We're thrilled so many of you are enjoying our special Fantasy BR event mode. In order to make sure everyone has enough time to earn all of the rewards, we've decided to extend the event an additional week. Thank you for all your feedback and have fun on the Dragon's Isle!

Fantasy Battle Royale now available until April 12th 11:59 PM PDT / April 13, 0700 UTC. Be sure to claim your rewards within 48 hours of event completion.


And now for something completely different...


Greetings Internet Warriors!

April Fools’ Day is a long-celebrated tradition in the gaming world. Whether through silly videos, fake patch notes, or even full blown in-game events, it’s the time of year where teams can go a little crazy and try something completely different— and it doesn’t get much more different for us than Fantasy Battle Royale.

First off, we understand that times are difficult right now due to the impact of COVID-19 around the world and that some companies have chosen to forego April Fools activities this year. In a time when people are keeping themselves safe and indoors, we believe that video games offer a diversion from solitude and a way to be social while still staying safely apart. For these reasons, we’ve chosen to go forward with our planned event in hopes that it offers a little bit of lighthearted fun during this necessary isolation.

We’ve also ensured that all rewards associated with this event can be earned, with no purchases required, to prevent people from missing out on them if they have to choose more necessary things to spend their money on during this time. The first set of rewards are earned through special event missions, either directly or purchased with the “gold” that the missions give. These rewards can also be purchased in the regular shop if you have some extra income and choose not to participate in the event. The other set of rewards can only be purchased with BP and there will be an option to convert your extra “gold” into BP to help acquire these. Taking care of yourselves and your loved ones is the most important thing right now, so making sure that all of the Fantasy Battle Royale rewards could be earned was a priority for us.

So what exactly is this event? Fantasy Battle Royale is an optional event mode that lets you choose from one of four fantasy classes to take on the Battlegrounds in a completely different way. Creating a true fantasy mode would require more resources than we wanted, so we made a couple… alternate choices in how we represent the fantasy in Fantasy Battle Royale. By utilizing existing PUBG mechanics in fun and crazy new ways, we came up with (what we consider) a funny mode that didn’t have to waste important development resources for a week-long joke.

Even a silly event mode has its uses, though. Fantasy BR has given us the opportunity to test a few new ideas in a real (but fantasy) (but still real) environment. A big part of Battle Royale is survival and we’ve been curious what crafting on the Battlegrounds might look like. Fantasy BR gave us the perfect opportunity to try out a crafting system and as such, the vast majority of the loot you’ll find in Fantasy BR consists of crafting components used to improve the items you begin with. Utilizing fantasy classes, such as the Paladin, had the added bonus of finally letting us test a certain shield we teased out to you all a little too soon.

Now, none of this means that these test features are going to appear in normal PUBG matches tomorrow, or ever for that matter, but it does finally give us a good way to get them out to you and gather your feedback so we can decide whether or not to develop them further.

We wanted to mention all this up front because it’s important for us that you know Fantasy BR wasn’t some giant use of our development resources. It is mostly some creative new art on top of a few bits of code to change how things that already exist in PUBG work. We know that what we spend our time on is important to you, especially while some persistent issues remain unfixed right now.

We also know that we're late on delivering the Community Letter we promised you that talks about those issues, but plan to have that out within the next week or so. All in all, we’re happy we can test potential future content and give you something silly on a day that’s all about fun, with minimal impact on the more pressing issues we’re actively working on.

So, put on your robe and wizard hat, because this is Fantasy Battle Royale and things are about to get… well, weird.



Fantasy Battle Royale will be available as an event mode for a limited time from April 1st, 00:00 PDT ~ April 12th, 11:59 PM /  April 13, 0700 UTC.

To play, click on the Fantasy Battle Royale banner in main lobby to enter the special Fantasy BR lobby.

Basic Rules

• Fantasy BR takes place on the Dragon’s Isle (Erangel)
  
• TPP only, 20 Squads of 4 (maximum of 80 players per match)
  
• Fantasy BR does not support 1 man or 3 man squad but will automatically find suitable companions for you
  
• Friendly fire is disabled (unless we’re talking the mendingstar and heal bomb, which are the friendliest fire of all)
  
• Fantasy BR does not grant XP rewards but BP is earned based on your total gameplay time
  
• Fantasy BR matches don’t count towards the Survivor Pass. However, there are separate Fantasy BR exclusive missions
  
  • Complete Fantasy BR exclusive missions to earn special Fantasy BR mode rewards
    
  • Please refer to the 'Fantasy Battle Royale Exclusive Systems' section for more details

• After matchmaking completes, players will be asked to select a class to play before flying to the Dragon’s Isle
  
  • The Class select screen is automatically shown and may be brought back up using the F8 key
    
  • There are no class limits, so get creative with your party! (Just remember you’ll be sharing loot if you double, triple, or quadruple up on classes!)
• First circle will be displayed before you jump
  
  • Blue Zone will move faster and deal more damage in Fantasy BR than in normal matches! Be careful!

