For those uninitiated, Playerunkown's Battlegrounds is a battle royale shooter that pits around 100 people together to fight to the death. You jump out of a plane, find weapons, and try not to die. This guide should help you with that last step.
The Basics
Playerunkown's Battlegrounds has a few important features you should be aware of before entering. While the game's map is huge, not all of it will always be in play. As more and more people die, the playable area of the map will shrink. It is very important that you pay attention to your map and know where the playable area, represented by a white circle, is at all times. If you are caught outside of it, your health will begin to drain until you manage to get into the area or you die. That isn't exactly an ideal scenario, so keep an eye on the circle and the notifications of when it changes and how long you have to get there that pop up on the side.
Along with white circle, you have to watch to keep an eye on, you also have to check your map for red circles. These red circles represent areas that are currently getting bombed and they are very dangerous to be in. If you happen to get caught in the bomb zone, make sure you immediately take cover in a building. if you don't, then you run the real risk of getting yourself blown up and earning a premature death.
It is also important to note that you can go into first person. I don't recommend doing this for exploring, but it can be useful in a firefight. Thankfully, there is a very easy way to use first person just for aiming. Instead of holding the right mouse button like you would normally do, just tapping it will go into iron sights. This is a quick way to get a bead on a target and start firing. You can also press "b" to switch rates of fire. This is most used for assault rifles to make them automatic for close to mid range encounters or single fire for long range firefights.
Scavenging
A large portion of your time in Playerunkown's Battlegrounds is going to be spent scavenging for useful items. The first thing you are going to want to do is find a gun. As you are parachuting out of the plane, keep an eye on where everyone else is going and try to find a more excluded area so you can search in relative peace. Your going to want to make your way to the nearest building and start searching the rooms. As you do this, it is a good idea to close the doors behind you. That way if anyone opens up while you are exploring you can hear the door and it helps eliminate the chance of you getting snuck up on. Thankfully, finding a gun is a relatively easy process. Assault rifles, shotguns, sub-machine guns, pistols and more litter the different buildings and you are going to want as much as you can get. Shotguns are perfect for clearing rooms while the assault rifle can eliminate foes at range. It is also important to reload all your guns. There is no auto-reload in this game and if you aren't careful, you can pull out an empty gun. Keep an eye on your bullet count and make sure your guns are loaded and ready to go before every potential encounter.
Scavenging is also important because you are going to get useful armor and items. Helmets and police vests can be found and can give you some extra protection in a gunfight. You can also find some mods for your guns, such as silencer, flash reducers, and different scopes to give you a slight advantage in combat. You are also going to want to stock up on grenades, medkits, bandages, and energy drinks. Medkits and bandages will heal you, grenades are grenades, and energy drinks help you do stuff faster, like applying bandages.
Getting Around
The map of Playerunkown's Battlegrounds is huge. This can certainly seem daunting, but there are some good ways to get around. If you have to be somewhere in a hurry or are making a long distance trek, it is a good idea to get one of the many vehicles that scattered around the map. They are certainly going to get you somewhere faster than walking, but they are also very loud. It is best to park a little bit away from your destination so any players hiding out there don't instantly know where you are. It is also easy to get shot at from windows, so be very careful when going through towns. However, don't shoot at people driving around if you are on the ground. They are faster than you and you will give away your position. If somebody does this to you, feel free to run them over. It is a very fun thing to do.
When vehicles aren't an option or you are just making a quick hike, it is important to be aware of your surroundings. Keep an eye out for any sniping spots and always put cover between yourself and where you are going. If you start getting shot at, move in unpredictable patterns and try to figure out where you are getting shot from. This is much easier said than done, but the goal is to get shot as little as possible. Beyond that, just make sure you are in third person and you are using that ability to look around all the corners before you move. Letting someone get the drop on you is almost guaranteed death.
Combat
Another large part of the Playerunkown's Battlegrounds is combat. The goal here is simple, shoot the other people without getting shot yourself. Actually doing this, however, can prove challenging.
While scavenging, it is important to be extremely cautious when entering buildings. You have no way of knowing who, if anyone, awaits in in that building and what they may have equipped. Crouch and go as silently as possible while listening intently. Sound is a huge part of this game and I highly recommend playing with some headphones to help you tell where people are. It is also best to have a shotgun for clearing buildings. It will devastate anyone up close and it is a safe bet that your competition has it.
Sound is also very useful for figuring out where people are. If a firefight takes place anywhere near you, you will hear it. You can then carefully follow the sounds of bullets and hopefully get an easy kill. It is a great indicator that people are near and you should be prepared. Once you find someone, it is best to watch them for a little bit to make sure they are alone and that no one is going to come out and finish you off. A kill isn't worth getting killed yourself.
Closing Thoughts
While Playerunkown's Battlegrounds may seem simple, there is a fair amount of strategy that takes place. Simply running around the map trying to get kills isn't going to work. It won't be long before someone just comes up behind you and puts and end to your life. The mindset has to be survival. Don't go into a match wanting to get all the kills, go into a match wanting to survive. Take your time, get your weapons and gear, and keep moving. Follow everything in this guide, and you should see yourself doing better in matches in no time.
