The Ultimate Guide to Winning Chicken Dinner in PUBG Mobile
Top 20 tips and tricks to rank push into the Ace Tier this season
Battle royale defined this decade in gaming. The genre exploded in 2017 with the release of PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) for PC. Thought it took the world by storm, the game did not receive its widespread popularity in India until the release of PUBG Mobile a few months later. Naturally, a lot of other games like Fortnite and Call of Duty (CoD) launched their own versions of battle royale. Still, PUBG Mobile remains the undisputed champion of the genre with around 1 billion downloads globally.
Like many, I’ve spent countless hours, day and night playing PUBG Mobile. The COVID-19 lockdown and shelter-in-place order has provoked me to play longer and more frequent than usual. And it is only then that I was confronted with a blaring reality. Though I found myself playing more, my gameplay wasn’t getting any better. It felt like I’ve hit a performance plateau. PUBG’s elaborate 7-tier ranking system is partially to blame, making it progressively difficult to rank up. Equally culpable is the steep learning curve associated with the game.
In this article, I’ll discuss the top 20 tips and tricks that helped transform my gameplay quickly, to rise from the ashes of the lower tiers and elevate into the elite Ace tier for the 1st time in 14 seasons! I have divided the tips and tricks into early game (first 5–10 min.), mid game (next 15–20 min.) and end game (last 20 alive) strategies, based on relevance.
Early Game
PUBG is no more just a casual game. With the number of skilled players growing in the servers every day, surviving the early game tactfully is the 1st essential step towards the ultimate Chicken Dinner.
1. Avoid playing with random players
Never play with random players if you are serious about rank-pushing. You have no control over whom you’ll be matched with. You may want to play safe and make it into Top 10 while the rest of your squad decides to hot-drop into Bootcamp! Or they may play the entire match with mic off. Or even worst, they may be complete idiots. You just can’t fit into the gameplay style of a squad that was assigned to you randomly. Hence, always play with your friends, even if they are all not great players. If you don’t have a squad, you can add the good players you come across during random matching to your friends list. And over time, you can build your own great squad.
2. Play in low graphics and high frame rate setting
You may have upgraded to a brand-new smartphone just for the sake of playing PUBG! Still don’t be tempted to play in higher graphics. Set your Frame Rate as high as your smartphone permits. Setting the graphics to ‘Smooth’ or ‘Balanced’ also unlocks higher frame rate options. Higher frame rate makes the gameplay lag-free and smoother.
3. Choose a classic map that suits your play style
As of writing this article, there are 5 classic maps. And as you can agree with me, you can’t use the same playstyle in any two maps. First let’s get Livik out of the way. Irrespective of how careful you play, you always run into 3rd party fights which is not very ideal when you are serious about rank-pushing. Sanhok is the most intense and smallest of all maps. High-quality loot is readily available irrespective of where you land. The terrain and tree cover makes long-ranged weapons more difficult to use and the thick foliage provides ample advantage for stealth play in the end game. Miramar on the other extreme, is a sniper’s paradise. The map is too large, and the gameplay is too gradual. Vikendi’s snow map is the most beautiful and the gameplay is somewhere in-between Sanhok and Miramar’s experience.
As for me, Erangel is the best. It is this map that made me fall in love with PUBG. It has the most playable area, loot is evenly spread out, has good density of buildings and just enough foliage. You never get bored playing Erangel because each match feels very different, throwing a variety of situations — an intense hot-drop into Pochinki, a more relaxed early game in Georgopol city, bridge camp, long-distance sniping, vehicle chases, camping your way into the end game, nade-gameplay in the urban areas, etc.
And it goes without saying that irrespective of the map you choose, you need to have a very good mental overview of the map and know all the loot locations, probable vehicle spawns, terrain, weapon availability, etc.
4. Master fast and accurate landing
It is very important to land as quickly and as accurately as possible, irrespective of whether you are hot-dropping or not. Depending on the flight path, quickly decide on a practical landing location and jump at the optimal point and angle. I’ve found jumping from 750m at a 45-degree angle always give the fastest landing speed at 234 kmph. Another option is to land far away from the flight path or land near a vehicle spawn and drive away into an obscure location. Remember that PUBG is not your typical shooter game. The aim here is to survive, not get the most kills.
5. Survive individually, don’t engage in early fights without adequate gear
Though the entire squad must land together, just before landing each player should unfollow and land a bit away from the teammates, but within the same location. This makes it easy for everyone to gear up quickly without competing for the loot. The most important thing here is to survive individually for a few minutes before your teammates can gear up and regroup. Though it may be tempting to fire at enemies immediately on picking up a gun, refrain until you have all the basic armour. Don’t engage in early game fights unless you absolutely must, to survive.
