Fortnite’s latest patch introduces the reboot van, similar to how respawning works in Apex Legends

With Fortnite’s latest update adding respawning, how does it fare against Respawn’s Apex Legends’ system?

Fortnite‘s 8.30 patch dropped a few days ago, adding the Reboot Van as a new mechanic into its battle royale mode. It works very similarly to how its biggest competitor —Apex Legends — handles reviving dead teammates.

When a teammate is eliminated, they drop a reboot card for nearby members to pick up. Once the card is picked up by a team member, they can use it at a reboot van to bring a fallen player back. These vans are scattered throughout the map, so it’ll be fairly common to find one.

It takes about ten seconds to activate the card and bring back your ally, so it’s best to clear the area of any enemies and build a barricade around the van before using it. Your team member comes back with a common/grey pistol, 100 wood, and 100 health.

This whole respawn mechanic is very much similar to how the reviving system works in Apex Legends. Once a player dies, they drop a banner that expires in 90 seconds if not picked up. Fortnite‘s reboot cards last for 90 seconds before expiring, as well. You bring these items to a point in the map where you are fairly vulnerable for a brief moment.

However, unlike Fortnite, Apex Legends’ respawning is a lot less forgiving as coming back gives you nothing but full health; you better hope your teammates are willing to hand you a weapon and a curative.

While it wasn’t too much of a surprise that Fortnite was going to have some form of reviving dead allies at some point, it has its ups and downs. The game is not as fast-paced as its closest competitor, so reviving a teammate when the storm is moving can be rather messy, unless you have a vehicle or mobility items like a launch pad, glider re-deploy, or a rift-to-go to outrun it.

If you’re lucky enough that the van hasn’t been used yet or finished its 120-second cooldown from its previous use and the storm is either moving slowly or isn’t moving yet, this can really be a game changer. This can also be very crucial if a teammate is eliminated early in a match. It can prevent the need to wipe, but can also lead to unnecessary sacrificing.

The process of reviving is much safer than it is in Apex because there isn’t a big ship redeploying your teammate and giving your location away. It will incentivize camping so teams can’t revive their squad, assuming they have a card to do so.

Memes about copying Apex Legends aside, this was a neat addition to Fortnite‘s lineup of innovative ways to shake up its meta. I’ll be using it more just to feel more secure when engaging against full squads with my friends. With high risk should come high reward, and Fortnite’s reboot van fits the bill.