PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

This week I started to play Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). This game is another in a long line of dystopian adventures that in general, I have not been a fan of. I enjoyed DayZ a bit but the bugs were more than I could bear. I played King of the Kill and H1Z1 for a minute. I even put about 100 hours into Fallout4 (not the same genre but the “dystopian” setting makes me think of it). I’m not saying any of those were bad games. They all have their strengths.

PUBG is a cut above the rest in my opinion. It will get your blood pumping every time. It’s extremely competitive and squad play is second to none. Great squad play is what attracted me to the game. I even have Kelly watching streams with me. It’s fast pace make the rounds go really fast. You simply don’t have time to get bored.

Here are the basics.

Think of Battle Royal or Hunger Games. There are up to 100 players in each game. You can play single, duo or 4 person squad rounds. There are also custom games you can setup to do 8 man squads.

Players start the game on an island. Usually, hilarity or severe annoyance ensues. There are guns and other weapons that can be found in the game available on several picnic tables (they go fast, RUN YOU FOOL). If you can’t get the weapons, don’t worry. There is no damage dealt in the lobby.

For some, this can be a very funny experience. It’s mostly tweens saying a variety of repugnant, racist and other horrible things that would make hard-edged sailors blush. If you are sensitive about what kind of language or content your kids hear, you may want to disable public chat. However, I have heard some really funny things in the lobby.

Some examples: “Never gonna give you up” by Risk Astley, Donald Trump saying “China” over and over again. Smashmouth being sung acapella. One player ran around and begged everyone to please not kill him because “he has so much to live for” (this is one I have emulated). Anything is fair game in the lobby. I find it mostly very entertaining.

Players are dropped from a plane flying above a large island, they can choose where to para drop. After players touchdown, they have to scrounge for weapons, ammo, health and armor in abandoned towns, houses and various other types of complexes. The last player, duo or squad standing winds.

Once on the ground, a large circle appears on the map (you pull up the map by hitting the “m” button). As time advances in the round. The circle gets smaller and smaller, pushing players together.

The blue circle is electric/gas field. It’s a clearly visible barrier ominously shrinking towards white circle when the timer above minimap ticks down to zero. This zone outside blue circle won’t kill you right away. You will choke slowly from the effects of the gas. You can escape but adding damage in a situation where you are facing other players that want to murder you will put you at a severe disadvantage. The blue circle shrinks rather slowly at first, but as time goes on, the shrinking gets faster and faster.

The white circle is safe-zone until blue circle catches up with it, then it changes position. If you are here, you’re good. The new white circle moves around and can appear anywhere within the blue circle.

The Red circle is an artillery zone. The red circle can happen anywhere on the map. The only safe place within the red circle is indoors.

Circle management is something that can get away from you. When you land, there are a number of things you have to manage. Gathering loot, avoiding or killing other players and helping your squad mates if you are playing duo or squad. These things can all cause you to forget about the circle, DON’T. There is nothing worse than getting a great loadout and getting killed by the circle. Don’t be a dumbass.

One of the best ways to manage the circle is to find a working car, jeep, buggy or motorcycle.

Vehicles can help a ton when trying to manage the circles and grab the best drops. Like everything else in this game, they provide an asset in terms of getting around the map but they have a big drawback. EVERYONE KNOWS YOU ARE COMING! All the vehicles are loud. They are a great tool for those bloodthirsty players that want to hunt you down, murder you and take your shit. You will also find them very useful for that purpose. They will give you a warning when players enter your area. Many players choose not to use them at all. I think this is a bad move. They will save your ass far more often then make you a target.

The game takes skill for sure but the overwhelming factor is luck. If you have unlucky drops, all the skill in the world is not gonna help you. Other players will shoot you down like a dog.

The weapon drops vary from ancient revolvers to modern weapons. Many of these weapons have upgrades that improve their accuracy and effectiveness in battle. You can find scopes, mags and other useful upgrades that will allow you to get the drop on the other players.

There are also armor drops that will help you withstand the attacks of other players. Theses drops have levels that allow you to take more damage before getting knocked down or killed.

If you are hit there are also consumable items that drop to help heal you. You can also find other items to buff your stats. For a complete list please check out the official WIKI.

You can choose the best way to win. Some go on the hunt and actively seek out and execute other players. Others lay low, gather weapons and find their way to the center of the circle and dig in (this is my preferred way to play). There is no wrong way to play the game. There are so many ways to win and so many ways to die, there is no way you can get bored. I have been playing for about a week and I just got my first squad win last night (It’s called a Chicken Dinner). I didn’t have to kill anyone and my squad only had a 3 kill count. I’ll be posting the video soon. It’s a prime example of how you can win this game in so many ways.

I haven’t been this excited about a game in a very long time. This post should give you a good overview so you can jump right in.

If you are looking for someone to run with, join our server on Discord or add me in the game.

-Schtooping