Turning on sprint by default will set your default movement mode to sprint, so you will automatically speed up when moving or swimming.
Because you almost never want to be walking in Fortnite you should turn on sprint by default. Almost all of the best Fortnite players are using sprint by default.
The main advantage of using sprint by default is that it frees up an extra keybind. For keyboard and mouse players, the default keybind for sprint is left shift.
Left shift is a very useful keybind because it’s close to your WASD movement keys and your pinky finger naturally rests there. So when you enable sprint by default, you free up your left shift keybind for something more important.
Many Fortnite players use left shift for a building key. The most common keybind for left shift is the roof.
I use my left shift key to crouch because it makes crouch spamming and ghost peeking when playing Fortnite easier.
For console players, the default keybind for sprint is to click in your left movement stick. So when you enable sprint by default, you can use this for a different keybind.
Before switching to a PC and keyboard and mouse, I was playing Fortnite on a console with a controller. And when using a controller, I found that constantly having to click in the left movement stick to sprint was causing me pain and discomfort in my left thumb.
Now, I could just have weak thumbs. But turning on sprint by default helped solve this problem and allowed me to focus on using my left thumb entirely for movement and not having to worry about sprinting.
So both console/controller and PC/keyboard and mouse players should enable sprint by default in Fortnite.
How to enable sprint by default
Fortnite has made it really easy for you to turn on sprint by default.
Here’s how to turn on sprint by default in Fortnite as of Chapter 2:
- Open the Fortnite menu by pressing the escape key on your keyboard or start button on your controller
- From the dropdown list select Settings
- Click the Game icon, the second one across that looks like a cog
- Under the movement tab, turn Sprint By Default on.
Now when you play Fortnite your character will automatically move faster when walking and swimming and you won’t have to press your sprint key.
If you want to walk, you can press your sprint key because that will make you slow down.
This new setting may take you a few games to get used to, but once you get passed the initial learning phase you will never miss having to sprint again.
I don’t even have sprint bound to a key anymore, and so do a lot of other Fortnite players.
What about toggle sprint?
Above the sprint by default setting, you’ll see the option to turn on toggle sprint.
Toggle sprint is actually a different setting to sprint by default and it sets sprint to be a toggle or a hold to sprint.
When toggle sprint is on, you can sprint with one press of your keybind instead of having to hold the key down.
If you don’t want to enable sprint by default, then turning on toggle sprint is a good option because it means you won’t have to hold down your sprint keybind.
Of course, there are far more settings you can change in Fortnite than just enabling sprint by default. Check out this post where I show you step-by-step the best settings to use in Fortnite.