It's been a long overdue, but PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is finally getting its own Ranked Mode, alongside weapons balancing, ignitable Jerry Cans and a plethora of other changes come Update 7.2.

Starting on Wednesday, May 20 for PC players and Tuesday, May 26 for console and Google Stadia users, PUBG will allow players to finally test their skills against some of the best players in the world by rising through the ranks of the Ranked Mode, which is also said to feature unique rewards alongside bragging rights that come with it.

The PUBG developers have been working hard on adding some sort of skill-based matchmaking system to the game for a while now and with this update, PUBG players will finally get the experience a real challenge many have been craving to. This is also a huge step forward for PUBG and PUBG Corp.'s goal of further developing the esports ecosystem of PUBG.

Additionally, the Ranked mode, whcih is now set to be treated as a core feature, will help PUBG develop a detailed and effective ranked system, that will accurately measure the skill level of PUBG players, who will finally be able to show off their status to their peers, as well as have a better chance of getting picked up by professional teams.

The ranked mode will be divided into seasons, with players getting their ranks to reset to an unranked state before starting their seasonal placement matches. While the previous ranks will impact the placement in future seasons, PUBG Corp. unveiled they have set Platinum V as the rank cap regardless of previous performances. As for ranked rewards, PUBG unveiled that players who reach Gold V or higher in any queue will be awarded with a ranked exclusive skin set. Top 500 players per regions, however, will receive a special ranked nameplate and emblem set.

Although an exciting announced, it did not come without some questionable additions in of Bots to the PC servers. Bots have been a highly controversial topic of discussion among the community over the last few weeks, as the addition of them was not well received by plenty of players, who believe Bots will eventually ruin the game. Nonetheless, PUBG developers assured their fans that they have made improvements to how the bots work and most importantly Bots will not be in any of the ranked games.

As for other changes, Jerryy Cans can now be tossed or have its contents poured on the ground, to create areas of fire. What's more, patch 7.2 will introduce some massive balance changes to guns. Shotguns will have its damage multiplier increased from 1.25x to head and 0.9x to limbs up to 1.5x to head and 1.05x to limbs. Shotguns will also have a reduced accuracy penalty when moving, less damage drop when firing at range and have its hip-fire accuracy improved. Some of the most popular guns, including M416 will also be set for some changes, with most of ARs getting reduced recoil among other general balance changes.

Full PUBG 7.2 patch notes:

RANKED MODE

Matchmaking

• A new ‘Ranked’ option has been added to the ‘Play’ section of the primary navigation menu.
• Options for Ranked play include TPP or FPP Squad modes, as well as 1/2/3 man squad options.
• Ranked matches will feature a maximum of 64 players and will not include any bots.
• For a squad to be eligible to enter a ranked match, all members must meet the following requirements:
  • A squad cannot enter the queue if two players are too far apart in rank from each other – maximum of 10 divisions.
  • Depending on their platform and region, players may need to reach a minimal level of Survival Mastery before they qualify for ranked mode.
  • Depending on their platform and region, players may need to verify their account using SMS – If an SMS verified account is banned, the device connected to it will also be permanently blocked.
  • Players who have received ranked matchmaking penalties for actions such as repeatedly ‘dodging’ games will need to wait out a matchmaking penalty timer before they can play ranked again.
• Players may cancel Ranked matchmaking at any time with no penalty.
  • Players who find a match and load into the pregame lobby will face Ranked penalties if they then choose to abandon the match.

Ranked Mode Ruleset

• Ranked mode games will be played on Erangel, Miramar, or Sanhok (randomly).
• Ranked mode will operate under its own game settings.
• Unique Season 7 Ranked settings will include:
  • An overall increase in item loot spawns
  • No Crossbow spawns
  • The red zone and motor glider have been removed
  • Blue Zone will have its timing and speed adjusted to increase the pace of play

All Ranked settings are subject to adjustment throughout the season, and are highly likely to change at the start of every season. All ranked ruleset changes will be officially announced on PUBG's website.

