PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS News

Welcome back Survivors!

This update brings new ways to show who you truly are. Season 4 continues in Update 4.3 with a new progression system to improve your non-lethal play skills, Survival Mastery. The Shotgun family got some special attention this patch with a slight rebalance and Care Packages are now dropping a new bundle of joy, the DBS. Be warned, waking this baby will result in more than just sleepless nights.

"Develop your not-so-killer instincts."

We are excited to introduce the Survival Mastery system, where players can develop their less-than-lethal aspects of PUBG gameplay. This companion system to Weapon Mastery, which allows players to progress their skill in gunplay, will also introduce new ways for players to express their personalities on the Battlegrounds with new rewards and PUBG ID.

• Survival Mastery is a new progression system where players increase levels by gaining XP based on the players' survival patterns
  
• The system operates all the time without being affected by seasons. The Level cap for Survival Mastery is 500
  
• Players can earn XP in the following situations:
  
  • Looting
    
  • Using items during combat
    
  • Combat
    
  • Reviving a teammate

Match summary timeline

• The match summary timeline recaps all survival actions performed in a match
  
• Players can check survival actions they have performed in their previous match in a timeline sequence from Mastery > Last Match Tab

• The activities below will be shown in the timeline, along with other XP earning activities
  
  • Landing point
    
  • Location where players perform certain actions
    
  • Damage dealt and received
    
  • Distance a player travels using vehicles
    
  • Surviving Blue Zone phases

Survival style showing players' playstyle

• In Mastery > Survival tab, players can check their recent survival playstyle from the analysis of all players' data

• Survival style tracks your recent playstyle by analyzing data of all the players playing PUBG. It includes the following information:
  
  • Average engagement length
    
  • Average engagement distance
    
  • Items looted per game
    
  • Distance traveled per game
    
  • Hot drop rate
    
  • Damage taken per game
• The 3 most prominent of these traits will be displayed

Players can express themselves through their PUBG ID

• A new system where players can express themselves while show their progression and Survival Mastery rewards
  
• PUBG ID includes Survival Mastery Level, Player ID, Emblem, Background, and Poses
  
  • A summary and detailed recap are available
• Players can view and change from Mastery > Survival tab
  
• Players are able to view other player's PUBG ID in the following case
  
  • Teammate from the previous match
    
  • Player you killed and the player who killed you

Emblems

• For every 10 levels (5, 15, 25…), players are rewarded an emblem
  
• Players can express themselves with various emblems on their PUBG ID

Backgrounds

• For every 10 levels (10, 20, 30...), players are rewarded a background
  
• Players can express their identity with different backgrounds on their PUBG ID

Poses

• For every 100 levels (100, 200, 300...), players are rewarded a pose
  
• Poses are the highest reward in the system and players can change their pose using the Survivor tab and PUBG ID
  
• Player poses utilize the player's equipped clothing
  
  • Other skins such as vehicles and weapons aren't currently utilized for poses

BP Rewards

• BP will be granted for levels without other rewards

"The DPS on the DBS is OMG!"

• The DBS is a double barrel pump-action bullpup shotgun that can only be initially obtained from Care Packages
  
• DBS has two internal magazine tubes that allow the user to load up to fourteen 12-gauge rounds
  
  • Thanks to those combined firing mechanics, DBS can produce massive bursts of damage in a short time span
• Upper rail of the gun allows a Holographic, Red Dot Sight, and 2x to 6x Scopes
  
• Maximum effective range to deal damage with the DBS is 100 m

"Two in the front, two in the back, and we don't look back."

• Improved shotgun consistency
  
  • Hit probability increased, especially in medium shotgun range
    
  • Damage drop-off over distance increased
    
  • Minimum per pellet damage within effective range of each shotgun increased to 4
    
    • Except the Sawed-Off, which is 3
      
    • All shotguns fire 9 pellets total per round
• Adjusted shotgun balance
  
  • All shotgun pellets now use more realistic ballistic curves (speed decrease over time)
    
