PUBG Update Out Now On PC; Full Patch Notes For Season 6 Revealed

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Season 6 is officially underway. The new 6.1 update is now available to download for PC players on the live servers, while PS4 and Xbox One owners will have to wait until January 30 to check out the new additions. Below you'll find a rundown on what's new in the Season 6 update, as well as the full patch notes. [Update] PUBG Patch 6.2 has also been detailed and it is set to introduce Deathmatch to the popular shooter.

Among PUBG's many new additions is a brand-new map, Karakin. It's one of the game's smaller maps, said to introduce a "faster pace and higher tension" to the PUBG experience. The map, located off the Northern African coast, features wide-open and claustrophobic environments both above and below ground. PUBG calls Karakin an amalgam of Miramar and Sanhok, and it holds a maximum of 64 players at a time.

Karakin also comes with a new environmental effect: The Black Zone. Exclusive to the rocky and sandy locale, Black Zones are randomly-targeted spots on the map that get destroyed by massive explosives. This cataclysmic event can utterly level the battlefield or leave areas totally untouched, but the end result is a complete change in map layout. And it all happens in real-time as the match progresses. If you happen to see a purple circle on the minimap, it's best you move locations. Check out Karakin in the screens below.

Gallery

Elsewhere in the patch, PUBG's sixth season brings two new usable items: a sticky bomb throwable (exclusive to Karakin) and the motor glider vehicle (available on Erangel and Miramar). The sticky bomb adds tactics similar to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, wherein certain walls and floors can be used as entry points with the sticky bomb's explosive power. And the moto glider introduces an aerial element, letting you and a friend drop bullets and bombs from the safety of the skies.

The PUBG Season 6 patch notes are quite lengthy and come packed with a variety of changes and fixes. You can read all about the update below, which includes gameplay and sound improvements, matchmaking adjustments, details on the new Survivor Pass, and much more.

Full PUBG Season 6 (Update 6.1) Patch Notes

Black Zone (Karakin Only)

• The Black Zone is designed to push players out of the safety of a building.
• The hazard is random: Towns and compounds can be undamaged, totally flattened, and everything in between.
• The mix of buildings and ruins evolves in real-time throughout the match: Meaning don't always expect that building you run to for cover to be there late in the match.
• Remember, if you hear the siren, and you are inside that purple circle on the minimap--evacuate!

New Throwable: Sticky Bomb (Karakin Only)

• Certain walls and floors have breach points which can be destroyed with Sticky Bombs.
• This feature presents more tools for our players: For campers, it allows more sightlines/windows to be created.
• For squads going on the offensive; however, there are new options for storming buildings: "Do we blast in through the back of the building, or through the roof--maybe both?" The choice is yours!
• And for explorers, we've hidden many secret areas for those players with a spare Sticky Bomb or two, and a keen nose for loot.

New Vehicle: Motor Glider

• Motor Glider is available on Erangel and Miramar.
  • 10 Motor Gliders will spawn across the map each game, across 40 potential locations.
• Motor Glider has two seats: one for the pilot and one for the passenger who can shoot and use any weapon from the backseat.
• To take off, you must gain the necessary speed of 65 km/h then pitch up with the S key.
  • You'll start to take off automatically once you hit 70 km/h.
• Motor Glider's fuel consumption rate is tied to the engine speed--the more throttle you apply, the faster you will run out of gas.
• Motor Glider will be spawned without gas. Fuel up before starting the engine.
• There's no maximum altitude you can reach, the sky is the limit! But the engine will start losing power the higher the altitude you are at.
• Controls:
  • Use W/S keys to control the pitch and A/D to control the roll of the aircraft.
  • Adjust the throttle by holding Left Shift and Left Ctrl keys.
  • Hold Spacebar when on the ground to engage the handbrake.

Survivor Pass: Shakedown

Community Missions

• Whether you have purchased Premium Pass or not, all players can join together to fill the Community Accomplishment Gauge, then claim in-game skin rewards and unravel the hidden story of Karakin.
• The mission gauge can be filled by finding collectibles on the Battlegrounds:
  • Players who find and open special Cardboard Boxes will be able to loot one of the three different objects.
  • When collected, they are reflected on the Community mission accomplishment gauge as follows:
    • Disc piece: Counts as 1 point toward Community Missions Goal.
    • Broken disc: Counts as 2 points toward Community Missions Goal.
    • Old DVD: Counts as 3 points toward Community Missions Goal.
• On the Community Mission tab, you can see your achievement score and earn XP in proportion to the individual contribution score.

Season Mission

• There are three tracks of Season Missions:
  • Each track will be released monthly on January, February, and March.
  • Tracks that are locked will show the time left before it is unlocked.

Progression Missions

• Players can earn large amount of XPs when completing Progression Missions.
• Tracks 1, 2 contains a set of 8 missions each with each mission difficulty increasing gradually allowed for all players.
• Track 3 contains a set of 10 missions with each mission gradually increasing difficulty for players with the Premium Pass.
• Milestones are completed when a set goal has been achieved related to daily, weekly, and challenge missions.
  • Example: Complete 70 total daily missions.

