What is the Yellow/Orange Circle in Fortnite Chapter 5?

If you’ve been wondering what the yellow or slightly orange-ish circle in season one of Fortnite’s Chapter Five means, you’re in the right place for an answer. 

After the smash-hit Big Bang event ended, Fortnite’s Chapter Five, season one went live on Dec. 3, bringing a plethora of new content in the form of new points of interest, bosses, and features. The map that you can expand in your matches has received tweaks accordingly, depicting new locations and boss locations, but there’s also this new yellow/orange circle that doesn’t just look different but also moves much more than the storm circle we’re used to.

Here’s what the yellow/orange circle in Fortnite’s Chapter Five, season one means.

Yellow/orange circle in Fortnite Chapter Five, season one explained

The yellow, or what some of you might see as orange, circle depicts the rough location of the player carrying one or multiple Society Medallions in Fortnite. So if your inventory holds one of those shield-boosting items, regardless of how you got it, the entire lobby will be able to see a highlighted circle surrounding your location. The more the number of medallions you carry, the smaller the circle will appear, meaning you’ll be making it easier for enemies to find you. The circle moves with the player carrying the medallion, so you’ll see it changing places often.

Assuming that you’ve played a few matches in the new season already, I’m sure you’ve come across at least one of the five new bosses—Oscar, Nisha, Montague, Valeria, and Peter Griffin (yes, from Family Guy)—appearing in different spots on the map. If you don’t know already, defeating them drops Society Medallions, a precious item added in season one. Available in multiple types, these medallions significantly boost your shield capacity while you carry them.

If you see the circle on your map and you aren’t carrying any medallion, it indicates that a player carrying a medallion is somewhere in that circle. You can hit the area to find the player carrying a medallion and defeat them to claim it for yourself. 

Is the yellow/orange circle in Fortnite dangerous?

The yellow/orange circle isn’t going to reduce your health like the storm circle, but it isn’t necessarily safe, either. 

Not that you shouldn’t pick up Society Medallions in Fortnite, but they do come with a lot of risk, thanks to them indicating your rough location. If you do pick up one or several of them, expect enemies to rush you at any time. It’s not much of a problem if you like taking gunfights; just be ready for a rush or even an ambush at all times.

Similarly, if you’re looking to attack a player in a yellow circle to snatch their medallions, you should be ready for other teams to do the same. In the worst-case scenario, you might have multiple teams turning their focus on you after you manage to steal the medallion(s).  

If your primary goal is to get a victory royale, you might want to avoid carrying a medallion or seeking one. That said, having medallions to boost your shield capacity can be invaluable in the final circles of a Fortnite game, giving you a huge health advantage over your enemies who don’t have it.