Zero Build Zone

Welcome. Welcome, everyone, to the first episode of Zero Build Zone. I am RapidRaven880, and my cohost is MatosPT.

Hello.

And we'll be discussing the most... Hi. We'll be discussing the most interesting stuff happening in Fortnite Zero Build. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it for you. Hey, MatosPT. So, how you doing?

Hello, RapidRaven. How's it going?

All good. So this is... I think one of the things to, to start the episode is actually to maybe, uh, just quickly, uh, thinking about sort of, like, the, the most embarrassing moments we've had in, uh, in, uh, in Fortnite before we even get to sort of, like, our origin stories. Uh, I can start by saying that one of the most embarrassing moments that I keep repeating, uh, often enough is in the very early days, I remember being in a, in a fight with someone. The guy had a shotgun, and I think I had a shotgun at some point as well. But instead of scrolling up to choose my shotgun, I scrolled down and chose my med kit instead, and I ended up throwing some three or four med kits to him. And so that was, was pretty embarrassing.

So what, what comes to mind for you?

Yeah, yeah. Uh, uh, that happens too. T- that happened to me as well. I, I think that happens to everyone. People usually panic and there seems to be too many buttons [laughs] in our hands, and, and you end up throwing something that you shouldn't. Yeah, that's a big one. The other is just trying to make a jump, you're pretty sure you're gonna make it, but then you don't. [laughs] And that's really the situation. We had a game today, and I landed very high and I had nothing to, to get down with and [laughs] I, I thought I-

... I could jump to another platform, and I didn't. So I died, and I had to be, uh, saved by you.

Yeah.

But yeah, th- those kinds of things, uh, uh, are more common than we'd like to admit, I guess.

Yeah. One really, one really, uh, thing that happened me so often in the very beginning with shockwaves, while I was learning shockwave- I mean, might still happen, but more rarely these days, is I'm trying to shock my waves- myself forward [laughs] and I throw it in the wrong place. I ended up going backwards or in the wrong direction.

It's like total craziness. But yeah, it's, it's one of those things that you really need to get used to, and you need to learn, uh, how to use shockwaves and, um, how to, how to do the, the right, the right jumps.

Yeah, it's curious that you mention shockwaves because I, I never, uh, I never used shockwaves-

Mm-hmm

... mainly because that happens to me all the time. I try to go forward-

... [laughs] and I end up going backwards. Uh, but I think, and it's, I think it's worth to mention that you play on the PC and I play on the PlayStation 5.

Yeah.

So and as far as I know, there are some items that if you try to double jump, if you click X on the PlayStation,

and you have the item equipped, I think the item just is thrown automatically at your feet. And I'm not sure if the shockwaves, uh, that happens, but could be one way to, to use it, uh, correctly.

Yeah. Yeah. I, I have, I have no idea. As a PC, as a PC player, I'm, I'm, I'm completely ignorant of what happens in the PlayStation these days. But I, I must say, and now going back to, uh, the next, uh, the next, uh, part that I wanted to discuss a little bit is our origin story and how we, why we started playing, uh, Fortnite. So I started playing on the, on the PlayStation as you know. This is, like, over two years ago. I got an injury and, uh, I was looking for, for a game to play [clears throat] with, uh, with my son and, uh, and I... we ended up hitting Fortnite because I think we, we had, we had played all the other available co-op games, uh, for, for the PlayStation. So we started playing together on the PlayStation split screen, and then I think a few months later, we ended up moving to, um, different... Uh, so he stayed in the console, in the PlayStation 5, and I, I moved to the... to a gaming PC and, uh, learning, uh, mouse and keyboard and so on. So that was, that was a big change for me. Uh, I don't remember the season anymore, but, uh, it was... there were dinosaurs and there was a jungle. There were dinosaurs running around. You could even jump on the dinosaurs and ride the dinosaurs. Um, yeah, it has been, uh, a while ago, and, yeah, what do you remember from back then?

