When Everything You Love Turns To Ashes

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Fortnite fans are absolutely freaking out about the “End of Fortnite”, so here’s some tips to help navigate your anxiety from someone who has watched his online game world also get destroyed. 

This morning I woke up to a text message from my Aunt. It read:

WTH with Fortnite??? My boys are hyperventilating…complete distraction at school today with all the speculation and conversation!!!!

Oh, Fortnite fans – you sweet summer children.

So, for those who may be unaware, Fortnite has officially ended. Yes, you read that correctly, Fortnite is done. The island is gone. It’s been destroyed and the game is, as of writing this, offline and inaccessible.  

Here’s the thing: Fortnite will return.

The game is currently being updated, requiring developers to take servers down to implement and test the new version of the game. So, an even better Fortnite should come in its place – the question is: when?

If you thought Epic Games were going to spoil the surprise, think again – ever since “The End” social media for the game has gone dark – except for one very small black hole. 

Watch live video from Fortnite on www.twitch.tv

So, we have no actual idea of how long the game will be offline, but it is usually not very long considering every moment the game is inaccessible Epic loses money.

But even knowing that, it’s not stopping some Fortnite fans from completely coming unglued.

Listen, Fortniters, I know this is tough, but punching laptops won’t bring the servers back online. I would know – I was an avid player of Final Fantasy XIV – who shut down their servers down for nearly 9 months in order to bring the game from it’s 1.0 version to it’s much anticipated 2.0 version. And they did it in a fairly similar manner to Fortnite.

Anything about that seem…familiar?

My point is – I get what you’re going through. I’ve watched everything that I’ve worked hard for disappear in a fireball from an ancient dragon. I get it.

So, I wanted to impart some knowledge to those Fortnite fans that are especially tunrt up about this. 

1. The Game Will Come Back

I know the black hole that your character and all your stuff got sucked into is pretty scary, but you need to remind yourself that the game will come back. Repeat it to yourself like a mantra. Wrap yourself in the knowledge that while you may be frustrated with not being able to play now, that in a short time you will be back to dropping hot out of the battle bus.

However, if you destroy the computer or TV you play on, then you really won’t be able to play when Fortnite 2 eventually does drop. 

2. The Game Will (Probably) Be Better

Usually, when a game gets a massive update – it’s for the better. There will be new items, new dances, new skins – and probably a few new features thrown in the mix for good measure. It is possible that this new version could make some aspects of the game more frustrating or make it more difficult for newer players to jump into, but that will take weeks or months to suss out.

3. This Is Way Bigger Than Just An Update

This is far from the first update or  change that Fortnite has experienced. Each new season would bring some type of change to the game, but to take the game down for a few days implies what Epic is doing here is quite a bit larger than just a new toy for fans to play with.

4. Enjoy The Ride

Make no mistake – what Epic Games is doing here is risky and bold. They’ve taken something that should be fairly formal and technical (updating a piece of software) and made it into a spectacle! Even if you don’t really like Fortnite, you have to admit that this campaign is really cool! It’s become an event that people are obsessing over. It’s really very brilliant and clever. 

5. Try Another Game

While you have the time – maybe plunk some time into a different game. I know, it’s a little trite – but what else are you going to do? Keep staring at that black hole? Get to know another game!

For games similar to Fortnite maybe try Realm Royale, Player-Unknown’s Battle Grounds, Apex Legends – hell, even Fallout 76 made a battle royale mode.

If the reason you play Fortnite is because it’s free to play, well so is Realm Royale and Apex Legends. But maybe try out some other free to play games like Warframe, H1Z1 or even a game I checked out at Twitchcon – Darwin Project.

So, there you go. 5 suggestions to help you deal with the Fortnite servers being offline. 

Also, you probably won’t have to wait very long…

Enjoy Fortnite 2.0!