[2020] Console Update 8.1 – Patch Notes

Update August 13:

• Fixed an issue causing a crash connected to the Map Waypoint and Team Up Systems.
• Fixed an issue causing inventory items to randomly drop.
• Fixed an issue where damage to the Loot Truck tires could crash the server.
• Fixed an issue causing the game to crash when opening the PUBG ID menu.
• Fixed an issue where the new lobby looked too yellow.
• Fixed an issue in Team Deathmatch causing the game to hitch and not play certain sounds.

 

Season 8 is here and brings massive changes to the island of Sanhok, a new way to gear up with the Loot Truck, the start of the next Ranked Season, a new Survivor Pass, and loads more. Update 8.1 has plenty to offer, so let’s get right into it!

PTS Schedule: 

PST: July 20 7 PM – Live server maintenance end

CET: July 21 4 AM – Live server maintenance end

What is the PTS (Public Test Server)?

The PTS (Public Test Server) is a separate PUBG server that is free for anyone who already owns a copy of PUBG. The purpose of the test server is not just to provide a preview of upcoming features, but to find the issues and bugs we need to solve as soon as possible. To take part in the test, all you have to do is own a copy of PUBG.

All player data, statistics, etc from the test server will not carry over to your live server account.

For Xbox:

You can search and download the “PUBG – Public Test Server” on the Microsoft Store or the ‘My Games and Apps’ menu.

For PS4:

You can find the “PUBG – Public Test Server” in the ‘Purchased’ section of your Library.

For Stadia:

Update 8.1 will be available on Stadia once the live server launches for consoles.

Sanhok Remaster – Return to Sanhok

The main feature of update 8.1 is of course Sanhok, which has been reworked from the ground up to look better, perform better, and offer more balanced gameplay. We wanted Sanhok to feel more like a forgotten, overgrown paradise while addressing some of the most glaring balance issues we’ve seen over the last couple of years. We’re happy with what we’ve created and hope you are as well. Read on below for some snippets on what we’ve changed in some of the island’s more prominent areas.

Sanhok Season 8 Key landmark changes

Bootcamp

Bootcamp has been completely reworked. We wanted to keep this a hot drop location, while improving the feel and competitive conflict in the area. There is plenty of line of sight for long range engagements but also lots of cover for players to advance on opponents. There are underground areas for aggressive close quarters combat as well. Overall, we feel the changes have amplified the risk vs reward gameplay players want from a hot drop, while giving everyone more options to best approach different situations.

Quarry

The old version of Quarry was a beloved, yet terribly imbalanced experience. We’ve done a lot of work here to make this unique location fun and fair for those who find themselves in it. The stone blocks are now larger to provide better cover from opponents with the high ground and we’ve added some perilous rope bridges to give players more options for crossing without having to go through or around. All in all, Quarry should now be a meaningful destination for players who want long firefights and non-conventional engagements.

Airfield (Previously Mongnai)

We’ve replaced the farm area in the Northeast with a new Airfield. The farm never quite got the attention we were hoping it would, so we’ve added some incentives for players to drop on this part of the island. The main incentive being that the Airfield, perhaps unsurprisingly, now has a chance to spawn the Motorglider! This is the only place you can find it on Sanhok, so grab a gas can and take to the skies!

Getaway (Previously Docks)

The old docks were fun, but generally were low in the loot department, especially for a drop that far away. Our replacement is the Getaway, a loot packed resort town designed to separate tourists from their money. Featuring poolside bars, a boardwalk, Sanhok’s premiere dance club, there’s plenty of neon haze to go around. Just don’t let it distract you from why you’re there.

Ruins

While the structure of the Ruins itself was always hotly contested, the areas surrounding it posed a severe disadvantage for anyone walking out without the proper gear. We’ve reworked this area to make ruins the massive, labyrinthine, and deadly destination it should be, with plenty of loot for those willing to raid its treasures.

Mountain 

The mountainous area in Sanhok certainly make for topographical diversity, but when it came to actual gameplay implications, there were a number of issues here. Players caught up here with the blue zone approaching were left with few options, one of which was jumping and hoping for the best- a few of you have probably been there. The other is the straight up high ground advantage with little to no counterplay for those caught below. With these thoughts in mind, we’ve added additional pathways to reach it, adding some flanking options for the team with the high ground to defend against.