  • All shotguns had their recoil effects updated
    
  • Damage multiplier changes
    
    • Headshot: From 1.5 to 1.2
      
    • Torso: From 1.0 to 0.9
  • S686
    
    • Maximum effective range set to 80 m
      
    • Increased reload speed by 20%
  • S1897
    
    • Maximum effective range set to 80 m
      
    • Pump action speed increased by 20%
      
    • Pump action will no longer temporarily un-ADS the player
  • Sawed-Off
    
    • Maximum effective range set to 80 m
      
    • Maximum increased probability range set to 50 m
      
    • Increased number of pellets fired to 9
      
    • Decreased damage per pellet from 22 to 20
  • Duckbill attachment: Pellet spread multiplier increased from 0.8 to 1.0
• Updated weapon impact effects
  
  • Both decals and particle effects are now more directional allowing players to better understand the direction shots are coming from
    
  • Size and characteristics of the effect depend on both the surface being hit and the class of the weapon being fired
• QoL improvement for healing items while walking
  
  • Healing items can now be activated while moving and your player will be reduced to walking speed and continue using the item while you move at walking pace
    
    • Previously, you had to come to a complete stop to start healing
• Canted Sight reticle type can now be adjusted, along with brightness, similar to the Red Dot

• Reduced the volume of the Red Zone
  
• Footstep sounds volume and attenuation have been re-balanced
  
• Footstep sounds will be more drastically reduced when players move to the outer limit of footstep audible range
  
• Different sound effects are played when landing from falling, dependent to the surface material type
  
• Made improvements to the ledge-grab sound effects
  
• For more information on the sound improvement plans, please go to the following link: Dev Letter: Sound Improvement Plan
• Added a new song to the Turntable
  
  • The new song will replace the previous song

• The current season of both the Survivor Pass and Survivor Title System will end on October 16th KST
  
• Survivor Pass: Starting October 2nd, two weeks before the end period of Aftermath, there will be an on-screen message, pop-up and countdown on the Survivor Pass banner in the lobby to notify players of the pass end timing
  
  • A pop-up message displayed will be displayed to users purchasing Premium Pass and Level-up items, alerting them of the time left until pass end
• Premium Pass and Level-up items can be purchased until the Pass period ends

• Added background blur effects to make the duo/squad team UI have better readability
  
• Improved visibility of the fire mode indicator on the HUD to further differentiate firing modes
  
• Decreased brightness of equipment icons

• Added headphone icon to the UI right of the health HUD to indicate when the Instant Volume Reducer (F7) is enabled
  
  • A system message at the bottom of the screen has also been added when activating/deactivating this function

• Minor performance optimizations that will improve FPS in areas where many players are in close proximity to one another
  
• Made visual improvements to shadows and enhanced rendering performance
  
• Deployed change to live servers which mitigates an issue which can cause loot to appear late, mainly after landing from your parachute.
  
  • Dev Note: As this change increases server load, we will closely monitor any potential negative impact this may have to the player experience. Please share feedback on your experience with us through official platforms.

Improved Zombie Mode

The days of slow, weak zombies are over! Custom match Zombie modes are getting the following improvements:

• Zombies now have stronger physical capabilities
  
  • Zombies can run faster, jump higher, and attack much faster
    
    • Increased the running speed by 1.5 times
      
    • Increased the jumping height by 2 times
      
    • Increased the speed of attacks by 1.5 times
  • Zombies now have much more health and stronger healing power
    
    • Increased strength by more than 2 times
      
    • Can recover health automatically when they are not engaged in combat
      
    • No fall damage when falling from high locations
      
    • Receive less damage from guns, except for headshots
  • Zombies can now drive vehicles
    
    • Zombies can now move around using vehicles instead of simply running on foot
• Moreover, we are developing a virus infection feature, which is one of the core elements of PUBG Zombie (PUBZ) content. Internal tests are ongoing for various features to make the  zombie mode matches more diverse and exciting. We look forward to your feedback on the improved zombie mode

PUBG Partner Icon

• In Custom Matches, an icon will be displayed in front PUBG Partner's nicknames. This icon will only be shown in the match information section and waiting room

Implemented a system to prioritize matching players who speak the same language together in Duo and Squad mode

• Due to this change, it may be more likely to occasionally be placed on a team of only 2 or 3 players when playing Squads.
  

