The pickaxe is an essential part of Fortnite, and there is an expansive range of skins to modify the look of your pickaxe and give them unique cosmetic features. However, some of these skins are so rare they may never be seen again. But which are the rarest?
What makes a Fortnite pickaxe rare comes down to several factors. There has to be a special exclusivity about it, and it has to be offered for a limited time. Although a pickaxe might not be available for long, Epic Games typically rerelease them, but some are only available for a short time, and might stop coming back to the Item Shop after a while.
If you’re on the hunt for rare pickaxes, you might want to consider investigating when these could potentially reappear. Here are some of the rarest pickaxes you can or could get in Fortnite.
Rarest pickaxes in Fortnite
Honorable Mention: Reaper pickaxe
Being one of the first rare skins in the game, the Reaper was thought of by many as the rarest. Since the demand for the skin ramped up, it has appeared in the store several times, becoming more common with every release in Fortnite.
The skin is very simple, turning the player’s pickaxe into a scythe. Due to this simplicity, few players purchased it upon its initial release, contributing to its rarity, but it has been offered more frequently lately. It could go along with any of the rare skins you’ve also unlocked.
- Release Date: Oct. 31, 2017
- Price: 800 V-Bucks.
- Last Seen: Oct. 5, 2024
Honorable Mention: Minty Axe pickaxe
Another incredibly rare skin upon release, the Minty Pickaxe, has lost its scarcity since it was made available to anyone who purchased licensed Fortnite products from a physical Gamestop store. It’s a recolor of the Candy Axe, and was only available through this limited-time code. Beyond having a code for this product, there’s no way for players to obtain it. It’s an ideal pickaxe for your favorite holiday skin.
- Release Date: Nov. 6, 2019
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Players had to redeem a code from a licensed Fortnite product from a Gamestop store.
- Last Seen: Never
15) Psycho Buzz Axes
The Psycho Buzz Axes were available to players as part of the Psycho Bundle in Season X of Fortnite. They were also a part of the Mayhem Set, with both the bundle and set released in celebration of Borderlands 3 being released in September 2019.
The axes have the “Gaming Legends Series” rarity and could also have been obtained by purchasing a copy of Borderlands 3 before Dec. 31, 2020. While the axes did make their way to the Item Shop seven times after their initial release, they haven’t been seen available since 2020.
- Release Date: Aug. 27, 2019
- Price: 2000 V-Bucks. Bought as part of the Psycho bundle.
- Last Seen: May 31, 2020
14) Leviathan Axe
The widely recognizable Leviathan Axe is another “Gaming Legends Series” pickaxe that was added when God of War‘s Kratos was added to the game in Chapter two, season five. The Axe could be bought separately or as a part of the Oathbreaker Set, which included Mimir, the Axe, the Guardian Shield, the Freezing Burst emote, and Kratos himself.
The Leviathan Axe made its way to the Item Shop 33 times, but hasn’t been seen since 2021.
- Release Date: Dec. 4, 2020
- Price: 1000 V-Bucks (without the Oathbreaker Set) or 2200 V-Bucks (as part of the Oathbreaker Set)
- Last Seen: March 19, 2021
13) Aquari-Axe
The Aquari-Axe was a “Slurp Series” pickaxe that you could get if you earned 50 points during the “Best Friendzy” program event that took place during Chapter two, season seven. The event started on Aug. 31, 2021, and ended on Sep. 12 of the same year. All you had to do was to play the game to get points. You could earn one point by playing 10 minutes of Battle Royale.
- Release Date: Aug. 31, 2021
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Earned during the “Best Friendzy” event by inviting friends and completing tasks with them.
- Last Seen: September 12, 2021
12) Frozen Axe
The Frozen Axe, unsurprisingly, has the “Frozen Series” rarity assigned to it. This pickaxe was released during Season seven, and you could get it as a reward for completing a set of challenges known as the “14 Days of Fortnite Challenges.”
A new challenge was introduced every day over the course of a fortnight, and each rewarded players with different prizes including emotes, gliders, loading screens, sprays, and of course, the Frozen Axe, which was awarded for completing the “Thank the Bus Driver in different matches” challenge. These challenges ran from Dec. 19, 2018, to Jan. 14, 2019, so the pickaxe can’t be obtained now.
- Release Date: Dec 19, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Earned during the 14 Days of Fortnite Challenges.
- Last Seen: Jan 14, 2019
11) Dazzle Daggers
The Dazzle Daggers were pickaxes that you could dual-wield in Fortnite. This “Rare” pickaxe set could be obtained during Chapter three, season three, not by spending V-Bucks, but by logging into Fortnite using the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. This offer was available from the day Chapter three, season three was released to June 20, 2022, so you can’t get them anymore.