Tiers and Divisions

• There will be a total of six tiers in the ranked system – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, each with five Divisions – Division V to Division I.
• Player's current ranks are determined by their Rank Points (RP) in any given queue. 
• At the start of a Ranked season, all players will be considered as "unranked" in all queues and will have to play placement matches in order to determine their rank.
• The first five games the players will play in each ranked queue will count as placement matches. 
• Once a player finished his fifth placement match, he will receive an initial rank for the season.

How Climbing Works

• After a player dies, he will receive an adjustment to their Ranked Points based on overall performance, which will take into the account the following metrics:  
  • Kills
  • Assists
  • Personal placement
• When a player exits a Ranked match, they will be presented with a new pop-up celebration that will show their performance, as well as the change made to their Ranked Points.
• Players who are at Diamond rank or above will experience Ranked points "decay" if they do not play any ranked matches for one or more weeks in a row.

Ranked Rewards

• At the end of the season, each player will receive ranked rewards based on the highest rank they have achieved in the season.
  • Ranked rewards will be unique and only obtainable by playing Ranked during the season they are awarded
• All players will receive a nameplate and emblem recognizing their Tier
• Players who ended the season at Gold or higher will receive a set of Ranked reward skins

Leaderboards

• The Leaderboards have returned with an updated look, which will also work with Ranked mode.
  • Leaderboards now list the Top 500 players per server, who will be sorted by the number of Ranked Points they have.
  • The Leaderboard will show the placements of players for the region you've played the most Ranked matches in.
  • Once a player enters the leaderboard, their region will be fixed for the rest of the season.
  • Players who end the season amongst the Top 500 for any queue will receive a small additional unique reward to recognize their achievement.

Bot Opponents

Since PUBG recognised its player base has improved significantly, they did not forget about the newer players, who often find themselves eliminated early. Due to the widening gap between the players, PUBG decided to implement bots.

Bots will only appear in normal games and are specifically designed to be less present in your games as your skill increases. More changes are set to be implemented to bots (intelligence, balance and functionality) as the time goes on and PUBG gets the needed information and feedback on how bots work in games.

• The Ratio of bots in each match will be dynamic. The ratio of bots in each match will constantly change according to player skill and the matchmaking pool in each server.
• Bots will only be present in Normal matchmaking games. 
• Players will never get placed on a team with bots, while bots will never fill an empty slot in your party if one of the players decides to leave.
• Normal match with bots will start fresh with new MMR
  • Bots actions will be limited. Bots will only be able to perform basic actions such as walk/run/crouch/prone/shoot while also being capable of doing basic low height parkour, swimming, parachuting and looting. Bots will not be capable of actions such as leaning, jumping, ledge grab, and the use of throwables in the early phases, although those actions will be added at a later date.
  • Achievements, trophies, missions, and Mastery can still be earned and completed. Actions against bots will count towards missions, Survival & Weapon Mastery, as well as platform achievements and trophies.
  • Bot spectate and Death Cam. Death Cams from the perspective of bots will also be available, although they may look slightly odds until PUBG implements planned improvements.
  • When a player is killed during a match, the spectator is prioritized to remaining human players. 

Weapons and Armour changes

Assault Rifle:

With the introduction of the Ranked Mode, PUBG wanted to also bring some balance changes that were in the works for a while. The goal of weapon balance changes is to strengthen the characteristics of each weapon type, so the players will have to adjust their tactics based on the firearm they are using. At the same time, the changes also made sure no weapon is overpowered.

M416 has been one of the most powerful AR weapons in the game for a while, which is why PUBG decided to give some changes to other ARs as to make them as usable as M416 and give players alternative options. Shotguns have also been adjusted since they were almost useless unless used at an extremely close range.

