Fortnite update v29.40: Have you found Darth Vader's ligthsaber?

7 May 2024

Perhaps you knew, perhaps you didn’t, but even if you didn’t, you may be forgiven: Last weekend, on Saturday May 4th, it was Star Wars Day, the annual day on which die-hard Star Wars fans celebrate the legendary franchise that was created by George Lucas in 1977.

As you can imagine, there’s quite a bit of overlap between Star Wars and gaming, and the same goes for the world of international esports as well. Fortnite update v29.40, for example, was released a day before Star Wars Day 2024 and not coincidentally, it brought back lots of Star Wars content to the game. That content goes from a Chewbacca Mythic in Battle Royale and E-11 Blasters to a full-blown Lego Fortnite x Star Wars cross-over, including new items and locations. The most sought-after new addition is Darth Vader’s lightsaber though, which can be found in Battle Royale by patient players.

Finding Vader

Thanks to update v29.40, Darth Vader is now landing in his spaceship once per Battle Royale session, much like Zeus and Hades did in the past, for example. The big difference between Vader and the other two though, is that Vader is not landing in a fixed spot, but in a random one instead. This means that you won’t know where he has landed until you are on the bus and about to go into battle.

The trick is to find out where Vader has landed before you decide where and when to jump. You can do so by remaining on the battle bus until you see Vader’s landing spot from the air. Unlike in previous Fortnite seasons, you won’t actually see him or his ship, but you will see a red light on your map. This indicates the encampment where Vader is hiding out, plus a few subordinates of his. So, the concept of finding Darth Vader has changed a bit, but with a bit of patience, you should be able to find him on the island quite easily.

Using Vader’s lightsaber

After finding Vader, you still need to defeat him though, and this is easier said than done. Despite the fact that he has not been buffed as much as other final bosses in the game, his force plus the fact that he can teleport make him a challenging enemy. It should be noted as well that Vader is the only wielder of this weapon, which means that there is only one lightsaber available per battle.

So, why go through all the effort to take Vader’s lightsaber from him? It’s a melee weapon that is stronger than normal weapons, as are all Star Wars weapons, and it has extra features as well, including the possibility to be thrown. Overall, it’s a powerful weapon that will come in more than handy this Fortnite season when you want to free Chewbacca or defeat Wookies armes with Bowcasters, for example. In LEGO Fortnite, the lightsaber is essential to rebuilding the Rebel forces.