Build Your Own Hero Shooter: Mastering the Class Designer

Remember those intense moments in Fortnite Zero Build where you switched from a sniper to a shotgun mid-fight? Or those custom islands where you pick a class like "Tank" or "Assassin" at the start? That’s not magic; that’s the Class Designer at work. It’s the device that lets you tell Fortnite, "Hey, when this player picks this button, give them 200 health, a rocket launcher, and infinite ammo."

In this tutorial, we’re going to build a simple "Class Selection Lobby." We’ll create two distinct archetypes: a Glass Cannon (high damage, low health) and a Tank (low damage, high health). By the end, you’ll have a playable lobby where players can switch between these roles on the fly. No coding required—just some smart device placement.

What You'll Learn

• What a Class Designer is: How it acts as a "character sheet" for specific player types.
• Class Identifiers: How to label your classes so the game knows which is which.
• Attributes & Loadouts: Setting up health, shields, and starting weapons for each class.
• The Class Selector: How to let players actually switch between these roles during gameplay.

How It Works

Think of a Class in Fortnite Creative like a Hero Pick in a MOBA or a Class Selection screen in Overwatch. Before you jump into the match, you choose who you are. Do you want to be a healer? A tank? A sniper?

In UEFN, we don’t just "choose" these visually; we have to program the rules for each choice. That’s where the Class Designer comes in.

The Concept: The "Character Sheet"

Imagine you are filling out a character creation screen. You type in your name, set your max health to 100, and drag a sword into your inventory slot. The Class Designer is that digital form. It stores all the data for one specific type of player.

The Link: Class Identifiers

Here’s the tricky part for beginners: The Class Designer doesn’t have a name tag like "Tank" or "Sniper" that the game reads automatically. It uses a number called a Class Identifier.

Think of this like a Team Color or a Player Slot.

• If you have two Class Designers, you can’t just give them both ID 1. That’s like trying to put two people in the same bus seat.
• Designer A gets ID 1 (The Tank).
• Designer B gets ID 2 (The Sniper).

When you place a Class Selector (the button players press), you tell it: "When pressed, switch the player to Class ID 2." The game then looks up Designer B, sees it has ID 2, and applies all those stats.

The Workflow

1. Design the Class: Place a Class Designer. Set its ID (e.g., 1). Drop weapons on it. Set its health in the settings panel.
2. Design the Switch: Place a Class Selector. Set its "Target Class" to 1.
3. Repeat: Add another Designer (ID 2) and another Selector (Target 2).

Now, when a player hits the first button, they become the Tank. When they hit the second, they become the Sniper. Simple, right?

Let's Build It

We are building a "Versus Lobby." Two buttons. Two classes. One winner.

Step 1: Create the Tank (Class 1)

1. Go to Devices > Gameplay > Class Designer.
2. Place it in your lobby.
3. Click Customize.
   • Class Name: Tank (This is just for you to remember, doesn't affect gameplay).
   • Class Identifier: 1 (This is crucial!).
   • Starting Health: 200.
   • Max Health: 200.
   • Starting Shields: 0.
   • Max Shields: 0.
4. Inventory: Drag a Heavy Shotgun and a Shield Potion from your inventory onto the Class Designer device. You’ll see them appear in the list. These are what the player gets when they become this class.

Step 2: Create the Glass Cannon (Class 2)

1. Place a second Class Designer nearby.
2. Click Customize.
   • Class Name: Glass Cannon.
   • Class Identifier: 2 (Must be different from the first!).
   • Starting Health: 50.
   • Max Health: 50.
   • Starting Shields: 0.
   • Max Shields: 0.
3. Inventory: Drag a Rocket Launcher and a Slurp Juice onto this device.

Step 3: Create the Switches

1. Go to Devices > Gameplay > Class Selector.
2. Place it next to your "Tank" zone.
3. Click Customize.
   • Target Class: 1 (This matches the Tank’s ID).
   • Display Name: "Become the Tank".
4. Place a second Class Selector next to the "Glass Cannon" zone.
5. Click Customize.
   • Target Class: 2 (This matches the Cannon’s ID).
   • Display Name: "Become the Cannon".

Step 4: Test It

Press Play.

1. You spawn in. You have default gear.
2. Walk over to "Become the Tank" and press E.
3. Poof! Your health bar jumps to 200, your shotgun appears in your hand.
4. Walk over to "Become the Cannon" and press E.
5. Poof! Your health drops to 50, you now hold a Rocket Launcher.

You just built a dynamic class system!

Try It Yourself

The current setup is a bit static. What happens if a player wants to switch back? Or what if you want a third class, like a "Healer" with 150 health and a Med Kit?

Challenge: Add a Class Selector that resets the player to the "Default" state (no custom class) or adds a third class called "Speedster" (ID 3) with 100 health, no shields, and a Suppressed Assault Rifle.

Hint: You’ll need to place a third Class Designer, set its ID to 3, drop the rifle on it, and then place a third Class Selector targeting ID 3. Don’t forget to test if the old gear disappears when you switch!

Recap

• The Class Designer is your character sheet. It defines stats (health/shields) and inventory (weapons/items) for a specific player type.
• Class Identifiers are the unique numbers (1, 2, 3...) that link your Class Designer to your Class Selector. Always make sure each designer has a unique ID.
• Class Selectors are the triggers. They tell the game, "Switch this player to the class with this ID."
• You can have as many classes as you want, as long as you have enough unique IDs and enough buttons for your players to press.

Now go forth and create the most balanced (or hilariously unbalanced) class system in Fortnite Creative!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/create-a-dungeon-crawler-game-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/class-designer
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/fortnite-creative-glossary
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/shooting-gallery-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/top-scorer-in-class-in-fortnite-creative