Back to Action: How to Revive your Team in Fortnite Introduction

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Picture this: you’re in the heat of battle in a public match with your squad – one of your squadmates has been eliminated, and the other two are by your side. Suddenly, your best player gets headshot sniped by an enemy. You know you and your other living squadmate can’t get a Victory Royale without the help of the downed members of your squad. What can you do? This is a scenario where you need to revive your teammates before fighting further. How can we ensure we make the right play? I will introduce you to the basics of the revive and reboot game mechanics and explore sure-fire strategies that can ensure success!

Bottom Line Up Front

revive

Reviving downed teammates or rebooting eliminated ones are two important mechanics in Fortnite that you may use to get an edge over enemy squads. When a teammate is downed, reviving involves getting to their now crouched body and holding down the ‘Use’ button for 10 seconds. This allows your teammate to jump right into battle, albeit with only 30 HP. Suppose your teammate is totally eliminated, though. In that case, your only option is to collect a reboot card from their body and head to the most convenient reboot van to bring them back to life. 

Explanation

Before we begin, it is important to clarify the difference between reviving and rebooting:

  • Revive: if your teammate(s) is/are downed, you may revive them wherever they died
  • Reboot: if your teammate(s) is/are eliminated (sometimes referred to as have being “thirsted”), then you may reboot them at any reboot van on the map, so long as you collect their reboot card(s) from the location they were killed

Let’s go more in-depth on these two game mechanics and consider strategies to improve your reviving and rebooting skills!

Reviving

fortnite revive

When an ally is downed in any Battle Royale game mode (other than Solos, of course), a revive mechanic exists that can bring them back to action. Downed, in this context, refers to being “downed but not out” (DBNO) or knocked down. When a player is in a DBNO state, they start with 100 ‘tenacity points’ that slowly trickle down to depletion after 1 minute. During this minute, when DBNO, the player model goes into a crouched position (on their hands and knees) and can only move around by crawling. To begin the revive animation, a teammate must go next to the downed teammate and aim their reticle on the body. They can then press the ‘Use’ button to start the revive countdown. It takes 10 seconds to revive your teammate, so long as the Use button is kept held throughout and the reviver does not die during the process. Taking enemy fire or moving your character will cancel the revive animation, so try to do it in a safe location.

Five Strategies to Revive Your Team Effectively

reviving teammate

  1. Utitlize Downed Players: You may not be aware that, if down, there are still many plays you can make to assist yourself or your teammates. You can crawl toward your teammates if they are busy in a fight, or make your way to cover in a bush or behind a rock. You can even peek at what the enemies are doing and make callouts (since the camera is still focused on your downed body). Although you cannot build while downed, you can still interact with doors and drop ammo, mats, or weapons from your inventory. As funny as it may sound if a downed player is in the right position they can also take a zipline or launchpad to get to safety or into the circle. 
  2. Get Out of the Storm: If you and your downed teammate are caught in the storm, consider carrying your teammate into the circle before attempting the revive. This will prevent both players from taking unnecessary storm damage. You can even throw your allies into the cover or the circle by clicking the fire button while they are being carried.
  3. Strength in numbers: The revive countdown will go significantly faster if more than one living teammate help revive their downed teammate together (refer to the image below). Keep in mind, though, that team revives may leave your team vulnerable to taking damage, especially if there is no suitable cover. This leads to the next point which is…
  4. Find or Create Cover: Consider building around you or find cover (e.g., trees, rocks, bushes, buildings) before attempting a revive, as it reduces your chances of taking enemy fire. The most efficient build is to make a quick 1×1 around you and then start the revive.
  5. Get to Downed Teammates ASAP: This one is a bit of a no-brainer because there’s only a 1-minute window to revive your teammate. Some suggestions for quick mobility in Chapter 3, Season 2 are vehicles (consider modding them with big tires), ziplines, airship propellors, shockwave grenades and launchpads. The newly introduced sprint mechanic is also helpful in a pinch (make sure to set a bind for sprinting!).

After being revived, the player starts with only 30 HP but keeps their ammo, mats, and inventory loadout from before being downed. I recommend healing up before entering battle again!

