PUBG Mobile is the most popular first person shooter battle royale game for mobile devices with millions of players playing daily, and once you start playing it is easy to see why it is so.
Now available on iOS and Android devices it is extremely well optimized and good looking. The game is free to play, with only cosmetic items available through in-app purchases. There are no pay to win options in PUBG Mobile.
Although PUBG Mobile is a port of the original PC version over time it developed into a game of its own. Granted the basic gameplay principles are still shared with the PC version, there are many different aspects now. The graphics are naturally much better on the PC version, the weapons have different damage numbers, weapon recoil is much easier to control in PUBG Mobile, there are bots in the mobile version, the mobile version has auto-pickup, while PUBG PC has more scope options and generally the gameplay dynamics are different (no 100m full spray with the M416 in the PC version).
If you are already convinced you want to go on a pan wielding adventure against 99 other players, to install PUBG Mobile a user needs to simply search for it in the iOS App Store or Google Play Store and it should be the first result that comes out. After downloading and installing you will need to register as a guest or simply link your Facebook, Twitter, Google account or Game Center account and after completing the mandatory tutorial you are all set to go on the hunt for a chicken dinner.
Since unlike the PC version, PUBG Mobile populates the match with bots if there are not enough players in the beginning you will play easy matches against lots of bots, but this is just what anyone needs when starting out.
Getting used to playing a first person shooter game on a mobile device and using touchscreen to control the movement, aiming and shooting takes some time to master.
The default button layout is quite intuitive, however everyone can adapt the layout as they wish and can save multiple different layouts. Players adapt their layouts to play with just two thumbs, three fingers, four fingers, etc or even with specialized triggers which transform your phone into something resembling the Playstation gamepad with a screen. But don’t worry, while you will definitely have a quicker reaction time if you use a 4 finger claw layout or the already mentioned triggers, some elite players still play with just their two thumbs.
Game modes
As of April 2020 there are several game modes in PUBG Mobile which include:
1. Classic mode
This is the main mode, games played in this mode influence seasonal rank. There are four maps available: Erangel, Miramar, Sanhok and Vikendi. This mode can be played as solo, duo or squad. The most popular map is the oldest map, Erangel. Players mostly prefer to play squad matches.
2. Arcade mode
Arcade mode is usually played for training or solving RP missions.
The categories here are:
2.1. Quick match
the match starts with a small section of a map and with a weapon type limiter. Some matches are played with all weapons, some as weapon heaven (God tier weapons are more often), or pistols only, sniper rifles only, shotguns only, bolt action sniper rifles only.
2.2. War
This is played on a very small part of the Erangel map. The player parachutes from the plane with a weapon and respawns again after being killed. The match ends when a player or team reach the designated number of points or the time runs out.
2.3. Sniper training
Played on a random map with only sniper rifles available for loot. This mode is available only on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays UTC.
3. EvoGround
This mode contains special mini-games:
3.1. Payload
This is played on the Erangel map and has special weapons like rocket launchers, grenade throwers, miniguns etc. This mode also has helicopters and armored vehicles.
3.2. Infection Mode
In infection mode players are split into two teams, one comprising of zombies and the other of defenders. The zombies’ task is to turn all defenders into zombies, while the defenders’ task is to destroy all the zombies. It is a fun and fast paced mode.
4. Arena mode
This mode contains the following:
4.1. Team deathmatch (TDM)
This is the first mode that was added to the Arena mode. Two teams start on opposite sides of a warehouse and then confront each other in a kill fest, respawning after each death. The team that reaches 40 kills first wins. The player needs to level up to unlock higher tier weapons and then needs to play TDM matches to level up the weapons in order to attach better attachments.
4.2. Arena training
Same as TDM, but without the leveling requirements, the player selects any weapon they want and adds whatever attachments they want.
4.3. Domination
A capture the flag type of match. The team needs to capture and hold a certain area for some time in order to win.
4.4. Assault
Most similar to Team Deathmatch, but players do not spawn in the same location after each death but in different areas of the map.
