Like the majority of online multiplayer games, Fortnite doesn't let you purchase items with actual currency. You need to earn V-Bucks, either through purchasing them or unlocking them, to buy skins, harvesting tools, and other cosmetics items. So how do you get free V-Bucks in Fortnite?
Epic Games doesn't offer a lot of free ways to get V-Bucks as they want you to spend money on its free-to-play battle royale. You'll need to spend ample time in-game if you want to save up enough to afford a 1,500 V-Buck skin ($15), let alone more than one without spending much real cash.
Here are some tips to make your time building, shooting, and gliding as monetizable as possible.
Play through the Battle Pass
Fortnite: Battle Royale comes with two different types of battle passes, one that costs $9.99 for a number of unlockables and a free one that every player gets. Both contain a handful of V-Bucks as a reward, although they'll take a lot of time to unlock. Each battle pass lasts around ten weeks before a new one begins.
When you login be sure to check the daily and other challenges, both of which will give you points to unlock battle pass tiers, after completion. Each battle pass unlocks items and V-Bucks by Tier. There are 100 to unlock but not every tier in the free pass comes with a reward.
The free pass also nets you far fewer V-Bucks than the paid ones, but we'd caution you before buying the pass. Make sure you plan to spend enough time playing Fortnite if you want to actually unlock some V-Bucks.
Play Save the World
Fortnite: Save the World is the original cooperative game mode that Fortnite launched as before turning into the battle royale juggernaut it is today. In it, you fight zombies for as long as you can, either alone or among friends, in survival where you build and shoot until you get overwhelmed.
The issue is that Save the World isn't free despite Epic Game's promises to make it free-to-play. You'll have to purchase the game mode in one of the several packages it comes with, starting at $39.99 on most storefronts including the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Save the World is not available on Nintendo Switch and Epic has said they have no plans to bring it to Nintendo's console. Keep an eye out for when Save the World becomes free-to-play.
Save the World rewards are much better than the ones in the battle royale and can help you save up faster over time. Here are a few things you can do once you have a copy of the original Fortnite mode:
- Login Daily - Save the World will give you daily login rewards, all you have to do is turn the game on. Rewards including different types of cosmetics and the occasional small amount of V-Bucks (150 or $1.50). If you plan on playing Fortnite: Battle Royale it wouldn't hurt to pop over to Save the World.
- Daily Challenges - Epic has unique challenges to complete every day that will net you different types of rewards, including V-Bucks.
- Play Storm the Shield - These missions are unlocked as you play through different areas in Save the World's campaign. Each reward you 100 or 150 V-Bucks.
- Complete Quests - Like the daily challenges, save the world also has other challenges and goals you can complete to earn V-Bucks.
Get a deal in the item shop
The obvious answer here is to hop onto Fortnite and buy V-Bucks, either with a credit card or with a pre-purchasable voucher at a store like Target or GameSpot. Every 1,000 V-Bucks is worth about $10 and V-Bucks are available in different amounts. You'll usually have to spend more money if you want one specific item (ie. spend $20 to get a $15 skin).
Sometimes the Item Shop, where you'll need to go to buy V-Bucks, will have deals where you get some free V-Bucks if you buy a special skin set or similar item.
Steer clear of scams
There aren't a ton of ways to get free V-Bucks in Fortnite, but if you take a look at YouTube and other similar sites you'll see hundreds of videos advertising methods to earn them for free. The majority of these videos are scams, so be wary of anyone trying to get your personal information.
