PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: 10 Tips and Tricks You Need to Know

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the latest multiplayer shooter that has completely taken over both hardcore and casual PC players. While there are a handful of game modes, the most popular is by far Free For All as it’s easily the most challenging and skill intensive. We are going to solely focus on this game type, however, some of the tips can be easily translated into the other modes as well.

The basic premise of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is that 100 users are dropped onto a large island that is guarded by an energy perimeter. Every few minutes this circle will get smaller, forcing users to get closer and thus causing more chaos to ensue. Players will need to scavenge for weapons, supplies, and items out in the world, which can create some fairly tense situations early on. This guide will focus more on basic concepts that are important to understand if you want to win.

Here are 10 tips and tricks for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds:

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1. Start On the Outside

When a match loads up players will have to pull up their map and skydive onto the island via a plane set on a pre-determined route. While it may be tempting to jump out in the very center and never have to worry about the circle, this is a terrible idea.  Dropping in the center of the map means that you will have to worry about being attacked from every side, which is extremely dangerous when there are 99 other players running around. In contrast, landing near the edge of the map allows you to work your way to the center and have the knowledge that your back is covered by the edge of the map.

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2. Don’t Get Tunnel Vision

No matter how you go about playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds there’s little doubt you will eventually need to fight someone roaming around. While some kills can be over very quickly, others can be easily drawn out if your target is in cover or on the move via a vehicle. It can be easy to get greedy and want to finish them off if the fights in your favor, but this can be very dangerous. Always play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds like someone is always watching you, as the chances of that are very high early on. Try to always keep in mind that this one person you are fighting is not the only opponent and more are waiting out there for you. You also will want to keep in mind the circle itself, which can sneak up on players who aren’t paying attention.

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3. Lower Your Foliage Visuals

This might seem like an odd one, but lowering the visual quality for foliage can give you a real advantage. While it might be tempting to cranks the settings up to max, having fewer textures for players to hide in will allow players to spot them better. This can easily acquire targets hiding in the brush during a firefight and ultimately give you more knowledge about where people are hiding in heavily wooded areas.

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4.  Go For Air Drops Early On

Air Drops are random crates full of supplies that are dropped by passing planes and they almost always contain something valuable. Because of this, players will constantly contest over them or use them as bait for unsuspecting users. Yet, these are incredibly valuable to obtain so make sure to go for them early on even if it seems dangerous. Skipping them simply means you will be at an even bigger disadvantage since other users will have better gear and inventory items than you.

If you are wary about going after one, you can watch the Air Drop from a distance and hunt the person down who looted it. This will let you isolate the target away from prying eyes and have enough time to inspect your loot after the kill.

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5. Always Be on the Move

Unless you are sniping or one of the last few people alive, always be on the move regardless of the situation. Standing still makes you a very easy target and given how quick someone can be dropped it’s important to not give your enemies this opportunity. Regardless of what you’re doing, even when doing through your inventory, make sure your character in moving in some way. There are a lot of people who like to play snipers or ranged fighters in this title, so giving them any kind of advantage in a fight will easily see you perish.

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6. Cars Spawn Facing East

People love driving around in this game mainly because it offers a relative amount of safety and mobility that other players don’t have. If you are looking to nab a car remember they always spawn facing East, so if you see a vehicle facing literally any other direction it’s someone else’s ride. This will let you take better precautions if you decide to jack that ride, as a car facing anything but East typically indicates someone is close by. Alternatively, you can use this knowledge to your advantage and always park your car facing East to trick people and use your vehicle as bait.

Update 1: Thanks to a recent patch this is no longer the case, but you should always note where cars spawn around you. This will give you a good idea of if someone is around and has moved it. Remember, always look to see if the car is oddly parked off the road or in a slightly awkward area. This is a key to determining if there is another player or squad around you.

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7. Close Those Doors

Like cars, players can take advantage of how PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds spawns environmental objects. Doors in this game will always start off closed, so if you come across a house with one open this means that someone has or is currently looting the place for items. Approach these areas with caution and always equip a close-range weapon if you are checking a house for any hostiles. If you are looting a house make sure to shut the doors behind you as this will not send up a flare to your opponents that someone is inside. Like setting cars up, savvy players can exploit this and make houses into kill boxes by luring them with a false sense of security.

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8. Be Aggressive, Not Passive

It can be very easy to adopt the wait and see approach in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds since there are 99 other players running around. However, this will eventually cause your demise because those who are being aggressive are gathering more supplies, better weapons, and honing their skills. Hiding around can work out early on, but eventually, you will need to fight and this passive strategy will make you an easier target since you’re ill-equipped. Instead, be proactive and get into fights with other people because the winners will get whatever is left on their corpse. Now that doesn’t mean just run into every battle blindly, but don’t just adopt a strategy based around hiding and waiting it out.

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9. Stop Trusting People

With a 100 players all trying to survive it’s natural that some will try to form smaller groups and whittle others down. Despite seeming like a great strategy on paper, this will cause some serious issues if you aren’t careful. Remember there can only be one winner, so eventually, those nice other killers will turn on you and open fire. Play smart and when they have served their use kill them before they kill you. It may seem harsh, but if you want that chicken dinner you better be ready to betray a few people.

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10. Don’t Be a Hero

Building off the last point, remember that this game mode is a complete free for all so don’t feel obligated to save anyone. It can seem tempting to help someone out, but this rarely goes in anyone’s favor and will typically end with you being killed. The more people that die, the easier it will be for you to reach the top 15 or even the top 5 when playing. This is not a team game so do not treat it like that, for once it’s okay to be a lone wolf.