PUBG Update 2.31 Brings Exciting Changes, New Items and more

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) has released its latest update, version 2.31, bringing many new features, changes, and bug fixes to the popular battle royale game. The update includes adjustments to Normal and Ranked matches, new items, improved performance, and more.

Normal Matches have seen a significant overhaul with updated general rulesets affecting Erangel, Miramar, Taego, and Deston. The Blue Zone during Phases 1 to 3 will now be similar to Ranked matches and slightly faster than before. Spawn rates for items and vehicles have also increased to enhance the gameplay experience.

Ranked matches have also received some updates, with Deston added to the map pool and new items such as BZ Grenades, Folded Shields, and Motor Gliders added to various maps. Season 23 rewards have been announced, with exclusive rewards available based on players’ final Tier from the previous Ranked season.

In addition to these changes, new gameplay features have been introduced, such as a visual effect for headshots, with helmets knocked off upon impact. The Ascender Attachment and Utility Parachute are now provided as basic equipment on every map, streamlining the gameplay experience.

Without further ado, you can find the complete changelog below:

PUBG Update 2.31 Notes

Normal Match

The general ruleset for Normal Matches has been updated.

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

• Phase
  • The Blue Zone during Phases 1 to 3 is now similar as Ranked’s and slightly faster than before.
• Items
  • More items will spawn overall.
    • Main AR, DMR, SR weapons
    • Helmets, Vests, Backpacks
    • Scopes
  • Motor Gliders have been added to Taego, Vikendi, and Deston.
• Vehicles
  • More vehicles will spawn overall.
    • The spawn rate of major vehicles, such as four-wheels, has been adjusted to make them appear more frequently among all spawned vehicles.
  • Some vehicles will spawn at fixed locations.
• Other systems such as the plane route and the final circle location have been adjusted to match Ranked’s.

< Dev’s Comment >

Beginning with this update, we will be implementing the Normal Match change-up outlined in our recent 2023 Roadmap. Through analysis of player data, playstyles, and feedback accumulated over the years, we recognized a disparity in your gameplay experience between Normal Matches and Ranked due to differences in rulesets. For instance, Normal Matches provide ample time early on for looting, moving, and strategizing, while Ranked is faster-paced, making it potentially challenging to adapt between the two modes.

Our top priority is ensuring players enjoy every mode, so we’re adjusting the fundamental ruleset that creates the foundation of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS in a consistent manner, making it easier to adapt between different modes. We plan to decrease playtime during the early phase in Normal Matches while increasing the overall spawn of items and vehicles to enhance your farming experience. Moreover, we intend to sustain existing content exclusive to Normal Matches, such as items, different Zones, Comeback BR, etc. to continue providing opportunities for experimentation and enjoyment.

Ranked

Season 23

• Deston has been added to the map pool.
  • Number of players: 64
  • Weather: Sunny
  • The Red Zone, Security Keys, and Tactical Gear will not be available.
  • Fixed vehicle spawn spots have been added.
  • The O12 and MP9 is available.
• The leaderboard will reset after the Live Server maintenance.
• Check out your final Tier from the previous season through your Career page.

Season 22 Rewards

Below are the rewards you’ll be receiving based on your final Tier from the previous Ranked season.

• The Parachute skin and Medals are permanent rewards.
• The rest of the obtainable rewards are available for use during a single Ranked season.
• Rewards can be found in your Inventory once Season 23 starts.
• Once Season 23 is over and the server undergoes maintenance, every reward but the Parachute and Medal will be withdrawn from your Edit Profile page.

Items

• BZ Grenades added to Taego and Deston.
• Folded Shields added to all maps.
• Emergency Pickups added to Erangel, Miramar, and Taego.
• Motor Gliders added to Taego and Deston.

