Following the unveiling of a new climbing and vaulting feature two weeks ago, Bluehole will soon introduce more changes to its popular multiplayer online title PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, such as a fix for an item spawn bug, some balance changes to the game's loot balance system, and two new weapons.

Colloquially titled the "loot balance - first pass" patch, the upcoming PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds update fixes a bug where some items spawned more or less than intended. While not all items were affected by the bug, Bluehole decided that it was also necessary to adjust some items that were spawning too little or too much for the item's tiers. The studio states that it intends to continually improve the item looting system on a regular basis, and changes will be based on various data analysis and user feedback.

Beyond fixing the item spawn bug and re-balancing the spawn rate of various other items, the new patch also introduces two new weapons into the game. The first new weapon is called the Groza, which is a mean-looking 7.62 mm assault rifle that promises great stability and stopping power at close to medium ranges. This new gun will only be available via care packages and will replace the suppressed 9 mm VSS sniper rifle, which will now only spawn as a random drop in the game world. Lastly, a second new weapon called the P18C was added to random spawns, which is a 9 mm pistol with a fully automatic mode.

playerunknowns-battlegrounds-groza

Despite PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds still being an early access title, this new "loot balance - first pass" update will be the fourth monthly patch since the game was launched and the regular slew of updates has undoubtedly played a part in helping the multiplayer shooter sell 4 million copies in just three months. With the game scheduled to release at some point in 2017, we can certainly expect that sales number to climb even higher by the end of the year.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Bluehole can keep this momentum up when the full game is finally released, but with regular updates such as the "loot balance - first pass" patch, as well as major content updates like the upcoming zombie mode, it certainly appears PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will maintain its popularity for some time yet.

Here's are the patch notes for the latest PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds update:

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Loot Balance - First Pass - Changelog

Care Package

  • New weapon, the Groza, was added. This weapon may only be acquired in Care Packages.
  • VSS will no longer be found in Care Packages. It will remain to be spawned in the map.
  • At a low probability, you will be able to acquire AR Silencers and SR Silencers in Care Packages.
  • At a low probability, you will be able to acquire 4x Scopes in Care Packages.

World Spawn

  • New weapon, a 9mm pistol with full auto mode, the P18C, was added.
  • Spawn rate of SCAR-L was decreased to better fit the weapon’s tier.
  • Spawn rate of UMP was slightly decreased.
  • Spawn rate of UZI was slightly increased.
  • Level 1 Helmet was being spawned at a much higher rate than the Level 1 Vest, and the spawn rate was adjusted so that both items will be spawned at a similar rate.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is currently available in early access on PC, with an Xbox One and PS4 release planned for the future. Source: Steam