In this beginner’s guide, we show you tips and tricks for PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds). New players can easily get into the game.
The popular battle royale shooter “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” has now completed its early access phase on PC and is available in full version.
For gamers among you who are just starting with PUBG or still looking for a tip or two, we summarize the most important things here in the beginner’s guide.
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What is PUBG actually? Weapons and Armor
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or short “PUBG” is a battle royale shooter. With up to 100 players, you start together on a map and fight for survival. But only the last survivor wins.
Players fight together on the map for weapons like shotguns, assault rifles, or sniper rifles. You collect upgrades for weapons like magazines, scopes, or silencers. Some weapons are exclusive and limited to a specific map.
Armor:
To protect yourselves against bullet fire, you collect armor in the form of vests or helmets. These come in three levels
- Level 1 provides 30% damage reduction and can withstand up to 80 damage before the item is destroyed
- Level 2 provides 40% damage reduction and can withstand up to 150 damage before the item is destroyed
- Level 3 provides 55% damage reduction and can withstand up to 230 damage before the item is destroyed
The Death is Encroaching
To prevent everyone from hiding in their small rooms with weapons, there is a safe zone. All players who are outside of this zone take more damage over time. This forces the server population to restrict their location to the safe zone. In the section “Blue and Red Zone,” we will go into more detail.
At the start, the zone is still huge, but it shrinks over the course of a match. Those who want to survive here need not only good aiming but also strong nerves.
First Person or Third Person? A Matter of Taste
When you start PUBG, you first choose whether you want to play alone or with one or more teammates. Your next decision determines whether you play on a FPP (First Person Perspective) or TPP (Third Person Perspective) server.
What you choose depends on your taste. In your match, however, everyone plays with the same view, so there are no advantages or disadvantages.
To illustrate the difference, we show you two comparison images here.
- As a first-person player, you play in the perspective known from shooters like CS:GO.
- The third-person perspective offers a view over the shoulder, providing significant insight into the surroundings.
Map – Erangel or Miramar?
In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, you can play on two different maps.
Erangel is the first map of PUBG. It features an island, many green areas and fields, and popular locations like the school, where many players often gather for bloody battles.
Miramar, the second map of PUBG, is a desert-style map. It has little grass but more sand and brown tones. You can also find a small island there, as well as western-style weapons.
Lobby and Airplane – Interactive Map, Where to Go?
Once you have selected your perspective and team option, it’s time to wait in the lobby. All players who have been selected for this match gather there. A total of 100 players can fit in one match.
In the lobby, you can hop around, try out weapons, and shoot at other players. However, you are all invulnerable during this time. You will quickly notice the voice chat. You can turn it off in the sound options of the menu if other players annoy you.
The available options are easy to explain. If you click on “Team Only” in the voice channel, you can only hear the voice chat of your teammates. If you click on “No One,” everything is silent.
Once the 60 seconds of waiting time have passed, it’s time for each participant to board the airplane. Now press the M key to bring up your map.
Now you will see from which direction the airplane is flying over the map, and what route it has ahead. This changes with every match to bring variety to the game. Now press the jump button (PC standard: F, controller standard: B) to jump out of the airplane.
To descend quickly, press and hold the forward key. But where is the loot? Where are the vehicles to quickly get from A to B?
Best Landing Points – Interactive Maps
To navigate well on the maps, interactive maps are recommended. These are available for Erangel and Miramar.
You can set the flight direction of your airplane there and see at which spots you can land to quickly find a vehicle. We show you how the two maps work and what you can find there:
Land in Densely Populated Areas or Far Away?
Opinions on the best landing spots in PUBG vary widely within the community. Some players prefer remote locations, away from the large player masses. Those players collect their gear outside the crowd and then slowly but surely approach the safe zone. By then, several other players will have already eliminated each other, significantly reducing the total number of match participants from 100.
Good Warm-Up Practice with Many Players:
Other players prefer to land right in the thick of it, starting at hotspots and going straight “into the action.” Loot a weapon and let’s go! This method is particularly suitable for your first 5-10 matches of the day. You warm up, get immediate enemy contact. PUBG pros especially like this method in the early rounds to train their aiming and warm up.
First Weapon and Let’s Go
You have glided to a position with your parachute and landed. But what now?
- Did you notice that many players flew to this position? Quickly find a weapon. You don’t have much time to sort through things. Use the first weapon you find, reload it, and get ready to encounter an opponent around every corner or door.
- Searching in houses? Close the door behind you. Opponents then do not know whether a player has already been in the house and looted there. This is a good way to surprise opponents.
- If the door is open, it’s clear: someone has already been here. Then you and other players know to be wary in that area.
- If the door is open, it’s clear: someone has already been here. Then you and other players know to be wary in that area.
In an ideal starter gear, you have a weapon for short distances, like a shotgun. For longer distances, an assault rifle, and additionally a pistol and a few grenades and bandages. Additionally, a backpack and some armor. A sniper rifle is better for longer distances than an assault rifle; however, the chance of finding a sniper right at the start of the game is low.
Blue and Red Zone
The blue zone is a huge enemy that wants to take your life. Over time, the zone consumes more and more space on the map and inflicts more damage if you enter it (or haven’t managed to travel to the safe zone quickly enough). The blue zone drives players together in the safe zone and ensures that you continue moving toward a point on the map.
To utilize this zone to your advantage, you must understand it. YouTuber Fugglet explains the most important information about the blue zone in a video.
After jumping out of the airplane, you have about two minutes until the first blue zone appears.
- Zone 1: Takes about five minutes to expand. Within the zone, you can survive four minutes and ten seconds (initial situation for the next zones always with full health and no healing items)
- Zone 2: Fully expands in two minutes and 20 seconds. Players can survive two minutes and 46 seconds in it.
- Zone 3: Is fully expanded after one minute and 30 seconds. You survive two minutes and 5 seconds in it.
- Zone 4: Only needs one minute to expand. In the zone, you survive one minute and 40 seconds.
- Zone 5: Takes 40 seconds to expand. You survive for 34 seconds in it.
- Zone 6: Is fully expanded after 30 seconds. You only survive 20 seconds in it.
- Zone 7: Is also fully expanded after 30 seconds. Here you only have 15 seconds to survive.
- Zone 8: Is almost completely expanded. You can live only 10 seconds within it.
The Red Zone – Not as Deadly Inside Houses
After the first matches, you will notice that red zones also appear. From many other situations, we already know: Red = Dangerous. Instinctively, you want to escape.
However, in PUBG, the red zone is not “that” deadly as one might assume. It lasts for about half a minute and bombs the selected area of the map. If you move openly in it, you take a high risk. A hit from a bomb means death.
Protection from the bombs can be found in houses. Somehow the explosives manage not to destroy the buildings in PUBG. You can then use the loud explosions to your advantage when moving within a building. Other players’ footsteps can be easily drowned out.
On the next page, we summarize important tips that you can refer to during a PUBG match on a cheat sheet.
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