- Release Date: June 5, 2022
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained by logging in via Xbox Cloud Gaming
- Last Seen: June 20, 2022
10) Widow’s Bite
Although the Marvel collaborations return to the Fortnite shop fairly regularly, one of the Black Widow variants hasn’t made an appearance for more than four years. As a result, this Black Widow’s pickaxe is equally rare. Of all pickaxe skins that can appear in the shop, this is one that we’ve been missing for probably the longest amount of time.
- Release Date: April 25, 2019
- Price: 800 V-Bucks.
- Last Seen: Oct. 17, 2024
9) AC/DC
The AC/DC pickaxe skin was only available as a battle pass reward from Chapter One, season two. Players had to reach tier 63 of the battle pass to unlock the reward. This skin turns the player’s pickaxe into a forking rod, connecting the two ends by an electrical current. This skin does not belong to its own specific set.
- Release Date: Dec. 14, 2017
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained from the Chapter One, season two battle pass.
- Last Seen: Never
8) Crowbar
The Crowbar was available to players who completed a series of challenges inside The Getaway game mode. Players had to compete in 10 matches of The Getaway, deal 500 damage to jewel-carrying opponents, and pick up a jewel in five matches. Due to The Getaway mode not always being available, getting a hold of the crowbar can be difficult.
- Release Date: Sept. 6, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained from the High Stakes Challenges.
- Last Seen: Never
7) Instigator
The Instigator is a fairly slick-looking pickaxe that would’ve cost some money to acquire. Not because you’d have to use V-Bucks to get it, but because it was only available if you had a Twitch Prime account. To get the Instigator, you’d have to link your Twitch Prime account to your Epic Games account, and voila! The instigator would be yours. This promo, however, was only available between Feb. 28, 2018 and May 9, 2018. That brief window of availability makes this a particularly rare pickaxe.
- Release Date: Feb. 28, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained by linking one’s Twitch Prime account with their Epic Games account.
- Last Seen: Never
6) Stealth Angular Axe
In 2018, players could acquire a similar pickaxe and other promotional cosmetics if they had also purchased an NVIDIA graphics card. Later on, Epic Games put it up for sale in the Item Shop, but to not cheat out those who bought the expensive graphics cards, the stealth angular axe was presented in 2019, reintroducing the previous exclusivity of also having to purchase a NVIDIA graphics card.
- Release Date: April 11, 2019
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained through purchasing an NVIDIA graphics card.
- Last Seen: Never
5) Pointer: (目光锁定 in Chinese)
This simple promotional skin that turns the player’s pickaxe into an arrow was available exclusively to players in China. There is no way to acquire the skin outside the country, so this skin is one of the rarest in the game today.
- Release Date: Nov. 7, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Only unlocked by playing in China.
- Last Seen: Never
4) Power Grip
Another Chinese exclusive, the Power Grip, turns the player’s pickaxe into an industrial gripping tool painted yellow and orange. Like the Pointer, this skin is extremely rare because it is unavailable outside of China.
- Release Date: Nov. 7, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Only unlocked by playing in China.
- Last Seen: Never
3) Raiders Revenge
Raider’s Revenge is an item from very early in the game’s lifetime, and is one of the rarest skins in Fortnite. The pickaxe was only available from the season shop after achieving level 35 in the game’s first season. The first season had few cosmetics, and this pickaxe is one of them. The pickaxe looks like an ax with a pickaxe blade screwed into the top covered in barbed wire. The skin is part of the Storm Scavenger set.
- Release Date: Oct. 26, 2017
- Price: 1,500 V-Bucks.
- Last Seen: Dec. 13, 2017
2) Permafrost
Part of the Harbinger set, Permafrost was only available to players who reached battle pass level 100 and completed the Ragnarok Challenges to unlock stage four of Ragnarok during season five. The medieval-looking pickaxe is partially encased in ice and said to be chiseled from glacial ice. Due to the conditions it would take to unlock, Permafrost is one of the rarest skins in the game.
- Release Date: July 12, 2018
- Price: 0 V-Bucks. Obtained from the Chapter One, season five battle pass.
- Last Seen: Never
1) Rarest pickaxe in Fortnite: FNCS Axe Of Champions
The rarest pickaxe skin in Fortnite is The FNCS Axe of Champions, a skin that is exclusively available to those who won the Fortnite Championship Series. Even with that prerequisite, it gets rarer because you must be the current champion to hold it. Once another player dethrones you, you will lose access to this one-of-a-kind skin, so only one person can own it at a time. The pickaxe itself is gold with the FNCS logo on the top.
- Release Date: Feb. 20, 2020
- Price: 0 V-Bucks: Obtained by winning the Fortnite Champion Series.
- Last Seen: N/A