Yeah, I started... I don't, I don't remember the dinosaurs. I think I started, uh, a bit later than that. I think... but, uh, yeah, I, I do remember some jungle, and I remember on the top right there was a desert area, and there was a, a car track.

Mm-hmm.

So... An- an- and I used to, to go there quite a bit. The, the, the season I'm most fond of is the one where we had the, the car mods and the-

the... Oh, that was the nitro season, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The, the... [laughs] I think that was one of the most fun seasons I've had-

Yes

... on, on Fortnite.

Yeah, I enjoy that.

Go- going back to, to the origins, we both grew up with, with consoles on our hand and

Fortnite specifically. I, I was introduced to Fortnite like five years ago with the, with the son of a friend of mine.

Interesting. Okay, I didn't know that.

And he showed me, and it was playing, I don't know, a normal game. And what he showed me at the time was just...He started the game, he landed, and then he just started building a tower, a huge tower. And in the middle of building a tower, there would be some guy or Efel, or... But

his game was basically building a tower. And his thumbs twisted so fast, and I didn't see any objective to that. Like, how- how- how is this fun? How is he getting fun out of this?

And I guess, at the time, I completely dismissed it as a- as a kid thing. And two years ago, when we started playing, it was more of a way to stay connected-

Mm-hmm

... over the distance that we have. So

that's the beginning of it. And even today, I guess the social part and playing as a team is the thing that interests me the most. Because if I play a solo game or two, I've done enough. I- I- I do some quests. I never, I never stay hours upon hours to try to get that crown.

Yeah.

Never. I have no patience for that. But if it's in, on a team, it's much more fun.

Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. That's true, that's true. Actually, one of the things that it's interesting is that the first time I heard about Fortnite, it was probably also in a nei- in, uh, in a neighbor's house, um, back when I was still living in England. And- and it was because... This must have been like 2018 or so, and it was

the end of a season. And I think he tried to explain me at the time that Fortnite, at the end of a season, it was going to have some event, and I was completely mind-boggled by why that would be interesting at all. So I- I didn't quite understand what was the big deal about it, and I never picked it up. I- I did hear about this building and so on, but I- I never really was interested until I started playing two, two years ago. Started playing... When I started playing, I started playing the- the- the Build Mode, but then very quickly noticed that Zero Build Mode had been released, and that interested me a lot more straightaway because I had already been interested by first person shooters and so on. So Zero Build Mode was like, okay, so I'm- I'm back sort of like in my

usual game style, uh, and I don't need to sort of like build this crazy stuff.

Mm-hmm.

And- and I always enjoyed it a lot more. I- I think it's a lot more... There's, I don't know, there's... Feels like there's more strategy, you need to be more careful when engaging in fights, and- and if you don't have the right movement, you might be, you know, really, um, in trouble. So,

it- it just, it just feels different to me. I guess it's because of my background.

Yeah, true. Uh, the first time I- I picked up, uh, a third person shooter multiplayer, I would say it was on Uncharted 2-

Mm-hmm

... for the PlayStation 3, if I remember correctly.

Yeah.

And

it was, you know, all very similar to this, although this is more of a battle royale. But that's what reminds me of, uh, and I always liked these third person shooters, and

having it in a competitive way, it's- it's kind of interesting. But I- I guess the fun is- is joining with people you know and like, and having a blast and having a good time with it.

Yeah, yeah. The social, the social part is certainly, uh, extremely important. I mean, I think that- that sort of like brings us to, um, to talking a little bit about how we've been playing and how we've been feeling about the current season, right? So we're, so we're in version 3710. I think that's [clears throat] chapter 6, season 4. And we have bugs all over the place. Power Rangers. Power Rangers is something from when we were kids, so a long time ago. Uh, I- I wonder if there are still Power Rangers on TV and, uh, young, the younger generation knows about them or if they're wondering what this is all about. I was... I don't think I was ever very fond of Power Rangers, even though I watched them on TV. What do you think overall about this season, the theme, the bugs? What's your take on it?

