The collaboration between Star Wars and Fortnite in the Galactic Battle season allowed players to encounter many familiar characters from the space saga, including Darth Vader himself. However, he appears not just as one of the bosses but also as an NPC that you can hire and recruit into your team.

Lord Vader is armed with a lightsaber and speaks with a voice created using advanced technology. If you want the Dark Lord of the Sith to fight by your side, here's how to achieve that.

Where to Find Darth Vader in Fortnite

Currently, Darth Vader appears at the location Samurai’s Solitude, located in the southwest of the island. Earlier this season, he could spawn at one of three points, including the aforementioned location, as well as:

• Imperial Outpost – located south of the Canyon Crossing tunnel (no longer relevant).
• Imperial Outpost – located behind the hill near Foxy Floodgate (no longer relevant).

However, this has now changed — Darth Vader will always be in the same place. His location can be seen on the map if the match lasts long enough — it will be marked with an icon shaped like Vader's helmet.

Despite the fact that finding the Sith Lord's location is not difficult, it remains challenging as many other players will also attempt to get there to recruit Darth Vader and talk to him thanks to the new integrated AI technology.

Therefore, be prepared that if you land in Samurai’s Solitude, you'll have to face other players and defeat them before proceeding to recruit Darth Vader.

How to Hire Darth Vader in Fortnite

How to Defeat Darth Vader

To recruit Darth Vader, you first need to defeat him — which is no easy feat. He uses the same menacing series of attacks seen in previous Fortnite seasons. Be prepared for him to:

• pull you with the Force;
• charge into attacks;
• spin his saber and deflect bullets;
• throw his lightsaber like a boomerang.

He acts aggressively and is rarely alone — usually, there are several stormtroopers nearby. Bring powerful weapons and armor. Vader is most vulnerable between his attacks, so don't shoot when he's spinning his saber. Time your attacks carefully, keep your distance, and use cover if the situation escalates.

You don't necessarily have to land the final blow yourself. The main thing is to be the first to interact with the portal after Vader is defeated.

How to Recruit Vader After Victory

Once you defeat Vader, a portal to Mustafar will open next to his body. Approach it and press the interaction button. If done correctly, you'll pass through this portal and gain new abilities — including the Sith apprentice's lightsaber and the ability to throw it like Vader does.

From this point, Darth Vader will join your squad until the end of the match. This is an exceptional and powerful alliance — only one team or player can obtain it per match. So, even if you didn't fight him directly, sometimes you can earn the reward by sneaking in and interacting with the portal before enemy players. It's risky, but possible.

How to Speak with Darth Vader in Fortnite

Once Vader is on your team, the most exciting part of his presence begins. Thanks to new AI capabilities in Fortnite, you can now talk to him directly. He responds with a voice modeled after James Earl Jones and operates on Conversational AI technology.

To activate this feature, you need to enable the AI communication option in the settings. To do this:

• Go to game settings.
• Navigate to the keyboard or controller settings section.
• Assign the appropriate key for Conversational AI (default is Y for PC, D-Pad for the controller).
• Save changes, return to the game, press the required key, and speak near Darth Vader with your microphone.

However, remember that dialogues are filtered — especially for younger players or those without parental permission to use this feature in the game.

Interestingly, voice interactions are not private: if you're talking to Vader, other nearby players can also hear it. So it's better not to reveal your location during the conversation.

What Recruiting Darth Vader in Fortnite Offers

Besides the obvious cool factor, recruiting Darth Vader provides real advantages in the match. His Sith apprentice's lightsaber offers both melee and ranged attacks through throwing. Additionally, as an AI ally, he actively assists in combat, taking down enemies and covering your squad.