Challenge Mission

• These are challenging missions that require using designated weapons.
• Weapon lists:
  • Skorpion (Handgun)
  • Win94 (SR)
  • QBZ (AR)
  • AKM (AR)
  • QBU (DMR)

Earn Level-up items for the Next Season

• You can claim level-up items for the next season as a premium pass mission reward.
• These items are non-marketable, and they will be activated when the next season (Season 7) starts.
• Level-up Items in the Survivor Pass List:
  • 5 Levels coupon x2
  • 1 Level coupon x5

Survival Title System

• Rewards for Survivor Title System Season 5 will be granted at the beginning of Season 6.
• SP will be soft-reset, with your performance in Season 5 counting towards your starting SP in Season 6.

Gameplay

• Firing mode change improvement:
  • Added an option to gameplay settings which allows you to set a second firing mode preference for AR and SMG weapons which have 3 firing modes (Single, Burst, Auto):
    • This will allow you to have burst fire weapons be set to single shot upon equipping, while also having other weapons in that category still be automatically set to auto.
    • Selecting auto as first and single as second preference will have weapons without autofire be automatically set to single fire.

Matchmaking

• Map Selection:
  • AS, KR/JP, SEA, EU, RU
    • Replaced Vikendi with the new map, Karakin (Vikendi will still be playable in Custom Matches).
• Featured Map & Random Map:
  • NA
    • Featured Map: Karakin
    • Random Map: Erangel, Miramar, Sanhok:
      • The Featured Map option may be disabled and Karakin added to the Random Map pool if players experience issues with long matchmaking times.
    • Vikendi is now unavailable in public matches and only available through custom matches.
• All Random Maps
  • OC, LATAM
  • Replaced Vikendi with the new map, Karakin. Vikendi will still be playable in custom games.
  • There is an equal chance to play on each map.

Mastery System

• PUBG ID will now be shown on the end of match screen and while spectating player.
• Known Issue: Character model is not shown on PUBG ID.

UI/UX

• Added 'PASS' button to the main menu:
  • You can view Survivor Pass by clicking it.

Replay System

• The replay system has been updated. Replay files from previous updates are now unavailable for use.

Sound

• Gun Handling Sounds Improvement
  • Improved reload and weapon switching sound effects
  • Modified reload sounds to be more realistic, through adding audible player interaction with the reload operation.
• Sound segmentation related to the mechanical properties weapons during aiming/scoping
  • In Aiming/Scoping, the degree of trembling sounds related to weapon attachments details varies depending on the type of weapon.
  • Sounds are divided into two, Handgun and non-handgun, and handgun has less trembling or no attachment detailed sounds compared to non-handguns.
• Vaulting Sounds Improvement
  • Improved detailed expressions on objects such as hand-to-body contact, collar-to-shoulder squeaks, etc. during vaulting
  • When vaulting, sound outputs correct material sounds (Concrete, Metal, Wood)
• Vikendi
  • Further lowered the volume of wind sound effect in the moonlight
• Karakin known issue: Sound in and above bunkers isn't working as intended in certain situations. Currently, it can be difficult to distinguish the distance of players from your position while underground, or whether they're above or below ground while in the vicinity of a bunker.
• We're working to resolve this issue and improve logic related to sound in and around bunkers. As this is a complex issue, it will take some time to be resolved and we expect to push the updated sound logic to live servers in the April update.

Performance

• World Origin Shift:
  • Optimized the world location calculating process to reduce the occurrence of hitching.
• Skins & Items:
  • The following items will be added to the Store after Update #6.1 hits live servers:
    • Added 5 Golden Dragon skins.
    • Added 4 Golden Phoenix skins.
    • Added 9 Seollal skins.

Bug Fixes

• Gameplay:
  • Fixed an issue where the camera view is located incorrectly when changing seat to driver's seat during ADS.
  • Fixed an issue where M249 iron sight was displayed incorrectly.
  • Fixed an issue where hold option for prone isn't working correctly.
  • Fixed an issue where the character's upper body would be displayed incorrectly after using a throwable while sitting on the backseat of a motorbike on FPP.
• UI/UX:
  • Fixed an issue where the character’s overhead UI isn't aligned with the character model.
  • Fixed an issue where incorrect UI would be exposed after pressing certain keys.
  • Fixed an issue where the helmet equipped on Customize is visible on the character's head on PUBG ID.
• Custom Match:
  • Fixed an issue where the weapon crosshair was exposed overlapped when moving to the next round in war mode while holding a weapon.
  • Fixed an issue where red dot sight was not included in the war mode support spawn kit.
• Sound:
  • Fixed an issue where the ambient noise is louder than intended in certain weather types on Vikendi.
• Skins & Items:
  • Fixed an issue where Tommy Gun skin texture is displayed incorrectly.
  • Fixed an issue where the lower body would be displayed incorrectly when putting on certain PGI skins on a male character.