At the time of writing, downtime has begun for the eighth season of Fortnite, meaning new areas, weapons and more are just around the corner.

As you may well have noticed, a giant volcano has appeared this time around. Pirates, ninjas, and plenty more fighters have started tussling over treasure, with an 'X marks the spot' theme being present throughout all of the season's teases so far. So what does this mean, exactly?

Well, on top of the usual 100+ rewards waiting for you with the new Battle Pass, there should be plenty of things to see and do on the Battle Royale island. First up is the Pirate Cannon, a new weapon which can damage enemy locations or structures with cannonballs or even launch the player across the map. It deals 100 damage to enemies on a direct hit and 50 damage to enemies within a small radius.

Cannon

Then we have the new locations, such as Sunny Steps and Lazy Lagoon. These have appeared thanks to the volcano's arrival. Make sure to check them out when you next log on.

Volcano

Elsewhere, the Sneaky Snowman, Chiller Grenade, X-4 Stormwing, Shopping Cart and All Terrain Kart have all been vaulted, and lava has been added as a new mechanic. Lava will deal 1 damage per touch and will cause players to bounce off the surface, and new Volcanic Vents will boost players and vehicles into the sky in a gust of hot air.

You can learn more about the new changes, including additional bug fixes and improvements, in the full patch notes.

Will you be dropping in for another season of Fortnite? Let us know down below.

[source epicgames.com]