For a free-to-play battle royale game,Fortnitehas an absurd amount of lore. With five years' worth of updates under its belt,Fortniteis surprisingly one of the deepest multiplayer experiences out there. Though many players choose to ignore each Season’s story quests,Epic Gameshas remained dedicated when it comes to introducing new characters, and fleshing outFortnite’s world. With the release ofFortniteChapter 3 Season 4, a brand-new, mysterious threat was introduced, once again spelling doom for Artemis island.
When players dropped into thenewFortniteSeasonfor the first time a few weeks ago, they will have likely noticed some big map changes below them. As well as some areas being covered in a strange Chrome substance, the area once known as Sanctuary has become completely consumed and transformed. Now named the Herald’s Sanctum, this area is the root of the new Chrome threat, and players may need to land there to push it back.
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Fortnite’s New Chrome Threat
This new Chrome substance was first encountered in Chapter 3 Season 3 ofFortnite, spreading across certain areas of Artemis island. To determine the extent of this new threat, the Chrome substance was taken for study back at The Scientist’s lab. In the intro cinematic toFortniteChapter 3 Season 4, this Chrome substance breaks out of containment, and starts to spread quickly across the lab. It doesn’t take long before The Scientist, The Origin, and The Visitor are all consumed by the Chrome, withBrie Larson’s Paradigmbeing the only survivor. As Paradigm escapes to a new reality, the Chrome in the lab comes together to form one big blob, which slowly turns into a pink-colored being known as The Herald.
At the end of the cinematic, The Herald can be seen forming her new Sanctum on top of where Sanctuary once stood. Right before the camera fades to black, The Herald can be seen using the Chrome to monitorthe Reality Tree, seemingly hinting that The Herald’s goals involve the tree in some way, perhaps using it as a gateway to corrupt the entire island via its roots.
The newFortniteChrome substance seems to have a lot of in-game abilities as well. These include the ability to project images, shape and transform any substance it touches, create an outer shield layer, and regenerate anything caught inside it. It also seems like anyone who’s consumed by the Chrome is temporarily mind-controlled by The Herald, who seems to be in control of every inch of the substance across the island, operating like a hive mind.
Though The Herald is in control of the Chrome, players are able to harness the Chrome’s power for their own advantage. The newChrome Splash itemsallow players to cover themselves in Chrome. This then allows them to speed across the map as a Chrome blob, sinking into the floor to avoid oncoming shots. In their Chrome form, players can also phase through walls to ambush their opponents, or make a speedy getaway. Players can also achieve this Chrom-ified form by dashing into the Chrome Tornado, found right outside The Herald’s Sanctum. Two new weapons, the EvoChrome Shotgun and EvoChrome Burst Rifle are also present. These weapons will evolve rarities the more they’re used to damage opponents.
Fortniteis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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