"I would like to RAGE"

The fearsome Barbarian is a melee combatant with high HP who uses his rage to increase his movement speed. Swinging his Kick Ash Longsword in a wide arc in front of them, they gain additional movement speed with each successful attack on an enemy.

Barbarians also produce Mega Energy Drinks, which can be used to recover large amounts of HP over time. Although he doesn’t have any other special attacks or skills, his fast movement speed makes him the best suited to chase down squishy opponents and show them the business end of his weapon.


"They’re taking the Hobbits to Erangel!"

The Ranger is a long-ranged sniper equipped with the deadly 'Dragonslayer' crossbow, capable of firing multiple shots in succession. With a long range and high attack damage, she is a formidable opponent, other than her rather low amount of HP.

Ranger’s utilize stealth to emit no movement sounds, making them the perfect sneak attack class. The Ranger brings utility to the fight as well with their Flash Powder grenades that temporarily blinds enemies and decreases the damage allies receive.


“What manner of man are you that can summon up fire without flint or tinder?”

Wizards are heavy damage dealers who rain down fire on groups of enemies at once. Whether firing 2 consecutive blasts from their wands, dropping a powerful Fireball spell, or calling meteor showers from the sky, Wizards always have something fiery and explosive to pull out of their arsenal.

Keep your allies close though, as the Wizard has the lowest HP of any class and make a delightful squishing sound that Barbarians find irresistible.


“I can do this all day.”

The Paladin is the key healing class in Fantasy Battle Royale. Healing allies with their Mendingstar and blocking incoming attacks with their Brooklyn Shield, the Paladin is right at home protecting the weak.

The Paladin’s Mendingstar serves two functions; healing allies it strikes or dealing damage to and slowing down enemies. The Paladin’s Shield Charge can also knock away enemies who get too close to his party.

Paladins also regularly produce First Aid Kits that can be given to allies or toss a 'Heal Bomb' to create an AoE healing zone, but be warned that this zone can also heal enemies!

One slight hitch though, maybe it’s because of their heavy armor or the fact that they have no free hands, but Paladins cannot ledge grab and may have to find more creative ways to keep up with their team.

Ye Olde Chicken Dinner

• Just like traditional Battle Royale, the last surviving squad is the winner

Items

• Fantasy BR has its own set of world spawn items, which mostly include crafting materials
  
• No weapons, ammo, throwables, boosts, or equipment will spawn
  
  • Bandages will still spawn in the world

Vehicles

• Only the Noble Steed (motorcycle) and Dragon Wagon (UAZ) spawn in Fantasy BR
  
• Vehicles are slower and have lower durability than in normal BR to keep fights more focused on class warfare

Care Packages

• Care Packages are dropped more often in Fantasy BR and are be marked on the map for all players
  
• Care Packages can contain the Zircon, a powerful gem used to upgrade your gear to Lv.5
  
• Using the interaction key (F) on Care Packages grants a temporary invincibility buff
  
  • The Buff lasts for 30 seconds, making you immune to all damage

Character Equipment

In Fantasy Battle Royale, players start the game with a class-specific weapon, necklace, and ring equipped. These items are exclusive to your character and cannot be dropped or traded.

Some classes have ammo and special skills that they can use. These are automatically refilled in specific intervals depending on the levels of your equipment. There is a cap to how many of each you can hold, so make sure to use em if you got em!

Item Crafting

• Picking up crafting materials allows you to upgrade your weapon and gear
  
  • Use the right mouse button on components in the inventory screen to start crafting

• Class Weapons, Necklaces, and Rings can be upgraded to Lv.4 using class-specific gems found throughout the world
  
  • Loot crystals can be dropped for your teammates, so grab everything you see!
• To raise your equipment to Lv.5, you will need to find a Zircon
  
  • The Zircon is a crystal that spawns very rarely across the map.
    
  • Care Packages will always contain a Zircon

Fantasy BR Exclusive Missions and Store

• There are new Fantasy Battle Royale Missions to complete, which earn you costume set pieces or a special event currency called Gold
  
• A total of 8 costume sets can be earned or purchased during this event, 2 costume sets per class
  
  • The first set of skins is earned by completing missions and spending your Gold in the Fantasy Battle Royale store
    
    • Alternatively, these sets may be purchased in the normal in-game store for $9.99/set if you who do not wish to earn them
  • The second set of skins can be purchased in the normal in-game store using BP
    
  • All unlocked Fantasy Battle Royale skins are permanent and can be used in normal PUBG games!

