to the aerial engines of destruction, players have started doing some very cool and very silly things with them. I'm sure Epic was expecting hijinks to ensue as soon as it started dreaming up planes (right down to the physics-defying wing "seats" for up to four passengers), but I doubt the studio thought things would go quite this pear shaped so quickly. And I took great delight in cataloging the aerial exploits.
Before we get too into it...
This is what plane combat is supposed to look like
Two planes weaving around, shooting at each other. The one being chased either turns the tables on its pursuer or it gets shot down. Classic!
And yet, normal things happen so infrequently in Fortnite. For instance…
Some people think planes are just flying sniper nests
Normal 197-meter headshots looks so passe compared to this aerial, upside down 197-meter headshot.
And today in "utterly overkill Victory Royale clinches" we have a squad loading into a plane just so one of them can headshot the last poor sucker who isn't on their team.
You don't need sniping skills to have weird fun on a plane
Remember that Platonic ideal of the aerial dogfight I showed you before? Watch the fight that starts one minute in below and it will look so quaint.
They were close range shots, but I'm still impressed that person managed to land two rockets in a row. Clutch plane defense! If you don't have any rockets on hand, you could always just build. Lol.
MY PLANE NOW! HIjacked someone ealier today lol my inspiration was @TSM_Daequan #fortnite #fortniteseason7 #FortniteBattleRoyale pic.twitter.com/f24GYtnspbDecember 7, 2018
Or if a plane's ruining your four-wheeling adventures, just casually pull out your hunting rifle and no-scope headshot the pilot. Who says flyers should have all the fun?
I've gotta be honest, though. While I was looking around for impressive Fortnite plane plays, most of the kills I saw devolved into this...
Planes hurt when you hit people with them
I know Fortnite characters don't really have facial expressions, but I still can't help but imagine a look of total despair on this poor fool's face when a plane rips through their shelter and they're bounced unceremoniously into the storm.
But I guess you're lucky if you even get to bounce. Sometimes it's more of an unceremonious squish.
Oh God, I can barely look.
Imagine dying by getting crushed by a plane in Fortnite, just imagine! @LachlanYT @OMGitsAliA @Ninja @FortniteGame #Fortnite #FortniteSeason7 pic.twitter.com/1JDdOiqcSODecember 7, 2018
From what I've seen so far, players are having a love/hate relation with Fortnite planes so far. It's still too new to say for sure what their place will be in day-to-day play, but I'm generally in favor of anything enables more silly antics. I'm still not what you would call a high-skill player.
The battle's building in strange new directions with Fortnite's new The Block zone, an area filled with creations from players like you!
