All Fortnite melee weapons, what is a melee weapon in Fortnite?

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Fortnite melee weapons

• Melee weapons in Fortnite are weapons that deal damage up close
• Many melee weapons also came with movement abilities like dashes or grappling hooks
• Currently, the only melee weapon in Fortnite is the pickaxe

Fortnite is well known for its hugely varied number of weapons. And while the vast majority of these are ranged weapons like guns, Epic Games haven’t shied away from adding in some incredible melee weapons over the years, for those of us who prefer to get up close and personal with our enemies.

So if you’re looking for some info on what melee weapons are in Fortnite, as well as what melee weapons have been in the game so far, you’ve come to the right place.

Fortnite melee weapons explained

Melee weapons are, put simply, weapons used to deal melee damage to opponents in Fortnite. While these are largely close-quarters weapons meant to deal damage to someone right next to you, like the pickaxe for example, there have been plenty of melee weapons that deal damage over a longer range. 

Weapons like the Chain of Hades were able to hit players a bit further away, and even had a secondary attack that pulled players towards you. Other melee weapons featured unique abilities like a dash or being able to block enemy bullets, with some being as good as if not better than many ranged weapons.

All Fortnite melee weapons

While there might only be one melee weapons currently available in the game, there have been plenty of melee weapons in previous seasons, with a bunch of them coming as crossovers with franchises like Star Wars and Attack on Titan.

Here is a list of every melee weapon that has been in Fortnite so far:

Weapon Name	Description
Pickaxe	The standard pickaxe that all players have in their games
Infinity Blade	A sword that deals huge damage and provides increased HP
Sideways Scythe	A scythe that has three attack styles: leap, swing and dash
Kingsman	An umbrella that can block damage as well as hit enemies. A reference to the Kingsman film series, but not a crossover
ODM Gear	A pair of swords and a grapple that lets you swing from surfaces. A crossover with Attack on Titan
Kinetic Blade	A sword that lets you attack with a dash in mid-air
Thorne’s Vampiric Blade	A Mythic version of the Kinetic Blade that adds the ability to siphon health from enemies
Grapple Blade	A sword with a grappling hook attached to it used to swing from surfaces
Donatello’s Staff	Has a combo attack, AoE attack and a dash. Part of a crossover with TMNT
Leonardo’s Katana	Has a combo attack, AoE attack and a dash. Part of a crossover with TMNT
Raphael’s Sai	Has a combo attack, AoE attack and a dash. Part of a crossover with TMNT
Michaelangelo’s Nunchaku	Has a combo attack, AoE attack and a dash. Part of a crossover with TMNT
Chains of Hades	A chain whip that damages players and has a secondary attack that can drag players and items towards you
Lightsabers	A Mythic weapon that can block damage. Variants of it include Obi-Wan’s, Luke’s Green, Luke’s Blue, Rey’s, Kylo Ren’s, Mace Windu’s, Sith Apprentice’s, Jedi Padawan’s and Jedi Training. Part of a crossover with Star Wars
Darth Vader’s Lightsaber	Like the previous Lightsabers, but the only one that can be thrown as a ranged weapon as well. Part of a crossover with Star Wars

What melee weapons are in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 2?

Unfortunately, there are no unique melee weapons in the current build of Fortnite, with the pickaxe being the only one available to players, but we would recommend you stick to using the best ranged weapons you can instead of trying to kill players with that. 

At the start of the season, we did get the Chains of Hades, which were one of the best melee weapons that Epic Games have ever added thanks to its secondary that lets you pull other enemies towards you. But with the recent Elements event, it’s been vaulted and can’t be used in-game anymore.

The closest thing to a melee weapon in the current build is probably the Firebending Scroll. This Mythic is best used up close, with your character throwing out some spinning kicks. But what actually deals the damage with this is the bursts of flames you fire out, so while it might look like a melee attack, it is actually a ranged attack.