That’s the basic rundown! We sincerely hope you enjoy Fantasy Battle Royale. It’s silly, short lived, and certainly not for everyone, but for those who appreciate such things, the happiest of April Fools’ Days to you all!

- PUBG Dev team

*No unicorns were harmed in the making of this game mode*

Dear Community,

On March 23rd, PUBG is officially 3 years old! We want to start off by thanking you for all your support over the last 3 years. 2019 was in a lot of ways a year of taking risks for us. Reworking a beloved map like Erangel required a lot of love and care to get right, but we’re pleased that many of you are happy with the result. We also introduced our smallest map to date, Karakin, which brought a new intensity to PUBG’s brand of Battle Royale.

To help navigate these new and reworked maps, we improved our movements systems to allow for climbing and ledge grabs, greatly increasing the tactical options available to players. And speaking of tactical, 2019’s Weapon Mastery system allowed you to track your progress with the extensive PUBG arsenal for Weapon Charms and bragging points.

While there was plenty new, we saw 2019 as a year of building a foundation for PUBG. Going forward, we want to continue to improve upon what’s made PUBG so popular these last 3 years. This will include map reworks, new maps, new weapons & mechanics, additional game options such as Arcade’s Team Deathmatch, and of course quality of life improvements & bug fixes for some of your most pressing issues.

The first of those reworks has already been talked about! Thanks to the help of our PUBG Partners, you all got a first look at the updated Vikendi. We’re pouring over your data and feedback from the test to get it polished up before the train leaves the station. We want each new and reworked map to bring an entirely new experience to you all with fun and exciting new mechanics, so a big thank you to everyone in our community who tested it out and sent in your feedback.

Community is the backbone of any online game and as such celebrating our 3rd year also means celebrating you. This is why we recently ran our first ever Community Skin Design Contest in which members of the PUBG Community from all around the world submitted their own skin designs to be voted on by you.

The winners of this contest had their designs created and they will be available to all PC and Console players for free during this celebration. Details on the winners can be found below!

PUBG has come a long way since March of 2017 and we fully understand that there is still much to do, but it is because of all of you that we’ve been able to take our little game and grow it into one of the biggest games of all time. We know an achievement like this comes with a big responsibility to you all and we’re working hard this year to do better.

We hope to share these efforts and our plans for 2020 soon but for now let us thank you once again for being a part of this incredible journey. From all of us here at PUBG to all of you around the world, happy 3rd anniversary!

-The PUBG Team

• Winners of Global Skin Contest are included in the 3rd Anniversary Item Box!
  
  • Hoodie skin by @KARAAGEKUN_KEI from JP
    
  • M416 Skin by @DY_BUDDY from CN
    
  • Parachute skin by @SEB34627111 from EMEA]/list]
  PC Distribution Period
  
  • Mar 23rd (Mon) 0900 KST ~ April 23rd 0900 KST
    
  • 3rd Anniversary Skin Set can be purchased in the in-game store for FREE
    
  • (Don't forget to collect your items before the gift period ends!)

Pick up the all new Panzerfaust and bring an explosive new party to Karakin or grab one of the newly rebalanced guns to try out. The UMP45, Tommy Gun, and M249 have all received some changes. The M249 and DBS have been taken out of Care Packages and can now be found among normal loot on all Battlegrounds.

There are also several quality of life improvements, including much requested changes to remove invincibility in Team Deathmatch once you fire a weapon. We've also taken a step to mitigate the hitching issues some players were experiencing.

There's plenty more to go over, so check out the full patch notes here for more details.

Hello Players,

Last weekend, we conducted the LABS: Ranked Ruleset test. However, due to the Vikendi test running at the same time, many of you asked us for additional time to test. Because of this, we are bringing the Ranked Ruleset back for a round two of testing to give more players a chance to provide their feedback without feeling like they're missing out on other tests.

Before we get to the details of the second test, we want to talk more on why we're making a separate ruleset for ranked in the first place.

Why come up with a different Ranked Ruleset when the Esports Ruleset (S.U.P.E.R.) already exists? If we're trying to have a Competitive Mode, what's more competitive than esports? The PUBG Esports Ruleset is designed to be exciting to watch, while providing as competitive of an environment as possible to our pros. This is why, for example, the entire looting phase is minimized though increased loot and faster early zones. It's getting players into the action faster to keep the audience engaged. This puts the focus on the competition between the professionals who play PUBG for a living, with as few external elements impacting their tactics and movements as possible, such as the Red Zone. We looked at a lot of data after releasing the PGC 2019 mode last year and came to the conclusion that the Esports Ruleset was too big of a change from the normal Public Match for most players. After looking at all the numbers, the Ranked Ruleset is an attempt to appeal to a wider spectrum of PUBG players who want to be challenged by a competitive environment but still want to play a game they know and understand.

