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By Iain Wilson published 17 January 22

If you want to purchase a random item from a Malfunctioning Vending Machine in Fortnite, we've got the lowdown

Fortnite Malfunctioning Vending Machines are a rare sight in the battle royale, and it's down to personal interpretation whether that's a good or bad thing. Unlike a regular retail unit, you have no idea what you're going to get out of one of these glitching vendors until you make a purchase from them in Fortnite, meaning you could get lucky or end up wasting your gold bars. However, demand for them is now increasing thanks to their appearance in one of the Fortnite quests, so knowing how to identify them is a big help with that. If you're going in search of Fortnite Malfunctioning Vending Machines locations, then here's everything you need to know.

Unfortunately, due to their random distribution you can't guarantee any particular Fortnite Malfunctioning Vending Machines locations for each match you take part in. Instead, you'll need to visit the established Fortnite vending machines locations as shown on the map above, while keeping a look out for the glitching exclamation point on a bright red screen to indicate you've found one that's not working as it should. The easiest approach is to consider finding one of the Fortnite Malfunctioning Vending Machines as a secondary objective, then just check the units when you encounter them during regular play as otherwise you could invest a lot of time and effort searching the island for one.

Once you've found one of the Fortnite Malfunctioning Vending Machines, purchasing a random item is as simple as approaching it and interacting in the usual way. You'll be presented with the option to "Roll the Dice" to receive a random item, which will cost you 100 gold bars per purchase regardless of what the item is. It could be a rare or even vaulted item, and on the other hand it may be something completely useless such as a chicken! Whatever the outcome, you only need to do this once to complete the quest to purchase a random item from a Malfunctioning Vending Machine in Fortnite.

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Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 400 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.

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