Days after Fortnite made changes to storm circles in the late-game as part of “an active trial,” Epic stepped back in with further adjustments to the mechanic prior to v41.30 dropping into the island today, Thursday, July 30.
The test, which gave players less time to move around a map in Fortnite’s later stages due to storm circles closing in faster, was something the battle royale game actively invited feedback on. Following said player response, Epic noted that it heard gamers “wanted just a bit more time to hunt Sprites upfront,” with their post on X providing more clarity on how storm circles will now function through a match.
While storm circles one and two have returned to their original timing, three onwards will have changes for players to adjust to. Circle three will now begin closing sooner but more slowly than before, but there’ll still be “the same total time to rotate.” Storm circle four onwards, though, will “still have slightly faster timing.” This means that overall, there’ll be three cycles of storm circles for players to comfortably hunt around for those adorable little Sprites arriving in today’s update.
So whether you’re already a Sprite hoarder or are just really excited to unlock the Peely or Llama Sprites (who can blame you, really), it seems like Epic won’t be taking away much time overall for hunting them down. Best make sure you’re stocked up on some shield potions just in case you get distracted, though.