'PUBG' Test Server Update Adds Map Selection, SLR & New Car - Patch Notes

PUBG 's PC Test Servers just got a brand-new update and its patch notes have been released. The major overhaul adds map selection, significant weapon balance changes and a cool new vehicle. Read the full patch notes and analysis below.

PUBG TEST SERVER PATCH NOTES

Weapon and Item Balance

ARs - rebalanced ARs so none is the "objective" best—the power differential between each is now reduced, but each brings advantages to different situations.

• SMGs - adjusted them to be more effective in short range combat
• Shotguns - increased overall damage and effective range
• Pistols
  • Increased the damage of the P92, P1911, P18C, R1895 and R45
• Shotguns
  • Increased limb shots modifier (shooting limbs now does more damage)
  • Slightly decreased the damage of the S686 and S1897
  • Reduced pellet spread by 25 percent
  • Shotgun chokes can now be attached to the sawed-off
• SMGs
  • Increased limb shots modifier
  • Slightly increased the damage of the Micro UZI, UMP9 and Vector
  • Decreased vertical recoil on all SMGs
  • Decreased recoil and scope sway when moving in ADS (aiming down sights)
  • Increased ADS transition speed
• ARs
  • Slightly decreased the damage of the M16A4, SCAR-L, AUG and M416
  • Increased reload time by 30 percent for the SCAR-L, M16A4 and M416
  • Increased reload time by 10 percent for the AKM
  • Increased vertical and horizontal recoil for all ARs except the AKM
  • Decreased recoil recovery rate for all ARs
  • Restricted big scopes (8x and up) for use with all ARs
  • Added new recoil animations for all ARs
• DMRs
  • Increased head, body and limb shot modifier
  • Decreased the damage of the SKS
  • Slightly increased the damage of the VSS and Mini14
  • Increased vertical and horizontal recoil for all DMRs
  • Decreased the recoil recovery rate for all DMRs
  • Added new recoil animations for all DMRs
• Other guns
  • Slightly increased the damage of the DP28 and M249
  • Restricted big scopes (8x and up) for use with LMGs (DP28, M249)
  • Reduced crossbow reloading time from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds
• Weapon sway has been adjusted for all weapons (slightly increased side-to-side movement). And sway is now more pronounced when holding your breath.
  • Weapon sway when moving is now also reduced by the cheek pad attachment
  • Cheek pads now help you recover from weapon sway more quickly after moving

Throwables

• Frag grenades
  • Increased explosion damage and added new hit effects and animations
  • Previously, grenade damage was greatly dependant on fall damage (from the grenade's knockback effect) rather than explosion. We've removed the grenade's knockback effect for player characters and have adjusted it so that only explosion damage is applied when you're struck by a grenade.
• Weight changes (all throwables)
  • Frag grenade: Increased from 12 to 18
  • Molotov cocktail: Decreased from 18 to 16
  • Smoke grenade: Decreased from 16 to 14
  • Stun grenade: Decreased from 14 to 12

Character Movement

• We've slightly decreased the movement speed when holding SRs, LMGs (M249, DP28) and shotguns. Your equipped weapon affects both your sprinting speed and your running (normal movement) speed.
• We've removed the first shot delay when your character is not sprinting
• Chambering a new round in certain weapons (M24, Kar98k, S1897 etc.) no longer limits you to walking speed while aiming down sights
• The amount your camera shakes after being shot ("aim punch") now depends on the amount of damage received

Other Item Balance

• Level three helmets now only spawn in care packages (and one is guaranteed to be in every care package)
• Both SR quickdraw magazines and SR extended quickdraw magazines now spawn only in care packages
• We've reduced the spawn rate for AR extended quickdraw magazines
• DMRs now use AR attachments (magazines, compensators, etc.) along with SR attachments
• Adrenaline syringes now spawn (rarely) alongside normal loot in the game world
• Adjusted the casting time of Adrenaline syringe from eight seconds to six seconds

Gameplay

• Added the SLR, a weapon previously announced
• The SLR will be spawned alongside normal world loot. It's a DMR which uses 7.62mm ammo and contains 10 bullets per magazine (20 bullets when extended.
• The SLR is more powerful than the SKS but has more recoil. Recoil control is the key to using the SLR effectively.
• New Vehicle: The Mirado is a classic muscle car - a fast, four-seat sedan that's limited to Miramar. It can be found around downtown areas and main city streets

