K-pop Demon Hunters update: Flowberry Mist, Bigfoot and more in Fortnite

Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 1’s v39.40 “K‑Pop Demon Hunters” update brings back the Demon Hunters gear, adds new utility items like the Flowberry Mist Grenade and Lock‑On Assault Rifle, and buffs several SMGs, ARs, pistols, and shotguns across Battle Royale on all platforms. You also get the Bigfoot boss with a mythic Flex SMG, the return of Shockwave Grenades, and the removal of South Park–themed items as the island shifts into a Valentine’s‑flavored mid‑season.

If you’re a returning player, the short version is: more mobility, stronger close‑range spray options, more shield and stealth tools, and a handful of fun but non‑essential guns like the Valentine’s Crossbow and Lock‑On AR. Below, we’ll break down how to get the new and returning items, what they do, and whether they’re worth building your loadout around.​

K‑Pop Demon Hunters items: what’s back and how they work

The K‑Pop Demon Hunters gear from earlier in Chapter 7 and the prior wave returns to Battle Royale, giving you multiple mobility and sustain tools in the core loot pool. These items show up as ground loot and chest loot, with some also sold by NPCs and appearing in miscellaneous vending machines.

Core Demon Hunters items

• Void Mask / Void‑style teleport orb

  • A throwable orb you toss and then teleport to, letting you instantly reposition once it lands.​​

  • Strong for breaking angles, escaping third parties, or jumping onto high ground without burning Shockwaves.

• Demon Hunters melee weapon (sword/bat‑style)

  • A melee weapon with a forward dash and jump‑boosting movement, trading raw damage for mobility.​​

  • It fills the same niche as past movement blades: great for closing gaps, underwhelming in straight duels.

• Golden Shield Bubble

  • A deployable dome that regenerates shields over time for anyone inside while blocking incoming damage from outside.​​

  • Best used after fights or while rotating through open zones, especially in trios and squads.

• Spicy Ramen

  • A fast‑use consumable that provides strong healing and shield recovery, making it one of the better “panic” heals if you get tagged rotating.​

Player insight: the safest way to use Demon Hunters gear is to treat it as movement and sustain first, damage second. Use the teleport orb and sword to control positions, then finish fights with your AR/SMG instead of chasing melee hits.

Flowberry Mist Grenade: heal and movement in one slot

The Flowberry Mist Grenade is one of the most important additions in v39.40 and is already shaping loadouts.

• When you throw it, it creates a cloud that heals shields over time and visually obscures players in the mist.

• Anyone inside gains a low‑gravity “Flowberry” effect, letting you float and jump higher.

• The shield regen works for your squad too, turning it into a group sustain tool during or after fights.​​

This item feels like a hybrid between past healing sprays and low‑gravity zones. In Chapter 7, where you can now stay aimed‑in mid‑air, the Flowberry jump buff is especially strong for taking elevated peeks or dodging spray while still shooting back.​​

For most players, Flowberry is worth considering over at least one traditional shield slot, especially in team modes where you can refill three teammates at once.

Lock‑On Assault Rifle and other returning guns

Lock‑On Assault Rifle

The Lock‑On Assault Rifle finally hits Battle Royale after months of leaks.

• Works similarly to the old Lock‑On Pistol: keep your crosshair on an enemy to build lock charges, then fire to unleash a burst that tracks.​

• Uses three‑round bursts tied to each lock segment; you can also hip‑fire it without lock for normal bursts.​​

• Its damage is intentionally low compared to standard rifles, making it more of an accessibility or niche anti‑air option than a top‑tier beam.​

If you’re confident with tracking using the Deadeye AR or Tactical AR, this will probably feel like a downgrade, but it can help less experienced players hit gliding or evasive targets.