Cave

We’ve redesigned the Cave to have the fiction we’d always wanted it to have. You can still get your thrills through the scariest vertical pool drop in PUBG, but now there’s a cool subterranean temple waiting for you to explore, should you survive the fall.

River

Our main goal with the River was to give players more options to traverse it. Original Sanhok had very few places to cross without diving straight into the water, so we’ve added more bridges for crossing, additional cover on some existing bridges, and more cover on river banks should firefights open up there.

Pai Nan / Khao / Sahmee / Kampong

These towns have all received some reworking, adding verticality, interesting things to explore, new ways to fight, and most importantly, great venues to battle over the new Loot Truck as it passes through each town. In some cases, the changes are minor, such as simply widening the road so the truck can pass through to bigger reworks to create more interesting ways to battle.

Bhan

While a cool locale, Bhan was underused and a pain to loot. We’ve removed Bhan and replaced it with a normal set of houses so that we can focus on using those resources for unique locations elsewhere. Due to the more simplified and familiar building layout, this area should now be a more defensible position to loot and control.

New Feature: Loot Truck

The Loot Truck is a brand new feature that gives players an additional, albeit risky, way to gear up. Trucks spawn in one of several garages around the island and drive along roads, enticing players to attack them. As these trucks take damage, they’ll drop some loot and continue on their way. Players persistent enough to destroy the truck will be rewarded with an even bigger cache of weapons and gear for you and your squad. Be careful when attacking these rolling behemoths, though- they can take a lot of damage and doing so will certainly draw some attention.

• Up to four Loot trucks are spawned at the start of the match.
• Each truck is spawned separately inside of one the special garages scattered around the map.
• When a truck is destroyed, new truck will be spawned from the garage.
• Total number of 8 loot trucks can be spawned in a single match.

Heavy Armour

• Loot truck can be damaged and destroyed with weapons/throwables
• However, the loot truck takes decreased damage due to its heavy armour.
• As loot truck receives damage, it will start to drop lootable small or large containers.
  • Dropped containers can be looted.
• When the truck’s durability hits 0%, the truck will explode and give excess to large amount of best loot including possible exclusive weapon loot.
  • Exclusive weapons are weapons with a pre-applied skin with a unique name.

Loot trucks are only spawned in normal matches during 8.1 update!

Balance update

Remastered Sanhok will feature mostly similar item spawns compared to previous version of Sanhok.

• However, the Panzerfaust has now been added to world spawn loot.

Vehicle spawns in Sanhok has been slightly adjusted to fit the new map.

• Some vehicle spawn spots were deleted to make way to the new loot truck’s path.

Weather

• Remastered Sanhok will feature clear day, sunrise, sunset, and overcast weather types.

Other changes

• Due to the remake of ‘Getaway’ (previously Docks), Docks map is now removed from TDM map selection.
• Updated Sanhok will be available on both Normal/Ranked matches as well as in Custom matches.
  • Old Sanhok will be no longer available in all game modes.
• New Sanhok themed lobby and exclusive BGM has been updated.
• Adjusted the Fade effect of the bluezone walls to look more natural.
  • 

Survivor Pass: Payback

With the new season comes a new Survivor Pass! Survivor Pass: Payback lets you earn nearly 100 new skins as you explore the remastered island of Sanhok. Complete special missions to unlock unique weapon skins and face paints. We’ve also increased the XP you can earn through playing and surviving, up to 7200 XP per day just by playing the game!

Deleted Mission tabs

Following 3 mission tabs were deleted from the survivor pass.

• Community Mission
• Progression Mission
• Beginner Mission

Changes in Season missions

• After the update, unlike before, all missions will be opened rather than waiting for each mission to be opened every month
• Complete all 4 types of Sanhok related missions to earn total 4 different weapon skins

Challenge Mission

• These are challenging missions based on the theme ‘Survival’
• They are composed of total 16 missions capable of earning 4 make-up items

Survivor Pass XP 

• Now players will be able to acquire more XP proportional to the time survived in normal/ranked match.
• Players can earn approx. 600XP per 1 hour of normal gameplay and maximum 7200 XP per day.

Gameplay

Gas Can Improvements

The Gas Can improvements, which were postponed from update 7.2, are now back with some changes!

