What are Wastelander Challenges in Fortnite?

Chapter Five, season three of Fortnite has a wide variety of new mechanics and gameplay to get used to. One of the most formidable yet highly rewarding features you might not know much about is Wastelander Challenges.

If you’re looking for a challenge, it doesn’t get tougher than these dangerous trials. This is one of the most unique and difficult features in this season, so here’s what you need to know about Wastelander Challenges in Fortnite.

Wastelander Challenges in Fortnite, explained

Wastelander Challenges are special trials that activate very difficult modifiers to grant you bonus XP and exclusive rewards. There are four locations you can visit around the map to activate Wastelander Challenges and a total of six different types you may get.

Regardless of which challenge you get, you’re essentially activating some kind of debuff that lasts the entire round. You earn extra XP while the challenge is active and you can also earn a special Wastelander’s Mark Wrap if you manage to claim a Victory Royale with one.

When you visit any of the Wastelander Challenge locations, a random trial is chosen, which means you never know which one will appear until you actually visit the location. Each of the six Wastelander Challenges you might experience are as follows:

• Perma-Damage makes both health and shield items unusable.
• The Ground Is Lava makes you take damage whenever you touch the ground.
• Unshielded prevents you from gaining shields.
• Burnin’ Hot Items causes you to take damage when you pick up items.
• Full Throttle makes you take damage whenever you stand still.
• Jammed Clips disables reloading.

Completing these trials as often as you can is a great way to quickly level up so you can claim more rewards on the battle pass. You may want to avoid Wastelander Challenges when you’re working on important tasks like the Welcome to the Wasteland quests, though, since they can make otherwise easy feats a lot more difficult.

Accepting your first Wastelander Challenge is an easy way to earn lots of XP since it’s one of the Jumpstart quests for Chapter Five, season three. This means you earn 15,000 XP for just activating one, plus the extra XP you earn as you play with it. You also get some special Accolades you can view in your Collection as you complete various feats with one active.