Uh... I love it. I love it. The bugs kind of remind me of Starship Troopers. I don't know if you remember that movie. It was a- a '90s movie, I guess. And the concept was the only good bug is a dead bug.

[laughs] And if

Fortnite had, uh, a PVE, uh, kind of mode, it would be

kind of interesting to get a team against, to survive against the bugs. But Power Rangers is a very nostalgic thing. I- I- I- I remember fondly watching the- the movie when I was a kid.

Nowadays, I know, uh, the movie wasn't that great. But at the time, as a kid, I- I- I- I loved that movie. And-

Yeah

... I think it's the kind of things that kids see it and they then go to older people, like us [laughs]-

Mm-hmm

... and go, "I know, I know Fort- uh, Power Rangers from Fortnite."

And, and that's the way kids nowadays are exposed to quite a few characters that they wouldn't be exposed, uh, elsewhere.

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. What, what, uh, what's your take... I mean, a few things changed recently with the release of 4710, but what's your take on, on the weapons that we have now? So, you know, we, we have the OXR rifle, we have this, uh, the rocket launcher. We have so many good weapons. We have this, uh, wrecked revolver and, uh, the new shotgun. It's... I mean, this Lead Splitter 3000 Minigun.

[laughs] Yeah.

What, what do you think about... or what do you think about these weapons? What's, uh, what's your choice? What's your choice of weapons? What do you take home?

Well, well, I usually... This season specifically, I haven't been... I haven't liked any AR specifically.

Mm-hmm.

So I usually pick an AR and that's the, the one I try to get, uh, every time. But this season I have tried the OXR rifle and the Hammer assault rifle, and they kind... They feel similar to me in the way that you almost have to one tap them-

Mm-hmm. Yep

... to, to hit anyone. So

I'm, I'm kind of jumping between the Hyper Burst Pistol if I see an epic or legendary one. And for the shotgun,

I like the Rekt Revolver because it's flexible in the way that if you aim with it, you can still do quite a bit of damage further away.

Yeah.

And if you don't aim it, it's a great shotgun.

Mm-hmm.

So usually those two are my main. And then for long range, I'm kind of undecided between the, the rocket launcher and the Deadeye DMR.

Mm-hmm.

The problem with the rocket launcher is that

the rockets kind of spread out too much to be a good weapon, uh-

Yeah

... to throw, uh, to, to shoot it afar. So

I've... I guess I've been using the Deadeye DMR, uh, more and more recently.

Mm-hmm.

And the, the Lead Splitter, it's good against cars, but other than that, you can't hit anyone with that. It's, it's very hard. That thing goes all over the place. It's very hard with that. [laughs]

Yeah. Yeah. Sa- same for me.

Then usually I, I get Aura Shields and a jump pad. I think jump pads are very important this season, this chapter specifically, because it's a, it's a fast way to get out of the... If, if you get into a mess and you think you're about to die, it's a good way to get out.

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

That's usually my, my load out. Is, uh, DMR, the Hyper Burst Pistol or the... How is the other one that has a scope? What's the name of that one?

What, uh, the... So the... Is there any- anything else with a scope besides the DMR?

Yeah.

Uh, I can't, I can't remember.

One that came from previous seasons. I don't, I don't remember the name, but, uh...

I can't remember either. Uh-

Okay. I'll, uh, I'll do my research next time. [laughs]

Yeah. Yeah.

But, yeah it's-

I can't remember.

It's mostly the Rekt Revolver and the jump pad, and then usually or splash or, uh, shield/slash, uh, med kits. Depends.

Yeah. Yeah.

What do you carry usually?

Yeah. Yeah. So I, I'm pretty, pretty much set on... I'm pretty much set on the Hammer AR. The Hammer, uh, it's very similar to, to the OXR, like you said, but there... For some reason, I am better at aiming with the Hammer. Uh, I don't know why.

Do you have to one tap it also?

I, I always one tap. Always one tap.

Okay.

