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PUBG Update 23.1 patch notes – Blue zone and loot changes

Things are about to get a lot faster!

PUBG Studios will soon be rolling out a few changes for PUBG in Update 23.1. This patch will focus on gameplay shifts to the blue zone speed, reworking the loot table, a new season pass, and general bug fixes. Update 23.1 will be rolled out this month for both PC and consoles, but it is available now on the test servers. Here is everything you need to know about what is coming.

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PUBG Update 23.1 – All changes and fixes

This patch for Update 23.1 is scheduled to go live at the times below, which are subject to change.

  • PC
    • PT: April 11, 5:00 PM – April 12, 1:30 AM
    • CEST: April 12, 2:00 AM – 10:30 AM
    • KST: April 12, 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
  • Console
    • PT: April 19, 6 PM – April 20, 2 AM
    • CEST: April 20, 3 AM – 11 AM
    • KST: April 20, 10 AM – 6 PM

Normal match

The general ruleset for normal matches has been updated.

These changes affect Erangel, Miramar, Taego, and Deston.

  • Phase
    • The Blue Zone during Stages 1-3 now behaves similarly to ranked mode and now moves slightly faster than before.
  • Items
    • More items will spawn overall.
      • Mainly ARs, DMRs, SRs
      • Helmets, vests, backpacks
      • scopes
    • Motor Gliders have been added to Taego, Vikendi, and Deston.
  • Vehicles
    • More vehicles will spawn overall.
      • The spawn rate of the most important vehicles like e.g. B. Four-wheeled vehicles have been adjusted so that they now appear more frequently among all spawned vehicles.
    • Some vehicles spawn at fixed locations.
  • Adjusted other systems such as aircraft routes and final circle location to match rankings.

Ranking

Season 23

  • Deston has been added to the map pool.
    • Number of players: 64
    • Weather: Sunny
    • The Red Zone, Security Keys, and Tactical Gear are not available.
    • Fixed vehicle spawns have been added.
    • The O12 and MP9 are now available.
  • The leaderboard will be reset after live server maintenance.
  • You can find your final level from the previous season on your career page.

Season 22 rewards

Below you can see the rewards you received based on your final tier from the previous ranked season.

StepSeason 22 rewards
BronzePUBG ID Bronze Emblem
SilverPUBG ID Silver Emblem
GoldPUBG ID Gold EmblemRanked Parachute Skin
PlatinumAnimated PUBG ID Platinum EmblemRanked Parachute SkinPlatinum Medal
DiamondAnimated PUBG ID Diamond EmblemRanked Parachute SkinPlatinum, Diamond Medal
MasterAnimated PUBG ID Master EmblemAnimated champion nameplateRanked Parachute SkinPlatinum, Diamond, Champion Medal
Top 500Bonus Rewards for Top 500:
● Animated PUBG ID Top 500 Emblem
● Animated Top 500 nameplate
  • The Parachute Skin and Medals are permanent rewards.
  • The rest of the rewards that can be earned are only available for the duration of a single Ranked Season.
  • The rewards can be found in your inventory at the start of Season 23.
  • Once Season 23 ends and server maintenance begins, all rewards apart from the Parachute and Medal will be removed from your Edit Profile page.

Items

  • Added zone grenades to Taego and Deston.
  • Added folded shields to all maps.
  • Added emergency pickups to Erangel, Miramar, and Taego.
  • Added motor gliders to Taego and Deston.

Gameplay

  • To increase the satisfying feeling of a landed headshot and add even more emphasis to the effects, we’ve added a new visual effect that ejects the helmet on impact.
    • If a headshot is landed with a weapon and the helmet’s durability is reduced to 0, it will be discarded.
  • The Ascension Rope Attachment and Base Jumping Parachute are now standard equipment on every map.
    • Removed the Ascend Rope Attachment and Base Jumping Parachute icons that occupied their own slots.
    • Base jumping parachutes can be used at any time and on all maps.
    • The ascent rope attachment can be used anywhere that ascent ropes are attached.
  • Since the Base Jumping Parachute is now available everywhere, the Emergency Parachute has been removed from Miramar and Haven.
  • If you lose connection before jumping off the plane, you will now automatically follow the player with the following number.
    • Example: If you are player: in 4, you follow player: in 1.
    • If you have previously decided to follow someone, continue to do so.
    • If you reconnect while still on the plane, you will automatically follow someone.
    • Only players who have not yet jumped off the plane can be followed.
Image via PUBG Studios

