Fortnite Battle Royale 3.4 is live, here are 5 ways it makes the game better than ever

Fortnite Battle Royale is feeling fresh as daisies with update 3.4, replete with a new weapon as well as optimizations for visual quality and lag reduction. The new patch arrived after about six hours of scheduled maintenance and it was well worth the wait, even if you can't stand the return of the Sniper Shootout Limited-Time Mode (now featuring 100 percent fewer revolvers). Here are five of the biggest changes to look out for in Fortnite version 3.4.

Like life, the Guided Missile finds a way

The new Guided Missile weapon does the same damage as an RPG. But you can't pilot an RPG around cover to put your explosive payload right where you want it, can you? The Guided Missile is a builder's worst nightmare - think twice about leaving exposed rooftops and partial enclosures! To make up for its increased versatility, the Guided Missile moves slower than a standard RPG, and your character's totally defenseless while your camera and controls are off following the rocket. You can always cancel out early to return to your body, at which point your rocket will continue along its trajectory like normal. Look for Epic and Legendary Guided Missiles in Treasure Chests and Supply Drops.

Fortnite goes 60FPS all the way on consoles

Fortnite added an optional 60FPS mode to all of its console versions a few patches back, giving players the choice between smoother gameplay or better visual detail. With update 3.4, you don't have to pick any more; Epic says it's improved and optimized the game's graphics enough that there's now "very little reason to play at 30FPS." Ergo, the old standard mode is gone and 60FPS is now the default. Expect to see better resolutions and sharper textures too, not to mention more stable frame rates when other players are nearby.

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Better bullet trails make suppressed weapons cooler

You probably don't spend much time contemplating bullet trails because you only ever see them when you're in the middle of a firefight. They can tell you a lot, though, and now they're even more informational. The paths of rifle and pistol fire should be a bit more detailed and easier to read, and pellet trails from shotgun fire will more clearly convey the spread of each shot (and how much you did or did not manage to sink into your enemy). Sniper rifle shots that strike the environment rather than your head will kick up more noticeable effects, too. The coolest and potentially most deadly part? Suppressed weapons no longer leave bullet trails; attack with a sneaky weapon and it will be even more difficult to tell where you're coming from.

Console crossplay gets much easier

First off, sorry, crossplay still doesn't work between PS4 and Xbox One. But! It's a lot easier to join your friends on other platforms now. You can manage your Epic Account (remember, that's separate from your Xbox Live or PSN account) friends from the main menu, and also directly send and respond to crossplay party invites. The Party Finder window will now display friends from other platforms as well. Easy-peasy cross-platform play, wonderful! Now if only Microsoft and Sony could work something out.

Lag is less of an issue/excuse

Lag: it's bad. But as long as folks playing online games have a variety of connection speeds and distances from servers, it'll never be totally eliminated. Thankfully, there should be a good deal less of it in Fortnite 3.4. Did you know the game used to only update the locations and actions of 50 players at a time? It would just trade off back and forth every server tick as long as more than 50 were around. Now the game can update everybody simultaneously, which should seriously cut down on those "WTF I was aiming right at them" early-match moments. The overall server framerate has been improved with other backend optimizations as well.

Before you jump back into the game, get ready to clear house with our Fortnite Battle Pass Challenges guide.