Fortnite's Thanos mode is live, here's how it works

Fortnite's Thanos mode is now live. In the wake of its superhero-driven Season 4, Fortnite announced an Avengers: Infinity War crossover event yesterday. For a limited time, battle royalers can fill the boots of burly super villain Thanos—complete with super jumps, Power Stones and structure-destroying punches.   

Live now as part of Fornite's v4.1 update, here's what the Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup is all about.

How do you become Thanos? 

Becoming Thanos is easy, but surviving as him might prove trickier. As outlined in update v4.1's patch notes, at the beginning of each Mashup match a meteor carrying the Infinity Gauntlet crashes in the storm safe zone. Any player who uses the Infinity Gauntlet will transform into Thanos—and if Thanos is eliminated, the Gauntlet will be redeemable by another player. If it lies idle for too long, it'll disappear until a subsequent meteor appears. "Last player standing will be the victor," reads the patch notes.

What powers does Thanos have?  

Thanos has four core abilities, and harnesses both health and shields—the latter of which regenerates when he eliminates other players. He doesn't take fall damage, he doesn't build, and he doesn't use weapons or launch pads as he "has no need for such petty human devices."

Thanos' moves include a punch that can destroy structures and throw aggressors off balance. If he flies towards the ground, he can perform an area of effect attack by pounding the floor. By harnessing the Power Stone, he can fire a blast that deals damage over time. And his super jump sends the purple juggernaut flying over the largest obstacles.

Update: Epic has already issued one hotfix that tweaks Thanos' stats. The most recent change decreases his shield cap from 300 to 200, increases his health from 700 to 800, and decreases laser damage to players from 15 to 12. Can't dissolve 'em too fast, I suppose.

Can you buy or earn a Thanos skin? 

As outlined above, Thanos' appearance in Battle Royale is tied to the Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup. Becoming Thanos involves donning the Gauntlet and surviving the ensuing onslaught. His, and other Marvel skins, are not available for purchase.

How long will the mode last?  

Single matches run for "roughly" 15 minutes, and begin with the storm circle already in motion. Moreover, the storm does more damage than normal, taking five percent health during the first circle, and ten percent thereafter. 

As for the mode itself, update v4.1's patch notes don't specify an exact timescale for Infinity Gauntlet Mashup, besides saying it'll run for a "limited time."

Read Fortnite's v4.1 patch notes in full this way. This particular update is mostly focused on the Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup, however BR's Save the World counterpart is in-line for a HackSAW machine gun—due on Wednesday, May 9 at 5pm PST/1am on Thursday, May 10 BST. It looks like this: