The Rarest Skins In Fortnite: Battle Royale

Fortnite has a distinctive look that's been celebrated through cosplay, fan art, and the ardent pursuit of skins and items by players. Since Season 1 of the game, Epic Games has made its battle royale mode all the more interesting by ditching the standard character models and shaking things up with unique designs. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds might have a frying pan, but Fortnite gets playful with skins for every season, occasion, and in some cases, phone release.

There's a certain satisfaction with collecting them all; diehard fans have the ability to stand out and show their dedication to the game through loading into the lobby with skins earned through pixelated blood, sweat, and countless gameplay hours. That, or show their willingness to throw some serious cash to get exclusive skins in unexpected ways.

For this list, we're going beyond the run of the mill legendary skins. For those up to the challenge — of gameplay or of budget — here's some of the very rarest Fortnite skins for the most discerning of flair aficionados.

Movie buffs will find two-fold satisfaction in one of those most iconic rare skins to escape the storm. The Reaper is the crown jewel of the Hired Gun set released in Season 3, which just so happened to resemble Keanu Reeves' eponymous character in the John Wick films. It's no secret that the outfit is based on the infamous assassin with a soft spot for puppies. The Season 3 Battle Pass Announcement came complete with The Reaper skin jumping from an explosion, machine gun in hand.

The promotional material included a callback to the original gangster himself. The black and white look of the image emulates the Scarface movie poster. The Reaper skin served as the end goal of hard working players for that season: the suave-suited assassin was only available to those who could make it to Tier 100. So those who did unlock this skin did so through collecting kills as skillfully as John Wick, even if the scar-faced Reaper isn't quite Keanu.

Fortnite might be known for its outrageous outfits, but some of the game's rarest and most sought after skins are pretty plain. When players first joined the battle royale mode upon release, they took for granted the skins available to them at the time. Many Season 1 skins are gone: unavailable to the many, many players who later jumped on the Fortnite sensation that was sweeping several nations.

One such skin is debatably the most rare in all the game, one of the very first skins to be released: the Recon Expert. Outwardly, there's not much to fuss over. The Recon Expert is a military-themed, female skin. She has dog tags, a hat, and a star on her chest; she's no googly-eyed Panda Team Leader. But her rarity is directly connected to the lackluster look.

When she was first released, this skin was a little pricey at 1,200 V-Bucks. Not many people felt compelled to drop that kind of in-game cash on a lame skin like that. But now that the Recon Expert has disappeared from the shop, those who missed out will continue to miss out on this exclusive skin unless Epic Games makes the unlikely decision to reinstate it to the shop.

The holidays are on their way and with it the hopes that Fortnite will once again release some winter wonderland-themed skins. Winter of 2017 saw NOG Ops, the Red-Nosed Raider, the Yuletide Ranger, Codename E.L.F., and perhaps the player favorite Ginger Gunner and her slightly unsettling male counterpart, the Merry Marauder.

The Merry Marauder came with the pun-filled Merry Christmas set, his frowny-faced gingerbread mask only second in creep factor to the Crackshot nutcracker skin who was ready to ... crack some nuts. These skins were only available for a limited time last winter for the sake of the season, and while the Ginger Gunner and the Merry Marauder didn't have the same fanatic following as the Halloween skins did, if you didn't grab them at the time, you'll never get to wear them.

It's not yet determined whether these particular holiday skins will return to spread some Christmas fear, but promotional material showcasing other gear may be teasing an eventual return. Peeking through windows or hiding on rooftops, the Merry Marauder's signature frown has been spotted twice since his reindeer reign in December.

Another Season 1 throwback, the Aerial Assault Trooper was one of the very first skins available in the battle royale mode. As such, only those who first joined the Fortnite hype train had access to this skin. Even those who were around at the very start didn't necessarily spend the V-Bucks required to acquire the skin. Some players were total noobs to this type of game and buying skins was an alien concept.

Like with the Recon Expert skin, lots of people missed out on the Aerial Assault Trooper because of its lack of flashy appeal. The Aerial Assault Trooper is a military-themed black paratrooper wearing a beige scarf and an orange-decaled helmet. He was available in the Season 1 shop for 1,200 V-Bucks after the player got to Level 15. Despite not being one of the most exciting skins, this one definitely has the power of nostalgia behind it, and the same considerable rarity associated with the Recon Expert.

Renegade Raider is another OG skin from the inaugural season of Fortnite. Unlike the aforementioned Recon Expert or Aerial Assault Trooper, the Renegade Raider has a little bit of moxy to her. After achieving Level 20, players were able to purchase this outfit in the seasonal shop and were probably drawn to her post-apocalyptic look. She wears goggles and warpaint, pairing perfectly together with the McGuyver-ed Raider's Revenge Harvesting Tool. Another apparent movie callback, her warpaint mirrors that of the comic-series-turned-film Tank Girl.

If you were late to the game, you missed out on this rare skin. However, Epic Games has been known to be a benevolent overlord and to occasionally give its considerable fan base a chance at getting some of the most sought after skins. When this happened earlier this summer with the Red Knight skin, fans speculated that the Renegade Raider was soon to follow. All the Twitter threads and YouTube videos were to no avail, however, and the return of the Renegade Raider has yet to come. If her return will ever come.

Excluded from this list are skins that any player with enough V-Bucks could pop into the item shop and pick up for themselves. However, not every one of the remaining skins can be earned purely through gathering experience and moving up tiers. For some Fortnite content, the players have to drop some real, cold, hard cash in order to obtain the most exclusive of skins.

The Royale Bomber is a classed-up military-themed skin with a charming smirk that was exclusive to the Fortnite PS4 bundle that was released in Europe in the summer of 2018. His description reads "searching for a target rich environment" and he found it in Europe, and only in Europe. At least, for a while. By the fall, he'd made his way across the pond in a PS4 controller bundle available to American players.

Either way and on either continent, the Royale Bomber is still locked to one console, and even then, only for money. The aviator sunglasses and fur-hooded bomber jacket he wears so well might be worth it for players with the means to drop enough cash, however. Man, it's a good-looking skin.

The Black Knight has the intimidation factor serious players might be looking for in a largely whimsical game. The Black Knight is the glowing-eyed scourge of the Wailing Woods that was released as a part of the Fort Knights (get it?) set back in Season 2. Those who wore this "odious" outfit had slayed their way up to Tier 70.

A just reward for those who achieved max level, this is a skin that people covet for the reputation points it brings along with it. Players with the Black Knight skin have been battling for a while, and have been good at it. This is why there were some grumbles from the community when the Red Knight was reinstated into the shop. Fans were divided: some wanted a chance to don the helm of the Black Knight himself; others wanted the skin to remain exclusive and refused to have the skin cheapened by ready availability in the shop.

Whether or not this was really a dilemma that Epic Games was mulling over, those who worked hard to get the Black Knight skin still remain the only players who have earned the exclusive right to wear the armor of the darkest of the Fort Knights.

The official Epic Games description for the Rook Fortnite skin is, "Promoted from desk jockey to field agent." And by the looks of the Rook, truer words were never written. Her wardrobe is a definite mix between office and action, sporting a dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and a tie, along with plenty of ammo to keep investigative targets at bay. And given the Rook's prior experience at the desk, she's probably very good at finding those targets.

What you'll have a hard time doing, though, is finding this skin.

The Rook was an exclusive to the Season 5 Battle Pass in Fortnite, requiring players to reach Level 87 before unlocking her. That's a whole lot of playtime — or, if you're the type who doesn't mind buying your way ahead, a fair amount of money. But even if you wanted to spend that dough now, you couldn't. Season 5 is long gone, which means a whole slew of new skins have come along to fill this season's Battle Pass.

If you missed out on the Rook, there's a good chance you missed out for good. Which makes this Fortnite skin one of the more rare items you'll find in the game.

Ever want to play as an ethereal being made of starlight and space? Fortnite players can fulfill this weirdly specific fantasy if they shun the cult of the iPhone and instead get themselves a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4. This skin then has to be credited as the most expensive of all. The Galaxy skin is exclusive to owners of the tablet or phone, the phone running at the extra-large price tag of $1,000. The tablet is incrementally more affordable at around $650. Of course, desperate players can find this favorite Fortnite skin for widely varying prices at auctions around the internet.

With "victory written in the stars" and more glitter than the Sparkle Specialist, it's easy to see how even the most strapped-for-cash players may be tempted by the Galaxy skin. He was announced ahead of the Fortnite Android Beta and quickly became featured in countless YouTube thumbnails with his hypnotizingly trippy galaxy effects and ever-orbiting stars. The only way players could have gotten this skin is either by purchasing the tablet or the phone. And this deal has been rumored to be disappearing some time in the near future, and with it, the chance to be a space man.

A more recent but nevertheless rare skin that Outfit aficionados covet is the Ragnarok skin. A solid six on the coolness scale, this skin becomes increasingly more metal as players met Season 5 challenges. Like the Black Knight, this dark viking has the appeal of glowing eyes and a distinctly serious look. But unlike the Black Knight, the Ragnarok skin is initially shirtless and blue-bearded.

Which is, again, pretty neat to begin with. But it just keeps getting better. At stage one, the Ragnarok skin finds some effective-looking armor. Stage two adds on some arm bracers, then shoulder gear at three. The crowning achievement of the Ragnarok skin is the skull helmet players unlock after gathering 250,000 season experience. It's all horns, teeth, and a considerable upgrade to the blue beard. This does the most to exaggerate and emphasize the icy aura of this harbinger of fate. The viking-themed fun doesn't end there. The Ragnarok's final form is extra spiky and adds a dash of magic: the horns glow cold blue too.

Only available to players skilled enough to kill their way up to Tier 100 in that season, the Ragnarok skin is the mark of a dedicated player and testament to the acknowledgement Epic Games' tries to give its best and most brutal Battle Royale players.

Who said Fortnite: Battle Royale was based in any kind of reality? There is a skin that can transform your character into a giant Gingerbread person, for crying out loud. So why not include one for those who want to become werewolves?

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you: the Dire skin.

Unless you were down to spend quite a bit of money, Dire was a pretty tough skin to claim. It unlocked at Tier 100 in Fortnite's Season 6, and even then, you only had access to the "man" phase of it. Five other variants of the Dire skin had to be unlocked by completing what were called Dire Challenges, which meant you had to gain pretty substantial amounts of XP.

Was all that work worth it, though? Absolutely.

By the time you racked up 250,000 XP (in addition to all the XP you gained to unlock Dire in the first place), all six Dire skin styles were yours for the taking: Man, Evolving Werewolf, Brown Werewolf, Grey Werewolf, White Werewolf, and Black Werewolf. And if you really wanted to go the extra mile, you could have completed additional challenges to unlock four different shirt colors, too.

Dire is a rare one; the Battle Pass was the only place you could get it. So if you couldn't quite get to Tier 100 in Fortnite Season 6, you'll probably never get another chance at the skin. Which is too bad, because it's one of the cooler ones available.

Winter isn't coming; it's here. As part of Fortnite's Season 7, a slew of holiday tributes made their way into the game, including new snow-covered areas, and vehicle and weapon wraps (inspired by wrapping paper, of course). But there's a certain skin that everyone playing Fortnite will likely be gunning for in Season 7, and because it's that awesome, it's going to be the hardest one to get.

It's the Ice King, and he's come along with the cold weather to bring the pain.

Now, we can't say for certain if the Ice King is a playful reference to Game of Thrones' Night King, but because he's such a creepy presence that arrives alongside winter in Fortnite and he calls himself a king, we're going to assume that's the case. The Ice King is going to be incredibly challenging to get for those who purchase the Season 7 Battle Pass. You can't unlock the skin until you reach Tier 100, and even then, you aren't finished. There are four color variations on the skin, each with its own challenges. For a red tint, you must outlive 1,000 opponents. For silver, you'll need to survive longer than 7,500 others. And to unlock the last color, orange, you'll need to outlast 25,000 opposing players.

If your holidays are more "hot chocolate and cookies" than, say, "murder by ominous winter demon," you'll probably find this skin more to your liking. It invokes memories of being a little kid again, sitting on the floor while Christmas movies play and the tree lights glow. It reminds you of the days when you got a solid two weeks off of school and had all the time in the world to be lazy.

And there's no better way to be lazy than in your pajamas. We present to you: Onesie.

Onesie is going to be another tough skin to unlock, and for good reason. It is a one-piece pajama suit — the kind many of us still wish we could pull off. Those who purchase the Battle Pass in Season 7 will have a pretty long road ahead of them before Onesie becomes available, as it requires reaching Tier 87. The good news, though, is that all that hard work will eventually pay off. You may or may not be too old to zip yourself into a onesie, these days, but in the world of Fortnite, anything goes. So rock those pajamas. If you unlocked them, you earned them.

Because Season 7 of Fortnite is all about winter, the game would probably be remiss if it didn't include some kind of skin based on a cool winter creature. Perhaps the game could roll with the Game of Thrones thing and introduce some kind of (spoilers) ice dragon. That would rock. Or how about something more friendly, like a snowman? Fans would probably be okay with that, too.

It seems Fortnite combined those two ideas and ended up with Trog. And to be totally honest, we don't know what Trog is.

At first glance, one might presume Trog to be a yeti. But Trog isn't the abominable snowman type of yeti that folklore depicts as large and intimidating. Trog is human-sized, with blue skin and fur in the places you might find pants, sleeves, and shoulder pads. But he has some monster qualities, too. He has large, protruding bottom fangs, and he lacks a human nose.

Based on what we've seen of Trog, we're left with only one conclusion: he is a human-yeti hybrid, and the less we dive into how that's possible, the better. Just know that you can unlock Trog by reaching Tier 71 in Fortnite's Season 7 Battle Pass.

Sometimes when you're playing Fortnite, you don't want to costume it up. You don't want to jump into a strange character like Trog, or go entirely overboard with something like Merry Marauder. Instead, you just want to dress the season. In Fortnite's Season 7, an iceberg has collided with the island, introducing ice and snow. And what better way to take advantage of the situation than to hit the slopes?

If you're all about carving up the mountainside, Powder is the winter skin for you.

To start, everyone will marvel at how truly prepared your character is for the cold weather. Powder is extremely bundled up, from the winter hat to the snug jacket. The boots on Powder are definitely made for the snow, too. And check out those goggles! The only thing you'll be missing once you pick up Powder is time to relax at the lodge. Because there is no relaxing in Fortnite. There is only death and survival. Remember that.

Powder is part of the Season 7 Battle Pass, and can only be obtained by reaching Tier 47 in that pass. Grind those tiers out before Season 7 wraps up in February, or Powder will never be yours.

Have you been a good boy or girl this year? We sure hope so. Because Santa Claus isn't coming to Fortnite — at least, not the one you know and love. Something finally must have snapped in his brain, and in his place is someone who is really fed up with the holiday season. And he's not going to take it anymore.

Say hello to Sgt. Winter. You better watch out.

Don't be fooled by the big white beard and the "HO HO" on his tactical vest. Sgt. Winter isn't Santa Claus. He's an elf who saw some really messed up things in 'Nam. He only likes boxes if they have his enemies trapped inside. He's a one-man murder machine.

Or, depending on the different styles you unlock, he's definitely Santa Claus. Or a burly llama-man. Because Fortnite is weird.

Sgt. Winter requires the Season 7 Battle Pass, and can only be unlocked if you reach Tier 23. After that, he has two more variants available. To unlock his cartoon Santa face, you must complete 7 daily challenges. And to unlock his llama mask, you must complete 14 of those same challenges.

For some reason, Fortnite has a bit of an obsession with burgers and burger-related items. There are skins with big cheeseburger heads. There have been game modes in the past that have tasked you with protecting a fast-food restaurant. And in the past, you've even been able to toss tomatoes at other players.

We hope that gives you a little context for the NightShade skin, which is probably meant to be a cute tomato-themed skin but honestly terrifies us.