Uh, maybe it's just easier on the mouse to one tap, but I always do. Uh, it's very rare that I, uh, just, just keep pressing down on it. So I always one tap the hammer. Um, then the other thing I always take is the Rekt Revolver. I think it's just like super, uh, over, uh, overpowered. It, it's just so good. It, it hits fast. It has a long range and it's, it's great short range. I mean, if you have good... If you have a good aim or if by chance [laughs] you just headshot someone with the thing at the short distance, they're done, right? If you have a, if you have a, uh-

Mm-hmm

... a, a pink or a, or an orange one. Um, and then I used to carry, uh, Shockwave Launcher. I think that was really, really good. But now obviously with 4710, they removed that with the latest update, which is a shame. So I carry Shocks and I try to carry either a med kit or a fizz, uh, because fizz plus Shockwaves is great to run away, right? You fizz a little bit, use Shocks, and you're out of there in no time. You know, movement is, is extremely important in this season. And if you don't have movement, you're pretty much dead, uh, as soon as you find anyone that's, um, you know, has better aim than a bot. And then of course-

Have you heard about the, the bugs for movement?

Oh, yeah. They're the ones you... Was just introduced in 4710. These, um-

Yeah. They, they took out SCPs, uh-

What's their name? Yeah. These, these roly poly.

Yeah. [laughs]

Roly poly-

Roly polys

... uh, bugs. Yeah. Yeah. And, and

I like them. Uh, I mean, I've, I've taken down a lot of people in roly polys, right? Because you shoot... I think it's one shot to take down the roly poly. The, the, the person inside the, the bug comes out and they're generally like a bit disoriented and you take down the person straight away. Uh, I was luckily... That never happened to my, uh, to me yet. I haven't used them dead often because I generally carry other stuff.... but I can see how they can be problematic, uh, if you use them too often and to, to go into a fight. Um, so I, I, I wouldn't necessarily use them in any games I think.

Yeah. I, I, I, I find them hard to, to get going. So they're quite fun to use when they start jumping around and such, but they're very slow to get, to get out of a situation. They're not a way to get out of fight.

Yeah. Absolutely.

They're more of a way to get out of the storm probably.

Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I agree. So the, the other... The other thing I wanted to ask is, uh, what's your take on, um, these... The, the new, the new airplane, right? The... I mean, what, what do you think about this kind of transportation in, uh, Fortnite? It's not the first time that we have air transportation, and I think in the Star Wars season we also had a few. Uh, what do you think about this one?

Well, we've, we've used it, uh, quite a few times now. My main issue is specifically with the rocket launcher now available. If someone gets close to us and hits us with a rocket launcher, all the team is going down.

I think it's a beginning, a very beginning kind of way to move the team all together, but I wouldn't risk it when there's like... after the first, uh, circle or when there's only like 40 people going around-

Mm-hmm

... I, I, I wouldn't risk going the whole team inside of it.

Yeah, absolutely. I, I, I agree, but I have to say I love, uh, you know, the, the hammerhead chopper and other modes of transportation. Um, I, I absolutely love them. I think they add a lot to Fortnite. Just like to, to ride a, [laughs] a chopper around the island-

Yeah

... with the team. Uh, I, I have a lot of fun and, uh, I'm always praying that nobody's shooting, uh, rockets at us anytime soon. But yeah, I can understand the danger towards the end game, so that's, uh, certainly an issue. Um, yeah. So, uh, let's just... Moving on a little bit, we didn't talk about Boons, but I'm sure we can have a, a chat about Boons next time. I wanted to move on just to also talk a little bit about why, why we're actually sort of like starting with this podcast and, uh, what's the point. I think for the, the longest time... So I, I listen to quite a few podcasts by the way, so that's one of the things I listen to, uh, most when I drive around, um, the kids to their activities and so on. And there's been

more than a few times that I was looking for Fortnite podcasts and I couldn't find anything, um, really interesting. Um, I, I, I know that Ninja at some point, shout out to Ninja, uh, the... had a podcast, but I think he doesn't update it anymore, uh, for a long time. Uh, so, uh, and I thought,

uh, that would be definitely interesting to have something even focused on, on Zero Build. I think, uh, F- Zero Build needs, uh, a lot more love, um, love, um, and, and so I thought it would be great to, to, to just create something and see, uh, how far we can get with this. And, uh, so the idea was, you know, depending on how things go to have like a biweekly

episode, um, and, you know, take it as far as possible and just, just, you know, keep, uh, ourselves and, and, and whoever wants to listen, uh, entertained. So, you know, d- did you ever... Do you ever listen to podcasts or have you ever searched for a, for a Fortnite podcast?