Dev Note: We're making this change in response to player feedback and frustration to being placed in a Squad with players who speak a different language, making it difficult to communicate properly. For many players, this change will not be noticeable, but in regions such as Europe, with multiple countries in close proximity speaking many different languages, we expect ease of communication to be noticeably improved. As the goal of this change is to improve your gameplay experience, please share your feedback and let us know your thoughts. We will actively monitor player feedback and make additional changes if required.


The following items are now available in the store:

• Halloween themed items
  
  • Sales Period: 9/25 ~ 11/13
• 12 new Twitch Broadcast Royale items
  
  • Sales Period: 9/25 ~ 10/15
• 3 Pan skins and 1 set celebrating the PUBG Classic
  
  • Sales Period: 10/2 ~ 10/23
• New BP purchasable items
  
  • Beryl & S12K BattleStat skins
    
  • 2 Madsy shoes
• New BattleStat skin
  
  • SCAR-L BattleStat skin
• Reduced the probability of receiving a locked crate from the random crate purchase by 50%

• The replay system has been updated. Replay files from previous updates are now unavailable for use

• Fixed an issue where character footsteps cannot be heard when walking backwards against corners of objects
  
• Fixed an issue where the smoke UI timer doesn't sync correctly when the replay is skipped in replay mode
  
• Fixed an issue where the Flare Gun firing animation is obscured when in the prone position
  
• Fixed an issue where grenade damage in rare situations could be received through objects
  
• Fixed an issue where an incorrect kill distance was shown when a disconnected player is killed
  
• Fixed an issue where UAZ wheels wouldn't get destroyed after being punched multiple times
  
• Fixed an issue where skull icons are incorrectly displayed on the minimap in Simplified Chinese language version
  
• Fixed an issue which caused an excessively bright light effect in the side mirror of motorcycles
  
• Fixed an issue where players could not be damaged by other players punching them inside vehicles
  
• Fixed an issue where parachutes were not displayed in training mode with a fully equipped bag
  
• Fixed an issue where players are forcibly removed from training mode when vaulting over a certain wall
  
• Fixed an issue where zombie players occasionally appear to be human in zombie mode
  
• Fixed an issue where the lung capacity icon does wouldn't display correctly when holding breath while swimming
  
• Fixed an issue which prevented footstep sounds from playing in specific situations when running through certain puddles

Welcome back Battlegrounds Survivors,

Last year, the PUBG Mastery Team was formed to create a cohesive progression system in PUBG. We heard players and fans loud and clear when they said they wanted more ways to track their gameplay and the improvements they make as players. In April, we released the first feature under our new progression initiative: Weapon Mastery. We’re thrilled by your warm reception of this initiative and are excited to announce the next segment of our progression system: Survival Mastery, coming to PC test servers tomorrow!


Survival Mastery is a progression feature designed as a companion system to Weapon Mastery. Where Weapon Mastery is all about your proficiency in combat, Survival Mastery focuses on your story as a player. In other words, our goal with this system is to help you recognize your own abilities and reward your success after each match. You get to decide what kind of player you’re going to be.

The Survivor Level cap for the first version of Survival Mastery is 500.

The first thing you should notice in this system is your Survivor Level. Surviving bluezone phases, performing key actions and, well, just staying alive all play a role in how much XP you’ll earn towards your next Level. The better you perform, the faster you’ll progress.

Just like Weapon Mastery, all progress related to Survivor Mastery can be found in the Mastery menu under its own tab.


In addition to displaying your level progress in this tab, you can also track your recent playstyle through the trait system. Are you the type to pick up every bit of loot you see or a bit more picky about what goes into your inventory? Traits paint a picture of how you approach 6 different aspects of PUBG and the 3 most prominent of those traits are displayed here. Below is a more detailed breakdown of all trait and style possibilities in Survival Mastery:




With the release of Survival Mastery, we’re also excited to introduce the PUBG ID as a new way to express yourself and your achievements. All the rewards you unlock in Survival Mastery open up new options for customizing your PUBG ID. Here’s a sneak peek of some of the things you can unlock for your ID:


At launch, you’ll be able to view the IDs of your teammates and the enemies you killed on the last match screen. In the future, we’ll be working to add more sharing functionality and customization to the PUBG ID. We’re eager to hear feedback on what types of things you’d want included on your ID.

