Fortnite Cipher quests: How to decode the encrypted Cipher
For this week, which is likely to be the final week of Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1, there are no standard weekly quests. Instead, today’s Fortnite update has brought us Cipher quests. These quests look like regular weekly quests on the surface, but there are a couple of neat twists.
The first twist is that new Cipher quests will be dropping every day from now until March 7, 2023; The second is that completing enough of these quests will earn you free in-game items; and the final twist is that some of these quests will be encoded.
These encoded quests come with a code to crack and a little clue to help you solve it.
Fortnite unencrypted Cipher quests
These quests are your standard fare for Fortnite, so strap in and get stuck into these tasks:
- Visit Bastion Outposts (3)
- Collect ammo from chests (150)
- Upgrade vehicles with Off-Road Tires or Cow Catchers (3)
- Hit opponents with ranged weapons from 75 meters or more (5)
- Get eliminations with a weapon of Uncommon rarity or higher (3) (4 stages)
- Damage opponents with the Infantry Rifle or the Six Shooter (300) (4 stages)
Fortnite encrypted Cipher quests
The encrypted Cipher is a tricky one, as the code doesn’t make sense at first.
Fortnite encrypted Cipher quest Stage 1
The first of these encrypted codes is: 1.17.23.9.14. 19.19.24.1.21.6.
The logical assumption is that this is a code where A = 1, B = 2, and so on until Z = 26, but this brings out a bunch of gibberish.
However, earlier today a post was quickly made and then deleted on Fortnite’s Twitter account that read “0.3.1.0.2.0.2.3”, which is the end date for this quest.
What you need to do is subtract each number in the Twitter code from the numbers in the quest code. When you reach the end of the Twitter sequence, loop back around to the start. Then, take the subtracted number, and that corresponds to the letter in the alphabet like so:
- 1 - 0 = 1 = A
- 17 - 3 = 14 = N
- 23 - 1 = 22 = V
- 9 - 0 = 9 = I
- 14 - 2 = 12 = L
- 19 - 0 = 19 = S
- 19 - 2 = 17 = Q
- 24 - 3 = 21 = U
- 1 - 0 = 1 = A
- 21 - 3 = 18 = R
- 6 - 1 = 5 = E
As you can see, the answer to the riddle is Anvil Square. That doesn’t quite tell you the whole story though, for that you must click on the challenge and reveal the second clue. Put the first clue together with the second and you reveal the message: “Inspect the wall... beneath the eastern building at…Anvil Square”.
It’s up to you to go there and see what you can find.
Fortnite encrypted Cipher quest Stage 2
The second encrypted code is: 19.19.19.1.27. 1.22. 22.16.15.10.20.21. 2.17.26.12
Using the same method as before, we can easily decode this message to: "Spray at the Splits Bowl". This is a large bowling alley that you can find in the north of Faulty Splits. All you have to do is go inside and put a spray down to complete this stage.
Fortnite encrypted Cipher quest Stage 3
Our third code is: 19.11.2.20.22.5.20.8.4. 22.13.1.4.19
Once again, our methodology for cracking it is the same, and if you combine it with the blue text for this quest you'll get the message: "Dig at the top of Shattered Slabs".
Go to that location and in the northwest corner of the area, just below the little crane holding blue ore, you'll find a small glowing spot. Give it a whack with your pickaxe and something will pop out, completing the challenge.