Ever since its original launch back in 2017, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds — more commonly known as PUBG — has received consistent free updates that have added tons of new content for players to enjoy. The most recent update, Update 7.1, kicked off the game’s seventh season. Season 7 brings back the Vikendi map and introduces many improvements to it, plus some awesome new cosmetic items to the game as part of the season’s Survivor Pass. Here’s everything you need to know about PUBG Season 7.
Vikendi is back, and it’s got some exciting changes
Season 7 of PUBG puts Vikendi, a map that was temporarily removed earlier this year, back in the spotlight. However, the map has been significantly improved over the original version thanks to a slew of changes made to it by the development team. The biggest of these is the addition of trains (yes, trains!) to the map, which you can often find hurtling along tracks found around the map. These trains can be boarded by players, will destroy any vehicle or player in their paths, and will also make temporary stops at train stations dotted around the map. Creative players will no doubt be able to find effective ways to use these locomotives to their advantage — whether you want to bait pursuers into getting smashed to pieces, use the train as transportation to get into the safe zone quickly, or simply use the boxcars as cover from enemies, these trains create incredibly dynamic gameplay opportunities that make Vikendi stand out from any other map in PUBG.
While the trains are the star of the Vikendi improvements, the other changes are nothing to scoff at. The developers have reduced the amount of snow on the map in order to improve visibility, and many towns have been moved, removed, or redesigned in order to offer a more balanced gameplay experience. In addition, the map’s snowbikes and snowmobiles have been replaced with motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecars since those vehicles handle better on the terrain, and the entire map itself has received optimization so that matches on it run better for all players. The Dino Park theme park has even been given a complete visual overhaul and is now called Dinoland! Lastly, a new bolt action sniper rifle called the Mosin-Nagant has been added to the game and can be found on Vikendi as well as Erangel. This weapon is a direct copy of the beloved Kar98k in terms of stats, attachments, and ammunition used, but features a completely unique look and sound.
Countless new cosmetics are now available
In addition to all the awesome changes and additions made to Vikendi, there are also a plethora of new cosmetic items available as part of the PUBG Season 7 Survivor Pass, which is called Cold Front. For just $10, players can get access to countless new clothing items and emotes for their character, as well as skins for the many different weapons and vehicles found in the PUBG sandbox. To earn them, players can complete special missions that task them with accomplishing specific tasks while playing matches. This will earn player experience and help them rank up their Survivor Pass. This, in turn, unlocks the items that the pass has to offer.
The vast majority of the new unlocks are centered around Vikendi and are themed around the map’s cold, winter weather or the Dinoland theme park. Many of these items also hint at the story behind Vikendi and its locations, which is excellent for any fan of PUBG’s lore.
Performance is better than ever
Vikendi and the Vikendi-themed items in the Survivor Pass are fantastic, but the PUBG developers have also made improvements to the game in general. Large strides were made at the start of Season 7 to reduce hitching during gameplay, and drop meshes used for weapons and attachments in the game world were optimized in order to reduce system memory usage. Certain blood spatter effects that previously caused performance issues were also removed. These will be brought back in a later update when the developers have fixed the issues associated with the effects.
Other changes and improvements include a cleaner and less intrusive user interface as well as a massive wave of bug fixes that make the overall gameplay experience of PUBG as fluid and responsive as intended. Make sure you check out the full patch notes!
PUBG Season 7 is fantastic, so why not jump in?
Between the awesome changes made to Vikendi, the dozens of brand new cosmetics available as a part of Survivor Pass: Cold Front, and all the helpful performance and quality of life improvements made to PUBG as a whole, PUBG Season 7 represents the best state that PUBG has ever been in. Whether you’re a returning fan of the game or a newcomer who wants to try out one of the best battle royale games ever made, there has never been a better time to play PUBG than right now. The game is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, too, so no matter what platform you play on, you can get in on the action.