6. Setup auto pick-up and choose guns to match your play style
You must spend most of your time watching out for enemies and zone movements rather than wasting on optimizing the supplies in your backpack. Set up the auto pick-up settings as to how many First Aid Kits, Frag Grenades or 5.56 mm Ammo you want to be pick-up automatically. It makes no sense to fill up your precious backpack space with 180 bullets of 7.62 Ammo when you are playing with a Kar-98 + M416 combo, does it?
7. Find vehicles and drive them into the end game
Vehicles are an essential part of survival in PUBG (unless you are playing Sanhok, in which case, try to stay away from the vehicles throughout the game). Vehicles help you to quickly get out of a tight situation and search for air drops in the mid game. In the end game, especially if the final zone is in an open field, you can blast your vehicles and use it as a hard cover. The Dacia and closed-top UAZ are ideal choices. Always ensure that someone in your squad is carrying a gas can to refuel the vehicle, especially if you plan to retain it till the end game. Also, ride in two vehicles instead of one. It is a lot safer because the enemies can’t eliminate your entire squad instantly by blasting the only vehicle.
Mid Game
Mid game is somewhere between the 10 min and 25 min mark. Though gunfire may still be live in a few hot-drop locations, most squads have already survived the early game, looted enough supplies to confidently engage in fights and are either holding specific compounds, driving for Air Drops or moving to more strategic locations.
8. Use quality earphones, always watch for enemy and zone movements closely
Never play PUBG with your smartphone speakers. Even if it’s a stereo speaker phone, it’s difficult to distinguish accurately if the sound is coming from the left or right side. Even cheap earphones will do the job. Next is to have a good sense of the map — the next blue zone, probable enemy locations, air drops, etc. Learn to use the Compass, Eye and the Map Overview features effectively.
9. Always communicate and stick with your squad
Four players on their own solo quest is not a squad match! There’s so much synergy in playing as a squad together. From sharing information on supplies and enemy movements to planning an efficient squad wipe, squad coordination is key. If you are playing in a location where you can’t turn on the voice chat, at least communicate using the in-game text chat. And always stick with your teammates. Even the greatest solo player needs his teammate to revive him.
10. Kill to upgrade loot
By this stage, most of the popular locations have been looted, hence you can’t upgrade by looting the same locations again. Or worst, you’ll run into a camping enemy squad. Your only chance to upgrade is by chasing Air Drops or by engaging with another squad. Squads who choose to survive mid-game by camping will end up with poor quality loot in the end game and stand no chance at winning the Chicken Dinner. Also as discussed earlier, squads will be holding on to the strategic compounds at this stage, hence always scope out the buildings for any sign of enemies before you go running in.
11. Shift from one strategic location to the next
In addition to upgrading loot by engaging with other squads, the other main aim during the mid-game is to hold strategic compounds when picking fire with enemies and constant shifting to more strategic locations based on the blue zone movements. Always favour locations which are at a higher elevation and slightly towards the centre of the current zone, so you may not have to shift locations every time the blue zone moves.
12. Always take cover before engaging, use a Ghillie suit and less-shiny skins
PUBG Classic is not TDM! There’s no respawning back into the game. Hence never open fire at the enemy without cover. If you are going to pick up a direct fight, at least ensure that your teammates are around to revive you in case you get knocked out. Other related tips being — always smoke before looting death crates or airdrops, always fire the flare gun at the edge of the circle. A flare attracts too much attention and it’s very tough to watch out for incoming enemies from all directions.
13. Organize your squad into squad roles
Use the following squad roles to organize your squad better.
The Squad Leader — They are the most experienced and makes the major decisions in the game. They play the role of the Scout and gives commands to the teammates regarding the next course of action.
The Sniper — They scope out for enemies at much larger distances and relays the information to the squad leader. Also, they are the most experienced with Bolt-action rifles and are capable of swiftly taking out enemies with headshots.
The Fragger — They are the most skilled when it comes to combat and are the first to advance into an enemy territory during a flank.
The Support — They support the team in every which way possible, taking commands directly from the Squad Leader. In case of an enemy flanking, while the Sniper waits it out, the Squad Leader follows the Fragger and the Support follows right behind the Squad Leader. A support also carries supplies for the squad and doubles up as the driver, leaving the other teammates to scope-out, strategize, heal health or do a drive-by while travelling in the vehicle.
