Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 is bringing big changes, design director says

The end is nigh. After launching on Nov. 29 of last year, Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1 is nearing its end, albeit incredibly slowly. That’s a good thing, as fans are more than ready for something new — and it sounds like Epic Games is planning to deliver.

There’s nearly a month before Chapter 7 Season 1 ends on March 19, and by that point it will be the third-longest Fortnite season ever at 110 days — a long time when you consider the previous (and excellent) The Simpsons-themed season clocked in at only 28 days. Now that the countdown has begun, it’s time to talk about what to expect in Season 2, and Fortnite design director Ted Timmins participated in a Q&A on social media to answer fan questions about what’s to come.

First and most notably, Timmins mentioned that Season 2 will see an almost entirely refreshed loot pool. While that might not sound like a big deal, given we get some new guns each season, Chapter 6 saw a number of weapons stick around way too long. Nobody needs the Sentinel Pump Shotgun for that many seasons.

Replying to a fan who asked about adding new weapons to the existing pool, Timmins wrote, “Season 2’s weapon loot pool is almost entirely refreshed from Season 1’s. I’m told that might be a first from season to season? Hope you’ll like it!”

What remains to be seen is what “almost entirely refreshed” means. After all, while Epic Games ditched the aforementioned Sentinel Pump Shotgun at the onset of Chapter 7, it introduced the Iron Pump Shotgun, which feels like a mildly upgraded Sentinel at best. Will Chapter 7 Season 2 bring in yet another pump shotgun that takes too long to reload?

Timmins also teased new locked spaces filled with loot being on the map — one of which even Timmins can’t unlock. While this was in response to a question about the floating islands that used to appear mid-game, the answer doesn’t suggest they’ll return just yet. However, the addition of locked bunkers and treasure rooms you have to find a way into would certainly add some chaos.

Other changes noted by Timmins, without giving any details, include new mobility items, more mid-game objectives, and a new way to gain XP. He also confirmed that he has no idea who keeps adding garden gnomes around the island, but that the person is a hero to us all.

Something Timmins didn’t touch on is the story being told next season. The official Fortnite X account shared a video for what’s to come, teasing the next chapter of The Seven — a group of heroes charged with protecting the Zero Point in Fortnite lore. The video lists nine upcoming dates with in-game story elements set to unfold on those days. The final one, March 19, is the launch of the new season with the priority “Locate Foundation.”

In Fortnite, The Foundation is the leader of The Seven, voiced by Dwayne Johnson. We last saw the character in the Chapter 3 Season 2 live event, Collision. In it, The Foundation jumps into Zero Point chasing an enemy. Since then, there have been hints of his survival, but we have not actually seen The Foundation. It looks like that’s all about to change.

Leading up to the new season, here are the notable in-game events noted by Epic:

• March 7: Ordinance Deployed
• March 8: It returns
• March 9: It begins
• March 12: Wave 1 — Destabilized 60%
• March 13: Wave 2 — Destabilized 80%
• March 14: Prepare for the final wave
• March 18: Mission recap
• March 19: Priority: Locate Foundation

While we don’t know what those dates will unlock in the game, it looks like the last week and a half of Chapter 7 Season 1 is going to be very busy. This all follows the arrival of The Seven member The Visitor, played by Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), whose rocket landed on the island last week.

This should all be very exciting if you’re a fan of Fortnite‘s wide-ranging lore. If you’re not, never fear. Based on what Timmins had to say, it sounds like there are plenty of changes coming to Fortnite in Chapter 7 Season 2 to give the game a fresh coat of paint after a very long Season 1.