• Increased reload times for M416, M16A4 and SCAR-L. Reload times have been increased for three of the most popular mid-range weapons in order to make less powerful, as they were essentially perfect weapons for all situations. With increased reload times, M416, M16A4 and SCAR-L will become far less effective in close-quarter engagements, since players won't be able to rush their enemies with an AR.
• M416 will have its base damage, muzzle velocity and damage curve distance reduced, as it was far too effective in all situations.
• Decreased base damage by 1 (41 → 40)
• Decreased muzzle velocity from 880 m/s to 780 m/s
• Changed damage curve distances from 60m – 450m to 50m – 350m

• M16A4, MK47 Mutant will have reduced recoil when firing in quick succession in semi-auto and bursts mode, since they do not support full-auto firing mode.
• Added tracers (shooter only).
• Beryl M762 proved to be far less efficient than other rifles, which is why it will receive some buffs.
• Increased muzzle velocity from 680 m/s to 740 m/s.
• Decreased recoil.

Shotguns:

• The current meta of the game made Shotguns less efficient in the late game, which is why Shotguns received some buffs to make them more reliable throughout the whole match.
• Body damage multiplier changes
  • Increased limb multiplier from 0.9 to 1.05.
  • Increased head multiplier from 1.25 to 1.5.
• Increased hip-fire accuracy.
• Decreased accuracy penalty during movement.
• Decreased damage drop over distance for all shotguns.
  • Saiga S12K Extended and Ext. Quickdraw magazines now hold 10 rounds.
  • Suppressor adds slight pellet spread reduction (2/3 of choke bonus).
  • S1897Increased the pump-action speed
  • Sawed-off Increased reload speed.

Armour:

• Vests not only gave players armour but also provided additional inventory space, which was lost upon taking damage in combat. Additionally, players' survivability decreased significantly once they lost their vests, which is why the destroyed vests will no longer disappear, leaving the players with the additional inventory space even after they lose their vests due to damage.
• Vests will also continue to provide20% protection and slight aim punch reduction once destroyed. The base protection level of the destroyed vest is the same no matter the type of vest you’re wearing. This should mean more competitive engagements, even if the situation doesn’t allow for the looting of a new vest.

Bug Fixes

Gameplay

• Fixed the issue where the character could slide abnormally when going through specific steps.
• Fixed the issue where the character could occasionally prone and slide forward.
• Fixed the issue with Gas Cans sometimes not exploding even after reaching 0 HP.
• Fixed an issue where individual bindings for Aim and ADS didn’t allow for swapping of Hold/Toggle functionality.
• Fixed an issue which caused teammates to be muted mute when changing the voice input mode to ‘disabled’.
• Fixed minor graphical issues with the appearance of sights when attached to the Tommy Gun.
• Fixed the issue with prone characters on trains moving slightly when the train curves.
• Fixed an issue where flares were not correctly displayed when viewed from underwater.

World

• Fixed missing texture in Castle, Vikendi.
• Fixed some floating objects in Goroka, Vikendi.
• Fixed the issue with movement blocked at building entrance in Yasnaya Polyana, Erangel.
• Fixed the issue with being able to see through a specific aircraft object in Sosnovka Military Base, Erangel.
• Fixed the issue with multiple doors stacked on top of each other in certain buildings on Vikendi.

UI/UX

• Fixed an incorrect kill message on Karakin ‘killed by BZ signal grenade’.
• Fixed an issuing causing the health bar to display incorrectly when using healing items.
• Fixed the Lean Forward Motorcycle Air control setting from displaying as unbound.
• Fixed the server region displaying as KOREA/JAPAN with German language setting.
• Fixed the issue with spectating players status UI in the minimap not instantly changing
• Fixed a bug where the speed boost icon on the HUD could display greyed out before the boost has expired

Sound

• Fixed the volume adjustment of teammates not working correctly

Skin & Item

• Fixed the clipping issue with Jockey Boots
• Fixed the issue when wearing a coat and holding a Panzerfaust the character’s waist area shakes excessively
• Fixed a clipping issue when equipping PGI title hand strap and Ogre’s jacket at the same time
• Fixed the abnormal flashing effect of Level 1 helmets on the ground
• Fixed the issue with a specific AKM skin not being exchangeable for BP
• Fixed the texture on the 6x scope lens

Replay

• Fixed the player list error displaying the wrong number of players during replay.
• Fixed a misalignment issue of spectated players crosshair location in death cam and replay.

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The PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) have also come to an end at the Estrel Congress Center in Berlin, which saw 26 teams battle it out for supremacy for their share of a $400,000 prize pool.

