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A screenshot of Fortnite Festival's chart during Cake by the Ocean by DNCE.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Fortnite Festival arrow notes, explained

The triangle notes in Fortnite Festival are there to help you.

In Fortnite Festival, the white arrow notes are played by releasing a button you previously pressed. These are sometimes referred to as “pull-off notes,” a term borrowed from Guitar Hero mechanics.

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Seeing these notes pop up can be daunting if you don’t know what they are. Fortunately, we can tell you everything you need to know.

What are the arrows in Fortnite Festival?

As stated above, arrow notes in Fortnite Festival are notes that can be played by releasing a button. This simplifies playing rapid note sequences — especially on instruments like the Lead. It’s still possible to play these arrow notes the regular way by pressing the corresponding button at the right time. However, this demands quicker actions and can easily tire your hands out mid-song. Take the song “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE for example. During the chorus, when I tried pressing for the arrow notes instead of releasing, my hands quickly grew tired. In contrast, playing these notes by simply releasing them offered a much smoother experience.

Tip:

Practice with slower songs on medium difficulty so you can get the hang of it.

If you find that pressing the arrow notes in Fortnite Festival works better for you, go for it. But be careful: if the sequence of notes is fast, the game might interpret your button release from a rectangle note as an early hit for the arrow note. By the time you press the button to hit the arrow note, the moment could have passed, and your press may be counted as an error. If you’re aiming for high scores or Flawless attempts, I’d advise against playing arrow notes with a button press due to this potential issue.

How to play the arrow notes in Fortnite Festival

Video by Dot Esports

In the video I recorded, you’ll see how to play the arrow notes in Fortnite Festival from a player’s perspective. These notes often follow a regular rectangle note. In such cases, just keep holding the button you pressed for the regular note and release it precisely as the white arrow note hits the bottom bar.

That’s how you nail it. Watch the opening seconds of the chorus of DNCE’s “Cake by The Ocean” in my video. Notice how I press the buttons only twice for the rectangle notes, yet I also hit the arrow notes by releasing the keyboard buttons right as they cross the bar.

Tip:

Some instruments are just harder to play in Fortnite Festival than the others. Drums, for example, usually have a lot more arrow notes than the other instruments. Even with that in mind, don’t be afraid to knock down the difficulty of your music-playing until you feel more comfortable with the game.

Like any new skill, it will take a little while for you to get the hang of playing arrow notes in Fortnite Festival, but you should soon be blitzing through these notes with ease. For you, things might be easier if you have the best controller settings and/or keybinds for Fortnite Festival.


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Author
Image of Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo is senior guides writer and strategist at Dot Esports. He's been working in the gaming industry for over 9 years, with works published on Destructoid, Prima Games, ESPN, and more. A fan of Pokémon since 6 years old and an avid Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch player. Now writing strategy and quests guides for several mobile and PC titles.
Author
Image of Ryan Galloway
Ryan Galloway
Ryan is a Senior Staff Writer for Dot Esports who has been working at GAMURS since 2020. He covers a wide variety of titles from across the gaming space, with a focus on Pokémon. He boasts a degree in Journalism from Murdoch University. Email: ryan@dotesports.com