The second Ranked Ruleset test will take place in LABS from March 13th to 16th and settings will be identical to the previous test. We've dropped them below again for a refresher.

The goal is to provide an environment where players can show off their skills, while maintaining the fun and unique experience of PUBG Battle Royale. Getting this right incorporates various systems, such as rank algorithm, rewards, leaderboards, and much more, which is why it's crucial for us to analyze gameplay data and get your feedback.

As before, feedback from this test will help us determine whether we need to make some adjustments before we go live with Competitive Mode, so be sure to share your thoughts on the current settings. We'll take a look at your feedback alongside the data we receive once the test is over and decide the next moves from there. Our goal is a fun and competitive environment that allows players the chance to prove their skills while still feeling like PUBG Battle Royale.

Thank you and enjoy the Ranked Ruleset test!



Rules

• Number of players: 64 players
  
• Perspective: FPP / TPP
  
• Squad only
  
• Random map (Erangel / Miramar / Sanhok)

Test Period

• Mar 13 16:00 KST ~ Mar 16 16:00 KST

Red Zone
In public matches, Red Zones spawn randomly across the map, but generally appear more centrally on the map. However, in Ranked Ruleset, the Red Zone is placed towards the edges of the safe area. This encourages players to keep moving and get to the safe zones sooner, meaning players will have to make quicker decisions when it comes to looting, fighting, or moving.

• Smaller Red Zone than public matches
  
• Fewer shells (explosions within the Red Zone)
  
• Red Zone size and frequency decrease as the match progresses
  
• Red Zone bombing duration is less than public matches 

Item Spawns
We have adjusted the item spawns in the Ranked Ruleset to provide a competitive gameplay environment while maintaining the original familiar Battle Royale experience you know from public matches.

However, players will still have to loot several areas in order to be fully equipped and we expect combat during these phases to contribute to your loot as well.

• The total amount of item spawns on all maps are greater than that of in public match
  
• Increased item spawn rate of primary weapons, armor, and healing items

Blue Zone
We have adjusted the zone settings to ensure the maximized use of all areas on the Battlegrounds. In early stages of Blue Zone, players will have to move a little bit more swiftly compared to public matches.

After the early phases, zones are set to have players more likely to be engaged with other teams and players. With these new settings, players will be able to prove their skills in much more tense environment than public matches.

• Early phase: Similar to existing public matches, but with a shorter prep time
  
• Middle phase: Blue Zone speed is much quicker, similar to Esports Ruleset settings
  
• Late phase: Blue Zone has higher damage but moves slower. Players in this phase will be under pressure to pick their fights and keep moving.

Other

• The starting plane's flight path is more likely to fly closer to the first safe area.
  
• Vehicle spawns are same as the normal games, however, motor glider is disabled until we have further analysis and feeback. 
  
• Flare guns will be spawned as they provide a strategic choice between care package and BRDM-2 while taking a risk.
  
• Unlike the previous test where players were not able to collect any rewards, in this test players will be able to gain BP.

Thank you in advance for your feedback and we'll see you on the Battlegrounds!

- PUBG

Update April 9: An additional update has been deployed:

• Greatly reduced instances of hitching during gameplay. We will continue to make further optimizations where possible
  
• Fixed an issue where players could clip through walls/ceilings of buildings by using vaulting and ledge-grab
  
  • Most instances of this exploit have been resolved, although in some uncommon situations the exploit can still be performed. We'll keep an eye out and work on additional fixes
• Reverted blood effect changes implemented in Update 5.3
  
• Full details here: https://www.pubg.com/april-9th-maintenance-hotfix/

Update April 1: An additional update has been deployed to fix the following issues:

• Fixed an issue with Win94 kills being recorded as DBS in Mastery
  
• Improved backend network data logging to help improve connection quality
  
• Changes to decrease instances of game crashes

Update March 25: An additional update has been deployed to fix the following issues:

• ADS view obscured with certain weapons
  
• Unable to open mission list in some cases
  
• Visual issue with "Victory Dance 14" emote
  
• Panzerfaust warhead wouldn't explode when shot mid air
  
• DBS and M249 spawned without ammunition on Karakin
  
• Unable to complete Panzerfaust missions which finishing DBNO enemies or kill backblasted enemies
  
• Unable to complete Sticky Bomb missions if the enemy was DBNO
  
• Weapon would remain in the character's hand when bandaging
  
• 'Equip C4' displayed under key bindings

Update 6.3 is live and some big updates have arrived. We're dropping the much teased Panzerfaust onto Karakin, rebalancing some weapons including one formerly only found in Care Packages, and summing it all up with some bug fixes and quality of life improvements including the much requested change to invincibility in Team Deathmatch. All this and more in Update 6.3! Read on for all the details.

