It has been exactly a month since Epic Games entered the gaming scene with their hugely popular free-to-play online multiplayer mode called "Battle Royale." This Game Mode drops 100 players onto an island with a last man standing approach, and the genre has seen some great exposure over the past year with the release of "Player Unkown's Battlegrounds."

What's new for console players?

Console users will see the most benefit from this update as the patch refined the controls and made every aspect of the game feel much more fluid and less clunky. The new "Combat Pro" controller configuration aims to keep the players' thumbs on the joysticks as much as possible, whilst changing between items and building materials is much more efficient now and console players can now master and hone their skills.

This update alone is a game-changer and will only increase the skill gap.

Another notable change is the addition of the in-game voice chat functionality for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. After jumping on earlier for a test of the new update, I was pleasantly surprised with the improvements they made to combat the sever frame-rate issue that was turning a lot of players away from the game in the past week or two. A 30 FPS cap was re-enabled on the PS4 and PS4 Pro to maintain a smooth experience.

Overall players on Xbox and PlayStation should notice the dramatic improvements in gameplay, and although not quite perfect and as smooth as PC, it certainly is a big step in the right direction.

What else can players expect?

The most exciting addition is the new progression and leveling-up system which rewards players for playing and gaining XP after they hit a certain level. Daily challenges provide players an opportunity to gain this XP faster, and hopefully we will be seeing more than one daily challenge in the future.

Customization options are now available for your character as well. These new cosmetics can be equipped from the brand new Locker menu. Another feature added is the ability to create and showcase your own banner, however the customization options remain basic, letting players only choose a logo and background color.

A regeneration potion called "Slurp Juice" has been added to the game that grants 1 health and 1 shield per second for 25 seconds.

While running around the map, players will now automatically pick up items such as traps, ammo and building materials which is a very good quality of life update. Brand new Halloween skins can be found on sale in the new item shop. V-bucks is the new currency for "Fortnite," letting players buy character and weapons skins from the item shop.

Sadly, all player settings have been reset, and Epic Games have said they are working on improving this problem going forward.

To read the full list of patch notes in more detail see the official blog of Epic Games.
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