< Dev’s Comment >

This update will also introduce new changes to Ranked. As announced in our 2023 Roadmap, we’re committed to providing more exciting gameplay through various updates. Beginning from Season 23, we’re adding items and vehicles that were previously only available in Normal Matches, bringing more diversity and intensity to Ranked gameplay. Additionally, Deston has been added to the map pool with a 10% matchmaking probability. Although the unique weapons O12 and MP9 are available, we’ve excluded Security Keys and Tactical Gear from Ranked play as we’re still assessing how these features will work in this mode.

Gameplay

• To heighten the sense of satisfaction and impact when landing a headshot, we’ve added a new visual effect that causes the helmet to be knocked off upon impact.
  • If a weapon is used to land a headshot and the helmet’s durability is reduced to 0, the helmet will be knocked off.

• Ascender Attachment and Utility Parachute are now provided as basic equipment on every map.
  • Ascender Attachment and Utility Parachute icons that occupied their own Inventory slots have been removed.
  • Utility Parachutes can be used any time on every map.
  • The Ascender Attachment can be used where Ascenders are attached.
• With the Utility Parachutes available everywhere, the Emergency Parachute has been removed from Miramar and Haven.
• If a player disconnects before the plane drop, their parachute will now automatically follow the player with the next number after theirs.
  • Example: If you are Player 4, you will follow Player 1.
  • If you had previously chosen a player to follow before disconnecting, you will continue to follow them.
  • Once you reconnect while on the plane, you will automatically follow a player.
  • Only players who have not yet dropped from the plane can be chosen to follow.

Map Service

Starting with this update, maps will now be rotated on a weekly basis, increasing the chances of encountering your preferred map. The Patch Notes will now include the weekly map rotation plan for the update period. Additionally, we’re preparing a Dev Letter that will delve into our thoughts on the updated map rotation system. For further details, keep an eye out for the upcoming Map Service Plan – April 2023 announcement!

Furthermore, 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 will have an equal probability of being selected, with a probability of 20%.

• (PC) Test Server
  • Normal Match: Miramar / Deston / Vikendi
    • AS region: Squad
    • NA region: 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 3 ~ 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 – Ranked
  • Ranked: Erangel (30%) / Miramar (30%) / Taego (30%) / Deston (10%)

World

• The festive 6th anniversary decorations have been removed from Erangel, Miramar, Vikendi, and Sanhok. Thank you again for all your heartwarming birthday wishes!

Modes

LABS: Intense Battle Royale

The adrenaline-fueled mode is back with new updates!

• Three new Vikendi areas added.
  • The Blizzard Zone is not available.
• Three new Sanhok areas added.
• AUG added to the AR weapon crate.
• Service period
  • PC
    • PDT: 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
    • PDT: 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

Esports Mode

As previously announced, we’re aligning the settings for Esports Mode with Ranked to allow you to enjoy an even more intense Esports experience.

• Added Taego and Deston.
  • Follows Ranked’s ruleset.
  • Global Rule Settings available only.
  • Perspective: FPP, TPP
  • Minimum required number of players: 10
  • Maximum number of players: 100 (Default 64)
  • Maximum number of players in a team: 4 (Default 4)
• Sanhok has been removed.

UX/UI

• The interaction feature has been improved when equipping Special Vehicle Skins.
  • To make it easier for you to select your desired skin from the list that appears after using the Limited Interact key, you can now use the following:
    • PC: Mouse click, Enter key, Interaction key (F), Limited Interact key (H)
• (PC) A new “Toggle” option has been added to Voice Chat settings.
  • Enable and disable Voice Chat using the T key, which can be customized in the Key Bindings setting.
  • A “mic muted” icon has been added, and will now be visible to your teammates.
  • The “speaker muted” icon has been removed from your teammate list.
• (Console) The “mic muted” icon will appear when your Voice Chat Input Mode is deactivated, and will be visible to your teammates.

Lobby

• The default lobby has been changed from the Vikendi theme → default plane theme.

Survivor Pass: The Big Score

Experienced painful goodbyes to your previous Passes without reaching their maximum levels before they expired? We understand how frustrating that can be, which is why we’re aiming to help players to fully enjoy everything the Pass has to offer throughout its duration by making adjustments to the Pass XP system.