Update March 13: Due to community feedback, we're changing some of our initial plans. The M249 will be available on ALL maps as uncommon ground loot, as will the DBS which has also been removed from Care Packages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4sr0-tItnY


We've been sneaking the Panzerfaust into our Season 6 videos since the start, but we're finally putting the boom tube into your hands! While a powerful AoE damage tool on the Battlegrounds, there are some drawbacks to picking the Panzerfaust up. First of all, it takes up a primary weapon slot, limiting your options on the diverse terrain of Karakin. The projectile travels pretty quickly, but can be dodged by the attentive player. There's also a backblast area behind the Panzerfaust, so watch out for those squadmates before you go firing it off.

Panzerfaust

• Karakin exclusive
  
• Uncommon world spawn found across the map
  
• Guaranteed to be in every airdrop
  
• The Panzerfaust warhead explodes upon impact, but can also be blown up mid air
  
  • The damage radius is 6m from the point of impact
    
  • The explosion can deal splash damage through thin walls and objects, up to a short distance
    
  • Can be used to breach specific walls on Karakin, much like the Sticky Bomb
    
  • The warhead will explode mid air, before impact if damaged by explosions or shot by a bullet
• One time use
  
  • Once the warhead is fired, the Panzerfaust tube will be discarded and cannot be picked back up
• Firing the warhead produces a backblast, so be careful!
  
  • The backblast damages those within a 3m zone behind the weapon
    Be careful you don't have any teammates, or a wall too close behind you. You've been warned
• Zeroing options at 60, 100 (default) and 150 meters

As we near the end of the season, we're also doing a little balance shuffle on a few weapons. The Tommy Gun has been weak for a while, so we're adding a sight slot for red dots and holos and upping damage, the M249 is moving from Care Packages to normal loot but is also losing a little damage and getting a bit more recoil, and the UMP-45 was nerfed a little too hard with the switch from 9mm, so we're giving it some love across the board. Take a look below for all the changes.

Update March 13: Due to community feedback, we're changing some of our initial plans. The M249 will be available on ALL maps as uncommon ground loot, as will the DBS which has also been removed from Care Packages.

Tommy Gun
Stronger and more versatile. You can now also attach Red Dots and Holos to your Tommy.

• Added upper rail to attach Red Dot and Holo Sights
  
• Increased rate of fire from 700 to 750
  
• Increased firing accuracy
  
  • We've reduced the bullet deviation penalty when firing for an extended duration
• Increased moving accuracy
  
• Decreased recoil when firing for an extended duration
  
  • This is due to the increased rate of fire

M249​
Removed from Care Packages and added to normal loot on ALL maps. Can now take more attachments but is tougher to control and does less damage.

• Added Stock attachment slot
  
  • A Tactical Stock can be equipped to improve weapon stability
• Added Magazine attachment​ slot
  
  • Reduced standard ammo capacity to 75
    
  • Now holds 150 with an extended mag
• Decreased base bullet damage from 45 to 40
  
• Increased recoil
  
• Found on ALL maps
  
• Semi-rare spawn

UMP-45​
An increase in power across the board, making the UMP a more viable choice for your arsenal.

• Increased base bullet damage​ from 39 to 41
  
• Increased rate of fire from 650 to 670
  
• Increased muzzle velocity from 300 to 360
  
  • This means an increase to the speed at which bullets leave the barrel, making it a bit easier to track moving targets

Alongside these balance changes, the M249 and Tommy Gun models and firing sounds have been updated.

DBS

• Removed from Care Packages
  
• Now found on ALL maps as rare ground loot

• Improved visibility of nearby items on the ground by enhancing the glowing effect and adding a new pulse effect
  
  • The new pulse effect can be disabled and is listed as "Item Flashing Effect" under Gameplay settings
• Added an electric static sound to the Blue Zone wall providing players with an audible queue when the Blue Zone is near
  
• Players can now use 'Push to Talk' in the main menu lobby
  
• [Team Deathmatch] Added Rich Presence to let your Discord and Steam friends know when you're fragging in TDM
  
• [Team Deathmatch] Invincibility will now be removed instantly when engaging in combat (firing a weapon, throwing grenade etc.)
  
