How to spectate in Fortnite

When it comes to improving and learning in Fortnite, we all have our strategies. While some are visual learners who watch detailed guides on how to perform an exact jump, others prefer a hands-on approach, whether that be practicing in Creative mode or implementing a new strategy every match. Nonetheless, we are all unique when it comes to learning, and there’s no general rule we can all apply. So, miraculous transformations of us becoming better over the night are out of the question. But, what then can we do to improve?

One of the most common approaches to improving is spectating. Spectating in Fortnite entails watching someone else’s gameplay via your own client, whether that be your friend or a complete stranger who just dazzled you with their moves. By spectating, you can learn new tricks you previously had no clue about, like how to climb onto an exact building with only a couple of clicks or how to slide and pick up items. 

So, if you want to learn by watching other players or simply see how your friends are doing in Fortnite, here’s a guide on how to spectate.

How to spectate friends in Fortnite

Epic Games removed the feature Watch Game largely because of stream sniping, where players would either have the streamer’s match open on one monitor or hire a friend to repeatedly shout out the streamer’s location. This, naturally, was an unfair advantage that increased toxicity and led to games of poor quality.

So today, there’s only one possible way of watching your friend’s game. To spectate a match, you need to be in your friend’s lobby. Once you joined the lobby, you’ll first need to wait at least 30 seconds before you can see what exactly is happening in the game. You have to wait 30 seconds because you can’t spectate people in the battle bus. After that, it’s smooth sailing since you can watchfully observe every step your friend makes until the end of a game.

How to spectate strangers in Fortnite

Since Epic removed the Watch Game feature altogether from the game, you can’t spectate strangers from your pre-lobby. On the flip side, you can still watch players who eliminated you from the match as much as you’d like. If the player who eliminated you gets eliminated by someone else, the spectator’s camera immediately moves to the next person. So, you can watch how the match went from the safety of your own chair without worrying that someone’s just around the corner and ready to eliminate you from the contention for Victory Royale.