No, no, no. It's very rare that I, that I listen to, uh, to podcasts. Mainly because since I, uh, I work from home, I usually have like

some video playing o- on YouTube, be it music or being, uh,

a videocast. Videocast is not... A stream-

Yeah

... maybe. But podcasts aren't usually my thing.

Yeah.

But I, I fi- I find it very interesting that, um,

I usually go to Reddit.

Yeah.

And if we... And there's quite a few incredible discussions there on Reddit, and I think

it's a good way for us to talk about it, and I think people might relate to what we talk. And may- some things they might agree with, some things they might disagree with, but it's a good conversation starter to have these chats and, and talk about the game and how we feel about the game, the new updates and such. So-

Oh, yeah. Yeah

... I would say even, even if the crowd doesn't gather around us, this could be quite interesting to, to do for, for the future.

Epic, Epic will make sure it will, will stay busy, right? With all these updates, uh, coming, uh, every so often. Um, so, uh, I think maybe if, if we ever get stuck and w- we cannot do our usual match because there's a downtime, maybe we should just do a podcast. [laughs]

Yeah.

Sure.

While, while we wait for the... [laughs] While we wait for the update to finish. Uh, but, uh, you know, let's, let's be real. Are we too old to play Fortnite? You know, we haven't said our ages, but we're certainly like not children anymore. Are we too old to play Fortnite? Can you play Fortnite, you know, after you're 30 and 40 and so on or... What do you think? What's, what's your take here?

Well, guys our age will say that we're never too old to play Fortnite, right? But-

No

... if you ask a kid between his 10 and, uh, 15 years old, he will look at a 40-year-old guy and say, "Well, that guy has probably five years to live." [laughs]

It's different perspectives. [laughs]... yeah, I-I don't think we're too old. I think our generation of gamers

sometimes is using Fortnite like you did-

Yeah

... as a way to engage with their, uh, younger sons-

Yeah

... because they know the sons will like the, the cartoonish, uh, aesthetics of the game.

Absolutely.

And they can play with them and have some fun, and then that father-son bond, even in- at home. So, I guess, I guess we're not too old, but...

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I- it's funny 'cause I, uh, hang in, uh, the forums and in the, in the, in the channels, um, of, um, toby1shinobi, another, another, you know, great creator, and I guess we- we might have a chance to talk about this, um, in future podcasts. But, uh, toby1shinobi must- I must say is, uh, my favorite Fortnite creator. Um, and at least hi- his community, which is very welcoming, uh... I've met many people our age, uh, of an older generation that started playing with their sons, you know, uh, generally teenagers or, you know, or young teenagers and so on. And that's how they got into Fortnite. And, you know, sometimes what happens is that the- the- the sons, uh, the children or- or daughters move on from Fortnite, but they stay- they keep playing Fortnite, right? [laughs]

Yeah.

And, uh, and- and- and as you said, I mean, then they meet people and, uh, they, you know, even with other relatives like, uh, like ourselves, uh, we- we keep playing Fortnite and, um, you know, it's just a social thing and it- it becomes, um, really interesting because then there's a lot of strategy and a lot of, uh, communication and, um, you know, just a lot of things th- that- that you learn over time, uh, and- and improve not just, you know, on a- on a personal level, but also as a team, how to- how to deal situations as a team.

Mm-hmm.

Which is... Which I- which I find really good. And I- I'm sure we'll have, uh, [laughs] time to talk about that in- in future episodes as well. Uh, so what do you think?