14. Choose a right weapon combo based on your squad role
Once you identify your squad role, then the choice of weapons narrows down drastically.
The Sniper — You are primarily focused on enemy movements in the long range. A combination of 5.56mm AR (M416, QBZ) and a bolt-action Sniper Rifle (M24, Kar98) with a Silencer and a 6/8x scope attachment works best. You could also combine a bolt-action Sniper with a DMR (SLR, QBU) if you want to take your sniper role too seriously.
The Fragger — Two 7.62 mm ARs (AKM, Beryl M762), with Compensators and Quickdraw Extended Mags, is the ideal weapon combo so you can switch over to the other weapon once the magazine is exhausted in one, instead of reloading during the critical moments.
The Squad Leader — A 7.62mm + 5.56 mm AR combo works best for the Squad Leader as you not only have to scout for enemies in the long range but also must assist the Fragger in flanking the enemies.
The Support — You will only get involved in very close-range fights, in cases where the Squad Leader or Fragger is knocked-out, hence a combination of 7.62 mm AR + a SMG/ short gun (UZI or S12) based on his level of comfort with a close-combat weapon is the perfect weapon choice.
All the weapons I’ve mentioned in the brackets are the best in class, but the Air Drop weapons (AWM, Mk14, Groza, M249 and AUG) have precedence over them all.
15. Understand the PUBG scoring system to gain maximum points
Still even a lot of good players believe that having a higher K/D ratio or dropping into Sanhok’s Bootcamp to get a lot of kills will help them push ranks. But they can’t be further away from the truth. PUBG is a survival game, which is clearly reflected in their scoring system. After each match, a player is rated B, B+, A, A+, S, S+, Ss, Ss+, SSS based on 5 parameters, viz:
Kills — Total enemy kills or enemy damages dealt in the match
Damage — How much damage was dealt to you by the enemies. Points are credit at the start of the match and subtracted through the match
Support — How much health was restored and how many times your revived your teammates. Some players stay at the edge of the blue zone to get zone damage and heal up to improve their points.
Supplies — This includes a score based on both the quality and quantity of your loot
Survival — This is the most important and is weighted disproportionately of all the 5 parameters. It includes your total survival time and how many enemies died around you while you were still alive (i.e. did you reach Top 20, Top 10, Top 3). This carries nearly twice the weightage as other parameters.
End Game
The end game in PUBG Mobile is very different from the early stages of the game. You are forced to share a small area with multiple highly skilled squad, and all players are heavily equipped at this point.
16. In the final zones don’t drive, don’t loot, and hold fire
In the final zones, there are too many enemy squads in close proximity to you. Looting or driving in open spaces will easily reveal your squad’s location. Hide the vehicles by parking them inside buildings. And do not pick a mid-distance battle with the enemies as it will drag on and attract everyone’s attention. Only fire at the enemy if you are too close or snipe them from a far-away location.
17. Use smokes to advance into the next Safe Zone
A situation may arise wherein irrespective proper planning and holding a strategic location, it so happens that you are outside the next safe zone. In such cases, use all the smoke grenades to advance into the next zone, especially in an open field zone. Smokes could also be used to confuse enemies.
18. Now is the time to exhaust all your health supplies
Your health must always be at 100% during the end game. Generously use all the First Aid kits, Energy drinks and Pain Killers. That will prevent you from getting knocked out directly. There won’t be much time for reviving during the end game. Also reviving makes the entire squad very vulnerable.
19. Use grenades generously, switch over to stealth gameplay
Congratulations on making it to the Top 10. The primary aim now is to hold fire and locate the multiple enemy squads hiding around you. Take cover behind hard surfaces. If case of an open field, blast your vehicles to take cover or at least go prone on the ground. Firing at one enemy will reveal your location to everyone alive. Hence frag grenades are your best combat weapon at this stage. Remember to pre-cook the grenades before tossing!
20. Spread out your squad
At this point, since enemies will also be throwing grenades, it’s a disaster for your entire squad to hide behind a single rock. Hence spread out as much as possible, especially in the last few zones. A few teammates can provide cover fire from a different location and distract the enemies while the remaining teammates can take down the last few enemies alive.
Bonus Tip!
Thanks for making it to the end of the article. I have a bonus tip for you! Screen record all your matches. Just long hours of pointless playing isn’t going to improve one’s in-game skills. Try out new strategies and don’t proceed into the next match without reviewing the previous one.
I wish you all the best for your rank-pushing journey. OP!