• [Team Deathmatch] Hotkey for player reports is disabled for 1 second after death to prevent accidental activation

• Optimization improvements have been applied to reduce instances of FPS stuttering (hitching) on certain hardware configurations
  
  • We'll monitor the effectiveness of this change and continue to work on additional performance optimization

Fixed the following issues:

• Location of teammate's character not synchronized with observer's display in certain situations
  
• Map texture displayed in poor quality
  
• 'Round 3' message constantly displayed and round not starting in Team Deathmatch
  
• Name of Victory dance 12 emote not displayed properly
  
• Visual misalignment on the Blue Zone UI
  
• Visual issue with the background of the vehicle durability UI
  
• PLAYERUNKNOWN'S Trench Coat clipping through the character
  
• All glasses & mask items not being displayed when equipping Golden Dragon Traditional Cap
  
• Titles of all Keys not being displayed correctly in store and inventory
  
• Unable to accomplish the mission 'Reach top 10 after earning a kill with QBZ/AKM' in certain situations
  
• Wrong 4x reticle displayed when using the DP-28
  
• Abnormal Blue Zone sound played in spectator mode
  
• Reload interaction sounds heard differently in FPP and TPP views
  
• Invite friends option unable to turned on in custom matches
  
• Freelook could be used to gain an advantageous view after dying
  
• Sticky Bomb blinking red prior to being thrown
  
• Fixed an awkward crossbow animations in certain situations

• Sticky Bombs can now be found in Training Mode
  
• Added additional ringtone for the Sticky Bomb
  
• DBS spawns can be adjusted in custom matches

• The 3rd track of Survivor Pass missions has been unlocked! The new missions follow an explosive theme
  
• The current season of both the Survivor Pass and Survival Title System will end on April 14 PDT
  
  • Starting April 1st (KST) / March 31st (PDT), there will be a countdown on the Survivor Pass lobby banner notifying players of the pass end date
    
  • A pop-up message will be displayed to users purchasing Premium Pass, alerting them of the time left until pass end
• Premium Pass and Level-up items can be purchased until the Pass period ends

• 4 new Badlands skin sets have been added, available until 4/15

• Karakin is now available in Custom Matches
  
• Updated Esports Mode preset
  
  • The previous 2019 preset has been replaced by the 2020 Global Esports Ruleset
    
  • Blue Zone settings are identical to 2019. However, item spawn rates have been changed in accordance to each map's ruleset.
    
  • This preset uses the S.U.P.E.R ruleset (Official Esports Ruleset)
• Inner Blue Zone option has been added
  
  • This allows you to create new custom game experiences similar to the Bluehole mode we recently tested in LABS
• Organized custom match presets and added some new ones.
  
  • 'The First Weapon for Your Chicken Dinner' preset has been added
    
  • Drop in with a random weapon set and fight your way to victory, no weapons spawn in the world, although you can pick up the weapons from player death boxes
• [PUBG Partners] Motor Glider and Sticky Bomb have been added to Sandbox mode
  
• Known Issue: Snowmobiles and Snowbikes don't spawn on Vikendi
  
  • This issue will be resolved in next patch

Note: Replays from previous updates are no-longer playable, as the replay system has been updated.

Hello players!

One of the most important elements of Battle Royale is survival, and being the last survivor standing means growing through experience. However, many of you have stated that PUBG also needs to promote the fierce competition between players as they play and win games, and a ruleset to amplify that competitive spirit. For those players, we're happy to introduce the Ranked Ruleset.

A ruleset like this needs feedback though, so like our previous skill-based rating test, we're looking to PUBG LABS to gather your feedback as quickly and efficiently as possible.

During this LABS test, we'll be analyzing the data and your feedback to better understand what our players are enjoying and will adjust the ruleset accordingly before we take it live.

Now, let's take a look at the details of the Ranked Ruleset and when you can get in and try it out!



Test Goals & Expectations

The Ranked Ruleset test aims to merge the strengths of both public and esport ruleset settings to build a new ruleset specifically made for competitive play. We hope this adds some additional tools for players to be competitive without it being too jarring for players coming from normals.

The Ranked Ruleset test will be available in both FPP and TPP mode and maps will be chosen randomly from Erangel, Miramar and Sanhok. The number of players will be reduced to 64 as well.

Other changes of the ruleset are as below.

Loot Spawn Adjustment

For an environment like this to thrive, players need access to the right tools to be competitive. Therefore, the item spawn rate on all 3 maps has been set higher than that of normal Battle Royale games. In addition, the spawn rate of preferred items such as primary weapons, Level 2 equipment, 4x scopes, and First Aid Kits have been increased to make for a more competitive environment. Players will still have to loot several areas in order to be fully equipped, but should be going into firefights with at least a start on their final loadout.

Blue Zone Balance Adjustment

To help keep the fight moving with fewer players, the Blue Zone will also have a few changes from normal games. The first safe zones will be similar to that of public matches, but the tempo will grow faster as the game continues to force more confrontations as the player count drops. The goal of these settings is to allow players to test their skills in a more tense environment than in traditional public matches.

Other Adjustments

The starting plane's flight path is more likely to fly closer to the first safe area.