• Changes from 7.2 patch
  • Spilled fuel was too easy to be spotted making difficult for players to make ambushes.
  • Spilled fuel is now blend much better with the environment making it difficult to spot.
  • Fuel now splatter in larger areas/puddles so that once its lit, it flames similar to the molotov’s flame.
  • We have decreased the number of fuel cans and increased the spawn time in the training mode
• You can now equip Gas Cans in the melee weapon slot.
• Press “attack” to pour gas on the ground. It takes around 7 seconds to empty the can.
• Spilled fuel can be set on fire with gunshots, molotovs, and grenade explosions.
  • Fire deals the same damage as a molotov, but burns longer (~20 seconds).
  • Spilled fuel evaporates in about 3.5 minutes.
• You can also throw the Gas Cans the same way as melee weapons (aim, then press attack), which causes it to release some fuel upon landing, making it easier to ignite and explode.
  • Jerry Cans cannot be picked up or reused after being thrown, but can still explode.
• Changes to Jerry Can explosions:
  • Deals less initial damage. Max 40 dmg, which scales down with distance from the explosion.
  • Now sets the nearby area on fire like a molotov, dealing damage over time.

Parachute Follow Feature

Added parachute follow to help teammates land together.

This feature was temporarily removed after its addition in Update 6.2 due to some technical issues which have now been resolved.

• During the pre-match countdown, follow UI will be shown at the bottom left of the screen.
• Open the map to select a teammate to follow.
• You can still select a teammate to follow up until exiting the plane.
• After selecting a teammate to follow, you can cancel on the map screen, or also by holding the cancel button(PS4: O / Xbox & Stadia: B) while in the plane, or while actively following a player in your parachute.
• If you’re obstructed by terrain or an object, your follow will be cancelled.
• A new icon has been added to better highlight the “Disable Follow” option

The intention behind this feature to help make the parachuting process more convenient in teamplay situations. Parachuting is a skill to learn in and of itself, and every now and then, you often run into teammates who don’t know where or how to land. Many times you had to see teammates get knocked in the early stages of the match because they landed just too far from their teammates. With the parachute following feature, players can simply choose a teammate to follow and safely land near where they do. Super convenient for going on those quick bathroom breaks during drops too.

Ranked Mode

New Season

A new Ranked Season has begun. Ranked Rewards for Season 7 will be distributed to players shortly after launching into the new season.

• Vikendi has been added to the Ranked map pool.
• Player ranks have been reset
  • Players will be given their initial rank after 5 placement matches.
  • MMR has been soft-reset, so your initial Season 8 placement will be influenced by your Season 7 rank.
• Leaderboards have been reset

Game Mode Updates

• Team placements
  • RP(Ranked Point) acquired based on players performance will have to account for Team placement rather than individual placement
    • When a player leaves a match even though teammates are still alive, placement points will be calculated based on the team placement at the very moment when the player leaves the match.
• If the player decides to stay with the teammates and the team wins the chicken dinner, the player’s placement point will be considered as 1st place.
• Bonus kill points
  • When killing an enemy player whose rank is higher than 5 divisions, (ex. Silver 5 killing Gold 5 player) player will be able to earn a bonus RP.
    • The greater the difference in rank tiers, the more bonus RP granted to players.
    • Killing a higher ranked player will grant bonus BP RP.
• RP Growth rate adjustment
  • In order to have players reach the rank best matching their skills, we have adjusted the RP growth rate 50% greater.
• The minimum Survival Mastery level to participate in Ranked Mode has been increased to level 40 (previously level 20).

Ranked mode ruleset update

With Vikendi joining the Ranked, overall update has been made to the ranked mode rule set.

• Vikendi is now playable in Ranked mode.
  • Vikendi’s bluezone has been adjusted accordingly to match Ranked mode.
  • Vikendi’s redzone has been removed just like other maps in Ranked mode.
• Item
  • Small amount of M249 is now spawned in the world
  • DBS is now spawned in the world
  • Mosin-Nagant is now spawned in Erangel/Vikendi.
  • Small amount of crossbow is now spawn in the world.
• Vehicles
  • Vehicles are now spawned on the Esports fixed spawn locations
    • However, in Ranked mode, vehicle will be not spawned in ‘100%’ possibility.
  • Motorglider is now spawned in Ranked.
    • Motorglider is only spawned in Erangel/Miramar.
    • Motorglider will have small amount of fuel ready in the tank.
• Flare Gun
  • BRDM-2 is no longer summonable with a flare gun.
    • BRDM-2 has been to overpowered in ranked mode than our expectations.

