PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a blast even as a solo player. But what about the squad mode? Does the battle royale shooter play differently in that mode? Jürgen tried it out with a team.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is currently being played by up to a million players at the same time. This leads to absurd scenes, many of which occur in squad mode. For example, when a sneaky Korean infiltrates an enemy team and takes them all out at the right moment. Or a team that flies into a house through a window on a motorcycle and wipes out the enemy.
I, Jürgen, wanted to experience that as well and gathered a team.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – A whole different game in squad mode!
By now, I know PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds well enough in solo mode. But how does it play with three other teammates? I found three good team members and started a squad mode round.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – Loot Hamsters unwanted!
As soon as we landed, a big difference to solo mode became apparent. While a lone wolf shamelessly takes everything lying around and every other player is fair game, as a team player you can’t just fill your pockets insolently.
Rather, loot needs to be shared fairly, because it’s pretty pointless if you have three different packs of ammunition, while your teammate is in his underwear, with an empty gun and a pan in hand providing cover.
PUBG – The enemy at the toilet!
That’s exactly what happened to us in the first fight. I had not even a pan besides the mentioned underwear, but I did have a flashbang. A nearby teammate was better equipped, and the other loot was with the enemies or our remaining squad. Unfortunately, they were tied up at another front.
Therefore, we were surprised while looting enemies and had to hide in the bathroom. Crouched behind the toilet, I was ready with the grenade, while my teammate with the pistol whispered to me via Teamspeak slightly panicked: “The guy is coming in, we fight until the end! Hit him! Oh God, please hit him!” It was like “The Shining”, only with shotguns, pistols, and grenades!
PUBG – With underwear and grenade against shotgun
This moment was pure adrenaline! We heard the enemy shuffling outside the door, but he was probably scared himself and didn’t dare to come in.
Then suddenly the door opened! I threw the grenade, but the damn thing bounced off the door frame and flew back into our room. It went kaboom and no one could see anything anymore! All three of us stumbled around disoriented, hitting and shooting aimlessly.
In the end, however, the spread of our enemy’s pellets prevailed in the cramped space, and we were left helpless to crawl on the floor for a few more seconds. Then they finally finished us off. But we were now especially hooked and immediately started the next round!
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – Professionals on noob hunt
Already in the next round, we had more luck and found enough weapons and gear to equip the whole team. For the first time, it became apparent that my squad consisted of real pros.
The guys and gals were seasoned Arma players (and Arma was the first game that PUBG creator Brendan Greene had modded) and a well-coordinated team. Therefore, the area was always scouted with military precision, and the squad leader coordinated our actions with brief commands.
As a result, we managed to totally surprise an enemy team in the next settlement. The opponent had just loaded up on top gear and had become careless. We cornered them with a flanking attack and took them out with precisely directed shots. The US Marines couldn’t have done it better! I was incredibly proud of my performance and our team!
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – With military precision to chicken dinner
Although we weren’t the winners in that round, in the next session we held nothing back! As usual, we proceeded with the precision and ruthlessness of a commando unit and methodically took out all enemies.
In the end, only 8 players were left: our squad and a complete enemy team. A dream finale! The enemies were hiding in a dilapidated shack in the valley, while we had occupied the nearby hill. Shots kept hitting us, but we had spread out wisely and could cover every window of the house. The enemy, on the other hand, had to reveal himself every time he wanted to shoot back. So he was always a good target for one of us.
And we had precise weapons with scopes! Thanks to my 8x zoom, I could effectively cover the upper floors, and once the enemy got too bold. A salvo later, there were only 7 players left. The rest was shortly thereafter closed in by the energy field, had to flee from the house, and we shot them down like startled chickens!
Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!
Jürgen’s conclusion on squad mode
With a team, especially one that works effectively and precisely together, the experience in PUBG is completely different. In solo mode, you live in constant paranoia. You are entirely on your own and face up to 99 enemies who can be lurking everywhere. In squad mode, you are usually safe.
Your teammates are ideally always there and cover your back. You can coordinate in battle, and if you do take a bullet, there’s hope that you might be revived.
However, the big loot buffet in squad mode is much sparser, especially at the beginning, and you need to communicate well about who gets which weapon and gear. Ammunition can quickly become scarce.
But the most fun in squad mode comes with a well-coordinated team. My experience with those teammates is likely to remain my PUBG highlight for a long time. So anyone who hasn’t tried squad mode yet: Do it! It’s worth it!
Also interesting: My first time in PUBG (solo mode)
