PlayerUnknown's Battleground might not be a name the majority of Indian kids are familiar with, but ask anyone about PubG Mobile and it will be instantly recognisable. The popular battle royale game became the most popular video game of the year along with Fortnite with over 200 million downloads and 30 million daily active users across the world. The game is especially popular in India and rest of Asia, and for good reason. PubG Mobile marks a watershed moment in mobile gaming Never has a mobile game felt so close to its PC counterpart, including a robust multiplayer platform which is the real reason why the game became a runaway success.
However, with so many users playing the game at all times of the day, winning is a matter of both luck and precise strategies and skills. Apart from training themselves, a pro PubG player also has a few strategies and useful tricks up their sleeves that give them an edge over the others. You can also read our piece on tips and tricks for beginners and if you tend to die often, take a look at the mistakes every PubG noob should avoid.
While a powerful, flagship phone is definitely the best choice to play the game, Tencent has optimised the game such that it runs smooth on all devices in every price segment, with the quality of graphics being the only thing that differs. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some advanced strategies and tricks that can help you get that elusive Chicken Dinner.
Tweak button sizes
The on-screen controls, by default are more or less good enough for beginners but a pro player always have their own custom layout. While playing a squad match, I prefer to keep my peek buttons closer to the trigger button on the right, while the sprint button is kept a little higher than the default position. I also increase the size of the scope and the jump button on the left. As a left-hander, I tend to use the trigger button on the left a lot, so I also increase the size of the left trigger while keeping the right trigger smaller so I have more thumb room to look around and aim properly.
Adjust graphics
The new 0.10.0 update brings a new option to adjust the screen setting. With smartphones now offering displays with notches and taller aspect ratio, you can tweak your in-game setting to suit the panel on your phone. There are three options to choose from: normal, 18:9 and notch. While I’m more used to using the normal mode while playing on phones like the OnePlus 6 (which is my default phone to play PubG Mobile) because the game automatically adapts to the notch. In case it doesn’t on the phone you’re using, switch to the notch mode.
Apart from that, using the colourful style increases the in-game contrast which might help you spot enemies easier as any sharply contrasting dresses enemies wear will stand out.
Make good use of Training ground
This is a no-brainer but often overlooked feature of the game. PubG Mobile has a training mode that lets you try out all the guns, attachments and ammos to see which suits you better. While it’s important to be versatile and make use of any weapon that you find in-game, the key here is to learn the recoil patterns. Guns like the AKM has a high damage rate, but also high recoil. If you memorise the recoil pattern and master the gun, you will have an edge over the others even before the match begins. This takes some time and concentrated practice with keen observation.
Land at hotspots which are away from the flight path
Take time to learn the map. That’s a tip for the beginning. I’m assuming if you’re reading this, you’re already past that stage and know the important hotspots in a particular map. Next, choose a hotspot that you know will have good loot but is slightly away from the flight path. This may not always work, but when it does, you will have most of the loot for yourself, and even if people come, there will be few and can be easily dealt with considering you will have better guns already.
Compensators and Suppresors are better than Flash Hiders
While looting keep in mind that a compensator or a suppresor is more effective when you’re using an automatic rifle or a sniper. Flash hiders reduce recoil by 10 percent while compensators reduce recoil by 25 percent. Suppressors muffle the sound and the bullet echo, while the flash hider will only hide the bullet flash when you fire the gun. All things considered, the former two are more preferred over the other. However, if you are using a bolt-action sniper rifle, a compensator is basically useful and in that case, you should stick to a suppressor.
Moreover, other attachments like an extended mag or a bullet loop are far more useful than a quick draw mag for obvious reasons. If you’re using a gun like the M416 (it’s one of the best in my opinion), make sure you pick up either an angled foregrip or a vertical foregrip.
Edge of the circle play
This is a strategy that comes handy if you are aiming for the Chicken Dinner and want to survive till the end without coming across threatening situations. The trick here is to stay around the edge of the blue circle where enemies will usually be busy trying to escape the blue zone. The space between the white zone and the blue zone early in the game is also a good spot to start playing. The caveat here is that you have to be super aware of when the blue zone starts closing in. Keep an eye out on the timer so you can time your escape perfectly. The strategy is also useful to get some handy kills because enemies will be distracted enough while trying to escape the blue zone. More than that, by wearing a blue dress, you can camouflage with the blue zone itself, so it’s harder to spot.
Bridge Block
This strategy used to be quite rare among players in the beginning when PubG wasn’t so popular, but over time has gained ground as a useful way of camping and getting some kills. If you are in a squad, gather as many cars as you can and create a roadblock on a bridge where you think enemies will cross. A useful of determining this is to predict where the white zone will be created next. If you see a place like the Military Base in Erangel out of the white zone after the first or second circle, chances are your opponents will try using a bridge to escape the island. That’s the time you should head for a bridge block. Once the roadblock is set-up, hide behind the cars and look for enemies approaching. Once they are close enough, ambush them all at once and you have guaranteed kills. Most players nowadays will be aware of such a thing, so be prepared to be sniped from a distance.