We’re also adding a couple new tabs to the last match screen to help you better track your progress from match to match. First up is the new summary tab that provides high level information about your progression and performance. If you’re a fan of squads or duos, you will also be able to track survival stats from your teammates as well.


Also new in the Last Match screen is the survival timeline. With the survival timeline, we’re giving you a detailed recap of all the survival actions performed in a match. Survival actions include but are not limited to combat, looting and healing.


You may also notice many of the survival actions in your timeline are grouped by something called engagements. Engagements in PUBG are a period of time where you experience uninterrupted combat with one or many opponents. In addition to tracking the start and end of an engagement, we’ve also included a summary of the damage given and received over each engagement period. At the end of the match, you’ll be able to see who you killed in each engagement and who took you to the shed*.

There’s a lot of info to unpack in the survival timeline beyond what we’ve covered here so be sure to check it out and let us know where we can improve.


With the launch of Survival Mastery and the continued evolution of Weapon Mastery, we have the first key pieces of our overall progression features. We are still actively building the next pillar of our Mastery plans and look forward to sharing more details of that roadmap soon. As always we appreciate the partnership our team has built with the fans and community and look forward to your feedback around our progression endeavors.

The Mastery Team’s mission is to celebrate your journey in PUBG by helping you build your own identity while leaving your mark on the Battlegrounds. We’re just getting started, so look forward to more details on new additions soon! Survival Mastery will be available on test servers tomorrow and hitting live servers next week.

See you on the Battlegrounds,
PUBG Mastery Team


*It’s a proverbial shed where you died.

There’s a new look on Erangel, so how about a new look for your costume skin. New streamer skins are available in the store as part of our Broadcaster Royale skins. This round features 5 more of your favorite Twitch streamers that bring it on The Battlegrounds.

Skins are available for between $2.99-$9.99 each and can be purchased through the game client until Sep 10, 2019 PST before the server maintenance starts. Each sale directly benefits the Twitch streamer, so pick up your favorite skins and support them in-game and out!

This group’s streamers:

Season 4 pushes on with Update 4.2! Erangel has been devastated by battle but a storm on the horizon is bringing even more changes to the Battlegrounds.

With our second update of the season we are bringing dynamic weather conditions to the isle of Erangel. Combatants will now be forced to contend with each other while braving the elements such as wind, hail, thunderstorms, rain, and fog. Get a look at the brewing storm in our Patch Report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72DcHPUEWs
In addition to dynamic weather on Erangel, we’ve made a number of quality of life and gameplay improvements, including reducing Vikendi’s ambient wind noise, more destructible objects on Erangel, as well as a few vehicle changes. You can read all of the details on what changed in our patch notes, here: https://www.pubg.com/2019/08/14/pc-update-4-2-now-on-the-test-server/

We’re now in the thick of Survivor Pass 4: AFTERMATH, with only 8 weeks left to complete as many missions as possible! Don’t forget to check in on the status of the co-op mission system, where players are working together to complete mission goals and earn rewards.

Survivor Pass 4: AFTERMATH runs until October 15th PDT ending with the live server maintenance. Any missions you’ve completed during the season will unlock even more rewards upon the purchase of the Survivor Pass, so check out your progress and see all the cool rewards you could unlock!

Pick up Survivor Pass 4: AFTERMATH today and explore the Battlegrounds like never before!

Prepare for rain, pack a poncho, and parachute into the battlegrounds, because update 4.2 is now live and a storm came with it.

Welcome back survivors.

The season continues with update 4.2, now available on the live server and a storm is raging on the Battlegrounds. Erangel's overcast weather can now produce a variety of other weather conditions on the island, from thunderstorms, to fog, to heavy winds, and even hail. While you outrun the storm, you can now plow through several new destructible traffic barricades and pylons. This patch also brings a number of quality of life improvements to gameplay and the user experience, including reduced wind volume on Vikendi.

Speaking of bad weather, you can unlock the Weathered Mustang weapon skins by purchasing the premium Survivor Pass 4: Aftermath and completing missions. The Survivor Pass 4 ends on Oct 15 PDT when the game enters maintenance. Now loot that Care Package and ruin the forecast for anyone on the wrong side of your M249. Read on for more details on Update 4.2:

08/27/2019

• Fixed an issue where in rare circumstances, enemy player models intermittently appear invisible at medium distances.
  
