Fortnite: Preferred Item Slots can be amazing if done right

Preferred Item Slots is an upcoming feature coming to Fortnite next week. This would allow players to be able to set which type of item goes where in their inventory, and the idea is that it should cut down on time organizing loot in the midst of battle. There are still some questions about how the logistics of this system works, but if done properly, this can be a game changer for Fortnite.

Why do Preferred Item Slots matter? Organizing your gear is an easy advanced technique to give yourself an advantage in a fight. Every player has their own layout that they like. For example, I set my items by effective range, with long range weapons like snipers on the left and closer range weapons like shotguns to the right.

Fortnite: Preferred Item Slots can be amazing if done right

This can give you an advantage by saving time when you switch weapons as you change ranges or when you’re out of ammo. You don’t want to be fumbling in your inventory in a fight, or worse, select the wrong weapon. This is where Preferred Item Slots can save you.

It doesn’t seem like you need loot and grab items in a firefight, but you’ll often need to loot weapons from enemies as soon as you take them out in the last circles. Grabbing stronger weapons from enemies can be a great strategy, letting you snowball in resources that’ll make you more dangerous than the other players. In general, players will have some great loot in the last circles.

You don’t want to be spending time messing around your item slots when you’re in this situation. It’ll make you vulnerable, especially if there are enemies all around you. With Preferred Item Slots, you could pick up any high rarity items and know exactly where they’ll be ready to use. This consistency could really elevate your game.

There’s a few issues that could arise from this, however. What happens when pick up a weapon that’s the same type as one already in a slot? What if the slot of the weapon you pick up is already occupied? My only concern is that items will be shifted around, and could get more confusing in some cases.

Epic Games have yet to disclose the specifics, so we may have to wait until next update and see. At the very least, Preferred Item Slots will be an optional setting that can be ignored if it doesn’t work the way you want.