Original Map Locations, Challenges And More

Updated below on 11.03.23.

Remember 2018? It seems a lot longer ago than just five years. Since then, the world has changed in big—and often deeply unpleasant—ways. COVID-19, economic downturns, inflation. Things seem a little more bleak in 2023, a little less hopeful.

Well here’s a silver-lining for Fortnite fans. The game’s new season is turning back the clock to 2018 and a version of the game’s original map is making a comeback. The map that started it all returns this Friday, along with a bunch of other fun changes.

Here’s everything you need to know about ‘Fortnite’ Chapter 4, Season 5 which is being dubbed ‘OG’ by Epic Games.

What Time Does The New Season Go Live?

Downtime will begin tonight with the new season (likely) going live in the early morning. Typically new seasons go live in the middle of the night if you’re on the West Coast and early morning if you’re on the East Coast.

Fortnite OG Trailer

In the brand new trailer we’re given our first official glimpse of Tilted Towers, one of the most popular locations in Fortnite’s history.

New Key Art

The new key art for Fortnite OG is pretty clever. It’s actually the opposite side of the same image from the game’s Season 1 key art:

Original Map Locations

As you know, the original map did change from season to season with some locations going away and new locations being added over time.

Here are the confirmed locations at this time, though it’s unclear if all of them will be available right away or if some will be added as we go:

• Pleasant Park
• Haunted Hills
• Junk Junction
• Lazy Links
• Risky Reels
• Loot Lake
• Tomato Temple
• Wailing Woods
• Dusty Divot
• Lonely Lodge
• Snobby Shores
• Greasy Grove
• Retail Row
• Tilted Towers
• Salty Springs
• Shifty Shafts
• Frosty Flights
• Flush Factory
• Lucky Landing
• Fatal Fields
• Paradise Palms

Boy these names bring back memories!

Original Loot Is Returning Also

Pretty much all the original guns and items are coming back, including:

• Scar
• Assault Rifle
• Tactical Shotgun
• Pump Shotgun
• Light Machine Gun
• Quad Launcher
• Hand Cannon
• Hunting Rifle
• Heavy Assault Rifle
• Rocket LauncherJetpack
• Chug Splash
• Mounted Turret
• Spike Trap
• Driftboard
• Shopping Cart
• X-4 Stormwing
• Baller ATK

Later additions to the game, like Reboot Vans, mantling and other movement changes will all remain in Fortnite OG so while it will be a return to the game’s earlier days, don’t expect a 1:1 recreation of the game’s past. It will still look and feel like modern Fortnite.

I wonder if original style challenges will make a comeback? I’d love to see the OG Battle Pass with secret loading screens, treasure hunt challenges and all the rest return but I very much doubt it. I guess we’ll find out soon!

Update

Fortnite’s new season is live and apparently quite popular. Players have flooded back to the Battle Royale game, eager to dive back into so many fun, nostalgic locations on the original map (only a very modernized version of it).

This is all well and good, but I thought it worth mentioning that one of the best things about the game’s original format remains completely AWOL in Season OG. I’m speaking, of course, of the challenges.

Back when Fortnite first started releasing seasonal content, they had great challenges that required players to actually go out into the map and explore and find things. It was fun finding secret gnomes and treasure maps and giant pianos and the sheet music that went with them. It was fun having a new set of challenges unlock each week, and if you completed all of them, you’d get a special loading screen.

These loading screens were fun, too, because they had a clue as to the location of a hidden Battle Star.

Over the years, challenges changed and then Epic started including the challenge table that made it absurdly easy to find stuff. This was annoying as someone who wrote guides for these challenges, but at least they still had some unique stuff to tackle. The Deadpool challenges were hilarious. The secret Garden Gnome vs Teddy Bear challenges were super unique.

Now? Despite going back to the game’s roots, all the challenges are wildly generic and dull. It would have been really fun for the community—players and guide writers, too!—to have “Search Between” and Treasure Map challenges return. Secret loading screens. Hell, even XP Coins, which at least provided a somewhat different scavenger hunt challenge.

I guess I’m just not sure what the point of doing away with these challenges is to begin with. I remember on Thursday mornings when new challenges would go live, you’d see a huge surge of players out hunting them down. It was fun! And then, just like that, it was over. It’s a real shame that Epic didn’t see fit to bring back fun OG challenges with the OG map and items. Oh well!