Vehicle spawns are same as the normal games, but the Motor Glider is temporarily disabled until we can put more thought into if it is right for competitive game play. Your feedback here would be welcomed as well!

Red Zones have been adjusted to act as an additional threat for out of position players and are much more likely to occur at the edge of the safe zone.

We've decided to keep Flare Guns in for now as they provide a strategic choice between Care Packages and the BRDM-2. If this item sways competitive games too heavily, we'll look to adjust or remove the Flare Guns.

For this test, players will unfortunately not gain BP or Survivor Pass XP for Ranked Ruleset matches due to them being in LABS.
Test Schedule

The Ranked Ruleset will be available in the LABS section of the menu during the dates listed below. For easy access, we've added a LABS banner above the start button!

Start: March 6th - 16:00 KST / March 6th - 0700 UTC
End: March 9th - 16:00 KST / March 9th - 0700 UTC



Feedback

Feedback from this test will help us determine if it is right for our upcoming Competitive Mode or whether we need to make some adjustments, so be sure to share your thoughts on what you do and do not like. While we’re not quite ready to dive into the specifics of the upcoming Competitive Mode, keep an eye out for another announcement with more details in the coming months.

Thanks for playing!

- PUBG

Hello Players!

At the beginning of Season 6, we announced that Vikendi was going on a little vacation while we debuted Karakin. Since then, we've given some of Vikendi's landmarks a revamp, modifying terrain, towns, weather, updating Dinopark, and adding new trains that travel around the map! We want to hear what you think about the changes and also collect your feedback early while we apply the final coats of paint to our icy Battleground, so we're giving you the opportunity to playtest the new map early with help from our official PUBG Partners!

• New railroads and trains have been added across Vikendi
  
• A large portion of Vikendi's snow has been removed or reduced
  
• Dinopark has been expanded to Dinoland
  
• Modified towns and terrain.
  
  • Dinoland
    
  • Abbey relocated to Mount Kreznic
    
  • Removed: Tovar, Movatra

We're giving PUBG Partners the first chance to test out the updated map with their community. Our partners will have exclusive access to the updated Vikendi in custom matches on the PUBG Test Server and will be hosting games for you all to jump into and try. Best of all, player and partner feedback collected during the test period will be delivered directly to the devs, so make your voice heard and let us know what you think!
Mar 6th (Fri) 1600 KST / 0800 CET/ Mar 5th (Thu) 2300 PST ~ Mar 9th (Mon) 1600 KST / 0800 CET / Mar 8th (Sun) 2300 PST

1. Log in to the PUBG Test Server
   
2. Join your favorite PUBG Partner's custom match
   
3. Play the updated map and send in your feedback

This is your chance to help shape the map, so please do not hesitate to let us know what works, what doesn't, any bugs you find, and whatever else you'd like to see! We're looking forward to hearing your impressions.

See you on new Vikendi!

--The PUBG Team

Hello players,

We know the last few months have had some ongoing issues impacting gameplay and wanted to take a moment to address everything. We know the below issues have been extremely frustrating to deal with and we're sorry they've persisted for so long.

First of all, we want to give a brief statement on cheating. Combating cheaters is one of our highest priorities and we're utilizing multiple internal teams and external resources to find new solutions for this problem. We’ll be sharing more information regarding these efforts in our upcoming Community Letter and 2020 Roadmap post in early March.

Now let's talk about some of the issues, why they've remained such a problem, and what we're doing about it.

Poor Performance (FPS), FPS Stuttering/Freezing & Crashing Issues

We've received lots of feedback regarding performance issues, including FPS drops, stuttering, and crashing and despite these efforts, we've found that performance issues and crashes have been increasing since the January update.

Our development team is conducting ongoing multi-faceted tests and analysis in an attempt to identify and resolve the issues causing this performance loss and causing game crashes. The difficult part is that some of these issues are impacting specific hardware, or happen in unique situations which are difficult to reproduce. To improve performance issues, which have to track down the specific cause, which often means needing to reproduce the specific steps leading to the issue. We want to thank all of you who have sent in your replay files and system data to help us as we try to identify the cause.

If you are experiencing performance drops, FPS stutter, or game crashes, please contact our support team at http://PUBG.com/support and share whatever information you can regarding your PC hardware and any other information you believe is relevant.

This is a top priority for us right now and we thank those of you who are affected for your patience.

DDoS Attacks Against our Game Servers

As many online games are forced to deal with from time to time, our servers have been the target of intermittent DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks. When a game server is under attack by DDoS attacks, all players who are in the server almost certainly face connection issues such as network delays, a significant ping increase, and severe packet loss. Unfortunately, our servers have been increasingly targeted for these attacks. Last November, the intensity of the attacks increased to a level we hadn’t experienced before, which increased again in February.

