Skip to main content

‘Fortnite’ patch lets you create your own Rifts and win without killing

A little later in the week than usual, Epic Games has released the Fortnite v5.30 patch notes on Thursday, August 23. Also known as update 1.73 on consoles, the v5.30 patch notes bring us into week seven of season 5. The wait was certainly worth it, though, as this update brings small but crucial additions to the Battle Royale scene. Unfortunately, no new weapons like last week but we do get a new item.

Rifts-To-Go is a new Battle Royale consumable item that, used like the Port-a-Fort, allows you to generate your very own Rift portal anywhere you would like. How it works is that simply consuming the item in your inventory will create a Rift right wherever you are, allowing you and your teammates to pass through. This item will give plenty of opportunities for escaping a bad situation or getting the drop on unsuspecting enemies.

But Rifts-To-Go is not the only major addition in the Fortnite v5.30 patch notes. There is a new limited time mode for players to enjoy over the next several days called Score Royale. This mode is unique because a player can score themselves a Victory Royale without ever killing an opponent.

The basic premise of Score Royale is racking up points using various methods until the first player reaches the score limit and wins the match. There are solo, duos, and squad versions of Score Royale for you to check out. You accumulate points through different activities like, of course, killing enemies but you can also win just by opening chests and finding new bronze, silver, and gold coins.

As always, there are also a few changes to the game that have arrived with the Fortnite v5.30 patch notes. You can watch movies again in Risky Reels and the new film being offered is the winning video from the recent Blockbuster contest. Though Battle Royale is not getting any new weapons this week, the Save the World PvE portion of the game is in the form of the Bundlebuss Assault Rifle. Lastly, Tomato Town has gotten a renovation this week and has now become Tomato Temple.

Cody Perez
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Cody is that stereotypical nerdy otaku guy. He loves everything Japanese from niche visual novels like 999 and Kara no Shoujo…
Fortnite Festival will leave you wishing for a real Rock Band revival
A character plays guitar in Fortnite Festival.

It’s been a wild three days for Fortnite. First, the battle royale game expanded with Lego Fortnite, a full survival crafting game with extensive brick-building. Just one day later, Psyonix dropped its latest game, the excellent Rocket Racing, in the app. Epic Games is completing its hat trick today with Fortnite Festival, a music experience crafted by Guitar Hero-maker Harmonix. It’s a fitting way to cap off a festive few days for the most popular game around -- or, at least, it sounds like one on paper.

In reality, Fortnite Festival is the oddest addition to the live service game's new offerings. It essentially adds both Rock Band and Fuser into Fortnite, though each is implemented in a way that doesn’t quite live up to their full counterparts. Whereas Rocket Racing feels like a fully original game that could have stood on its own, Fortnite Festival plays more like the bonus mode you’d probably expect from this endeavor.

Read more
Fortnite’s Rocket Racing is so fun, it could have been its own game
rocket racing hands on impressions jumping through air

Yesterday, Fortnite began its biggest expansion yet by dropping Lego Fortnite, a full survival crafting game that's playable for free within Fortnite. It was a pleasant surprise, but it isn’t the best piece of new content coming to the live-service juggernaut this week. That honor goes to Rocket Racing, an arcade racing game from the developers of Rocket League that’s available in Fortnite today.

This isn’t a simple kart racer that anyone could have put together in Fortnite’s creative mode. It’s a full-throated, free-to-play game that features 26 tracks at launch and some surprisingly deep driving systems. While Lego Fortnite may have had trouble standing on its own two feet outside of the Fortnite client, Rocket Racing could very well have launched as its own game -- and it still would be the best racing game of its type this year.

Read more
Lego Fortnite is way more expansive than you’re probably expecting
Fortnite characters run together in Lego Fortnite.

At this point, it’s hard to be too surprised by Fortnite’s radical changes. The mega-popular battle royale game has become a shape-shifter since its launch, dropping frequent seasonal updates that fundamentally alter the core experience. But all of those previous changes are about to seem basic as the shooter is ushering in an entirely new era today. Fortnite is getting a major update that fully transforms it into a platform housing multiple games. Don’t call it Fortnite 2; it’s Fortnite, the free-to-play storefront.

Over the next three days, Epic Games will drop three original, free games inside of Fortnite. That includes titles from the makers behind Rock Band and Rocket League, but the headliner drops today: Lego Fortnite. It isn’t just a new battle royale mode or an excuse to fill the shop with a ton of skins. It’s a full-on survival crafting game that essentially crams Minecraft inside of Fortnite.

Read more