The point of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is to throw you into a battle and see if you survive. But that can be a bit intimidating for those who’ve never played before, so Tencent just added two practice modes to the mobile version. One of these involves playing in a smaller area, and can become its own challenge with the right settings.
Sadly, the iOS version doesn’t have these new modes yet, but an upgrade is expected soon.
In PUBG Mobile‘s regular mode, up to 100 players parachute down onto a sprawling map. There you collect all the weapons and gear you can get your hands on, while fighting to be the last alive.
The Training Grounds mode added in version 0.4.0 is a practice area, with no fighting going on. It’s an opportunity for you to learn about firing weapons, moving around, and driving vehicles.
PUBG Mobile Arcade mode
The other new option, Arcade mode, drops the number of players to 28, so the wait in the Lobby for enough people to fight is shorter. And the battleground is smaller.
Tencent promises that Arcade mode allows you to pre-choose from six weapon options: shotguns, sniper rifles, all weapons, melee, pistols, and item heaven. This is part of training. Knowing you only have to worry about short-range attacks simplifies gameplay for neophytes.
Players can go solo, but this new mode adds a fresh option, according to Pocket-lint. While in the Lobby, you can designate someone to follow. A squad is created if several people choose the same person. The leader of that group controls the landing process so everyone arrives together. Once on the ground, they can guard each other’s backs.
An interesting wrinkle of Arcade mode is it doesn’t have to be just for practice. Choosing the “item heaven” option gives players more plentiful and more powerful weapons than the standard mode. Combine that with a smaller battlefield and the action becomes really intense.
Coming soon
The update also includes a new Dusk setting, which makes it harder to see the players you’re fighting against.
The only bad news about PUBG 0.4.0 is it’s not available for iOS yet. The Android version already dropped, so the delay is probably caused by Apple checking over the update before allowing it on the App Store. PUBG Mobile 0.3.3 is available now if you just can’t wait.