An alternative to this strategy is to hide behind the unusable cars in the bridge without creating a roadblock. This will give your enemies the impressions that there’s nobody in the bridge and they will have their guard down. Keep a lookout on either side and once you spot someone, rain down the bullets on them.
Switch to a 4X from a 6X
This is more of a personal preference but I find the 4X scope more useful than the 6X scope. Agreed the 6X scope zooms in further than the 4X, but the tunnel vision on the 6X is also lesser. In case of the 4X, you have a wider tunnel vision and the periphery of the scope is a good way to extend your zoomed-in field-of-view. The same is not the case in the 6X where the periphery is quite restricted and you can only see through the scope and not around it. 8X is even worse in that regard, but in case of the 8X scope the zoom factor is much higher and you can spot enemies much farther away. Note that 8X can only be used in a sniper rifle.
Don’t kill knocked out players immediately
In the middle of the round when there are around 30-40 players left in the game, don’t kill players immediately after knocking them out. Use the knocked out player as a bait to lure out the others. Often, the knocked out player will ask for help and soon enough you will see his teammate coming to revive him. Wait for that moment and either get them both with a grenade or spray an automatic rifle on them. Keep in mind that knocked players often try to seek a hiding spot and might get away from your field-of-view. If you think that is becoming the case, take him down without waiting, else he will be revived and will know your position.
Divide and Conqurer
It’s good to stick together as a squad when you are starting out, but once you have enough loot and have settled in, spread out in groups of two. Don’t stray too far though. That helps when you are ambushed by another squad, and the rest of your teammates can give you backup. Use the strategy when you have taken up a building or a rooftop. Let two guys stay on the rooftop while the other two can take the windows one floor down. This helps to lay out cover fire and distract a squad attacking you. The strategy can be used in multiple ways like using two cars to drive around, or spreading out while being prone right at the end of the game; the choice is yours.
Use an exploded car for cover
Cars in PubG can double up as nice cover spots. But cars can be destroyed and if you’re in the vicinity, you might get knocked-out as well. The trick is to first destroy the car yourself and then use the leftover to take cover. If you are in a wide open field, it’s a good way to get to cover. Bullets hitting the exploded car will not do anything and you can peek out from behind the car to pwn your enemies. Alternatively, if you get a flare gun and have everything you need already, use the flare gun to summon the bulletproof UAZ. The bullet-proof car is not only a good escape vehicle but when the going gets tough, simply hide behind it and shoot away. Keep in mind that the car isn’t completely bullet-proof, and two or three rounds of 7.62mm bullets will be enough to destroy it.
Ditch the car
When you’re nearing the end of the round and the white zone gets really small, ditch the car. Cars make sound and even come up on the map. It will give your position away making you an easy target. It’s better to crouch or even go prone to keep out of sight. Once you spot an enemy, make sure you have a good view and then proceed for the kill. Staying low and not giving away your position is key in the last few minutes.
Having said that, in certain situations especially in Miramar where the end might just be in an open ground with no cover, using a car to drive around can sometimes be the safest option. There will be snipers just waiting it out and the driving the car around will not give them an opportunity to attack you. In case they do, you will know their position and then use the car for cover to pwn them.
Drop secondary weapons if you’re wearing a ghillie suit
If you’re camouflaging wearing a ghillie suit, drop the pan and the second weapon. Those poke out of the dress and can easily give away your position. Ghillie suits in Erangel and Sanhok are more helpful if you hide behind foliage, while on Miramar, it’s better to take cover behind a rock.
Use smoke grenades to create diversions
In case you are ambushed in the end, or enemies have you cornered, use smoke grenades to create a diversion. While most pro players will know the tactic and will call out your bluff, you can still rely on smokes to escape. The trick is to throw the grenade in a place where you won’t be going so that enemies think that’s where you’re headed. You can also use a smoke grenade to protect a knocked down teammate while you’re reviving him.
Carpet bomb enemies out of their hiding spots
This is when your frag grenades come in handy. Often at the closing minutes of the match, the last few left alive will be hiding in the grass, or inside a house. Have a few nades handy and throw them around the white zone. Chances are one of the them will fall near them, prompting them to get up and run away from it giving you the perfect opportunity to frag them.
Switch to a gun with higher rate of fire
If you are comfortable, you should switch to either a UMP9 or a UZI, both of which have a higher rate of fire (but considerably lower damage). This will give you an edge over others using a rifle which will have higher recoil and slower fire rate. I have personally won a lot of matches using an SMG in the end, and it might just be useful for you guys too. It’s foolish to have a sniper rifle when the circle is at its smallest though. In that case, simply switch to an automatic with burst fire or an SMG.