PUBG has revealed details about its ranked matchmaking, and stated that after spending 2022 and 2023 refining the base ruleset and introducing new features and maps, the devs are ready to make Ranked both prestigious and challenging.
Starting with Season 30, we’re getting a whole new reward system. We’ve got Tier Rewards and Ranked Play Point Rewards. Tier Rewards are all about skill level, and to make things even sweeter, they’re adding weapon skins as rewards. Yup, unique weapon skins that you can only get through Ranked play. These are up for grabs for all players at Gold Tier and above. This big move gives players a tangible incentive to grind those ranks.
Ranked Play Point Rewards are here to help, where players can earn points by participating in Ranked matches, and its design is to help inexperienced players. More details about the Ranked Revamp can be found below:
Developer Statement on Ranked Revamp
Throughout 2022 and 2023, our development team focused on refining the base ruleset for Ranked, laying the groundwork for the “vibrant Ranked experience” we’ve been highlighting. While RP systems and rewards are important, our primary goal was to reevaluate and enhance the overall Ranked experience. To prevent Ranked experience from becoming monotonous, we actively introduced new features and maps, encouraging Normal Match players to give it a try. Additionally, by unifying Esports and Ranked rules, we sought to enable players to learn from Esports players and enjoy Ranked in diverse ways.
In 2024, we want to build on that foundation by making Ranked both prestigious and challenging. As the first step to achieving this, we’ve taken your feedback into account and enhanced our rewards. We have devised a variety of rewards to motivate players to set, pursue, and achieve goals in Ranked while ensuring that these rewards truly act as a symbol of prestige.
Ranked Rewards
Beginning with Season 30, there will be two types of Ranked rewards. The first is Tier Rewards, which are given based on skill level. The second is the new Ranked Play Point Rewards, which can be earned by participating in Ranked matches. With this addition, we aim to help even inexperienced players feel the satisfaction of setting and achieving their goals.
Tier Rewards
In response to feedback that the existing Tier Rewards weren’t providing enough incentive for players, we are adding weapon skins as Tier Rewards starting in Season 30. We believe that unique weapon skins only obtainable through Ranked can serve as an evident token of skill. These weapon skins will be awarded to all players at Gold Tier and above. Additionally, a preview of all Tier Rewards is available at the beginning of each season to enable players to set their goals accordingly.
Furthermore, the Top 500 Bonus Rewards, previously available to all Top 500 players, will now be exclusively awarded to those at the Master Tier and above, solidifying its status as a genuine badge of prestige.
Ranked Play Point Rewards
The Ranked Play Point Rewards can be earned by accumulating points through Ranked play and were designed to enable players of all skill levels to set and achieve their own goals. Since the number of Ranked Play Points you earn depends on your performance in a match, players of all skill levels are encouraged to give their best effort in every match and are rewarded accordingly.
Tier Protection
In addition to the rewards overhaul, we’re introducing the Tier Protection system to alleviate the fatigue that can come with Ranked play. Given the nature of PUBG as a battle royale and the element of luck involved in survival, you’ve likely had a match or two where bad luck outweighed your skill. Tier Protection addresses this by giving you another chance, acting as a failsafe to prevent immediate demotion upon reaching your dream tier. This feature aims to make challenging yourself to reach higher tiers less intimidating and more motivating.
Simply put, Tier Protection prevents your RP from dropping below the minimum for your current tier if your RP fluctuates due to match results, safeguarding against tier demotions.
RP System
There’s still work to be done to make Ranked both prestigious and challenging. The RP system improvements we piloted in April will not be included in the 30.1 update, as the pilot period has ended. After carefully analyzing the data from the past two months, we’ll make the necessary adjustments and roll them out again in August. We’ll provide more details in a separate Dev Letter soon. Still, the overall direction of the changes remains the same: to create an environment where players of similar skill can compete against each other while still allowing individual players to set their own goals suitable for each RP segment. With these changes, RP will serve as a metric of performance, and tier will serve as an objective measure of skill.
Lowering the Barrier
As mentioned above, Ranked is the mode that best represents PUBG’s core gameplay and that’s why we’re revamping Ranked and strengthening the connection between Normal Match, Ranked, and Esports. To ensure effective skill-based matchmaking for Ranked, we need a large enough player pool.
Therefore, we’re offering BATTLEGROUNDS Plus at a reduced price during Update 30.1 to lower the barrier to entry. More details will be available in the upcoming June Store Update 2024. As this adjustment is not intended as a sales promotion, it will only apply to PC platforms for now, with discussions about extending it to Console platforms in the future.
While we’re cautious about temporarily lowering the price of BATTLEGROUNDS Plus, as it also serves as a barrier for cheaters, we believe the Survival Mastery Level requirement will act as a deterrent during the discount period, given that most Basic accounts have not yet reached level 80. Additionally, we will look into ways to increase filtering and sanctions to prevent the use of illegal software during this period.
Ultimately, our efforts to improve Ranked will continue, as we believe that Ranked should be appealing enough to incentivize you to upgrade to BATTLEGROUNDS Plus and increase your Survival Mastery Level.
Future Plans
As we wrap up today’s Dev Letter, we promise to continue listening to community feedback and refining Ranked.
With the upcoming changes, our goal is to ensure that all players who challenge themselves in Ranked have a truly competitive experience, regardless of their tier. We are committed to a steady, multi-faceted effort to revitalize Ranked and look forward to your continued interest and feedback as we continue this journey.