Yeah, for sure. Uh, uh, and I wanted also to mention that there's even a- a Fortnite, uh, Reddit, um,

group that's Fortnite over 40, and then-

Oh, yeah. I didn't-

... there-

... I didn't know that. I need to join that. [laughs]

Yeah. [laughs] That's usually... People come and say, "Oh, I'm- I'm 40. I wanted to play with another adults. Where can I find people?" And usually they're re- redirected to that, uh, to that Reddit group.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. I think more and more people are getting, uh, older and playing Fortnite because it's- it's a bit like a mobile game, right? You can play for 40 minutes. You d- you don't need a great investment in time. You can have fun for a short period or a longer period, and then you're done. You can come back another day or another time.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Um, I think that, uh, Fortnite has- has a lot to offer and, uh, it's... You know, you have a- a set time and you can just play it and you get to from start to finish and you just don't leave something hanging. And that's just so... You know, so many cool people out there that you can- that you can- that you can meet and you can join for the four gamings and it's, uh, great. I think we'll... we can maybe try one day to discuss, you know, how to- how to find these communities 'cause some people might- might not know about them.

Yeah, so, you know, we- we talked a little bit about the- the difference between build and no-builds, um, and, you know, I think one of the things for me and just a- a quick mention to this is- is that

a lot of people say, "Well, zero builds is superior," or, "Build mode is superior because it's the- the OG stuff."

For me, zero builds is just what interests me the most because I feel there's more strategy, uh, I feel I like to be able to- to play with- with the landscape and the environments. That's the way you have to sort of like hide yourself and to protect yourself and, uh... You know, I love to be able to- to- to also throw down a bunker when needed, uh, or a wall. Uh, we had a few seasons ago, we had these huge Porta Fort and Porta Fortress-

Mm-hmm

... which build these incredible things around us. But i- it's really about, you know, you're in a confrontation with other people and you- you just have to go, "Okay, we have a rock here, we have a tree there. Let's just do the best we can with what we have around us," instead of, you know, just build, build, build, build, build, build, build. It's also true. You know, it's fair. People might say, "Well, you cannot build, uh, and that's why you don't like it." Uh, so fair enough. But I don't know, if you build this-

It's a skill issue. [laughs]

Yeah. [laughs] It's- it's my skill issue. But at the same time-

... I really enjoy zero build and- and I think that, uh, it- it definitely, um... It's definitely a- a great mode and I'm very, uh, happy for Epic to- to have i- to have added it, uh, a couple years ago.

Yeah. I- I think- I think the main criticism that I see of build mode is that

you- you shoot a... You shoot someone and suddenly there's a... The Taj Mahal is getting built in front of you. [laughs]

And I- I understand that, uh, and I don't- I don't think it's fun. It takes- it takes a bit of the- the military strategy or the aiming skill out of the question if someone from- from nothing can build

a structure like that. Uh...

Yeah. Yeah. That's true. Anyway, um, no matter if people are builds... uh, on the side of build or on the side of zero builds, uh, I hope they're having fun and, um, you know, enjoying their time, uh, with friends, loved ones, uh, with people they met online. I think that's- that's the important stuff. I mean, in the end that's the- the point of, you know, um, online video games, right? Is for people to have fun and- and possibly even meet other cool people. So, I don't know. Do you have any further comments for, uh, today's episode?

No, I think- I think we're on... It's a start. I think it's a good start and we have so much to talk about. We-

Absolutely.

We're starting to have an idea of how long and how much we- we can talk about a single topic and there will be many episodes coming forward-

Yes. Yeah

... that will have great debates and great fun talking about, uh, stuff.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, um, yeah. Well, so thank you very much, um, and, uh, thank you for everyone listening. And I guess that's a wrap for today. Uh, so thank you MatosPT for joining me on co-hosting.

Oh, sure.

And I guess, GGs, uh, to everyone and, uh, see you all, uh, in the lobby.

GGs. [laughs]