Lego Fortnite is less about building a base and more about building a village. You’re not just building a single outpost for yourself. Instead, you’re building a (or several) villages complete with villagers. Expanding and upgrading your village is how you’ll advance in Lego Fortnite.
Our Lego Fortnite Village guide will explain how to build a village, how to increase your village rating, and how to upgrade your village — and why you should.
How to build a village in Lego Fortnite
Starting a village in Lego Fortnite just means building a Village Square. Playing through the tutorial, it won’t unlock until you’ve built (at least) a campfire and simple shack.
The Village Square requires 10 wood and 10 granite to build.
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Image: Epic Games via Polygon
With the Village Square built, you’ll assign a color and symbol to your village’s map icon. You cannot, however, rename the village.
Once that’s in place, you’ll start getting rewards and unlocking new mechanics based on your village’s level. And to improve your level (and upgrade your village), we need to talk about village rating.
How to improve your village rating in Lego Fortnite
Your village rating is basically a measure of how much building you’ve done and what kind of stuff you’ve built. Think of it like a comfort rating.
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Image: Epic Games via Polygon
The more you build and the more different stuff (everything from walls to new workbenches to decorations counts) you build, the more your village rating will increase. When it has increased enough to level up your village, the Village Square will glow gold. And that means you’re ready to upgrade your village.
You can track your village rating with the progress bar in the top right of your HUD.
How to upgrade your village in Lego Fortnite
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Image: Epic Games via Polygon
Once you’ve improved your village rating enough to progress to the next level, head to the Village Square. In its menu, switch over to the Upgrade Village tab and you’ll see the requirements for the next level, along with the benefits you’ll get from unlocking that level.
From there, all that’s left is to gather the stuff and hit the button. The first few upgrades require:
- Level 2: 15 wood and 15 granite
- Level 3: 10 planks (made with wood at a lumber mill workbench) and 20 granite
- Level 4: 10 knotroot, 15 planks, 25 granite
Usually, the upgrade requires materials that you haven’t used (much) yet. It’s a way to get you to explore and expand.
What you get for upgrading a village in Lego Fortnite
Upgrading your village to new levels gives you upgrade level rewards. These are new features for your village like the ability to add new villagers (Growing Village), hire villagers for jobs (Foragers for Hire), or attract rarer visitors (Must-See Destination). You can see the upgrade level rewards when you visit the Village Square’s Village Hub tab.
More importantly, upgrading your village unlocks new build recipes.