Ranked-FPP Mode

Season 7 is coming to a close, and we’d like to thank all players who played and participated in the inaugural season of Ranked Mode. The first season was a bit of an experiment for us as we did not know how opening two new queues to the game would affect overall matchmaking, and how our community would take to them. It’s clear from our data that a large majority of our players prefer Ranked-TPP. This combined with the lack of Ranked-FPP matches being created throughout the entirety of the season, we will be closing the Ranked-FPP queue with Season 8.

With your feedback and suggestions, we’re making some other changes to the Ranked ruleset which are detailed in these patch notes. We hope you enjoy this next season of Ranked, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on all of the changes!

Survival Mastery

• Maximum amount of Survival mastery exp available per match is now set to 1500XP.

Performance

• Optimized the unnecessary process during opening and closing UI such as inventory and maps to improve hitching
• Desynchronized how the game loads icons in the inventory to improving hitching during icon loading process.
• The game now preloads bluezone before the game starts so that no more hitching occurs while loading a bluezone when match starts
• Optimized the physical actors (objects) to improve CPU performance.
• Thread scheduling optimization to improve CPU performance.

Sound

Footstep sound re-design and remaster

In order to provide better sounds, following improvements has been made

For more details of the improvements, please refer to the dev letter planned for release along with a test server update!

• Quality & details of the sound resource itself has been improved.
• Quality upgrade to footstep sounds by distance.
• Minimized the sound difference between bare foot and with a shoe equipped.

UI/UX

In-game HUD Improvement

• Improved the boost icon so that players can visually distinguish the 2 different stages of running boost.

Loading splash art improvement

• New splash art has been applied to match players with 4K resolution.

New Caption

• New caption has been added to the main menu Store tab to notify new items.

UI Design Improvements

• Unified the style of the drop-down menu and improved for much more clear understanding on control method=
• Improved the style of toll tips to be more consistent.

Emote preview feature

• Now you can preview your emote from “Customize” > “Emote”.
• 

Added Irish language

• Now PUBG officially supports Irish. Brendan Greene is Irish, BTW (Will not be provided on PTS, will be available from the 8.1 Live server update.)

Social

‘Team up’ System

Now you can easily ‘Team Up’ with other players who you’ve met in normal, ranked matches!

• In match result screen of both normal and ranked matches, you can now use the Team Up button to form a team.
• In case of premade teams, only the team’s host can activate the Team Up button.
• Death cam will be still available after pressing the Team Up button.
• When Team Up is successful, new team will be redirected to the game lobby screen after 5 seconds
• If there are no other players left in the match result screen, player won’t be able to activate Team Up.

Friend list improvement

• Friend list is now updated in real-time

New Skin & Items

Available from August 5th

• Starfairy weapon set
  • Starfairy – Vector
  • Starfairy – SCAR-L
  • Starfairy – AWM
• Corgi Helmet Set
  • Corgi Crew – Helmet (Level 1)
  • Corgi Crew – Helmet  (Level 2)
  • Corgi Crew – Helmet  (Level 3)
• Corgi Backpack Set
  • Corgi Crew Backpack (Level 1)
  • Corgi Crew Backpack (Level 2)
  • Corgi Crew Backpack (Level 3)
• TBR Items
  • hambinooo’s Gloves
  • hambinooo’s Hoodie
  • spajKK’s Gloves
  • spajKK’s Hat
  • spajKK’s Shirt
• Emotes
  • Victory Dance 22

Custom Match

“Custom Match Update! Part 1!”

