Skip to main content

‘Fortnite’ update makes you the most dangerous snowman ever

Fortnite - Sneaky Snowman

The temperatures are starting to plummet across much of North America as winter takes its fierce, unwavering hold, and the snow is piling up. Epic Games is trying to make the most of it with the latest Fortnite update, which adds wearable snowman armor to the battle royale shooter.

Called the “Sneaky Snowman,” the armor acts as an item, and can be found as floor loot, in chests, or through Supply Llamas. The Snowman can be thrown as a projectile, and pressing the secondary fire button will put you inside the Sneaky Snowman as a pilot of sorts.

More Fortnite coverage

You don’t get any extra attacks or abilities while wearing the Sneaky Snowman, but the item does have 100 health and functions like a shield. Its primary use is to trick other players into simply walking right by you, however, which is often the best strategy when you’re trying to be the last player standing in a match.

If your Sneaky Snowman’s health reaches zero, or if you swap to a different item or try to build something, the armor will be destroyed. However, five of them come in a stack and you can have a maximum stack size of 10, so you can always pull out a new one and start sneaking all over again.

The update also changed the massive structure The Block into a pyramid shape, created by user “Directingpete.” If you were a fan of the Quad Rocket Launcher, Port-A-Fortress, or Grappler items, you’ll want to pay our respects, because all three have been removed from the game. The drop chance of Balloons and Gliders have been significantly reduced, as well, as have the spawn chances for the Quad Crasher and X-4 Stormwing vehicles.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lastly, the Sniper Shootout game mode has been modified, adding the new Suppressed Sniper Rifles and making Legendary Scoped Pistols available via supply drops. If playing in duos or squads, you won’t be able to revive downed teammates, so you best have a plan before you go out into the open.

Fortnite is available now with cross-play support on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Rock Band 4 gets its final piece of DLC next week after over 8 years of support
Key art for Rock Band 4

Harmonix revealed that the January 25 DLC tracks for Rock Band 4 will be the final new ones added to the game.

This ends a streak of more than eight years of weekly DLC for the rhythm game. Ever since Rock Band 4 was released in October 2015, new DLC songs have been made available for purchase every week, giving the game one of the most impressive live service tails in the industry. Ultimately, Harmonix says it will have released nearly 3,000 songs as DLC for Rock Band 4 after the final content drop next week, and that live service support for seasons and online play will "continue as normal" after next week.

Read more
Is Fortnite down right now? Login, queue and matchmaking issues
Nanner Ringer emote in Fortnite

Having trouble booting up Fortnite right now? You aren't alone.

Fortnite is having a major outage right now with no known cause. On Thursday afternoon, players started reporting that they were unable to login. Sometimes players will be placed into a large queue and given an estimated wait time, but everyone seeing this screen is reporting that the queue resets once they reach the top.

Read more
Fortnite’s new modes are fun, but don’t sleep on Battle Royale’s great update
Solid Snake aiming a pistol out of a box in Fortnite.

Fortnite is literally the gift that keeps on giving. With so many updates bringing big changes to the game, I don't blame anyone that can no longer keep up with the live-service juggernaut. How could you after Epic recently added a full Rocket League spinoff, a recreation of Rock Band, and a Minecraft-like Lego adventure to the mix? For me, though, those can't completely overshadow the classic Battle Royale playlist that made Fortnite such a hit in the first place -- especially since that mode got some great updates of its own in its latest chapter.

Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 5 Launch Trailer

Read more