• Fixed an issue where ADS is repeatedly canceled when proning against an object.
  
• Fixed an issue where players are unable to reload when looking towards certain attachments.
  
• Fixed a graphical issue when wearing certain skins and using the SLR with a canted sight.
  
• Fixed an issue with certain skins not displaying on male character models in the item preview. 
  

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Vehicle Handling Improvements

• Improved vehicle handling of the Scooter, Snowmobile, Snowbike and Motorcycle with Sidecar, thus improving overall driving stability.
  • Motorcycle with Sidecar off-road driving control and stability has been greatly improved.

Altered Blue Zone Edge Visual Effect

• To improve the gameplay experience, the rolling shimmer effect seen while at the edge of the Blue Zone will no-longer be seen at the center of the screen where the player is aiming.

Improved Visibility of Reticles Against Bright Backgrounds

• Visibility of all sight and scope reticles against bright backgrounds (such as Vikendi snowfields) has been slightly improved.

Throwables Friction Adjustment

• Adjusted the friction force of throwables to make rolling movement more consistent and predictable.
  • Smoke Grenades
    • Friction force has been increased to slow rolling speed and cause them to roll a shorter distance after impacting surfaces.
  • Stun Grenades & Frag Grenades
    • Friction force has been decreased to speed up the rolling speed and increase distance they can travel after impacting surfaces.

Vehicle Engine Toggle

• Vehicle engines can now be turned off/on by pressing 'Z'.
  • The engine can be turned off while driving, after gaining momentum and can be used for quiet, tactical maneuvers.
  • Once the engine is off, pressing 'W' to accelerate or 'Z' will start the engine again.
  • Vehicle engines will automatically be turned off if the vehicle stays at a standstill for 8 seconds, or 2 seconds after the driver disembarks.

Sound QoL Improvements

• Added master volume preview

• The master volume can now be previewed while in the menu, to better allow users to set their preferred maximum volume level.
  • This can be founder under Settings - Audio - Sound - Master volume and by clicking on the 'play' button.
• Added Instant Volume Reducer
  • This new feature temporary decreases the volume of games sound effects to facilitate more clear communication with teammates.
  • Use 'F7' to reduce game master volume, while maintaining the volume of voice chat.
    • Use 'F7' key again to return to the original volume
• For the more details on PUBG's sound improvement plans please read Dev Letter - Sound Improvement Plan.

To help get through the CO-OP missions faster, we’ve enabled “BONUS TIME” – a period in which CO-OP mission progress is accelerated for all players.

• “BONUS TIME” will be enabled at various points throughout the remainder of Survivor Pass: AFTERMATH to accelerate CO-OP mission progression.
  

• Each completed mission will add two points instead of the standard one to the CO-OP mission progress meter.
  

"There's a side to you that I never knew... and the games you'd play, you would always win. But I set fire, to the rain."

Dynamic Weather added to Erangel

• 'Overcast' weather has been added to Erangel.
  • When a match starts with overcast weather on Erangel, the weather will change dynamically over the course of the match between overcast, windy, hail, light rain, heavy rain (rain with lightning and thunder), and fog.

Destructible Objects on Erangel

• Additional destructible pylons and barricades have been added to Erangel. They can be destroyed by vehicles, weapons and explosions, but do provide a limited amount of cover until they are destroyed.
  • Some existing objects which were previously indestructible are now destructible, such as the traffic cones in Mylta.

Vikendi Ambient Noise Adjustment

• Volume of Vikendi's ambient wind noise has been reduced.

Removal of PUBG Esports Signage

• As MET Asia Series and PUBG Nations Cup have now concluded, in-game signage across various maps and the starting plane has been removed.

"A vision of perfect health."

In-game HUD Improvement

• Helmet and vest health is now better visualized on the UI, along with Backpack capacity.
• Weapon firing mode is now represented visually by icons, instead of text.

• To reduce unnecessary clutter, certain HUD and UI elements are no-longer displayed when waiting to start a match.
• Game version number, server identifier and other information is now located beneath the minimap, instead of the HP bar.

