Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2: Start Time, Early Patch Notes, Leaks, and More

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 is nearly here, but when exactly can players drop into the new season? There has been a surprising amount of silence surrounding Season 2, and Fortnite fans are dying to hear anything about what they can expect to see after the update goes live. Chapter 3 Season 1 was a resounding success, bringing Spider-Man to the game and adding awesome new mechanics like sliding and tents. It’s going to be a hard season to top, but Chapter 3 Season 2 may have some serious problems ahead of it if Epic’s silence is anything to go by. Here’s when you can start playing Chapter 3 Season 2.

What Time Does Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 Start?

While the exact start time has not been revealed for the next season, Epic Games has announced that downtime for Chapter 3 Season 2 will begin at 12:00 AM PT/3:00 AM ET on Sunday, March 20. The season will not be delayed. Matchmaking will be disabled 30 minutes prior to downtime, so make sure to get those last few swings in with Spider-Man’s Web-Shooters before they’re gone for good.

Because this is a new season launch, downtime will likely last a long time. However, most seasons have launched early in the morning after downtime, so expect to see Chapter 3 Season 2 a few hours after downtime begins. Chapter 3 Season 1 began at 7 AM PT/10 AM ET, and Season 2 could follow a similar pattern.

Will There Be a Chapter 3 Season 2 Live Event?

It doesn’t look like there will be an event for the new season. Epic Games usually announces event schedules well in advance so players can prepare, and they’ve been radio silent for a while regarding the next update. There is a chance that there will be a small single-player event when the new season begins similar to the small island sequence at the beginning of Chapter 3 Season 1, but don’t expect anything major.

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2 Patch Notes

There are currently no official patch notes for the new season, but as always, expect to see some major new additions and changes. Epic Games has shared some fixes scheduled for the upcoming update, however, so here’s what we know so far for patch notes.

• New Map Changes
• New Weapons
• New POIs
• Fixed the following bugs:
  • Navigating Discover menu may become unresponsive with a controller.
  • Tree Leaf textures look low-res
  • Bushrangers leaves shed excessively after sliding.
  • Back Blings ‘floating’ on some outfits
  • Hero ability control bindings have been shifted
  • Wolves and Raptors are missing their combat passive abilities
  • Auto Building/Shooting if you hold the build button and double-tap the edit button

We’ll update this post once Epic releases the full changelog or reveals new features.

Chapter 3 Season 2 Leaks

While there haven’t been too many leaks for this new season, it’s impossible to hide everything. Some Fortnite leakers have already revealed some of the new season’s major features, although it’s unclear if all of them will be present on day one.

These leaks come from HYPEX, which most of you will know as one of the community’s best leakers.

• Tanks
• Tactical Sprint Mechanic
• Clamber Mechanic
• Vehicle Mods: Armor & Turret
• Jetpacks Chests
• Legendary Shield Aura Backpack Item: Heals 50 Shields for You/Squad and Recharges
• Squad Burst Healing Item: Heals 75 HP for You/Squad and Recharges Every 3 Minutes
• Mythic Thermal Assault Rifle
• Mythic Wolverine Blades
• Mythic Shockwave Bow
• Homing Rocket
• Double Deagle
• Zeppelin Vehicle
• Tank Drills
• Cattus Cave POI
• The Agency May Return as a POI

Again, not all of these are confirmed to be there when the season launches, but they’ve all been found in the game’s files at this point. Chapter 3 Season 2 seems to be war-themed, which makes sense given the events of Season 1. The IO betrayed us at the end of Chapter 2, with Slone leaving us to die abord the alien mothership. They’ve been drilling to the new side of the island after it flipped, and IO Guards have been hostile on sight to us the entire season since we’ve been working with The Seven.

Fortnite is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and mobile dveices.