PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Update 5.2 Brings Spike Traps, PUBG Labs and More

Spike traps, PUBG labs and more!

The newest update for Battle Royale hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds just went live on the test servers and is set to arrive on PC and consoles later this month. It brings some significant new items to the tables, namely the PUBG Labs and the Spike Traps.

The PUBG team provided a full breakdown of what to expect from the patch, which will be live on Nov. 20 for PC and Nov. 26 for consoles. Here’s what to expect:

NEW ITEM: SPIKE TRAP

“We almost named it Buffy.”

• Spike Traps puncture the tires of any vehicle that runs over the strip of spikes.
• A Spike Trap can only damage one vehicle before it disappears.
• Spike Traps puncture the tires of vehicles, but do not damage overall vehicle health.
• Spike Traps are spawned at rates consistent with other throwables across all maps.
• You can lay a Spike Trap by selecting it and pressing LMB. Once you’ve laid a Spike Trap, you cannot pick it back up.

NEW SYSTEM: PUBG LABS

“Ground Control to Major Fans!”

PUBG Labs is a space where we will work with the community and players to experiment with new game modes, rule sets, features and so much more. Your feedback on the systems and tests we carry out on in PUBG Labs will directly benefit the community and grow our perspective on player priorities. We can’t wait for you to get in there and try the top secret action we’ve been working on.

WHAT IS PUBG LABS?

• PUBG Labs is a space where we introduce to you experimental in-game features and collect your feedback to perfect them as permanent game additions.
• You can find PUBG Labs in the menu under the Play button.
• PUBG Labs will continue to be updated with new content. Play modes, new rule sets and maybe even some new vistas to take in down the road.
• The most important thing for PUBG Labs is your valuable opinions! Please feel free to let our Community Managers know about what you think from your experience.

SKILL-BASED RATING

This is set to go live on Nov. 26 through Jan. 6, 2020

• Skill Based Rating is an experimental feature being tested through PUBG Labs, tracking your skill and assigning you a rating based on your match performances.
• This Skill Based Rating is separate from the current Survival Title System.
• Ratings will be applied for each mode based on players’ skill level. To see your rating, you must first play 5 matches.
• After you finish 5 rating-evaluation matches, your rating going forward will be adjusted based on factors such as kills and overall placement in matches.
• You can leave feedback about the changes to your rating after the end of each match, so we can gauge how the system feels.
• For one week after the Skill Based Rating test ends, all players who participated can share their feedback via an in-game survey.

This will also come with a feedback period from Jan. 2-9 on PC, and Jan. 7-14 on consoles.

Here’s the breakdown on what’s included in the Vikendi update:

IMPROVED TERRAIN

• New roads have been added to reduce the difficulty of moving through certain snow-covered areas of Vikendi.
• Along with the roads added, the amount of vehicles across the map have increased and locations adjusted.
• A cold front has moved in and the river around Castle has frozen over to allow you to navigate that area more easily.
• Located at the center of Vikendi, Mount Kreznic consists of various terrain types which are difficult to navigate, due to how steep the mountain is. To improve this, the overall height of the mountain has been lowered. Yes, we shrunk the mountain, but just a bit.
• Vikendi terrain in many areas is very flat, making it difficult for players to hide or take cover when encountering enemies. To improve this, we’ve added more variance to terrain height in areas across the map.

IMPROVED TOWNS IN VIKENDI

• A few of Vikendi’s towns were seldom visited due to complex structures or not enough loot. We’ve made some adjustments to the following areas:
  • Volnova has been reshaped in general. Major buildings and driving routes have been modified.
  • Item spawn counts in Peshkova have increased.
  • Garages where vehicles are spawned in Trevno have been relocated to allow easier escape after looting. So get to stepping.
• Some buildings have been removed or replaced with different buildings to improve gameplay. The field of vision gained from high buildings has been adjusted, through structural changes.

IMPROVED GAMEPLAY BALANCE

• Blue Zone balance on Vikendi has been adjusted so that players can set up strategies using more varied routes.
  • The size of early safe zones has increased.
    • Speed of early Blue Zones has increased.
    • The size and speed of mid and late-game Blue Zones remain similar to previous updates.
  • The randomness of Blue Zone locations throughout the match has slightly increased.
• To reflect player feedback on insufficient vehicle spawns on Vikendi, we’ve significantly increased the overall number of vehicle spawns.
• The location of vehicle spawns has been modified in accordance to the new Blue Zone balance.

GAMEPLAY

“Connect the dots.”

Added the Way Point feature

• The Way Point feature has been added to allow you to make strategic plans for the routes you take.
• You can use the feature only when the map is open (M key).
• Press ALT+RMB to place the first point and while ALT is held, you may click other locations to add more points. You may release ALT to remove the starting point.
• You can place up to 4 points per group of Way Points.
• Press ALT+Del to remove placed Way Points. When you place a new starting point somewhere else, the existing Way Points will all disappear.
• In Duo/Squad Mode, when a teammate places Way Points, they will appear on the map with a Radio Message. You can change the settings to not display the Way Point of certain teammates from the in-game Team Management menu.

Added an auto attachment feature

• A new feature has been added that automatically equips your weapon with the attachments you pick up.
• You can choose from 3 types of auto attachment options. You can activate/deactivate each of them from the ‘Settings – Gameplay’ tab.
  • Auto equip when you pick up an attachment with F key
    • When you pick up an attachment by pressing the interaction key (F), the attachment is automatically equipped to your weapon.
  • Auto attach when you switch to new weapon
    • When you switch your weapon with a new weapon on the ground, all the attachments equipped to the old weapon will automatically move to the new one.
    • Only attachments compatible with the new weapon will be attached and the rest will go into your inventory.
  • Auto equip when you pick up attachments with the inventory open
    • When you get an attachment while the inventory is open, the attachment will automatically be equipped to your weapon.
    • When you get an attachment for a slot that is already being used, the attachment will go into your inventory.

