Fortnite Season 7 biggest changes - what's new and different with the Fortnite Invasion

Fortnite Season 7 has landed after much anticipation, and once again the world of the battle royale has completely changed. One of the biggest Fortnite Season 7 changes you'll notice straight off the bat is that the previous Primal theme has been completely eradicated, and now the subject has become Invasion, so instead of primitive weapons and wild animals we're going to be focusing on extraterrestrial tech and alien lifeforms. There's plenty of new things to get to grips with in Fortnite as we learn the ropes for a fresh season, but if you want to know what the biggest Fortnite Season 7 changes are then read on for a round up of everything we know about it.

New locations

With the shift from Primal to Invasion in Fortnite Season 7, a number of changes have been made to the Fortnite map. In the center of the island where The Spire was ripped from the ground, a purple alien landscape has been left behind known as The Aftermath. Elsewhere, Sweaty Sands has become Believer Beach, a party town full of alien celebrations, and Colossal Crops is now Corny Complex, a much larger agriculture area reminiscent of Frenzy Farm.

In addition to those updated Points of Interest, several new alien-themed landmarks have also appeared. The most obvious of these are the monitoring stations featuring a large satellite dish pointing to the sky, and include Dinky Dish southeast of Craggy Cliffs, Discovery Dish west of Believer Beach, Dampy Dish southwest of Slurpy Swamp, Destined Dish southeast of Misty Meadows, and Dockside Dish west of Dirty Docks.

New weapons

Several new high-tech additions have been made to the Fortnite new weapons, to help deal with the alien threat. These include a Pulse Rifle that fires high energy beams instead of bullets, a Rail Gun that can be charged before firing to unleash a powerful blast, and a Kymera Ray Gun linked to the new character that can vaporize your opponents.

On top of the new guns there are also some fresh Fortnite tech weapons to aid you in battle, such as the Recon Scanner that can be used to detect nearby threats. There are also a number of weapons returning from the vault, so if you've been missing items such as the sniper rifle or the heavy duty rifle then you'll be pleased to hear they're back in the game.

New skins

As always with a new season, there are several new characters you can play as by unlocking their skins. We know that Superman is on the way after he appeared in the opening cinematic, though according to the Battle Pass menu he won't be available until mid-August. Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty is also included, however you'll need to reach level 90 of the Battle Pass or spend a lot of Battle Stars to get to the point where you can unlock him.

Battle Stars are back

The whole Battle Pass reward system has been switched up for Fortnite Season 7, so now instead of receiving set rewards for each tier of the Battle Pass you reach, you now get five Battle Stars for each tier which you can spend on whatever rewards you want. There is still an element of progress required to get to the higher level unlocks though, as to access each page of rewards you have to reach a particular Battle Pass tier or have spent a certain amount of Battle Stars on the previous pages.

Aliens and UFOs are here

The Fortnite aliens are here to stay, and can now be found patrolling in locations around the map, in the same way as the Henchmen or IO Guard in previous seasons. There are also alien parasites that have been spotted, which attach themselves to players' heads and slowly drain HP – unless you remove them by jumping into water or have someone (friend or foe) shoot them off for you.

You'll notice the names of several Points of Interest flickering purple on the map and this is where you'll find Fortnite UFOs, a new type of vehicle that has a number of cool functions. You may need to shoot the UFO down to take control, but once you're piloting the ship you can ascend and descend while hovering, boost forward for a brief speed increase, and fire an Energy Cannon weapon – though this does more damage to structures than enemies. You can also launch a tractor beam to lift almost any object beneath you into the air, including scenery, vehicles, and even other players!

Cosmic Chests

Cosmic Chests are a new type of chest that is only available in team modes, as it requires everyone input to open. A Cosmic Chest actually looks like a chest sealed within a large floating gem, and when your entire squad gets close to it you'll all be connected by beams. At this point, take turns smashing the weak spots that appear in front of you until the chest opens, spilling out weapons and items as well as awarding players some bonus Alien Artifacts.

Alien Artifacts

Another new item added in Season 7 is Fortnite alien artifacts, which look like glowing purple orbs contained within a containment tube. These can be found around the island, mainly in alien areas, or collected from Cosmic Chests, and once you have them they can be spent on cosmetic changes for your Kymera outfit through the Battle Pass menu. There you can customize everything from the top and bottom of their head, eye color, skin color and pattern, armor color and glow, and emblem that appears on their armor.

Character quests and gold bars changes

Several changes have been made to the way Fortnite gold bars can be earned and used in the new season. Now, as well as earning them by completing quests for Fortnite characters that you meet in person, you can also collect them by completing quests received via Fortnite payphones. Once you've started building your cache of bars, as well as spending them with characters you can also use them at Fortnite weapon upgrade benches and to buy items from Fortnite vending machines, called either Weapon-O-Matics or Mending Machines.