Should you spend money on Fortnite?

Fortnite: Battle Royale is monumentally popular. It’s also free-to-play. Which is something we’ve heard bandied about a lot in recent years. But, like any free-to-play game, you can spend real money on it. The question: Should you? And if you do, what are you getting out of it?

WHAT CAN YOU BUY WITH REAL MONEY?

Essentially there’s only one thing in Fortnite you can buy with real money: V-Bucks.

I don’t actually know what the V stands for, but we’ll go ahead and assume it means vanity, because V-Bucks are spent on items that change the visual appearance of your character (without altering your actual skills).

Among the things you can buy using V-Bucks: emotes, character models and skins for your default weapons and backpack. Each day in the Item Store there’s a rotating allotment of items you can purchase with V-Bucks.

It’s worth noting that you can also earn V-Bucks for free just by playing the game, but as with any free-to-play game, the currency will come too slowly to really give you many customization choices.

Epic Games

WHAT ABOUT THE BATTLE PASS?

V-Bucks can also be spent on something called a Battle Pass. This is where things get a little complicated.

Each season of Fortnite (which last 10 weeks), you are given a Tier Ranking. Simply playing the game and completing challenges will increase your Tier Ranking. And for every Tier Ranking you unlock, you’ll get something new. That may be some bonus V-Bucks, a new skin or an XP booster to increase your leveling.

Even if you don’t decide to purchase the Battle Pass for a given season, you’ll still increase your Tier Rank, just at a slower rate. You’ll also only get a small handful of rewards (one every three or four ranks). These rewards are usually basic emotes. The cooler rewards like character models are locked unless you buy the Battle Pass.

Buying the Battle Pass works out to about $10 in real money. If you’ve been stingy, you could arguably save all of the free V-Bucks you earn to purchase a season’s Battle Pass, as well, but that will take a good chunk of time.

Epic Games

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PREMIUM BATTLE PASS?

When you go to purchase the Battle Pass, you’re presented with one option that costs about $10 in V-Bucks and one that costs about $25. The $25 option is, for all intents and purposes, a fast pass. With this, you’ll instantly jump to Tier 25 in that season’s Battle Pass, unlocking all the rewards up until that point. You’ll also get a slightly higher XP booster.

For most people, the standard Battle Pass is fine, but if you’re behind and you really want some of those late-tier season unlocks, you’ll want to go with the Premium.

SO SHOULD YOU SPEND MONEY ON FORTNITE?

Well, you might have guessed, but it’s obviously up to you. None of the things you can buy with V-Bucks give you an edge. But if you’re the type of person who always wants to be working toward your next unlock, the standard Battle Pass is a solid option. If you don’t care about customization and you’re really just in it for the sick headshots, feel free to revel in the standard game.