Fortnite adds new weapon, Firefly Jar, to the game

Fortnite players have been posting images and videos on twitter of them using the new Firefly Jar. The weapon, sneakily added during today's patch, is like a grenade which bursts into fire for an area-of-effect damage zone which damages players and buildings alike.

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Fortnite’s Firefly Jar reported weapon stats

"Fireballs to Spawn" simply put are things that spawn when something that can catch things on fire activates, it allows for Fire to spawn & spread.

— FireMonkey • Fortnite Intel 🎄 (@iFireMonkey) June 23, 2020

It looks like the Firefly Jar will be collected from fireflies found on the new Fortnite map, foraged in a way similar to ammo crates or loot boxes. These are the reported numbers from @iFireMonkey:

Firefly Jar [Throwable] Stats

• Rarity: Rare
• Max Stack: 3
• Fireballs to Spawn: 4
• Damage to Player: 40
• Damage to Environment: 20

In a video posted on twitter, it looks as though the damage ticks once per second and the effect lasts for ten seconds. The player in the video received 10 damage per tick, significantly lower than the reported 40 damage to players, but that may be a result of self damage reduction. There is one unknown which is that when the jar is thrown it appears to burst into multiple smaller fires, and we do not yet know if this is merely visual or if those multiple fires are each an additional instance of damage, and whether those multiple instances of damage can affect the same source.

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Is the Firefly Jar effective?

Gameplay of the new Firefly Jar Item!pic.twitter.com/c421m3khJd

— Jsepz - Fortnite Leaks & News - Giver/Seller (@JsepzFN) June 23, 2020

Perhaps the first thing many Fortnite players will think about is whether or not the Firefly Jar can be used to effectively deny construction or tear apart buildings during build fights. If the reported 20 damage per second to environment is correct, and the effect lasts for 10 seconds, then it is possible for a single jar to deal 200 damage to a player’s buildings. Since, in Fortnite, wooden walls max out at 150 health, this could find some use in at least making it difficult to use wood as your primary material during a build fight. Brick maxes out at 300 and metal at 500 however, and it will likely be much less effective against them as a result.

Given the rapid speed at which fights occur in Fortnite, the prospect of waiting 10 seconds for a jar to deal its full effect seems less than optimal. Players may not even care if they have to build in the middle of fire simply because, in Fortnite, blocking potentially lethal damage is always worth the materials spent on it.

If the 40 damage per second to enemy players is accurate, then 5 seconds is all you would need to eliminate an opponent with full shields and health. Even if they only stay in the area for a couple of seconds, 40-80 damage is more than enough to turn the tide of a fight. Additionally, these jars can all but guarantee that a downed opponent can not be saved no matter what your opponents attempt.

So long as Fortnite players are willing to do their homework, they should be able to develop new and interesting ways to use the Firefly Jar.