Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 Early Patch Notes: Every New Feature Explained

Q: What's in the Runners Battle Pass?

The Runners Battle Pass leans hard into a mix of new faces and remixed fan favourites. Here's the full confirmed skin roster: John Wick Pen & Ink Skin C3RB3RUS Skin Ninja Hope Skin Remixed Doctor Slone Skin Remixed PJ Skin Remixed Quackling Skin Mysterious Femme Fatale Skin Mecha-Sprite Skin Doctor Slone returning makes sense given the storyline wrapping up in the Shattered event. She's been a major narrative figure since Chapter 2, and her remixed look suggests she'll carry some weight in Season 3's story as well. The Cerberus and PJ remixes are pure fan service, but that's not a complaint. Sidekicks are also confirmed. The Pitbull Pen & Ink Sidekick accompanies John Wick, and a Burnt Peanut Sprite Sidekick rounds out the cosmetic slate alongside several other Sprite-themed companions.

Q: Sprites are back, what do they do?

First introduced in Chapter 6 Season 1, Sprites are small elemental creatures that attach to players and grant buffs or abilities during a match. Season 3 brings back the concept with the largest confirmed Sprite roster yet: Six Sprites in the pool means the item meta is going to be unusually varied. The Fire Sprite in particular looks like it will interact directly with certain weapons, specifically the new Chaos Reloader Assault Rifle, which was shown in the gameplay trailer triggering an explosion when paired with a Fire Sprite. That kind of weapon-plus-Sprite synergy could define how loadouts are built this season. There's also a Power Up mechanic hinted at in the gameplay trailer, showing characters collecting glowing blue orbs to boost their character's stats. The exact details are still vague, but it looks like a core loop for Season 3 rather than a side mechanic.

Q: What are The Seven Caches and Power Boots?

The Seven Power Boots are a new traversal item that lets players power slide and sprint at increased speed for a limited duration. Mobility items that don't require building tend to have an outsized impact on the meta, especially in Zero Build, so these are worth prioritising when you spot them. The Seven Caches are the delivery mechanism. These containers are shown being rifted into the sky and dropped onto the map, functioning similarly to a Rift Anomaly mechanic. They'll carry rare loot and serve as the primary source for the Power Boots. The presence of both items in the Season 3 trailer also feeds into the narrative: The Foundation appears to be the winner of the Shattered event conflict, and these Seven-branded items are the spoils. Season 3 is shaping up to be a significant mechanical shift from Season 2. The Sprite system alone adds a layer of build diversity that the game hasn't had in a while, and pairing that with new traversal options and a reshaped map makes for a genuinely different environment to learn. For more guides covering everything from weapons to weekly quests, the full Fortnite strategy guides collection is the place to start.

Fortnite's Chapter 7 Season 3 is called Runners, and the early patch notes are already painting a picture of one of the most mechanically packed seasons in recent memory. The Shattered live event wraps up on June 5 at 7 PM ET, servers go into extended downtime immediately after, and the 41.00 update drops players into a new era starting June 6 at 4 AM ET. Between new Sprites, two new weapons, a traversal item, and significant map reshaping, there's a lot to absorb before the season kicks off.

What's in the Runners Battle Pass?

The Runners Battle Pass leans hard into a mix of new faces and remixed fan favourites. Here's the full confirmed skin roster:

John Wick Pen & Ink Skin
C3RB3RUS Skin
Ninja Hope Skin
Remixed Doctor Slone Skin
Remixed PJ Skin
Remixed Quackling Skin
Mysterious Femme Fatale Skin
Mecha-Sprite Skin

Doctor Slone returning makes sense given the storyline wrapping up in the Shattered event. She's been a major narrative figure since Chapter 2, and her remixed look suggests she'll carry some weight in Season 3's story as well. The Cerberus and PJ remixes are pure fan service, but that's not a complaint.

Sidekicks are also confirmed. The Pitbull Pen & Ink Sidekick accompanies John Wick, and a Burnt Peanut Sprite Sidekick rounds out the cosmetic slate alongside several other Sprite-themed companions.

