We at MeinMMO have once again plunged into the world of PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) after a long break. The goal was to try out the new map “Haven”. The result turned out to be a harsh reality check.
In PUBG, Season 10 started on December 16. Part of the new content are PvE opponents and a new map. The map Haven is a small, industrial island. And by small, I mean: It is only 1×1 kilometer in size. In contrast to the first map from PUBG, Erangel, which is 8×8 kilometers.
Our team: I invited two colleagues from MeinMMO to test the new dwarf map.
The choice fell on our Warzone expert Maik Schneider. Who feels like he spends more hours in Warzone during the day than I am awake.
Additionally Florian Franck, who is still quite new to our MeinMMO team. He boasts a lot of shooter experience in Escape from Tarkov and has also played plenty of PUBG, at least in Season 1 to 5.
I myself have spent a manageable time in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Especially in the early days after the release, I played. I secured a handful of chicken dinners, mostly played in a team.
Our goal: We wanted to form our opinion about the new map. With this crew, I felt quite confident that we would at least land in the top 3 a few times. However, the new map Haven did not prove to be hospitable to us at all.
The harsh reality check on Haven
So the first rounds went: Admittedly, the first round was overwhelming for me. Maik was throwing things at me shortly after landing like “There’s a level 2 helmet here, do you need it?” or “What do you want to play? There’s a Vector here.” Slowly, the picture of PUBG came back together in my mind. Yes, right – items have levels. I need that! Of course!
Then it was actually the first opponent we encountered on the map who took us out. All three of us. One opponent.
He was waiting in the grass, hardly visible in green clothing. He lurked until we were all three visible on the grass and then mercilessly took us out. Round over. 9th place out of 11. Great.
Before starting the second round, we agreed: We don’t know the map. So we should play more cautiously.
With this mindset, we survived at least 5 minutes on the map and came in 8th place. We didn’t even deal any damage to opponents.
This continued over round 3 and 4. Poor placements. We just couldn’t get a foothold. Wherever we showed up, it felt like the opponents were prepared for us. Even though we were sneaking, they almost always knew where we were.
What we changed: In the first four rounds, we landed close to the action. Well, that’s never entirely avoidable on a 1×1 map. But our landing spots were really always very busy. In rounds 5 and 6, we preferred to land “outside”. As you can see in the screenshot, we managed to last much longer. Instead of 4 to 5 minutes, we fought for 10 to 15 minutes.
Although our placements improved, as soon as it came to a fight, other teams that used the map to their advantage won. They knew exactly which doors or windows to dash through to ambush us in seconds behind the next corner.
We didn’t achieve our goal on Haven. In none of our matches did we reach the top 3.
New map, new luck
Are we just bad? There were essentially two reasons why we performed so poorly.
- I am a noob, Maik’s CoD skills don’t help us in PUBG, and Florian’s PUBG expertise is rusty
- OR
- Everyone else is currently playing the new map, which can be specifically selected in the map rotation, and we are just too inexperienced for it
- (or both)
So we tried our luck on a randomly chosen map in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. With our trio, we played on Karakin and Sanhok after Haven.
There we performed much better and came in second place in both matches. We also felt the battle royale experience again. When only one or two teams are left against you on the map, and the next few minutes definitely decide the victory. The heart rate rises, and one becomes fierce.
Here we could play with the size of the map. Look for cover, observe the rotations of opponents from a safe distance, and ambush unsuspecting opponents. The full tactical program.
On Karakin, we were close to securing the victory. But an opponent who could aim suspiciously well, even though he actually didn’t have us in his line of sight, quickly took us out.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for the victory on Sanhok either. The last opponents were simply superior to us. It’s a shame, but it still makes you crave more.
Conclusion: For us as (re-) entrants, this is not for us
What stands out: Haven is noticeably smaller than the other maps in PUBG, and you can tell that directly when you jump out of the plane and see the map in overview.
Haven is designed to provide a fast gameplay experience. Houses with many doors allow for continuous fighting. We didn’t experience the usual slow-paced gameplay from PUBG, which at times almost borders on camping, in our matches at all. You land, grab a weapon, and are immediately challenged. It’s like landing in a densely populated area on a map for 100 players. Fast action without much preparation.
For me, as a re-entering player, this is not suitable at all. I find all sorts of new weapons on the ground and then have to check whether it’s a shotgun or an assault rifle. And what accessories I can and want to equip it with.
Haven feels like it is aimed at PUBG players who are at least “intermediate” but just want to play a quick match. Those who know the map and the items, who have dealt well with the skills in PUBG, get a quick gunfight and also success here. Even our wait times were a maximum of a minute. Everything is fast. However, it is too fast for beginners.
Have you played the new map of PUBG yourself? What are your feelings about it? Let us know here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other players about it.
Maybe you also have tips for beginners like us that we can apply directly on the new map. This way, the start might be easier, and you won’t end up dead within 5 minutes.