MK‑Seven Assault Rifle

The MK‑Seven AR is unvaulted again, bringing its first‑person sight back into the AR lineup.​​

• Good for players who like consistent recoil and a clear scope picture at mid‑range.​

• Still competes with long‑range options like the Deadeye AR, which many players prefer for raw beam potential.​​

Valentine’s Crossbow

The Valentine’s Crossbow returns mostly as a seasonal flavor weapon.​

• Slow projectile and lower damage compared to dedicated snipers.​​

• Fun for casual play and themed loadouts, but not something you build a comp loadout around.

Bigfoot boss and Mythic Flex SMG

Bigfoot is a new boss on the Chapter 7 island, and he’s carrying one of the strongest SMGs this season.​

• Defeating Bigfoot rewards Bigfoot’s Flex SMG, a mythic version of the Flex SMG with higher damage and better handling than standard rarities.

• As usual for bosses, you’ll deal with extra health, heavy damage, and other players pushing the fight for the mythic.​​

You can also temporarily become Bigfoot via his associated mechanic:

• Transformation grants an area scan similar to past tracking masks and improved stamina for a limited time.​​

• The downside is that your position is marked for everyone while you’re in boss form, so you gain info but lose stealth.​​

If you’re confident in taking early boss fights and playing aggressively with a mythic SMG, Bigfoot is worth contesting; more cautious players may prefer to skip him and play for late‑game positioning instead.

Vaulted, unvaulted, and map changes

This update also rotates several items in and out of the loot pool and soft‑resets the map after the South Park event.​

Vaulted items

• All South Park collaboration items are removed now that the event has ended.

• Crash Pads and Slurp Juice are vaulted again, removing a popular bounce tool and one of the best all‑round heals.

• Dual SMGs are vaulted, even though SMGs generally were buffed in this patch.​​

There are also strong indications that the Brutus boss and his Mythic Twin Hammer Shotguns are no longer active on the island.​​

Shockwave Grenades return

Shockwave Grenades are unvaulted and now appear as regular loot again.​

• They are back in the core loot pool after briefly being limited to balloon drops and some boss loot during rollout.​​

• The carry limit is currently four per stack, down from the previous six.​​

• Frag grenades now stack to six, suggesting either an intentional rebalance or a value swap in this update.

Self‑Revive and POI tweak

• Self‑revive (self‑res) returns after being removed during the South Park/Kenny coin window, and can again be bought from heal‑focused vending machines.​

• Cartman Land has reverted back to Wonky Land as a proper POI now that the collab is over.​​

• The storm now has a pink tint, a visual change that doesn’t alter circle behavior but does slightly change visibility feel at range.​

Weapon buffs and how they affect your loadout

Most of the raw balance changes in v39.40 are buffs aimed at making underused weapons more competitive.

SMG, AR, and pistol buffs

• Submachine guns (Hollow Rush, Flex, Duals)

  • Higher damage and larger magazines.

  • Faster handling, making them feel more like true close‑range spray tools instead of awkward mini‑ARs.

• Tactical AR and Enforcer AR

  • Both rifles now deal more damage per shot, improving DPS and making them more appealing versus the Deadeye in aggressive mid‑range fights.

• Tactical Pistol

  • More damage, better range retention, and faster ADS speed.​

  • This pushes it into one of the best backup weapons if you like swapping to pistol to finish weak targets.

Shotgun and utility buffs

• Sovereign Shotgun

  • Fires slightly faster while aiming down sights, reducing the previous ADS fire‑rate penalty.​

  • You still shoot faster when hip‑firing, but ADS no longer feels as punishing if you want tighter spread.

• Stealth Splashes

  • Effect lasts significantly longer and you can carry more per stack.

  • Designed to interact with tracking tools like the Lock‑On Rifle, but in practice they’re simply a better stealth utility now.

Here’s a quick snapshot of how the main buffed weapon categories stack up after the patch:

For most players, this means shifting slightly toward SMG‑heavy and pistol‑friendly loadouts, with Tactical/Enforcer ARs becoming more attractive if you like aggressive peeks rather than long‑range tap fire.