Esports
PUBG has changed a lot in its first year, but the pro players would still ask Mr PlayerUnknown himself to make these changes.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already more than a year since we all became addicted to PUBG, but it’s even harder to believe just how much has changed about the game in that time. Sure, we knew the tech issues would be resolved and new content added, but we had no idea how different the game would be just a year later.
Almost every aspect of PUBG has been tweaked in some way since it launched. The red zone is now actually lethal, new weapons mean that you can make almost any combination work, the new map Miramar has totally changed the way we think about playing and general improvement to the gunplay has meant we can actually take down foes consistently instead of spraying and praying.
PUBG is now in a much better state than it was at the launch, and the update train keeps on going with the latest patch on the test server bringing even more changes that seem to be improving things for everyone.
But that doesn’t mean PUBG is perfect just yet. There are still more than a few areas that could do with some improvement, so we decided to ask some of the best players in the world what they would ask PlayerUnknown to change if they got the chance.
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Perhaps the least surprising request from the pro players is improved matchmaking. When it comes to finding a game in PUBG the system seems to put you in the first lobby available, with some preference on ping and other factors. But the pro players want to see true skill-based matchmaking. For them playing a pub game will usually just be target practise, as the level of opponents will not really offer them much in terms of tactical practise. Trust us, we once found ourselves in the same match as Method’s Anssi ‘AndyPyro’ Huovinen and can guarantee that we offered nothing more than a moving target for him to practise his aim.
Better matchmaking, like we see in Dota, CS:GO or League of Legends, would mean that the pro players have more chance of being matched against each other, or against similarly highly skilled players. This would mean their pub matches are closer to what they would be doing in a tournament match, creating a better practise environment. As AndyPyro mentioned, the only true practise pro players get right now is in pre-organised scrims, which only the elite teams play in, making it difficult for new teams to get involved or for players to practise for hours at a time.
One of the more popular requests was for the circle to be changed, mostly when it comes to pub games. As we all know, often a good half of the first circle will be in the water when playing on Erangel, and that means that the play area is instantly restricted even more. It totally changes the pace of the match and if it happens in a pro game it can result in a very strange flow that is less interesting to watch. A few changes to the circle, perhaps to restrict the amount of water that can be in it, or to bring pub circles in line with pro circles could be a great change for everyone, apart from those who like to hide out in the sea and hope no one notices them.
When it comes to actual gameplay mechanics a few players mentioned that they would like a return to the old hitboxes. The latest version of the hitboxes has variables that change the amount of damage depending on where a player is hit. While it offers a slightly more realistic experience, it can be frustrating to land an AWM shot, only to see the person walk away as it hit them in the wrist.
There are a few suggestions that are either already being worked on or are due to be added in the upcoming patch. Better anti-cheat has been a focus for a long time and is seemingly always improving, and the same goes for the desync issues, although there is still some work to do on that front.
While we didn’t get a specific deathmatch map as Vitality’s Benjamin ‘oraxe’ Lartigue wanted we did have an event the other week that effectively acted as a deathmatch, where you'd be dropped into a specific area of the map and forced to fight it out to get the most kills. If that were to become a permanent addition then we're sure the pro players would be satisfied.
There are still a lot of things that could be changed in PUBG, but as it stands the game itself is in a pretty good place, and that will in turn provide a pretty good esports experience. There'll be a lot of changes to come over the next year of PUBG’s life, but as ever the pro players will always be looking ahead to how the meta can be refined even further.