Store UI Improvement

• BP purchasable items are now marked with a BP icon in Store to better differentiate BP and cash items.

• Made performance improvements to mitigate client hitching/stuttering in certain situations.

• Added Erangel Visual Update option to Custom Matches
  • Erangel Visual Update will be called “Erangel” and the previous version will be called “Erangel Classic”.
  • All game modes will be playable on both Erangel variants.
• Team leaderboard UI seen in observer mode has been changed to allow 4 character team tags (previously 3).

• The replay system has been updated. Replay files from previous updates are now unavailable for use.

New skins are available at in-game Store once PC Update 4.2 hits live servers.

• New BP purchasable items
  • Vector & SLR BattleStat skins
  • 2 Madsy Shoes
• Added new Battlestat skins for S686 and UMP45
  
• Twitch Broadcaster Royale Group 9 skins
  • More information will be released via an official announcement for Group 9 of Twitch Broadcaster Royale skins will be released after Update #4.2 arrives on live servers
• Added Regional Esports Baseball Bat skins in celebration of 2019 Phase 3 of PUBG Esports.
• Added Rabbit Season Set items, which can be found in the Featured Page of the in-game Store.

[NA Region Specific Changes] We're making some changes to matchmaking in the NA region to ensure a smooth matchmaking experience. While the "Featured Map" queue has thrived for the most part, some players have experienced difficulty finding matches in the "Random Map" pool, which has also led to some frustration due to lack of map variety.

Read the full details in the NA Matchmaking Changes with Update 4.2 post.

• The "Featured Map" option will be removed, leaving only the "Random Map" option, which will now contain all 4 maps at an equal percentage chance of being chosen.
  
  • Player choice is important, so we are investigating ways to allow players additional choices where possible, without compromising a smooth matchmaking experience.

• Fixed an issue where other players would appear to enter the ground temporarily when the network environment is poor.
• Fixed an issue in which throwables appear to shake or display incorrectly when the network environment is poor.
• Fixed an issue where throwables would roll a longer than intended distance on slopes.
• Fixed an issue when walking backwards against the corner of objects, you couldn’t hear your own footsteps, although they were audible by other players.
• Fixed an issue where the item use sound was not audible when using an Adrenaline Syringe or Med kit with the -KoreanRating launch option.
• Fixed an issue where First aid kit, Adrenaline Syringe and Energy drink could sometimes not be heard from while in spectator view.
• Fixed an issue where Aqua Rail's speed while reversing was almost same as when moving forward.
• Fixed an issue where constant collision noises could be heard when a vehicle was stationary against an object or terrain.
• Fixed an issue where vehicles can jitter and start rolling slowly while parked on an angled slope.
• Fixed an issue where weapon scope zoom was reset after performing specific actions.
• Fixed an issue where character animations are skewed when using an emote while affected by a Molotov.
• Fixed an issue where dropping weapons could only be heard by the player dropping the weapon.
• Fixed an issue where a faintly cross-shaped line was visible when the Holographic Sight reticle is set to max brightness.
• Fixed an issue where the BRDM-2 can sometimes sink if landing in water from the parachute.
• Fixed an issue where an active boost gauge would display when the UI was disabled.
• Fixed an issue where a placed marker’s location would change on the compass in some cases after opening the map and inventory in sequence.
• Fixed an issue where the Canted Sight binding would reset if set to alt + mouse wheel.
• Fixed an issue where the incorrect player name would display when spectating a disconnected player.
• Fixed an issue where raindrops could pass through certain vehicle roofs.
• Fixed an issue where character head models are not shown in replay or spectator when players enter the motorbike sidecar seat.
• Fixed an issue where footsteps could in some situations be heard intermittently from dead players.
• Fixed an issue where the key guide text was shown when spectating after dying in a squad match
• Fixed an issue where throwables couldn’t be directly picked up and equipped in the item slot when the backpack was full.
• Fixed an issue where the healing amount while using multiple bandages with the auto-bandage feature was less than if using them individually.
  
• Fixed an issue where spark effects and bullet decals do not appear when shooting the cloth top of a soft top UAZ.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could cancel the reload animation after performing specific actions while running.