The beginning of a brand new Fortnite season is always a cause for celebration among the battle royale’s player base, and for good reason. Though Epic Games manages the tremendous feat of pushing out bite-sized content patches on a weekly basis without fail, it’s the transition from one season to another that’s always earmarked for delivering the largest gameplay additions.
With Season 9 but a few hours old as of writing, it’s hard to say whether the developer has managed to hit yet another home run, though early signs are certainly positive, to say the least.
With the volcano at Loot Lake finally returning to dormancy once more, lava has hardened and ash has settled to reveal a handful of major changes to Battle Island. Chief among those are Neo Tilted and Mega Mall, two hyper-futuristic complexes populated by high-rises and miniature skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. As always, Epic has seen fit to populate its new architectural achievements with secrets and mystery machines galore, one of which is Slipstreams. And for an idea of what the doughnut-shaped contraptions look like, see below.
As for their purpose, Slipstreams are essentially a new mode of transport, though you won’t be controlling them as one would a vehicle. Rather, jumping into the oversized hoop will propel your avatar through a series of wind tunnels that stretch the entire map. Movement is limited while mid-transit, though there are various ‘channels’ available that allow a form of course correction.
Interestingly enough, however, humans aren’t the only entity able to utilize the system. Both vehicles and projectiles will also surf the airwaves when entering a system. If I were a betting man, I’d say this revelation will ultimately lead to some form of glaring exploit. Fingers crossed that’s not the case though, eh?
As for Fortbytes, these collectable computer chips are found throughout the entirety of Battle Island and will, according to Epic, be the key to unlocking the secrets that Season 9 holds. Only Battle Pass owners are able to retrieve the chips, with 18 already currently able to be found. One additional Fortbyte will be available each day over the course of the season, up to a grand total of 100.
So, there you have it, two of Fortnite Season 9’s biggest mysterious explained. Now you know what purpose Slipstreams serve, there’s nothing preventing you from completing Season 9’s first batch of challenges, and you can head over here for all the details.