Fortnite Rivalries and the Showdown leaderboard explained

Fortnite Rivalries are a new mechanic introduced to the battle royale this season, which flags certain opponents as your Rivals and rewards you for eliminating them within a set amount of time. Keep eliminating Rivals and the credits you earn can start stacking up, allowing you to purchase powerful weapons or handy boosts and gear in Fortnite Season 2 of Chapter 7. This also feeds into the Showdown leaderboard, both in-game and online, so we’re here to explain how that and Rivalries in Fortnite work.

What are Fortnite Rivalries

Fortnite Rivalries put you head to head with another player in the same match, marking them at the top of the screen and giving you a 5 minute countdown to find and eliminate them. Their general area will be marked with a red circle on the map, but once you get to the same location you’ll have to pinpoint them yourself. Eliminating a Rival yourself will instantly give you 10 Rivalry Credits, however if another player eliminates them they’ll drop a Rivalry Contract at their location – if you manage to collect that before the timer expires then it will still count as a Rivalry won and award the 10 Rivalry Credits, but if another player picks it up then they become your new Rival.

For the initial part of the season, players will automatically be assigned a Rival near the start of each match, though to get more you can interact with one of the Rivalry Screens such as the one shown above, found where there are crossed swords icons on the map. As well as starting new Rivalries here, you can interact with the side screens to spend your Rivalry Credits on weapons and perks – that currency carries over between matches, so you can save it up and spend whenever you like. Some of these rewards are only unlocked once you get a certain number of Rivalry wins, but here’s a summary of what you can pick up:

• Rivalry Weapons:
  • Upgrade Weapon to next Rarity – 20 Rivalry Credits
  • Random Legendary Weapon – 50 Rivalry Credits
  • Random Exotic Weapon (Requires 20 Rivalry Wins) – 80 Rivalry Credits
  • Random Exotic Weapon (Requires 60 Rivalry Wins) – 80 Rivalry Credits
• Rivalry Gear:
  • Self Revive Device – 10 Rivalry Credits
  • 5,000 XP (Requires 10 Rivalry Wins, limit of one per day) – 10 Rivalry Credits
  • Mark Enemies on Damage (Requires 40 Rivalry Wins) – 40 Rivalry Credits
  • Infinite Slap (Requires 80 Rivalry Wins) – 50 Rivalry Credits

How does the Showdown leaderboard work in Fortnite

For each Rivalry Win you earn in the battle royale, you’ll add progress to the Showdown reward track for either Team Ice King or Team Foundation, depending on who you chose at the start of the season. As each new milestone is hit on either track, that reward will be unlocked for all players, so you won’t miss out if the other team is unlocking items. The rewards revealed so far are as follows:

• Act I
  • Team Ice King
    • Ice King’s Gauntlets
    • Slapperoni Pizza
    • Stabilize the Rift Anomaly
    • Enhanced Harpoon Gun
    • Ice King’s Vault Key
  • Team Foundation

There’s also an online Fortnite Showdown leaderboard running on the official website, where you can complete challenges to earn in-game cosmetics. These are revealed weekly, though they roll over so you don’t have to complete them in the week they launch, and you can earn the following if you connect your Epic account:

• Connect your Epic account to earn the “Original Rivalry” Spray
• Week I: Eliminate 50 players to earn the “Rivalled Runners” Kicks
• Week II: Survive 30 Storm Circles to earn the “Goofyfoot Flail” Pickaxe
• Week III (unlocks April 2): Earn a Victory Royale to earn the “Enticing Pie” Emote
• Week IV (unlocks April 9): Win 15 Rivalries to earn the “Eagle’s Talons” Pickaxe