For those who aren't up on their food types, tomatoes are part of the "nightshade" family of fruits — hence the name. The NightShade skin itself, though, doesn't look the least bit healthy. If you cover up the head, the rest of the skin looks like the type of suit a secret ops agent might wear. But that tomato head — why? What is with that weird lipstick and that grinny, disturbing smile? Who dreamed up this nightmare?

We're not sure. All we can tell you is that, unless you reached Tier 86 in Fortnite's Season 6 Battle Pass, you've officially missed your chance to obtain the NightShade skin. But maybe that's for the best.

There's nothing like a good, creepy Fortnite skin. And things don't get much creepier than vampires. These creatures of the night look just like people — very charming people. You may not even know you're in the presence of one. But goodness, you will at some point. Because when the thirst kicks in, vampires look to humans to satiate it. And if you happen to be on the menu, you won't know it until it's too late.

But come on. That's not going to happen in Fortnite, where players wearing the Dusk skin can't suck blood. Instead, they use weapons just like everyone else.

Right? Right?

The Dusk skin is pretty much the gothiest-looking female vampire you could ask for in Fortnite, from the black leather gloves and boots to the blood-red eyes. If you think this skin is right up your alley, there's some good news and bad news. The good news? The luck of the Fortnite item shop couldn't have kept you from obtaining Dusk. It showed up as a part of Season 6's Battle Pass, requiring players to hit Tier 71 in order to unlock it.

The bad news? Season 6 is long gone. So if you didn't unlock Dusk then, there's no shot you'll be able to get it now.

My, what a cool skin you have? At least, that's what everyone will probably be telling you should you rock this one. It's a throwback to the classic children's fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. But unlike the Red depicted in those fairy tales, this one is far from little or dainty. She looks like she's encountered a wolf or two and lived to tell the tale. And that's bad news for anyone who comes across her in a match.

The skin is called Fable, and Epic pretty much nailed the tagline for it: "The forest isn't safe ... from her."

So, how does one go about acquiring Fable, you ask? How does one transform their Fortnite character into Red, aka Wolvesbane? The Fable skin is unfortunately out of your reach if you didn't pick it up already. It showed up as part of the Battle Pass in Fortnite's Season 6, and asked players to grind their way to Tier 47 in that pass in order to get it. But look on the bright side ... yeah, there isn't one. You missed out on a pretty awesome skin. Sorry about that.

Seriously, what is it with Fortnite and llamas? It's one of those things that, try as we might, we've never understood. The llama seems to be a sort of mascot for the game, showing up in the form of player masks and in-game loot containers. But our research has never helped us discover why Epic Games chose the llama, or what significance this animal has to the team behind Fortnite.

Let the Giddy-Up skin serve as further proof of Epic's apparent obsession with nature's goofiest camelid.

The gag behind Giddy-Up is the same one used by those kids you see wearing horse costumes. As you could probably tell by the legs underneath the llama, this character is not actually riding it. The llama itself appears to be inflatable, even. But you probably knew it wasn't real. It's blue and purple, for crying out loud.

But that doesn't mean this skin isn't great! You hopefully have it already after reaching Tier 23 in Fortnite's Season 6 Battle Pass. If you didn't have the Battle Pass then, or weren't playing enough to hit that tier, you're never going to see Giddy-Up available again. It rode off into the sunset forever. Or, you know, it was carried.

Not all of Fortnite's skins are worthy of being rare gems, and this is one of them. Fortnite is already a shooting game, with plenty of skins that make use of the military look. Really, the fun of Fortnite is putting on some of the goofiest skins you can find. Because you can't run around in Call of Duty dressed like a giant Gingerbread Man. But you can here.

Still, there was an apparent audience for Sledgehammer, a skin that — no joke — shares a name with one of the Call of Duty franchise's studios.

Sledgehammer showed up in Fortnite as part of the game's Season 5 Battle Pass. In fact, it was one of the higher-tier skins in that season, asking that players reach Tier 71 before unlocking it. Perhaps there are some CoD fans at Epic Games who wanted to pay tribute to the long-running FPS series. Or maybe the name and the skin are completely coincidental. In any case, Season 5 wrapped up a while ago, which means if you didn't unlock Sledgehammer then, you definitely can't do it now.