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Fortnite stats prove that these are the best places to land
Ford James has recorded the stats from over 1,000 games of Fortnite – these are the spots to land in if you want the best chance of a Victory Royale.
With Red Bull High Grounds fast approaching -- get your tickets for the final in Sydney here -- we're celebrating all competitive and skill aspects of Fortnite. You'll find a host of them supported below, but specifically here we wanted to address one of the most fundamental aspects of the game -- landing.
For the most part, the Fortnite island hasn’t changed since its debut in September 2017. Places of interest have been added, the terrain has changed slightly, and the meteor had a devastating effect on some areas. But, in terms of the topography, the map has largely remained the same.
There’s a few things to note. The map changed from season three to four, and introduced a number of new locations both named and unnamed. This data tracks all locations I’ve deemed as viable landing spots and, in true Fortnite fashion, the unnamed ones have been given appropriate alliterative titles. Hover over the map below to see the locations.
1. Mystery Mansion (south of Lonely Lodge)
Mystery Mansion
© Epic Games
- Top 3 finishes: 57.9%
- Wins: 39.5%
Mystery Mansion is the name given to the superhero base on the east coast, right below Lonely Lodge. Out of 38 games landing there, I’ve placed in the top three in either solos or duos 22 times, and 15 of them have been wins.
One of the key aspects of Mystery Mansion that makes it such a good place to land is that it can have everything you need, and it’s not surrounded by anywhere particularly populated. There are only four possible chest spawns, but there is a lot of floor loot.
If you’re hunting for a victory royale, dive to the mansion when the bus hasn’t flown too close. There’s a good chance you’ll be alone, there’s hundreds of trees around to get that precious wood, and you have the option of going to Lonely Lodge, the racetrack directly to the south, or Retail Row. Keep an eye on the storm, though – if you’re unlucky enough to face a far western circle, you’ll need to be rapid when looting the mansion.
2. Rapid Racetrack
The racetrack spells Gus
© Epic Games
- Top 3 finishes: 52.8%
- Wins: 38.9%
36 drops at the racetrack gave 19 top three finishes and 14 wins.
It's the location listed here with the least loot, but the most possibility afterwards. There are around five possible chests including the crater nearby, but afterwards the entire east side of the map is your oyster. You can head south to Moisty Mire and the prison, directly west there are houses placed sporadically around very low-traffic areas, and to the north you have Mystery Mansion and Lonely Lodge. I’d recommend avoiding Retail Row, unless you’re hunting for kills however.
3. Hostile Headquarters (north-east of Snobby Shores)
Hostile Headquarters
© Epic Games
- Top 3 finishes: 56.3%
- Wins: 37.5%
Hostile Headquarters is the supervillain base with the rocket silo, built into the mountain on the western side of the island. I’ve landed there 32 times, with 18 top three placements and 12 wins.
When sorting through the data, this entry was surprising. It has four chests like Mystery Mansion, but considerably less floor loot and is also much bigger, meaning it takes longer to loot. It’s been such a successful landing spot because it’s usually vacant, and it gives you prime position to scout out other areas.
Straight away you can see if anybody has landed at Snobby Shores and, if you’re blessed by the circle, you can head straight down there for more loot, or head slightly north to the haunted house, south to Greasy Grove – or west to Tilted Towers if you’re feeling courageous. Snobby is a personal favourite if possible, as the initial loot at Hostile Headquarters can be relatively poor.
4. Haunted Hills
Haunted Hills
© Epic Games
- Top 3 finishes: 52.4%
- Wins: 35.7%
After 42 lands at Haunted Hills, 22 have finished with a top three finish, while 15 of them have been wins.
Ever since it was added at the start of season three, Haunted Hills has been a huge personal favourite. There’s a possible 10 chests inside the cemetery, with another possible three just to the south on the back of the car, in the attic of the house and in the barn. There’s enough loot for a full squad to be moderately kitted out, and you’re unlikely to run into many players in this area early on.
After landing at Haunted Hills, if you don’t have enough loot you can run north to Junk Junction – storm circle permitting, of course. If you’re happy with your loadout, Pleasant Park is right around the corner, and, if you time it right, you can clear out the survivors, who are likely to still be looting or healing.
5. Lonely Lodge
Lonely Lodge
© Epic Games
- Top 3 finishes: 60.6%
- Wins: 33.3%
33 Lonely Lodge drops has resulted in 20 top three placements and 11 wins.
Situated right next to Mystery Mansion, Lonely Lodge is the biggest location in the top five. It’s a fantastic source of wood, and it can spawn a plethora of chests – approximately 13 including the top of the lookout tower.
A north-eastern circle means you can roll through Wailing Woods straight after, either looting the maze in the middle or going around the right-hand side up to the player-built house in the very north-east corner. Directly to the south, there’s Mystery Mansion and the racetrack – or, if you’re facing a path across the map to the next circle, you can loot the area of containers to the west before carrying on.
The Rarest Fortnite Skins
© Epic Games
You've landed, what next? Top tips for navigating and traversing the map
In Fortnite, every game is different. Rarely will you ever take the exact same route because of how much the circle effects the map. For example, if you land at Mystery Mansion but the circle encapsulates Greasy Grove to Loot Lake, you’re going to have a trek ahead of you. On the other hand, a circle that has Mystery Mansion in the north-east corner and goes all the way down to Moisty Mire and Fatal Fields, means you are in the ultimate position to grind out a victory.
1. Keep your back to the storm
The key aspect to surviving and earning a victory royale – and this cannot be stressed enough – is to keep your back to the storm and hug the sides of the safe zone. One thing all of the best drop zones have in common is that they’re all near the coast. None of them are central locations, as landing in those areas opens up every single angle for you to be shot from. In almost every game, as long as you have enough time, you want to be skirting the edges of the circle and looking to shoot in on people, rather than facing the storm and shooting out.
2. Height usually wins
If you’re on the edge of a circle, look to see if there are any mountains near you. Scale one of them and build a three-high tower. Even if you don’t have a sniper, it provides some crucial cover. People may see you building it but, a lot of the time, they won’t be in a position to push you because you’re all the way up a mountain. If someone does push you, you’ll be able to hear them placing down ramps and climbing up, and you’ll be able to react before they can do any damage to the foundations of your tower. Always keep it three high, too. Any more and you’ll take fall damage when jumping off, any less and someone approaching from the bottom will be able to rise above you too quickly.
3. Bush camp to get a victory royale
We’re talking about the surefire way to earn a victory royale here, not get kills. So you want to engage as little as you can. If you see two players duking it out in an immense build battle, they’re solely focused on each other. Bush camping is cheeky, but it’s a very valid strategy, so get yourself over to the nearest bush and wait until one of them wins. The other will almost inevitably slowly climb to the bottom then start to heal up. As soon as he starts healing, unleash fire upon him and catch him off guard. Engaging before one of them has died means you’ll have two players to fight off, while shooting too late means the winner will have already healed up.
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