How to claim a Loot Island capture point in Fortnite

Claim the capture point of Loot Island can help you get powerful loot when you finish matches Fortnite.

Loot Island – also known as the Floating Island – is a recurring landmark in Fortnite seasons, and usually has unique requirements to appear.

It’s also a semi-regular challenge objective, like “Help conquer Loot Island within 5 minutes of arriving” during the May 2024 Star Wars event, which saw Darth Vader return to the game.

Whether you’re up for the challenge or want to learn the location of Loot Island, this page can help.

Loot Island location in Fortnite

The Loot Island is not there at the start of the match. Instead of, the Loot Island appears somewhere between the remaining player count of 30 and 15. We’ve seen it happen at both ends of the spectrum, and whenever it appears, you’ll first notice it as a mark on your HUD, much like the one below.

Image: Epic Games via Polygon

Look at your map and you will see that there is the weird blue ‘butterfly’ symbol below instead of the actual island. This is a rift and precedes the appearance of Loot Island. About 30 seconds later, the rift is replaced by Loot Island itself, and it’s basically fair game for all.

A Fortnite map screen showing the rift icon

Image: Epic Games via Polygon

How to claim a capture point on Loot Island

If you want to claim the Loot Island capture point, you’ll need to head there immediately. You can use nearby cable cars to get to the map as you descend from the island itself, or you can search for nearby inflatables to give yourself a boost. However, unlike the cable cars, there are no guaranteed inflatables nearby.

Driving to the floating island in Fortnite

Image: Epic Games via Polygon

Once you’re on the floating landmass, you’ll see a big flag in the middle of a square, and you have to stand within the radius to claim the capture point. Again, the whole process takes about 30 seconds, so you’ll need to sit down somewhere and keep an eye out for anyone trying to sabotage your claim by getting close enough to the flag itself.

Claim the Floating Island capture point in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1

Image: Epic Games via Polygon

Similar to completing a train heist, you will receive some loot when the capture process is complete, including weapons and health items. Unlike the train, we’ve typically seen purple (epic) and gold (legendary) weapons and items here, including sniper rifles, assault rifles, and shotguns.

How to make conquering the loot island easier

If you’re having trouble conquering Loot Island, we recommend doing so wait until later in the season when it is a less popular destination because over time more players will have completed the challenge.

However, unlike the Train Heist, the Loot Island can yield high-value loot, so you can expect there to be some focus throughout the season. Still, it will likely be more popular at the start of Season 1 due to the Week 1 Challenge requirement, so waiting may help if that’s mainly what you want to complete.

Also remember that you can conquer a loot island with other teammates in it Fortnite. In Solos, Duos, Trios or Quads mode, an entire team can sit within the radius and defend it arguably more easily than with a solo player, who may feel more exposed.