Adjusted swimming and diving balance

• Swimming speed has increased by about 27%.
• Diving speed has increased by about 20%.
• Breath recovery speed has increased by about 10%. Now it takes 9 seconds for full recovery.
• The maximum diving time has increased by about 33%. Now you can dive for about 20 seconds.

Improved weapon impact sounds

• The sound effects for each type of object being shot have been improved.

CUSTOM MATCH

• Following the Zombie Mode presets available to PUBG Partners, new permissions have been given for additional Custom match freedom.

ADDED ROUND FEATURE

• War Mode / War Mode: Conquest are now available for round play, allowing for multiple match wins before game completion.
• These matches consist of two rounds, best 2 out of 3, or best 3 out of 5 with a feature where players can play on different battlegrounds for each round or switch locations of both ends.
• The ground re-spawn feature updated last patch is also available.

ADDED THE COMMANDER FEATURE

• In the previous version of Platoon Mode, players weren’t able to properly receive orders from their platoon leader easily through UI.
• With this update, the player in the first slot of each platoon in the lobby will be assigned the role of platoon leader, whose location and ping will be shared with all platoon members.
  • This will enable the entire platoon to recognize moving/attack/defensive targets, allowing players to experience more strategic platoon combat.
• Commander is able to help allies and interfere with the enemy through the various support requests available in the map UI.
  • Air strike request
    • Commander can spawn a Red Zone at a selected location.
  • Weapon package request
    • Commander can request care package at a designated location.
  • Healing package request
    • Commander can request healing items at a designated location.

ADDED SANDBOX MODE

• PUBG Partners can now create Sandbox Mode matches.
  • This mode provides convenient functions for PUBG Partners to easily experiment with PUBG content.
• PUBG Partners can create Sandbox Mode matches in ‘Custom match > Create a match’.
• Sandbox features
  • Invincibility
    • Only available for the match host (PUBG Partners)
  • Spawn items and vehicles
  • Control special features like flying and spawning Care Packages

Added special items exclusive items for custom matches

Added three new items that can be used through the Sandbox feature PUBG Partners have in Custom matches.

• Helmet repair kit
  • Use it to restore the durability of your helmet by a certain amount.
• Vest repair kit
  • Use it to restore the durability of your vest by a certain amount.
• Blue Zone Uplink
  • Set your current location to be within the next safe zone.
  • If you are outside of the current safe zone, the next safe zone will be located as close to you as possible.

ADDED NO HUD FEATURE

• When creating a general Custom match, creators can now control what UI their players see by changing setting in ‘Match Setting > Rule Tab > UI Option’.
• Presets are provided for UI mode.
  • All On / All Off / Hardcore / Realistic / No Location Info / No Battle Royale Info / Manual
  • Individual UI setting is available in Manual.
    • Crosshair default /Map/ Player location / Player information / Teammate information / Displaying ID above the head of teammate / Blue zone ends in / Distance and notification text / Kill log / Number of survivors / Compass

WEAPON MASTERY

Added a feature to filter out weapons

• On the Weapon Mastery screen, you can now change the order of the weapons by using the weapon navigation filter.
• You can sort out weapons using the following criteria:
  • Default (alphabetical order) / By level / By damage

REPLAY

• Old replay videos cannot be played due to the update in the replay system version.

SKINS AND ITEMS

The following items will be added to the Store after Update #5.2 hits live servers:

• Added 2 types of BattleStat Weapons (MK47)
• Added 2 types of BP Battle Stats (MP5K and QBZ)
• Added 1 Madsy belt
• Added 1 Madsy shoes
• Added 15 Twitch Broadcaster Royale items
• Added a new unlocked crate
  • The Venetian Crate contains 17 new gun skins.
  • You can purchase the crate directly with BP through November 27. After November 27, the crate will be available through random only.

BUG FIXES

GAMEPLAY

• Fixed an issue where the effect of tire smoke continues to occur if the wheels are broken while the vehicle is moving or stopped.
• Fixed an issue where spectator POV is forced downwards when a character is pushed against an object with a weapon

WORLD

• Fixed an issue where a specific vehicle on Miramar spawns inside an object, causing the vehicle to explode when entered

CUSTOM MATCH

• Fixed an issue where the safe zone appears only in a specific location.
• Fixed an issue where the cloudy weather option is missing on Erangel

ZOMBIE MODE

• Fixed an issue where the description of the survival and annihilation presets are incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the character will appear as a human when a face item is equipped.
• Fixed an issue where a zombie can respawn on the plane while it’s flying.
• Fixed an issue where the incorrect screen is displayed after respawning as a zombie in the Zombie Royale Mode.

SURVIVOR PASS

• Fixed an issue where a specific Mk47 Mutant challenge mission cannot be achieved in certain situations
• Fixed an issue where the “Wipeout Squads” Survivor Pass mission incorrectly says it can be completed in duos
• Fixed an issue where incomplete mission indicator displays even when all missions have been claimed

SKINS

• Fixed an issue where ancient mummy gloves are not displayed when tattoo sleeves are equipped.
• Fixed an issue where players cannot hear their own footsteps when walking on puddles of water.

Again, the update will go live on Nov. 20 on PC, and Nov. 26 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available now.

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