Darth Jar Jar Fortnite Skin: 1M XP Requirement Stuns Fans

Fortnite's Star Wars season has just released its most significant new character skin from a galaxy far, far away—and it has left fans shocked by requiring a massive 1.28 million XP grind to unlock.

Darth Jar Jar became available for purchase in Fortnite's Shop over the weekend, but only after players earn the required XP. Even after accumulating that 1.28 million XP, the Darth Jar Jar skin still costs 1500 V-Bucks (approximately $13).

While Fortnite has previously locked skins behind XP requirements, this marks only the second such case in recent years—and it involves one of the most anticipated cosmetic items of this shorter Star Wars season.

Now, several weeks into the season, players have less time to earn the XP required for Darth Jar Jar, as Fortnite's Star Wars season ends on June 7. Anyone who already completed their battle pass now faces an additional grinding challenge.

"I was really excited for this skin and had no problem with it being behind a paywall—it's just another cosmetic, after all," one fan wrote in a long Reddit thread about Darth Jar Jar's release. "But locking it behind an XP wall is absurd. You want me to earn the right to spend money? I closed the game right away."

Another common complaint is that Darth Jar Jar was released alongside a regular Jar Jar Binks skin. The standard version has no XP requirement but still costs a separate 1500 V-Bucks.

With all the accessories available for both the Sith and Gungan variations, players could end up spending 6,500 V-Bucks for the complete Jar Jar Binks collection—quite a hefty price.

"Regular Jar Jar alone is 20 dollars," another fan pointed out. "If you want both versions, that’s 52 whole dollars for what should have been a single skin with three style options."

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Meanwhile, other players argue that Jar Jar is merely a cosmetic item—and if you're not interested, there’s no obligation to buy it. By ignoring the skin, your Fortnite collection remains free of the character, much like how George Lucas may have wished to distance himself after the backlash to The Phantom Menace.

"Earning the XP wasn’t that difficult—it took me around 8 or 9 hours," shared a third fan. "I had no plans last Saturday, so I completed it over three sessions in one day. I focused on Rocket Racing, Ranked matches, and Alignment Challenges to maximize my XP gain."

"No one is forced to buy every item in the Shop—you can pick and choose what you want. Considering Darth Jar Jar was only 1500 V-Bucks while Deathstroke cost 1,800, the price didn’t bother me. I was frustrated at first, but after a few hours, I realized I had already earned over 300,000 XP."

Fortnite's Star Wars season continues this week with a spotlight on Mandalorian warriors, including the highly anticipated release of a new customizable Mandalorian skin in the in-game Shop.

Epic Games' battle royale will wrap up its Star Wars arc with a live narrative event on June 7—an event fans believe will involve boarding the Death Star, which has loomed ominously over the game's island since the season began.

Earlier this month, Epic Games' ongoing dispute with Apple escalated when Fortnite was reportedly "blocked" from returning to the iPhone App Store in the US.