Strive for the maximum level in the new Survivor Pass: The Big Score and become the ultimate safe-cracker.

• To facilitate a smoother leveling experience, the proportion of XP gained through playtime and weekly missions has been increased in relation to the total amount of XP.
  • The maximum XP you can earn through max daily playtime has been greatly increased.
  • XP earned through daily missions has been slightly decreased.
• Please refer to the upcoming April Store Update announcement for more detailed information.

Workshop

Chest

• New item sets have been added to the Hunter’s Chest and Archivist’s Chest.
  • PGC 2022

Performance

• Improved vaulting performance in-game.
• Optimized memory usage by compressing and adjusting the quality of in-game sound. This will only load essential sounds for each mode and map, leading to improved memory efficiency.
• (Epic Games, Kakao) A game file integrity check pop-up will appear if damaged files are detected upon opening the client.
• (Console) Improved the hitch that occurred when you first open the Inventory in game.
  • (PC) Improved the hitch that occurred when you open the Inventory with a joypad controller.

Bug Fixes

Gameplay

• General in-game bugs have been fixed.
• Fixed the issue where flames were not being generated on the ground depending on the height at which Molotovs explode.
• Fixed the issue where the weather information is not being displayed in the Custom Match session list for a Custom Match with a Haven – Sunset setting.
• Fixed the issue where you are able to make a Pan bigger using a Mountain Bike and Dirt Bike.
• Fixed the issue where the sound of the Porter and Pony Coupe suddenly decreases from a certain perspective.
• Fixed the issue where the Motor Glider is sometimes not shown at the proper location or not visible at all through Death Cam.
• Fixed the issue where you are sometimes disconnected from the game when climbing the stairs.
• Fixed the awkward FPP perspective when you are being carried.
• (Console) Fixed the issue where the Limited Interact key for equpiping vehicle skins does not work when the interact and reload/interaction and Limited interact are assigned to the same buttons.

World

• Fixed collision, texture, performance, and more general issues in Deston, Taego, and Miramar.
• Fixed the issue where after dropping the Security Key in a dumpster, it cannot be obtained through Inventory, interaction, or using Drones.

UX/UI

• Fixed the issue where the Go to Store button is disabled when Presets 3 to 5 are disabled.
• Fixed the issue where the interaction UI prioritizes the item over the team member who gets knocked out on top of an item.
• Fixed the issue where both the Revive and Carry keys are displayed when you’re knocked out and holding a Self-AED.
• (PC) Fixed the issue where specific players were shown on leaderboards of different regions at the same time.
• (PC) Fixed the issue where the incorrect interact UI is displayed after changing the Limited Interact key.

Items & Skins

※ Clipping issue: Graphics that are shown outside the visible part of an image/object.

• Fixed the issue where the White Tiger – Pan skin is flipped backwards at Hideout – Weapon.
• Fixed the issue where the female character’s arms turn transparent in FPP when the equipped Doomsday Hoodie is taken off.
• Fixed the clipping issue on a female character’s bottom part when equipping Ailee’s Jacket with PGC 2021 Contingent Chaos Boots.
• Fixed the clipping issue on a female character’s bottom part when equipping Ailee’s Jacket with JENNIE’s BLACKPINK Leggings.
• Fixed the clipping issue when equipping PGI.S Tactical Pants with Vikendi Snow Sports Boots/Retro Rewind Shoes.
• (PC) Fixed the issue where the Pillar Security – Helmet (Level 1) appears differently when equipping the skin.

Welcome to the 23.1 Patch Report, featuring a speedier map rotation system, new Ranked Season, a new Survivor pass and many more!
Learn more at the full patch notes: https://t.co/TeX2Qx3Fu7#PUBG #BATTLEGROUNDS pic.twitter.com/sm2PTJEDR8

— PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (@PUBG) April 5, 2023