Runners Battle Pass skin lineup

Sprites are back, what do they do?

First introduced in Chapter 6 Season 1, Sprites are small elemental creatures that attach to players and grant buffs or abilities during a match. Season 3 brings back the concept with the largest confirmed Sprite roster yet:

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Six Sprites in the pool means the item meta is going to be unusually varied. The Fire Sprite in particular looks like it will interact directly with certain weapons, specifically the new Chaos Reloader Assault Rifle, which was shown in the gameplay trailer triggering an explosion when paired with a Fire Sprite. That kind of weapon-plus-Sprite synergy could define how loadouts are built this season.

Season 3 Sprite types confirmed

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Don't underestimate the Sprite meta early. In Chapter 6 Season 1, players who ignored Sprites fell behind quickly once the community figured out the best combinations. Expect a similar learning curve here.

There's also a Power Up mechanic hinted at in the gameplay trailer, showing characters collecting glowing blue orbs to boost their character's stats. The exact details are still vague, but it looks like a core loop for Season 3 rather than a side mechanic.

What are the new weapons in Season 3?

Chaos Reloader Assault Rifle

The Chaos Reloader Shotgun was one of the most dominant weapons in Chapter 7 Season 2, so adding an assault rifle variant to the loot pool is a natural escalation. The exact stats aren't confirmed yet, but the gameplay trailer shows it operating with a similar reload mechanic to the shotgun version. Pair it with a Fire Sprite and you're apparently getting explosive results, which is either going to be extremely powerful or extremely chaotic depending on how Epic balances it at launch.

Triple Barrel Shotgun

The Triple Barrel Shotgun is exactly what it sounds like: three barrels, big burst damage, and a reload animation that will punish missed shots. The original Double Barrel Shotgun from Chapter 1 was notorious for its high risk, high reward design, and this takes that philosophy further. Three shots means three chances to deal significant damage at close range, but the extended reload window means you need to either finish the fight or have a secondary ready.

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In close-quarters fights with the Triple Barrel, commit fully or don't engage at all. A partial hit followed by a slow reload is a death sentence.

What map changes are coming?

Seven Caches loot drop mechanic

Tropical POI replacing Dark Dominion

The Dark Dominion POI is getting replaced by a tropical location, with the Zero Point now sitting exposed in the open at the centre of it. An exposed Zero Point is a big deal for rotations since it historically acts as an anomaly anchor. Expect this spot to become a high-traffic area early in the season as players figure out what interacting with it does.

If you want a refresher on where Dark Dominion and the other current POIs sit on the map before they change, the Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 map guide covering all new locations breaks down the full layout.

Duck Mansion POI

On the lighter end of map additions, Duck Mansion is coming to the island. The POI appears themed around the Remixed Quackling skin, and there's a reasonable chance it hosts a Quackling NPC with a Mythic weapon variant given how Epic has handled themed POIs in the past. It's not going to be a rotation anchor like the Zero Point tropical area, but it'll likely be a popular drop spot early.

What are The Seven Caches and Power Boots?

The Seven Power Boots are a new traversal item that lets players power slide and sprint at increased speed for a limited duration. Mobility items that don't require building tend to have an outsized impact on the meta, especially in Zero Build, so these are worth prioritising when you spot them.

The Seven Caches are the delivery mechanism. These containers are shown being rifted into the sky and dropped onto the map, functioning similarly to a Rift Anomaly mechanic. They'll carry rare loot and serve as the primary source for the Power Boots. The presence of both items in the Season 3 trailer also feeds into the narrative: The Foundation appears to be the winner of the Shattered event conflict, and these Seven-branded items are the spoils.

info

The Seven Caches look to function like the Stabilize the Rift Anomaly mechanic from Season 2, meaning they'll likely spawn at specific map locations rather than randomly. Mark them early in a match.

Season 3 is shaping up to be a significant mechanical shift from Season 2. The Sprite system alone adds a layer of build diversity that the game hasn't had in a while, and pairing that with new traversal options and a reshaped map makes for a genuinely different environment to learn. For more guides covering everything from weapons to weekly quests, the full Fortnite strategy guides collection is the place to start.