Fortnite has had several in-game hints that it might be adding helicopters to the battle royale. Several helicopter pads litter the map, and photos including helicopters at the Grotto location have circulated. The most recent data leak coming from Fornite data-miner @spedicey1 on Twitter exposed a new update that may arrive as early as tomorrow.
Sorting through all of the files, Spedicey1 uncovered that the helicopter's code name was "Hoagie." Fortnite has coded some of their secret items in the past and given the code name the same first letter as the item to be released. The confirmation of the helicopter came earlier today from Spedicey1's Twitter, uncovering further details about the vehicle.
Spedicey1 also revealed that the helicopter's health would max out at 1500 HP– a lot more than speed boats, which max out at 800 HP. In previous seasons, gamers were able to interact with planes– and even robots– that flew for a few seconds, but the plane is the only vehicle to come close to the health of the helicopter.
There is a catch to all of this, however. The helicopter does not appear to have any additional weapons or assists. HYPEX, a notable Fortnite data miner, uncovered that there weren't any weapons listed, and it's unclear if players can use their own weapons while in flight.
According to one of the codes uncovered, gamers can deal 100 points of self-damage if they get in the way of the spinning helicopter blades– a hefty amount of damage if players have no shields– and suffer a sudden death.
It appears as though the helicopter may only hold one player at a time, according to the leaker. This will surely be helpful when it comes to solo matches, but playing with squads could prove tricky. In the past vehicles usually held around four to accommodate the transportation of squadmates, but if that's not be the case for the helicopters, so there's no sense in planning emergency evacuation runs if teammates are outside the circle.
Fortnite is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: FortniteIntel