How to use Preferred Item Slots in Fortnite: Best settings

Daniel Megarry
Fortnite Preferred Item Slots

Preferred Item Slots have finally arrived in Fortnite after years of waiting, allowing players to automatically sort their Shotguns from their Shield Potions.

In the heat of battle, looking away for a split second to navigate between your weapons can leave you badly damaged or even eliminated, so it’s important to know exactly where your short, mid, and long-range guns are located.

But many players don’t have the time (or the patience) to sort their inventory every time they pick up a weapon or an item, so the addition of Preferred Item Slots is something that has been demanded for years now.

Well, as of the v17.20 update, it’s finally here. Now, players can have their weapons and items appear in the same slot every time they pick them up, which is not only a time-saver but could also help improve your focus in the game.

How to use Preferred Item Slots in Fortnite

Fortnite Preferred Item Slots

Here’s how to use the Preferred Item Slots feature in Fortnite:

  1. Load up Fortnite so you’re on the main Lobby screen.
  2. Navigate to the Settings menu.
  3. Go to ‘Game’ settings by pressing the cog icon.
  4. Scroll down and click on ‘Configure’ next to Preferred Item Slots.
  5. Check that the feature is turned on.
  6. Assign weapons or items to each Loadout Slot.
  7. Make sure you press ‘Assign’ before leaving Settings!

Now that you’ve chosen your Preferred Item Slots, when you start a match, each weapon or item you pick up will be assigned to the correct slot until you have a full inventory.

Items that are unassigned will go in the first available slot until a preferred item is picked up, in which case that will take its place. When you pick up a rarer version of a weapon, it will replace the lower rarity.

Epic Games have also noted that if you have ‘Auto-Sort Consumables to the Right’ turned on in Settings, that will continue to work as normal.

Best settings for Preferred Item Slots

While everyone will have their own individual preferences and play style, these are our recommendations for your Preferred Item Slots in Fornite:

Loadout Slot 1 Shotgun
Loadout Slot 2 Assault Rifle
Loadout Slot 3 Sniper Rifle
Loadout Slot 4 Utility
Loadout Slot 5 Consumable Item

Having a short-range weapon (Shotgun) first, then a mid-range weapon (Assault Rifle) second, and then a long-range weapon (Sniper Rifle) third will make it easy to remember where your weapons are.

The final two slots are more flexible, but in the fourth slot we would recommend a Utility, which includes Grenades and Fishing Rods, and in the fifth slot it makes sense to have a Consumable Item like a Shield.

As we said before, the Preferred Item Slots you choose will mostly be down to your personal preference, but the recommendations above should be a good starting point.

For the latest guides and leaks, make sure you visit our Fortnite main page.

Related Topics

About The Author

Daniel graduated from university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, before spending five years at GAY TIMES covering LGBTQ+ news and entertainment. He then made the switch to video game journalism where he produces news, features, and guides for Pokemon, Fortnite, Nintendo, and PlayStation games. Daniel also has a passion for any games with queer representation.