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Primarily, Fortnite is a building game with a Battle Royale dynamic that requires players to excel at building and box fighting to get ahead of others.
The game's building mechanic makes it stand out in the genre. In the early days, Fortnite faced intense scrutiny due to the challenging nature of building. This is a dynamic players have to hardwire in their system if they want to make an impact in Fortnite.
Thus, if players are looking to improve their skills in Fortnite, then piece control and editing are two key features they have to focus on. Building without having a firm grasp on editing is not going to help players progress in the game.
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What is piece control in Fortnite?
In a recent educational Fortnite video by Jerian "itsjerian" Grant, players can learn how to grasp the concept of piece control. Practicing building, editing, and piece control will help players get into box-fights comfortably and boost their confidence every time they see an opponent across the field.
Piece control is a term coined by legendary Fortnite caster Arten "BALLATW" Esa. Essentially, it means controlling the pieces in proximity to create openings for eliminations.
Thus, to start with the basics, there are four basic shapes that players get for building - Walls. Floors, Stairs, and Cones. Players combine these four to engage in build battles with opponents in Fortnite. Learning how to edit the correct parts (with a right-hand-peek perspective) of these four primary shapes will help players get better at the building.
For instance, in a situation where two players are locked in a build fight, it is logical to follow the opponent's building pattern; this helps to predict where the opponent will move next. If they use walls to box-in, then it's best to get higher ground for a better position.
Also read - Fortnite: How to get the Tactical Mystique skin
itsjerian explains how to get good at piece control in Fortnite
In the video, itsjerian breaks down a situation to explain what piece control effectively means. He pointed out what a professional player would do in a box-fight.
"First thing we see is this cone, that is going to prevent the opponent from going up. Then we have this wall right here...it allows him to wall off his opponent on both sides...the guy has nowhere to go because he already has the cone as well."
In this situation, the player in the video stops his opponent by placing a cone on top of his opponent's build. This stops them from going up, and it needs to be followed by placing a wall that prevents them from shooting.
As soon as they get trapped from two sides, players need to place another wall to close their opponent in a box. Once they are boxed in, edit out one of the walls to get a peek at the enemy.
With three walls and a cone, players can effectively limit their opponent's movement. For the editing part, players need to clip off exact pieces to find an opening for shooting. Logically, it is best to edit from a right-hand-peek perspective.
As itsjerian describes in the video, it is necessary to control all the pieces to think about editing.
"Piece control is really useful as it helps you end fights faster, protect yourself when need be and create opportunities for eliminations," said itsjerian.
Elite players in Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 4 have mastered piece control. To build at that skill, players need to change their mindset into owning the pieces around an opponent. As itsjerian mentioned, it is better to think about controlling the surroundings than W-keying opponents.
There are several ways to go about practicing piece control. itsjerian has various videos to explain the best way to go about it.The essence of piece control lies in being confident while getting into a box fight with the opponent and practicing dilligently.
In a nutshell, here are the following points players need to keep in mind to get better at piece control in Fortnite:
- Making sure that the enemy is "coned-off" by placing the cone on top of the enemy's build and stopping them from going up. Similarly, doing it on the floor can trap enemies.
- Controlling and owning the builds in a fight effectively allows players to gain ownership over the peripheral pieces. This in turn gives players the creative freedom to edit and trap their enemy.
- Placing a piece before the opponent does it. For this, players need to practice crosshair placement and timing. The player placing the build first always has the advantage over others.
- Crosshair placement - one of the most important aspects of piece control is to place the build first. Players need to know all the angles they can aim to place a piece inside, or outside the build. In addition to this, decent crosshair placement allows players to put builds quickly through a small edit in their box.
- Proximity Awareness - always being aware of the pieces one has ownership over. This will help players get quicker with editing.
- Blocking off on multiple sides - placing a cone, or a wall is a basic version of blocking enemies. Experienced players tend to place pieces through other builds which they have placed before.
- Right-hand-peek perspective - the best way to peek is always from the right-hand side. Thus, every edit should make sure that the player is peeking from the right-hand side. Experienced players mix it up with left-hand-peek to confuse their enemies.
- Forcing players to get into box fights - this is perhaps the most important point to remember. While facing an enemy in Fortnite, players should always build and force their opponents to get into a build fight. This way, players can build quickly and own most of the pieces to come out on top with superior piece control.
This list is not exhaustive and in-game fights do have many variables. But mastering the fundamentals is an important first step to improvement.
According to itsjerian, this is the best way to get easy eliminations in Fortnite. Once the motion gets ingrained in muscle memory, players can go for audacious plays and catch their enemies off guard.
Also read - Epic Games bans double movement for Fortnite on PC
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