A New "Zero Build" Mode Has Been Added to 'Fortnite'

War has officially begun in Fortnite, and it's up to you to lead the resistance. Season 1 of Fortnite Chapter 3 ended with little fanfare and, surprisingly, no live event. Season 2 began with the invasion of the IO, putting players at the helm of the resistance. This season, they have the ability to vote for different armaments to unvault by using their Bars to fund the projects of their choice, making a direct impact in the battle against the invaders.

In the Season 2 launch trailer, the commander of the IO took out all of the player-built buildings with the touch of a button — and for the first week of the new season, players found they were unable to build new structures. Can you build this season, or is the mechanism gone for good?

With the release of Season 2 of Fortnite's newest chapter, developer Epic Games added quite a few new features — and also temporarily removed the ability for players to build. For many, this was a bit of a disappointment, as the ability to build has been a key feature in the battle royale game since its release. Of course, Epic Games wouldn't take away one of its main features of gameplay without providing some substitutes to help players out.

Instead of building to get to high places, players could use the game's new mantling feature to pull themselves up when they're just shy of hopping onto a raised surface. The default run speed has also been increased so players can run faster — meaning the sprint speed has also been increased. While players can't sprint while holding a weapon, this increased speed will help when trying to vault onto high-up surfaces.

With this increased speed, players can also now bash into closed doors with their shoulders when sprinting, or slide into them if they prefer.

For those who used building to protect themselves, players have now been granted an Overshield in addition to their regular shield and health. This will be the first thing to take damage when being attacked by an enemy — and even once your Overshield has been depleted, you'll still be able to recover it to use again and again.

Thankfully, though, building was only taken away from the game for a short period of time. Known Fortnite data miner @HYPEX tweeted in late December about code that suggested the game would introduce a no-build limited-time mode — and players experienced that limited time event at the start of Season 2. While building has since been reimplemented, the brief period of time it was gone gave players a chance to utilize some of the game's other features.

Following the reimplementation of building to Fortnite, there's now a new game mode available to those who prefer their playing experience without the ability to build structures.

Fortnite's Zero Build mode can be played in solos, duos, trios, and quads (depending on how many people you want to play with), making the Overshield their first line of defense.

"Without building, all players have the recharging Overshield as your first line of defense in Zero Build. Zip up Ascenders to access Blimps or use Mantling to get the high-ground over your opponents," the game's official description reads.

Thankfully, though, if you hate playing without the ability to build, you can pass on this play mode in favor of any of the other options available.