How to find and use the Fortnite Shockwave Hammer

The Fortnite Shockwave Hammer is a new melee weapon added in Chapter 4, and it's rather versatile as it has dual uses for both offence and travel. Naturally you can wield it as a weapon, striking down on opponents to deal damage while also throwing them backwards with a shockwave blast, but you can also bounce on it by slamming into the ground and launching yourself through the air to travel significant distances quickly. There is a cooldown attached to that second action, so you can't whizz around the island with it indefinitely – especially now an exploit for that has been fixed – but we've got the lowdown on how to get and use the Shockwave Hammer in Fortnite, including locations to search and an explanation of how it works when you get it.

The Fortnite Shockwave Hammer was temporarily removed from the battle royale between January 9 and 10, as players had discovered a glitch while using it where if you jumped over water and launched your first Shockwave Bounce off the surface, you could then continue bouncing indefinitely while still using the Shockwave Slam of the hammer. This clearly gave those players using it an unfair advantage, but now the issue has been resolved by Epic the Shockwave Hammer has been re-enabled in the game.

Where to get the Fortnite Shockwave Hammer

The Fortnite Shockwave Hammer is one of the Fortnite new weapons and epic-rarity drop that can technically be found in any chest or loot-dispenser, such as the new capture points that drop weapons when successfully taken - or even on the ground! However, because of its rarity, it's a lot harder to find from standard chests and weapon sources than any other bit of equipment. It has a much higher chance of dropping from Oathbound Chests, the new, larger chests with a white-and-gold colouration. Players determined to find one should seek out these chests, which are generally placed in medieval-themed locations, including the following:

• The Citadel
• Anvil Square
• Shattered Slabs
• Breakwater Bay

Of course, if you want more detail on finding them, we recommend checking out the Fortnite Oathbound Chests page we put together! But again, we can't guarantee that the Shockwave Hammer will drop at these locations, though the odds are significantly higher and those determined to find them would be well-advised to head to any of the above areas. Of course, you could always shoot a player who has one already and take it off them!

How to use the Shockwave Hammer

The Shockwave Hammer is a huge melee weapon that deals 75 damage to all enemies around it, as the user slams it against the ground to create a short-range shockwave. This isn't a massive amount of damage, all things considered - but it also throws opponents back for a pretty decent distance, similar to the now-vaulted Shockwave Grenade. This gives players a lot of ability to throw enemies around and put them in dangerous areas, such as the approaching gas or into an ally's sightline - or just knock them off a cliff if they're too close to the edge.

A player can also use the secondary function of the hammer - to launch themselves into the air by pressing L2/LT/RMB, depending on their setup. In many ways this is the point of the Shockwave Hammer - mobility and sudden motion. The launch fires you upwards and allows you to cover great distances in an instant, though it's a pretty obvious action that'll make you stand out to all those nearby. Still, you can charge up a slam along the way, allowing you to vault upwards and land with a bang!

Using either function of the Shockwave Hammer uses up "ammo", for which the hammer has four slots. However, these recharge over time, taking about fifteen seconds to restore each ammo slot.