<center>https://steemitimages.com/600x450/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNNLdVTsUNT6YR1BmYkQNZ6d6ZZR6iYbQENBwYweWuL4y/mqdefault.jpg</center><center><sub>[Source](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ynUQAE7MGVE/mqdefault.jpg)</sub></center>

I talk a lot about being a noob, and I totally am. But slowly, my Fortnite skills have been improving.  And these days, it's pretty rare for me to finish outside of the top 10 in solo mode.  And even in squads, I'll survive regularly to top 5, even if my squad dies early. 

In fact, in my last game of squads, I manage to take out an entire squad solo.  So I suppose I'm much less of a noob these days but, damn, I still have a lot to learn.

## Coming face to face with the pros

<br>When you survive to the last few players in a game, you're coming up against the people who spend countless hours in this game.  These guys and gals really know how to play. And, right now, I just can't compete at their level.

To win at this game you really need to know how to do one thing in particular really well.

### Build

<br>Building is the one thing in this game that will make you a winner.  If you can't build, you die very fast. I can build quickly to protect myself.  But these guys can use building to protect themselves and as part of their attack strategy. 

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmZi3VvXbSo4fnE16QzU4ZyhzBz9vMhuTTmuPdGCMb5Dfh/hqdefault-2.jpg</center><center><sub>[Source](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kgY1MoNUmtA/hqdefault.jpg)</sub></center>

I'm not at that level yet. And it's partly because I haven't done one thing to help me build fast and effectively.

### Map your controller buttons to include your most used platforms

<br>It sounds lazy I know, but I haven't bothered to customise my buttons yet.  All of the top players have set their most commonly used structures or platforms to easily reached buttons on their controllers.  I really need to do this because I know that it will massively improve my performance. 

<center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmYL7LtCrSvfJNPbqe1DJ1fbWa1B4YDbY1KKYFCvetMJFQ/combatPS4Standard.png</center><center><sub>[Source](https://fortnitehelp.epicgames.com/customer/portal/attachments/797602)</sub></center>

And finally, once you've built your structures to protect yourself and give you the best approach to attack, you have to be skilled at using one particular type of weapon.

### Grab that shot-gun and use it well

<br>When I get killed, it's almost exclusively from one weapon. That bloody shot-gun. And almost always the pump action. 

<center>https://steemitimages.com/700x450/https://steemitimages.com/DQmSwr93tETU14vFXUWbSkpx8TSjwk9JdTzLXGsktXJi8d9/maxresdefault.jpg</center><center><sub>[Source](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/96wxNmeR9ro/maxresdefault.jpg)</sub></center>

So these days, I run with the pump action as often as possible. And it's only so I can get better with this gun.  I still try to get those sneaky kills from a distance or while people are distracted looting chests or whatever, but it's the shot-gun that wins the game when you're able to get up close to your opponent.

## Conclusion

<br>Fortnite is not an easy game for a noob like me.  But with some time and plenty of practice, I'm pretty damn sure that I'll be taking home that number 1 spot here and there.  This is an awesome game with a huge following.  And it's FREE.  If you haven't jumped on board yet, then give it a shot.  You have nothing to lose, only your free time... damn this game can suck your free time away...