Players will have a couple of new ways to get around in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds after Patch 30, which introduces parkour and a new vehicle, the BRDM-2, to the game. As with most patches, it also comes with a suite of bug fixes and other tweaks.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was one of the vanguards of the Battle Royale genre when it launched in 2017. It instantly became one of the world’s most popular online games, in constant competition with Fortnite. Recently, though, the genre has exploded in popularity, with new games coming out at a rapid pace and existing games adding Battle Royale modes to get in on the trend. Most of these games add features that expand on the genre, increasing the pressure on PUBG to keep adding new twists itself.
Patch 30 brings an enormous change to the game with the addition of ledge grabbing. According to the official patch notes on the PUBG website, players will be able to grab onto the edge of most obstacles that are up to 2.5 meters high. The change will allow smoother movement as players will be able to leap from obstacle to obstacle without ever touching the ground. It will even allow players to climb onto roofs, opening up areas that were previously inaccessible. This is the first of two planned updates dealing with the ledge grab. The current update doesn’t allow players to grab onto or slide down railings, which the developers say will be added in the second update. The developers also note that they’re looking for feedback from players to improve the new feature.
In addition to bringing parkour into PUBG, Patch 30 also introduces a new vehicle, the BRDM-2, which can travel through water, though at a greatly reduced speed. The BRDM-2 is an armored vehicle that can only be found by calling it in with a flare gun, and it replaces the UAZ that used to be called in the same way. It’s a much hardier vehicle than the UAZ, able to withstand twice the amount of damage and equipped with unbreakable wheels. That makes it an excellent transport vehicle, but to balance it out, players can’t fire weapons while onboard.
Patch 30 adds a good amount of additional updates, most notably the Deagle (a version of the powerful Desert Eagle handgun found in many games) and a set of pre-written text messages called Radio Messages. Players can select these from a radial menu to quickly communicate with teammates when they can’t use voice chat.
Overall, Patch 30 adds plenty of content to keep players interested. While it’s likely nothing that would sway new players to finally try the game out, it may be enough to bring back lapsed players who previously found the game’s relative lack of mobility annoying. It’s also interesting to see PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds presumably taking cues from newer Battle Royales, with the addition of Radio Messages that seem clearly inspired by Apex Legends’ widely praised pinging system.
Source: PUBG