Map plans

Starting with this update, the maps will now be rotated weekly, increasing the chances of encountering your favorite map. We will be announcing the weekly map rotation schedule and update period here. Also, we are preparing a notification in which we will state our ideas about the updated map rotation system. Keep an eye out for the April 2023 Map Service Plan announcement for more details!

Additionally, the ranked map pool now includes Deston.

Please note that PC players can anticipate map changes every Wednesday at 2 AM UTC, while Console players can expect the same every Thursday at 7 AM UTC.

In “Random Map” regions, each map has the same 20% chance of being selected.

  • (PC) Test Server
    • Normal Match: Miramar / Deston / Vikendi
      • Region AS: Squad
      • Region NA: Squad – FPP
    • Live Server – Normal Match
      • Week 1: Erangel / Taego / Deston / Sanhok / Paramo
        • PC: April 12 ~ April 19
        • Console: April 20 ~ April 27
      • Week 2: Erangel / Miramar / Vikendi / Sanhok / Karakin
        • PC: April 19 ~ April 26
        • Console: April 27 ~ May 4
      • Week 3: Erangel / Taego / Deston / Sanhok / Paramo
        • PC: April 26 ~ May 3
        • Console: May 4 ~ May 11
      • Week 4: Erangel / Miramar / Vikendi / Sanhok / Karakin
        • PC: May 3rd ~ May 10
        • Console: May 11 ~ May 18
      • Week 5: Erangel / Taego / Deston / Sanhok / Paramo
        • PC: May 10 ~ May 17
        • Console: May 18 ~ May 25
      • Live server ranking
        • Ranking: Erangel ( 30% ) / Miramar ( 30% ) / Taego ( 30% ) / Deston  ( 10% )

World

  • The 6th Anniversary Festival Decorations have been removed from Erangel, Miramar, Vikendi, and Sanhok. We want to thank you all for the heartwarming birthday wishes!

Modes

LABS: Intense Battle Royale

The adrenaline-pumping mode returns with new updates!

  • Three new Vikendi areas have been added.
    • The Blizzard Zone is not available.
  • Three new Sanhok areas have been added.
  • Added the AUG to the AR Weapon Crate.
  • Service period
    • PC
      • PT: April 12, After live server maintenance – June 13, 5:30 PM
      • CEST: April 12, After live server maintenance – June 14, 2:30 AM
      • KST: April 12, After live server maintenance – June 14, 9:30 AM
    • Console
      • PT: April 20, After live server maintenance – June 21, 6 PM
      • CEST: April 20, After live server maintenance – June 22, 3 AM
      • KST: April 20, After live server maintenance – June 22, 10 AM

E-Sports mode

As previously announced , we are aligning eSports mode settings with ranked mode to give you a more exciting eSports experience.

  • Added Taego and Deston.
    • Follows the ranked ruleset
    • Only global rule set available.
    • Perspective: FPP, TPP
    • Minimum required number of players: 10
    • Maximum number of game ends: 100 (default 64)
    • Maximum number of players in a team: 4 (default 4)
  • Sanhok has been removed.

UX/UI

  • The interact function when equipping special vehicle skins has been improved.
    • To make it easier to select the desired skin from the list after pressing the “Limited Interact” button, you can now do the following:
      • PC: Mouse Click, Enter Key, Interact Key (F), Limited Interact (H)
    • (PC) A new “Toggle” option has been added to the voice chat settings.
      • Press the T button to enable/disable voice chat. The key assignment can be changed in the settings.
      • A “Mic Muted” icon has been added and is now visible to your teammates.
      • The “speaker muted” icon has been removed from your teammate list.
    • (Console) The “Mic Muted” icon appears when your voice chat input mode is disabled and is displayed to your teammates.