Attachments

• Duckbill - A new attachment for shotguns (S1897, S12K). It reduces the vertical pellet spread but increases horizontal bullet spread
  • Attachable to S1897, S12K
• Light Grip - It reduces recoil recovery time but increases vertical and horizontal recoil
  • Attachable to ARs, SMGs, DMRs (UMP9, AUG, M416, SCAR-L, SKS)
• Thumb Grip - It reduces vertical recoil but increases horizontal recoil. It also increases the recoil recovery time
  • Attachable to - ARs, SMGs, DMRs (UMP9, AUG, M416, SCAR-L, SKS)
• Half Grip - It reduces vertical and horizontal recoil and also reduces recoil recovery time
  • Attachable to - ARs, SMGs, DMRs (UMP9, Vector, AUG, M416, SCAR-L, SKS)
• Scope 3x - This scope has fixed 3x magnification with an illuminated reticle. It's discoverable as a common world-drop item
• Scope 6x - This scope has variable 3x–6x magnification. It's discoverable as a rare world-drop item.
• You can now change the reticle style and color on the red-dot, holo-sight and 2x scope using the scope zeroing keys (Page Up/Page Down by default).

Boats & Swimming

• Boats now sink when destroyed
• We've made some adjustments to the way swimming works to reduce the effectiveness of hiding underwater.
  • We've decreased the maximum submersible time from 35 to 15 seconds
  • Once you've run out of air, you'll now take 10 damage per second (up from four damage per second)
  • We've increased the delay for breath recovery time from one to four seconds. (In other words, when you lift your head up out of the water, it'll now take four seconds before you begin to recover your breath)

Map Selection & UI

• Pick just one map (Erangel or Miramar) on its own to guarantee you'll play there
• If you select multiple maps, the game will randomly drop you into one of the selected maps
• As we discussed in the map selection announcement dev blog, we may revisit the design of this feature as additional maps are added. We'll keep you updated if changes are made.

Settings

• We've added an option to adjust vertical mouse sensitivity
• We've added an option to change the hotkey for reporting a player during killer spectating (R key)

World

We've made more improvements to Miramar:

• We've increased the size of the oasis and added more buildings nearby
• We've added extra farming points by placing small building sets near various cities and towns
• We've reduced the number of buildings in some city areas to cut down on excessive building density
• We've removed some excessive cover points (rocks, drums, boxes) inside various cities and towns
• We've added more objects like trees and rocks throughout the map to provide some additional options for cover in wide-open spaces.
• The interiors of certain buildings have been simplified

Bug fixes

• We reduced some overly-dramatic collision effects (read: space shuttle takeoffs) that occurred when the motorbike crashed into other vehicles
• We fixed an issue that would sometimes prevent you from hopping off of the motorbike after it had fallen down
• When players move and shoot at the same time, bullet shells should now fall to the ground and remain there, instead of chasing the player like hella scary demon bullets
• The timer for the final bluezone should now display correctly
• We fixed an issue that was muting the bluezone's sound effects for player who left and rejoined a game
• We resolved an issue that sometimes allowed you to adjust your camera to see through the ceilings of the school on Erangel
• Certain problematic terrain elements (which caused weird collisions or movement) on Erangel and Miramar have been fixed
• We've fixed an issue that was causing some curtains on Erangle to be impenetrable.
• We've fixed some abnormal orange lighting effects in buildings on Erangel
• We've resolved some strange collision problems that were affecting character models and bullet cartridges
• Walking on wooden structures will no longer create bizarre or out-of-place footstep noises
• Prone characters should no longer improperly clip into the ground.
• We've resolved an issue that sometimes limited movement after using emotes and the quantity popup window at the same time.
• Text on a UMP skin from the Equinox crate labelled the gun as 45 ACP instead of 9mm. Thanks to the power of memes, this has now been fixed.
• Weapon ammo is now counted as "loaded" when the magazine or bullet is inserted into the weapon, rather than when the animation finishes

Because this is such a substantial update to the existing PUBG formula, the above changes will be present on the Test Server longer than a typical patch. The developers at PUBG Corp. will pay especially close attention to weapon balance in an attempt to ensure everything is perfectly valued once the revised gun roster migrates to live. The most significant result in this patch is making the assault rifle less of a requirement for success. With several buffs across the board, other weapons in PUBG should feel more formidable in heated combat situations.

On the new content side, the vehicle and map selection features are the biggest draws for fans. Adding a new way to traverse Miramar might make this divisive map a bit more interesting for estranged players. Especially considering many hardcore PUBG fans will be restricting their map choice to Erangel in the days and weeks ahead, any reason to revisit the desert is greatly appreciated for the sake of variety.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is available now on PC and in Game Preview on Xbox One. The above patch notes only apply to the Test Server on PC.

What are your thoughts on the latest PUBG Test Server update? Have map selection and weapon balance changes made the game better? Tell us in the comments section!