• New presets are added.
• Normal Mode
• Crossbow Mode(Ghillie crossing)
  • World spawn weapons will only include crossbows, melee weapons and throwable weapons.
  • Ghillie suits will spawn in the world.
  • 4-man squads will fight on Erangel.
  • Initial Safe Zone will form around the centre of the map.
• One Weapon Wonder
  • Can you win a chicken dinner with your given weapon.
  • You will start the match with one preset loadout.
  • You will have some basic items, but no ammo for your weapon.
  • Loot items and ammo after landing and show what you’re made of!
• War Mode
  • Basic Setting : Camp Jackal map is added
    • Bomb Kit(Dodgebomb)
      • All players spawn with 20 grenades, a Molotov, Level 3 gear, and a frying pan.
      • The match will take place within a small, static play zone.
      • Three 10-man teams fight on Erangel, under sunny weather.
    • VSS Kit
      • All players spawn with a VSS with attachments, 9mm ammo and throwables.
      • Ten 4-man teams fight in Sanhok, under overcast weather.
      • Players will die instantly without DBNOs
    • Overpower Kit: Camp Jackal map is added
      • All players spawn with level 3 gear and a care package weapon.
      • Ten 4-man squads fight on Miramar under sunrise.
    • Sniper Kit (One shot, one kill)
      • All players spawn with a Ghillie suit, a Kar98k with a 4x Scope, a random handgun, and a frag grenade.
      • Three teams of ten will fight on Erangel under rain.
• We’re planning to introduce additional modes to the game. Also, we’re developing new match settings so don’t miss out!

Bug Fixes

Gameplay

• Fixed the issue where footstep sounds were not played properly
• Fixed the abnormally quiet footstep sound played on certain floor types in large apartment building, Erangel.
• Fixed the issue where melee weapons teleport when thrown inside a vehicle
• Fixed the awkward movement of No.2 player character when pressing ready.
• Fixed an issue where DBNO character moves continuously from other players’ point of view.
• Fixed an issue where BP calculation malfunctioned in public matches with Bots involved.
• Fixed an issue where if a player enters ADS with 4x scope equipped and moves it down, part of the reticle blinks.
• Fixed an issue of when reloading AR/DMR and switching it to a secondary weapon and back as a primary weapon, the reload animation does not play and enables the player to shoot quickly.
• Fixed a sound issue of other players’ footstep sounds being louder than your player’s.
• Fixed a visual issue of knees not showing on a female character when Festive pants and Jockey boots are equipped together.
• Fixed an issue where the landing footstep sound is played one more time from the remote player’s perspective when vaulting or ledge grabbing.
• Fixed an issue where the Normal/Ranked toggle UI appears even when season is set to Season 1 – 6  in “Career>Stats”.
• Fixed an issue of the camera view miss-locating when you change your throwing stance in FPP on a running train while looking against the direction the train is going.

World

• Fixing the floating part of the race track in training map.
• Fixed the issue with certain object becoming invisible when using scopes in the training mode
• Fixed the issue where players could land on certain point in mid-air
• Fixed the issue where windows in Cement Factory building would not brake when players vault.
• Fixed a sound issue in Erangel apartments where if you are located in a different floor, volume of other players’ footsteps on concrete is noticeably smaller than footsteps on wood.
• Fixed an issue on Miramar where footstep sounds are not heard continuously when performing certain steps.

UI/UX

• Fixed the excessively narrow scroll bar located in the store menu
• Fixed the false preview screen displayed in customize tab when previewing item boxes which are still on sale
• Fixed the unnecessary penalty pop-up message displayed in ranked mode after spectating the players killer player
• Fixed the issue where players were directed to wrong menu screen
• Fixed the wrong season title displayed in the Career menu
• Fixed the issue where observing player’s weapon UI is not correctly displayed.
• Fixed the issue of when you view a player’s gamer card from the custom match lobby, the number of players were visible in the rich presence.
• Fixed an issue the death cam isn’t played and moved to lobby even when you press the death cam button from the results page.
• Fixed an issue of  the player Card’s 3D modeling not being displayed from the Mastery Tab.
• Fixed an issue of loot glow/pulse affect not saving preference.
• Fixed an issue where the name of the PCS1-M416 skin is displayed as M16A4 when the game language is set to Russian.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘Survival Level Too Low’ UI styling doesn’t match the design.
• Fixed an issue where the profile image of the Xbox player from the recently played list is a default image.
• Fixed an issue where the Normal/Ranked toggle UI appears even when season is set to Season 1 – 6  in “Career>Stats”.

Skin & Item

• Fixed the issue where character’s neck part becoming invisible when equipping biker jacket and Ice Princess costume.
• Fixed the issue where part of Tenebres AKM weapon skin remaining the weapon even after changing to other skin type.
• Fixed the issue of PEL 2019 Phase 3 item displayed as other item
• Fixed the clipping issue with Major Trouble costume with a character.
• Fixed the clipping issue with PLAYERUNKNOWN’S Trenchcoat and PGC 2019 Combat pants.

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