‘PUBG: Battlegrounds’ introduces 1v1 training area, teleporting and giant ducks

An upcoming PUBG: Battlegrounds update will introduce a 1v1 training area into the battle royale game alongside other fixes and improvements.

Launching May 11 for PC and May 19 for consoles (and live now on the PC test server) the 17.2 update brings with it a new 1v1 training arena (via The Loadout).

Consisting of three 60-second matches, the new arena will see players able to train against friends or opponents found via the match-maker. Players will be equipped with basic equipment as well as two primary and one secondary weapons. These can not be changed once you’ve entered the arena.

“Other items such as ammo, heal items, and/or tactical gear will disappear from your inventory,” reads the patch notes.

Then it’s a straightforward fight to the death, with the first player to win two games crowned the victor. Players will also be able to watch other battles, as spectators “will enter the arena with no weapons/equipment in hand. However, you will have throwable apples.”

Update 17.2 is now available on PC Test Servers! Can you guess the new Survivor Pass theme by looking at this image? pic.twitter.com/kbXl90YYKW

— PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (@PUBG) May 3, 2022

Alongside the new arena, the 17.2 update will also add a teleport feature “to save time and create a more convenient experience for you all”.

Other features of the update include a better user interface for throwable weapons, a new loot recommendation feature, and the ability to use items while driving.

The next PUBG: Battlegrounds update will also include a variety of bug fixes, some giant rubber ducks (as a map decoration meaning “nothing will happen even if you attack the duck”) and a rebalancing of the mortar to “unlock its hidden potential.”

Check out the full patch notes here.

In other PUBG news, both the battle royale game and social media platform TikTok were allegedly banned in Afghanistan by the Taliban last month for “misleading the younger generation”.

Deputy spokesman of Afghanistan Inamullah Samangani said the Taliban had “received a lot of complaints about how the TikTok app and the PUBG game are wasting people’s time. The ministry of communications and information technology was ordered to remove the apps from internet servers and make them inaccessible to everyone in Afghanistan.”