The competition kicked off with 16 teams from 10 different regions playing against each other, leaving 5 open spots to head into the Grand Finals. Sixteen teams then went head to head in the Spring Global Finals, where the winner was determined, and TOP Esports took the number one spot, taking home $180,000.

The final results were as follows:

1. TOP Esports
2. X-Quest F
3. Elite Esports
4. RRQ Athena

TOP Esports taking the win was not the only great thing to come out of the competition though. James Yang, the director of PUBG Mobile global esports at Tencent Games has revealed that there will be a 2020 World League held for PUBG Mobile next year. Not much information has been revealed about the league as of yet, but it should be available soon. One thing we do know is that the tournament will only be for professional teams. What constitutes a professional team in the mobile gaming world, we don’t quite know yet.

PUBG Mobile has a massive following all around the world. Tencent’s mobile battle royale game has 400 million registered players. Not a lot when considering how many phones around the world are owned, but a huge amount when you consider how many people play games. Stats also show that players aren’t just playing the game once off, and it boasts more than 50 million daily active users in the game.

When you compare these numbers to a few months ago, PUBG Mobile is doing nothing but growing. Six months ago, these numbers were half what they are now and to make matters even more interesting, China has pulled the game from sale too. That means that these numbers don’t even include the hometown audience for Tencent.

Tencent has also announced new “African servers” that will be coming soon for PUBG Mobile players. There’s no surprise there considering how well the Middle East servers have been doing.  This comes coupled with the news that Erangel 2.0 would be coming to mobile too just a few short months after the PC rollout of the new and adjusted map. This means that players from all over Africa will soon be able to play the game with a ping of under 100 and enjoy some of the brand-new maps and looting that have been brought into the PC game.

Not only does PUBG Mobile hit a target market in certain countries, especially developing ones, but it also seems to fill a need. With the launch of PUBG Mobile Lite on the Google Play Store too, there doesn’t seem to be anything that this game can’t accomplish for Tencent. There is no news yet on whether iOS will receive the PUBG Mobile Lite version of the game yet, but it may be something they announce soon.

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This weekend saw the conclusion of the PUBG Nations Cup, where Team Russia were crowned the winners of the competition that was held at the Jangchung Arena in Seoul, South Korea.

The Nations Cup had a combined prize pool of over $500,000 and Team Russia took home the chunk of it for first, walking away with $100,000. Out of 16 other nations, Russia struggled to make it into the top positions after the first couple of rounds, placing 16^th and then 6^th in the first two games. Their third had them take a win, with 8 kills in total. From there, Russia took a few fourth places, a third, a second place and another win nearer the end of the competition.

Russia was sitting in third place after the first and second day of play, as South Korea led the points tally. Nearer the end of the competition, South Korea had a few bad rounds, placing 13^th, 8^th and 10^th by the time the competition was over, allowing Russia to take their place at the top of the podium.

Team Russia edged out Team South Korea, the runners up in the competition, by just five points. The points tally is calculated based on the number of kills your team gets in each round, as well as how well you place in the game overall. The strength behind Team Russia’s skills seemed to lie within the map of Erangel, as some of their best finishes were on that map.

To round up the top four spots, Canada took the third spot, while Vietnam took fourth place. Big traditional gaming nations such as China and the United States finished in 8^th and 10^th place respectively.

Teams will now shift focus towards the PUBG Global Championships now as we move towards the final few months of the year. The Global Championships is the final event and represents the best teams throughout the year alongside the best teams in Phase 3.

With a $2 million prize pool up for grabs, it’s sure to be an interesting competition. The group stages are going to be taking place between 8 and 10 November, with the semi-finals kicking off 15 – 17 November. Both of those will take place at the OGN Super Arena in Los Angeles, while the Grand Final will take place at the end of November in Oakland, where no venue has been confirmed as of yet.

Players who still enjoy supporting esports can do so in-game by buying the PGC in-game item, and buying the exclusive team-branded items. These items will be released for all 32 finalist teams when they are announced, and 25% of the money raised for the team items will go to the teams, while the in-game PGC item will contribute towards the prize pool.

