PUBG: Top Tips to Survive First Games

So, you’ve made your decision. After cutting your teeth in Fortnite and other kiddy pool shooters, you’re ready to give PUBG a try. First of all, welcome to the deep end. If you’ve already played a few rounds, you’re likely aware that this isn’t a game for the easily frazzled and frustrated. The game’s realistic approach and unique mechanics make it feel like a rough current during a storm.

Fortunately, with a few core tips, you can learn to survive your first games in PUBG and slowly get to grips with the way the game flows.

It’s All About Survival

PUBG is a shooter at heart, but you won’t get very far if you play like in traditional FPS games. Survival is key to achieving Chicken Dinners consistently. Taking it slow, camping locations, and choosing when to fight and when to flee are important skills to develop early on in your PUBG career.

Learning the maps and which routes to avoid is also a key knowledge gap you need to close as early as possible. And there’s no better way to learn than to dive in head-first. Take the open roads. Scale the hills. Then get shot a bunch of times, so you ram it into your head why staying hidden as much as possible is critical to becoming a good PUBG player.

Pick Your Battles

An extension to the above tip is all about deciding when to fight and when to hightail it out of a bad situation before it gets worse. No matter how elite your shooting skills are in CoD, you won’t last two seconds in PUBG if you go out running and gunning.

When you hear shots in the distance, it’s tempting to want to take a look and see if you can sneak in a cheeky kill. What if you arrive too late, though? What if most enemies have a clear line of sight of your entry path? What if you’re being baited? These are all valid questions to consider when shots are fired for unknown reasons.

The principle also applies when the bullets are flying in your immediate direction. Sure, you’re able to quickscope any fool in VALORANT and CS:GO. But those games have closed spaces and predictable paths. What if you’re closing being surrounded? There’s no telling because PUBG is designed with the unpredictable in mind. So, pick your battles wisely by weighing risk versus reward at all times.

Image source: Krafton

Understand Healing Items

Like every battle royale game worth its salt, PUBG also has healing items. While not as straightforward as medkits and HP restore items in other games, they’re still pretty useful, and you should be collecting as many as you can along the way.

Some healing items also grant boosts to your character temporarily, improving your in-game effectiveness. The general rule is to hold onto these items until you need them, as it’s quite easy to die in this game if you get spotted at low health. You can get a full breakdown of PUBG’s seven restorative items here.

Play Close to the Edge

As the circle begins to close in and your match is approaching its later stages (grats on making it that far, by the way!), you’ll want to adopt a safer movement strategy. Playing with your back as close to the age of the circle is as safe as it gets.

The obvious advantage is that it’s very unlikely someone will pop up from behind you when there’s a death valley on your tail. And that consequently means you only need to be aware of a smaller area in front of you and within your peripheral vision.

Of course, this tactic isn’t a license to chill. Keep your head on a swivel at all times because some players may be experienced enough to risk a bit of blue damage in order to put a bullet in your back.

Make Smart Gear Choices

Apart from being able to shoot consistently and keep yourself from harm’s way, another important component to survival in PUBG is your gear. More specifically, the choices you make each time you get to pick up loot. Weighing the value of each piece in front of you can make the difference between winning and losing.

For example, a level three helmet is valuable even if it’s damaged compared to your level two helmet. With most other gear, you want to get the highest level undamaged pieces. Helmets, though, will still protect you from a headshot even when they’re almost destroyed. On the flip side, your mint condition level two vest will outperform a level three one that’s seen better days.

Image source: Krafton

Choose Low-Risk Drop Zones

Loot is important in PUBG, but do you know what else is crucial? Choosing the place that will allow you to live the longest.

When you’re a budding newbie PUBG player, diving into popular zones is a surefire way to get yourself knocked out instantly. It’s normal. You’re not experienced enough to handle scrambles in unfamiliar territory. That’s why you should focus on going for the low-risk drop zones while you learn the ropes.

Sure, the pickings are slimmer in most cases, but that’s not true for all unpopular drop zones. Some have pretty good loot, but their location is generally unfavorable. If you don’t mind a slight traversal-related inconvenience, you can stroll through the map with better gear and nary a scratch. Check out our map guides to see which are the good low-risk drop zones.

Play Team Deathmatch (TDM)

We can preach about PUBG being a survival game first until the cows come home. The reality, though, is that you’ll need to start pulling the trigger, and it better be popping heads open. The game’s shooting mechanics can feel a bit odd at first because they’re quite realistic.

If you’re struggling with shooting and aiming, you might benefit from playing a few rounds of TDM. This mode is like a traditional FPS team deathmatch where you drop into a location with a team and try to take out the other team. It’s all about the shooting in this mode, so it’s a great way to learn how each gun handles and which ones you favor the most.

Manage Your Expectations

We broke it to you once that you’re new to the game, and we’ll do it once more. PUBG is a rough game with an unforgiving learning curve. Even the most experienced FPS players have had a lot of learning to do when starting. The same will likely apply to you, so manage your expectations.

You’re not going to get Chicken Dinner from your first drop. You’re likely not even going to make it halfway. And that’s okay. In PUBG, you need to take the small victories as they come and celebrate them. On the flip side, every death needs to be a lesson that you’ll need to quickly learn if you want to advance your skills.

Put your new skills to the test and find more ways to improve your PUBG skills by signing up for G-Loot. Track your stats as well as find new ways to compete and earn rewards while playing.