Our dev team has been increasing our DDoS defense solutions, working with various server infrastructure providers and analyzing their effectiveness in order to protect our game servers and provide a more stable service. At the same time, we're working on our own defense system specifically designed to protect PUBG's game servers.

While testing various DDoS defense solutions from external infrastructure providers, server locations were often located far away from standard locations, which resulted in increased ping and other network issues for some players. Additionally, many players have suffered constant packet loss issues due to the experimental DDoS defense solutions deployed by these providers. We know that we could have been much more open in communicating these reasons with you, but did not want to contaminate tests and results by letting the attackers know we were doing this testing. Regardless, our sincere apologies to players who experienced ongoing connectivity issues during this time.

The good news is, our recently developed internal solution has reduced the impact of DDoS attacks by nearly 85%. This is and will remain an ongoing issue, but our dev team will also continue to work on and implement additional measures to mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks when they occur.

DDoS server attacks are a serious crime and we've been gathering all information we can to take legal action against the perpetrators.

Arcade - Team Deathmatch Matchmaking Issues [Mostly Resolved]

Team Deathmatch is PUBG’s first "Arcade" game mode and we've been thrilled to see such a great response so far. Unfortunately, we found some issues with TDM matchmaking that caused players to have extended matchmaking times or sometimes not be matched at all. Additionally, another issue was identified that sometimes caused teams to have more than 8 players, with less than 8 on the other team.

The team in charge of this mode analyzed the cause of these issues after they were reported and worked to deploy a hotfix to the issue affecting team size, which is now resolved. The issues related to matchmaking times currently remain and while we've improved the situation with some back-end improvements, we're actively working on a permanent solution.

While we continue work on this, if you experience any of the above problems, please let us know through our community channels or http://PUBG.com/support

Disabled Custom Match Presets

We've received reports that custom match presets are not functioning properly since the last patch.
This issue was an unfortunate side effect of improvements being made to back-end custom match code. We've taken action to resolve existing saved presets, but it will take time to fix this issue entirely. The good news is that saving and loading new presets now works correctly. Our apologies for those affected by this issue.

Unrelated to custom matches, we've resolved other recent issues such as player stats not being applied properly, inability to create FACEIT matches, and players falling through the ground at a specific location on Karakin.

In Closing

We understand there are many other high-priority issues impacting gameplay. One of our primary goals this year is to be more transparent with what we're working on, so we wanted to get this letter out to you to address some of the more notable issues we've faced recently.

Rest assured, we’ll continue to work on the unresolved issues and will do our best to be more open with details on these subjects moving forward.

Thank you

As many of you know, Australia has been devastated by bushfires that began all the way back in September. While the New South Wales Fire Agency has now declared the fires contained, the impact they have had on the people and wildlife of Australia has been immense. An estimated 33 people and 1 billion animals were killed by the fires, with many more affected.

While we’re happy to see the fires contained, there’s an incredible amount of damage left in their wake. To help Australia through this difficult time, PUBG Corporation is raising funds through the limited time sale of the Australia Fire Relief - Pan skin. The skin, which features original art by community artist @swatercolour, will be sold for $2.99 with 100% of the profits from each sale going to help Australia.

The Australia Fire Relief - Pan will be available on PC and Console.

• PC: 19th February - 18th March - $2.99
  
• Console: TBA
  
  • The sale of this item on console has been postponed, as Update 6.2 has been delayed. The new sales schedule will be announced in the near future via a separate announcement.

After the sale ends, we will send all funds raised via a lump sum donation to a chosen charity.

For those who purchase the pan, we thank you for your contribution to this effort. If the pan is not for you, we encourage you to research the disaster relief efforts and donate directly to a charity of your choosing. It will take some time for Australia and its environment to recover from a disaster of this scale, but we are thankful to be in a position where we can help in some way and are grateful to have fans like you willing to contribute to such a worthy cause.

Thank you,

- The PUBG Team

Dive into the mayhem of the all new Team Deathmatch game mode, the first in a series of alternative ways to play PUBG that are coming to our new Arcade section of the menu. We’ll add and rotate new game modes as time goes on, but for now you can enjoy the FPS classic 8v8 frag fest.



Battle Royale is getting a bit of a change up as well with some much requested alterations to how frag grenades and other throwables work. There’s a lot here but the main changes are that frag grenades weigh more and their damage is now reduced by your vest. To see all the changes, be sure to check out the Update 6.2 Patch Notes.

We’ve also got loot changes, including the fan favorite G36C and MP5K guns, coming to Karakin, a visual update to the Blue Zone to help you see better, some improvements to blood effects at a distance, and the new parachute follow mode that ensures you always land near your chosen squad mate.

All this and more in Update 6.2, now live! For full details, you can check out patch notes here.