Lobby

  • Changed the default lobby from the Vikendi theme to the default airplane theme.

Survivor Pass: The Big Score

Have you ever had to say goodbye to a pass because you couldn’t reach the maximum level before it expired? We understand how frustrating this can be. We want to help you enjoy the pass to the fullest. We have therefore decided to make some adjustments to the Pass XP system.

Get the maximum level in the new Survivor Pass: The Big Score and become the ultimate vault cracker.

  • For a smoother leveling experience, the XP gained from playtime and weekly missions has been increased in relation to the total XP.
    • The maximum XP you can earn through daily play has been significantly increased.
    • XP from daily missions has been reduced slightly.
  • More information on this can be found in the upcoming April shop update announcement.
Image via PUBG Studios

Workshop

Chest

  • The Hunter’s Chest and Archivist’s Chest have received new item sets.
    • PGC 2022

Performance

  • Improved in-game climbing performance.
  • Memory usage has been optimized by compressing and adjusting in-game sound quality. To improve memory efficiency, only the sounds required for each mode and map are now loaded.
  • (Epic Games, Kakao) A game file integrity check now appears when corrupted files are detected when opening the client.
  • (Console) Fixed the stuttering when opening the in-game inventory for the first time.
    • (PC) Fixed the stuttering when opening the in-game inventory with a controller.

Bug fixes

Gameplay

  • General bug fixes in the game.
  • Fixed an issue where the flames would not spawn on the ground depending on the height at which Molotov cocktails explode.
  • Fixed an issue where the weather information was not showing up in the custom game session list for a custom game with the setting “Haven – Sunset”.
  • Fixed an issue where you could zoom in on a pan with a mountain bike and a dirt bike.
  • Fixed the issue where the sound of the Porter and Pony Coupe would suddenly turn quieter when viewed from a certain perspective.
  • Fixed an issue where the motor glider would sometimes not show up in the right place or at all in the deathcam.
  • Fixed an issue where the connection to the game would sometimes drop when climbing the stairs.
  • Fixed incorrect FPP perspective when carried.
  • (Console) Fixed an issue where the Limited Interaction button for equipping vehicle skins would not work if the Interaction, Reload/Interaction, and Limited Interaction buttons are mapped to the same buttons.

World

  • At Deston; Taego, and Miramar Fixed collision, texture, performance, and general issues.
  • Fixed the issue where the security key can no longer be obtained via inventory, through interaction, or by using drones after dropping it in a dumpster.

UX/UI

  • Fixed an issue where the Go to Shop button was disabled when presets 3 through 5 were disabled.
  • Fixed the issue where the interaction UI would prioritize an item over the teammate being knocked out on an item.
  • Fixed an issue where both the revive and carry buttons would appear when knocked out and holding a self-AED.
  • (PC) Fixed an issue where certain players would show up in leaderboards across different regions at the same time.
  • (PC) Fixed an issue where the wrong interaction interface was displayed after changing the Limited Interaction button.

Items & Skins

Clipping issue: graphics displayed outside the visible part of an image/object.

  • Fixed an issue where the White Tiger – Pan skin was displayed upside down in Hideout > Weapon.
  • Fixed the issue where the female character’s arms become transparent in FPP when the “Doomsday Hoodie” is removed.
  • Fixed the clipping issue on a female character’s bottom when Ailee’s jacket was equipped with PGC 2021 Chaos Trooper boots.
  • Fixed the clipping issue on a female character’s bottom when equipping Ailee’s jacket with JENNIE’S BLACKPINK leggings.
  • Fixed the clipping issue when equipping “PGI.S Tactical Pants” with Vikendi Winter Sports – Boots/Shoes “Retro-Rewind”.
  • (PC) Fixed an issue where the Pillar Security – Helm (Level 1) looks different when equipping the skin.

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Author
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Luke Lawrie
Luke Lawrie is the Australian Editor of Gamepur and has been covering video games for over 13 years. When not playing games he spends his spare time watching movies, tv, or basketball. Luke's previous work can be seen at over a dozen publications including Stevivor, Red Bull, AusGamers, and more.