Can you revive yourself in Fortnite?

revive yourself

The short answer is no. Whether you are playing solo or with teammates, there is currently no option or mechanic in Fortnite that allows for a self-revive. This is why it is crucial to stick together when playing with teammates as you never know when you may need a quick revive. The closest experience to being able to revive yourself in Fortnite is playing Team Rumble, where you redeploy/respawn after every death. I suggest this mode if you are looking a more fast-paced gameplay experience.

Rebooting

What happens if a teammate is downed and thirsted (i.e., completely eliminated with 0 tenacity points)? Reviving is, unfortunately, no longer an option, so you must reboot them. The reboot process has a few logical steps that you can follow:

  • Obtain eliminated allies’ reboot cards: Your teammate’s reboot card will be found on their body and can be picked up by walking over it. Any living teammate can do this, but consider distance when deciding who should pick it up. The reboot card will disappear after 260 seconds. Don’t forget to pick up any valuable loot that your dead teammate dropped and may need again (or keep it for yourself).
  • Find the most convenient reboot van: After a teammate collects the reboot card, another teammate can go to a reboot van and begin rebooting their eliminated ally. Keep in mind that the reboot van will make a loud noise that enemies can easily hear. On top of this, it takes 10 seconds for the reboot to complete once initiated, and any shots taken will cancel the process. So, I recommend building around yourself and the van (armored walls are best) for protection during the reboot. Like the revive mechanic, rebooting can be completed faster if multiple teammates reboot at the same van simultaneously. Consider going into the storm to find a reboot van if the circle is contested or there are no reboot vans inside!
  • The rebooted player should loot up ASAP: After the reboot is done, the rebooted player will start with 100 HP, 100 Wood, and a common pistol, so the player must look for loot after landing (player skydives above reboot van upon successful reboot).

Reboot vans are scattered across the map. They can be found at the following locations in Fortnite version 20.10 (Chapter 3, Season 2): 

FAQs

Question: How many times can you get revived in Fortnite?

Answer: There is no limit to how many times you can be revived or rebooted in a Battle Royale match. As long as there is another teammate alive, there is still a chance they can successfully revive. It all depends on proximity to the DBNO body, storm, and enemy pressure. For rebooting, success depends on location of the reboot card and reboot vans in relation to the storm. Chances are you will only pull off 1 reboot in a match, so make it count!

Question: How can I quickly heal myself after being revived?

Answer: There are many options for fast heals in Chapter 3. Chug splashes may be the quickest and most economical way to heal your team as they heal anyone in the splash area. There’s also the shield keg which was introduced in Chapter 3, Season 1. The shield keg heals anyone in its fairly large AOE, although, as its name implies, it only provides up to 100 shield. Other decent options for heals are fish, first aid kits, shield potions, guzzle juice, or fruits and vegetables. Environmental heals include fireplaces, chug barrels, and chug trucks.

Question: Will other teams know I am using a reboot van?

Answer: Yes, other teammates will be alerted to the use of a reboot van in two ways: (1) they will hear a loud charging sound during the reboot if they are near enough to the van – it even shows up on the visual sounds feature, if enabled, and (2) if a reboot is successful, a loud horn/siren sound plays and a large pillar of light shoots into the sky as your teammate glides back into play. Also, keep in mind that once a reboot van is succesfully used, there is a cooldown for a short period of time before the van may be used again.

Conclusion

Reviving downed teammates or rebooting eliminated ones are important plays that may lead to more victory royales in Duo, Trio or Squad game modes. It is difficult to win battles in Fortnite when outnumbered, so getting your teammates back into action is almost always the right play. Keep in mind the strategies discussed in this article, such as ensuring you revive in a safe location, trying to revive as a team to save time, etc. Rebooting has more steps and is generally a more challenging play to pull off but can work if executed properly. Consider rebooting as a team or even travelling into the storm if the circle is highly contested or does not have any reboot vans. Ultimately, playing with the motto “No man or woman left behind” is a good one to live by and illustrates the significance of revive and reboot plays in Fortnite

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