Fortnite 10.20 Patch Notes: Borderlands 3 Crossover, Shield Bubble, And More

Epic Games has rolled out another update for Fortnite. Patch 10.20 is now live across all platforms, and as usual, it adds another new item to the free-to-play battle royale game, as well as something a bit more unexpected: a Borderlands crossover event to promote the upcoming release of Borderlands 3. Here are the patch notes and a look at the newly added skin and other items.

Headlining this week’s update is the Fortnite X Mayhem event. Players can visit Borderlands setting Pandora via a new Rift Zone, which transforms the game’s visuals to resemble the cel-shaded style of Borderlands. Aside from the change in graphics, you generate shield if you’re in the area long enough without taking any damage. There is also an assortment of challenges to complete and Borderlands-themed rewards to unlock, as well as a Borderlands Psycho Bundle cosmetics pack to purchase from the game’s store, which includes a Claptrap you can carry around on your back. The crossover event runs until September 10. You can see the skin, back bling, and other items and rewards added as part of the event below.

Additionally, this week brings a new throwable item called the Shield Bubble. As its name suggests, it creates a protective bubble that lasts for 30 seconds and negates projectiles and explosives, although other players are still able to walk through it. The Shield Bubble can be found as floor loot or in chests, supply drops, and vending machines.

Rounding out the patch are some balance changes and adjustments. As Epic previously announced, the controversial BRUTE mechs have finally been nerfed. The developer has also re-enabled the recent Junk Rift item following an issue with it, while the Storm Flip, Drum Gun, and Storm Scout Sniper Rifle have all been vaulted.

You can see all of the changes and additions Epic has made to Fortnite: Battle Royale below, while the full patch notes can be found on the developer’s website.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 10.20 Patch Notes

Weapons & Items

• Shield Bubble
  • Rare item.
  • Found from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines.
  • Lasts for 30 seconds.
  • Creates a large bubble that blocks projectiles and explosives. However, players can still run through it.
    • Projectiles and explosives can be fired from inside the bubble but cannot go outside of it.
    • The bubble’s emitter has 400 HP. Destroying it deactivates the bubble.

• B.R.U.T.E.
  • The B.R.U.T.E.’s map icon will remain visible to all players after players board one. The icon will follow the vehicle as it moves.
    • This is to increase awareness of a B.R.U.T.E.’s presence and location to all players in the match.
  • The B.R.U.T.E. changes below were implemented between August 22-23.
    • Decreased the maximum amount of rockets fired by the B.R.U.T.E. in a single charge from 10 to 6.
    • Decreased the rate at which the rockets are fired from the B.R.U.T.E. by 56%.
    • The B.R.U.T.E. no longer grants materials to the driver and passenger when stomping or dashing through the environment.
    • Returned the explosion radius of B.R.U.T.E. missiles back to their original range.
      • We had decreased the explosion radius by 42% in the August 22 hotfix. This change in particular felt like an overswing, making it too difficult for the B.R.U.T.E to hit targets with less rockets and mobility. So on August 23 we brought the damage radius back (in core modes) to where it was before August 22. We’re continuing to closely evaluate the B.R.U.T.E. changes to make sure they align with our goals.
        • As of v10.20, these changes are now also in Arena & Tournament playlists.
    • Increased the dash cooldown from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
    • Decreased the velocity gained from boosting while in air by 33%.
    • Adjusted the variability of spawn rates for storm phases 1, 2, and 3 in core modes.
      • Note: These adjustments do not affect the spawn rates in Arena and Tournament playlists. You can find those spawn rates in the v10.10 Patch Notes.
      • Storm phase 1
        • Increased the maximum number of B.R.U.T.E. spawns from 5 to 6.
        • Reduced the chance for 0 B.R.U.T.E.s to spawn from 29% to 14.3%.
        • New spawn rates
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 0.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 1.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 2.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 3.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 4.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 5.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 6.
        • Old spawn rates
          • 29% chance to spawn 0.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 1.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 2.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 3.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 4.
          • 14.3% chance to spawn 5.
      • Storm phase 2
        • Increased the maximum number of B.R.U.T.E. spawns from 3 to 5.
        • New spawn rates
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 0.
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 1.
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 2.
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 3.
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 4.
          • 16.7% chance to spawn 5.
        • Old spawn rates
          • 25% chance to spawn 0.
          • 25% chance to spawn 1.
          • 25% chance to spawn 2.
          • 25% chance to spawn 3.
      • Storm phase 3
        • New spawn rates
          • 25% chance to spawn 0
          • 25% chance to spawn 1
          • 25% chance to spawn 2
          • 25% chance to spawn 3
        • Old spawn rates
          • 33% chance to spawn 1
          • 33% chance to spawn 2
          • 33% chance to spawn 3
    • Decreased the material cost of using the gunner’s overshield from 200 to 75.
    • Increased the Health of the B.R.U.T.E from 1000 to 1250.
• Junk Rift
  • The Junk Rift has been re-enabled in all modes.
• Vaulted
  • Storm Flip
  • Drum Gun
  • Storm Scout Sniper Rifle