The final standings for the PUBG Nations Cup were as follows:

1. Russia
2. South Korea
3. Canada
4. Vietnam
5. Germany
6. Thailand
7. Taiwan
8. China
9. Argentina
10. United States

And here are the final standings for PUBG Nations Cup 2019!

Photo credit pubg.com

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PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds (PUGB) has introduced an update on the game’s television servers. The update adds the introduction of the Deagle hand cannon, a larger BP store selection, and an amphibious assault vehicle. Also, you can experience changes in some existing items that include Gas Cans. It will now explode after the new release. Some other additions are easy navigation while vertical and player movement using ledge grab.

In addition, now the fans will be able to communicate through the microphone. This new feature will enable players to mark enemies from the distance. There are also updates to the settings for the custom matches, Weapon Mystery, and brightness options.

PC Players: Update #30 is now on the test server!

This update introduces the first iteration of Ledge Grab, new BRDM-2 vehicle, new Deagle handgun, explodable Gas Cans, performance improvements, bug fixes and more.

Full details and patch notes:https://t.co/P3kVaeWAk1 pic.twitter.com/aBVLqVvVAG

— PUBG Support (@PUBG_Support) June 19, 2019

Amphibious Assault Vehicle

After this update, players can use the Flare Gun to call down the armor-plated assault BRDM-2. The new amphibious vehicle can be called only as a special package that comes with a Flare Gun. You can find it on almost all the maps. But it is more effective with large bodies of the water. The assault vehicle will replace the previous UAZ. Its total health point is 2500 that is twice of UAZ. Also, the gigantic monster truck of the amphibious assault cannot be damaged. The armor plating will minimize the incoming damages. The incoming damages include grenades, red zone damages, and ammunition-based assaults.

Deagle

The Deagle is a unique and the latest addition by the PUGB. It is available on all the maps and is designed to deal with the strongest pistol damage and 62 damage per shot. Also, it features a great muzzle velocity. Players will be allowed to put the holographic sight, laser sight, various magazines onto the Deagle. It has a single fire mode and it uses 45 ACP ammunition. Three more rounds will be additional.

Ledge Grab Movement

This feature will enable you to climb the edge of the thing on the map. After this inclusion, players will find jumping easier than ever. Also, it adds fences, edges of the roof, and obstructions up to 2.5 meters high.

Players will have the option to set off the Ledge Grab skill while jumping. During the initial movement process, players can press their space bar continuously when they head towards the desired direction. By doing so, they will be able to grab an obstruction edge. Also, you will have the option to cancel the grab.

As it was the recent addition, you might not use all the features such as the sliding down railings and hanging. These features will be available in the future.

Exploding Gas Cans

Players normally avoid the Gas Can. They use it only for the long distance or when their vehicle is out of fuel. However, the recent update will bring major changes in gas can usage. Now you will find the gas can on the ground. As it is placed down, players can explode it causing damage to players. Also, players can use the gas can to block off some specific area like blocking the bridge. You can use it to create unique traps as well. But gas cans cannot be stacked and multiple dropping will not cause multiple damages.

Implementing Radio Messages

It is important to communicate in a match to ensure proper coordination. Radio messages will serve this purpose. It will help to coordinate with your teammate regardless of the mic situation or region. The key benefit is that language will not be the barrier. They can communicate effectively without the voice chat. Players can simply press F3 or hold the mouse wheel to open their radio UI. They can use the ping function to mark enemies, share an item, or death crates. If they want, they can mute their teammates.

Earning More BP

As players get a few opportunities to get BP, PUGB has made it easier with this new addition. The Survival Supply System feature will offer daily and weekly missions to get BP rewards instead of points. It will reward BP between 200 and 1,500. The daily mission refreshes every day and the weekly missions on the Wednesday only. Also, the Survival Supply System will be there until July 23.

As stated earlier, the new update brings some other changes that include weapon mystery, new skin, improvements in UX or UI. Now players will be able to zoom out and zoom in in the Mystery tab. Twitch broadcasters have been introduced in new skins. The changes to UX/UI will offer increased performance with better readability.

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