Build Your Own Tower Defense Turret

Imagine you are building a castle. You need guards to watch the gates. In Fortnite Creative, we can make a smart turret that watches for enemies and shoots them!

We will build a simple tower defense turret. It will sit on a tower. It will look for bad guys. It will shoot them if they get too close. This is how real video games protect their bases.

What You'll Learn

• How to place an Automated Turret device.
• What Activation Radius means.
• How to choose who the turret fights.
• How to make it look cool with props.

How It Works

Think of the Automated Turret like a security camera with a laser pointer. It has three main jobs.

First, it waits. It does nothing until someone moves. Second, it scans. It looks in a circle around itself. This circle is called the Activation Radius. If a player steps into this circle, the turret wakes up. Third, it shoots. It fires at the players it is told to fight.

You get to choose the rules. You can tell it to only fight Team Red. Or you can tell it to fight everyone. This is called Targeting.

Let's Build It

Here is how to build your turret step-by-step. We will use the Device Mode in UEFN.

Step 1: Find the Device

Open the Device Library. Search for "Automated Turret". Drag it onto your island. Place it on top of a tall rock or tower.

Step 2: Set the Radius

Click the turret. Look at the Customize panel on the right. Find Activation Radius. This number is how far it looks. Try setting it to 15 meters. This is a good size for a small tower.

Step 3: Pick a Target

Find Possible Targets. Click the dropdown menu. You can choose:

• All Teams: It fights everyone.
• Specific Team: It only fights Team Red.
• No Teams: It never shoots (good for testing).

Let’s pick All Teams for now.

Step 4: Add Some Visuals

The device is invisible. Let’s make it look like a real turret.

1. Go to the Prop Library.
2. Search for "Turret" or "Gun".
3. Place a prop near the device.
4. Use the Move tool to line it up with the device. Now it looks like the prop is shooting!

Step 5: Test It

Press Play. Run into the circle. Does the turret shoot you? If yes, you did it! If no, check your radius size.

Try It Yourself

You made a basic turret. Now, make it smarter.

Challenge: Change the turret so it only shoots Team Blue. Then, run around as Team Red. Does it ignore you?

Hint: Look at the Possible Targets setting again. You can pick specific teams there.

Recap

• The Automated Turret watches a circle around it.
• The Activation Radius sets how big that circle is.
• You choose who it fights in Possible Targets.
• You can hide the device and use props to make it look real.

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-automated-turret-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-automated-turret-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-api/fortnitedotcom/devices/automated_turret_device
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-mounted-turret-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-mounted-turret-devices-in-fortnite-creative