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in which the Junk Rift was not destroying B.R.U.T.E.s on impact.
• Weapons and items received from Vending Machines no longer differ from the weapons and items displayed upon receiving them.
• Fixed an issue in which Chug Splashes were able to be deployed quicker than intended.
• The Combat Shotgun no longer becomes more inaccurate for a short period of time after players swap to it from a weapon best used while aiming down sights (such as Sniper Rifles).
• Shockwaves now properly affect members of the Horde.
• Fixed an issue in which Small Shield Potions would not fill players’ Shield to 50 if it was at 49.
• Fixed an issue in which Stink Bombs would do less damage to players using a B.R.U.T.E.
• Gunners in a B.R.U.T.E. who aren’t accompanied by a driver will no longer have an obstructed view while in the volcano vortex.
• Hoverboards can no longer be ridden by a B.R.U.T.E.
• The damage state of a B.R.U.T.E. now appears when players with a vehicle Wrap equipped enter a B.R.U.T.E. that was previously unoccupied.
• Reloading a B.R.U.T.E.’s shotgun no longer makes it unable to fire missiles.
• Fixed an issue involving the B.R.U.T.E.’s air slam dealing more damage to Horde spawners than intended.
• The self-destruct timer of a B.R.U.T.E. can no longer be paused.
• Switching seats in or exiting a B.R.U.T.E. while it is loading missiles no longer makes it unable to emote.
• Entering a B.R.U.T.E. no longer causes players to lose the ability to use weapons or items on exit.

Gameplay

• Pandora
  • At the oasis near Paradise Palms, a Rift Beacon has created the Pandora Rift Zone.
    • Part of the Fortnite X Mayhem collab.
    • This Rift Zone highly resembles the planet Pandora. However, it’s more than just a model; even the rules of the planet apply!
      • While at the Rift Zone, players will begin to generate Shield after 4 seconds of not taking damage.
    • Pandora will be available until September 10.
• Tilted Town
  • Added traversable paths that connect the town to the surrounding hills.
    • This is to improve the experience in late-game circles that take place at Tilted Town.
• Returned the time between subsequent Turbo Build placements from 0.05 seconds to 0.15.
  • This is intended to level the playing field regarding ping when it comes to turtling.
  • The first placement of a structure using Turbo Build remains the same.
• Moving Storm
  • Safezones will no longer move while shrinking in the later phases of a match.
  • Note: This change does not affect Arena and Tournament playlists.
  • This change was implemented on August 23.

Bug Fixes

• Going inside the Tilted Town Rift Zone while using a B.R.U.T.E. no longer causes the screen filter and no-building effect to remain after leaving the Rift Zone.
• Getting knocked out of a B.R.U.T.E. no longer causes players to enter an unintended Down But Not Out state in which they’re able to walk/run and unable to be revived.
• Fixed an issue in which members of the Horde would not attack players in a B.R.U.T.E.
• Damaging a B.R.U.T.E. no longer counts towards the Storm Surge damage threshold.
• Players inside indestructible buildings can no longer be damaged by a Junk Rift.
• Destroying a Chest or ammo container by destroying the object it is placed on will now open it.

Art & Animation

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in which Catalyst’s left arm would clip through multiple backpacks in the lobby while idle.
• The Y0ND3R Outfit and EQ Wrap now animate correctly on PlayStation 4.
• Boarding a B.R.U.T.E. inside the Tilted Town Rift Zone and then exiting the Rift Zone while in the B.R.U.T.E. no longer causes the player’s Outfit to be unable to return to the equipped Outfit.

Audio

• Adjusted the shape of the Junk Rift’s audio attenuation from a sphere to a capsule.
  • This is to make Junk Rift objects more audible when spawned up high.
• Reduced the volume of the Minigun’s overheat audio.

Bug Fixes

• The Frag Grenade’s fuse sound no longer occurs as it is thrown.
• The Battle Bus’ audio no longer plays from the wrong location on Starter Island.
• Fixed an issue in which the spawn sound effects of Junk Rift objects would not play if the thrown projectile hit a player.

UI

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue involving players being unable to see Challenges upon logging in for the first time during Season X.
• The input UI for the B.R.U.T.E.’s gunner mode no longer displays the wrong inputs for players using a controller.
• Fixed an issue in which the player icon wouldn’t update properly while players have their Locker Outfit set to Random.
• A rounding error no longer occurs in the Health and Shield meters after applying Bandages or Small Shields.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Social Panel to show an incorrect set of Team Members.

Replay

• Local replays now have the same HUD as that of server/broadcast replays.
• After a player is eliminated in a replay, the camera will now follow their teammates or the player who eliminated them.
• Reordered and slightly modified the replay HUD controls.
  • As part of this, the button used to access the player list has been removed. However, players can still access the player list using the map screen.
• On August 20, we disabled server streaming replays on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to improve stability and address performance issues.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in which some of the smaller Junk Rift objects would not be hidden in replay rewinds after hitting the ground.
• Thrown Junk Rift projectiles no longer duplicate in replays.
• Junk Rift objects hitting the ground in replays no longer causes assets to appear.
• Fixed an issue involving the Junk Rift’s audio effects not occurring in replays.

Mobile

• iOS will now optimize content during players’ first run of the game after patching. This will help reduce hitching and load times when waiting for the Battle Bus to leave.
• 60FPS support has been re-enabled for iPhone 8.
• Updated the images that appear on-screen during the patching process.

Bug Fixes

• Playlist tiles, “New” tiles, and Event page tiles will now display the correct images.
• Fixed collision issues between characters and some cosmetics.
• Fixed an audio issue when using the B.R.U.T.E on Android.
• Backing out of cinematics no longer causes a black screen.
• The font alignment has been corrected in the Challenges menu.
• Fixed an issue in which ammo belts would float while players were in a B.R.U.T.E.
• Fixed an issue in which Autofire was active against some vehicles.