Fortnite has plenty of guns on offer for players to utilize, but what are melee weapons and how do you deal melee damage to wildlife? We’re here to answer those very questions.
Epic Games’ wildly popular battle royale Fortnite has become one of the most successful games in the world since its release in 2017, and plenty of updates and exciting weapons have been added since then.
Still, you might not have figured out how to perform one of the basic actions: deal melee damage. It’s not something that’s really encouraged when there are so many powerful weapons and items to choose from around the island.
If you’re struggling to complete Punchcards such as Dire’s questline that requires you to damage wildlife and eliminate Cube Monsters with a melee weapon, we’ve got a quick and easy guide on how to do exactly that below.
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What is a melee weapon in Fortnite?
Right now, there’s only one melee weapon in Fortnite Season 8: Your trusty Pickaxe! This means you’ll begin every match with a melee weapon at your fingertips, so completing melee Punchcard quests should actually be quite easy.
There have been other melee weapons in Fortnite in the past, such as the limited-edition Lightsaber. A Sideways Scythe weapon has been leaked for Season 8, but until that arrives, you’ll have to make do with your Pickaxe.
How to deal melee damage in Fortnite
You can deal melee damage in Fortnite with the pickaxe.
The answer to this question is pretty simple: Instead of using weapons like Assault Rifles or throwable items like Grenades, you’ll need to utilize your trusty pickaxe to deal melee damage to other players.
Players will normally use their pickaxe for farming wood, stone, and metal in Fortnite. These materials are used in building to create walls, roofs, and stairs that help defend against enemy fire and aid traversal.
But the pickaxe can also be used to deal damage to enemies when you don’t have any weapons in your arsenal. This normally only happens early on in the game when players land on The Island with no items.
Simply equip your pickaxe of choice and swing away to deal melee damage to your opponents.
How much damage does the pickaxe do in Fortnite?
The pickaxe isn’t very powerful.
There’s a reason most Fortnite players don’t use the pickaxe to deal damage to their opponents. Simply put, it’s a terrible offensive option that leaves you open to enemy fire as you have to get very close for it to work.
It’s also not very powerful, with only 20 damage dealt per hit. It’s unlikely that you’ll land enough hits with a pickaxe to defeat an enemy player before they retaliate with a much stronger weapon or simply run away.
Still, if it’s your only option, it’s certainly better than nothing. Besides, you might need to use the pickaxe to complete some of those weekly challenges to earn XP and max out your Battle Pass.
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