The free Fortnite pickaxe that you can never actually keep

Fortnite players are often looking for free cosmetics. The game improves when players have skins, back blings, pickaxes and gliders to use. They don't add to the gameplay, but they make the user experience better.

Free cosmetics are more desirable, because they don't cost anything. V-Buck costs can add up quickly, so freebies are always something players want to take advantage of. There is one free pickaxe that a select few players have used but no one gets to keep.

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The Axe of Champions: The rarest pickaxe in Fortnite

The Axe of Champions is awarded to winners in Fortnite. However, it's not given to just any winner. There is always a Victory Royale umbrella or glider for each season. Every player who wins a game that season unlocks it. The Axe of Champions is much more exclusive than that. It also cannot be retained. All other cosmetics will remain in the player's inventory unless refunded and won't simply disappear.

Do you like the Axe of Champions pickaxe? #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/bfTzufViaH

— FNBRBananik • Fortnite Leaks & News (@FNBRBananik) April 25, 2020

The Axe of Champions is only awarded to winners of the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS). Each season of Fortnite has an ultimate tournament to crown one champion for that season. The recipients of this extremely rare pickaxe only get to keep it for as long as they are the current champion. When a new season arrives with a new FNCS, the winner of that tournament will be the new owner of the pickaxe.

FNCS is the biggest competitive tournament for Fortnite players. (Image via Epic Games)

The vast majority of players will never see this pickaxe, making it the rarest cosmetic in all of Fortnite. There can only be a few in existence at a given time, too, so it's also highly unlikely that the majority of players will ever even see someone using this pickaxe in-game.

Might as well mention the Axe of Champions pickaxe. You got this if you won in the Duos FNCS recently. This is now the rarest pickaxe in the game. I think it's cool that Fortnite decided to give cosmetic enticement for competing! Could see this be the reward of every FNCS now. pic.twitter.com/pKOXj1tis6

— I Talk (@ThisIsITalk) April 25, 2020

The Axe of Champions debuted after the FNCS in Chapter 2 - Season 2. This means that approximately 125 players have used the cosmetic. For a game with nearly 400 million player accounts, that's a miniscule percentage of the playerbase that has held the pickaxe. The number of players who have seen it is probably not much higher.

This pickaxe is by far the rarest cosmetic in the game. Not many players even know about it. The Axe of Champions is also the only cosmetic that can be taken away by Epic Games. Therefore, If a player ever acquires it, it is a great sign of that player's talent.