PUBG PC test patch brings first big change to the blue zone since 1.0 launch

PUBG developer PUBG Corp is turning its attention to gameplay balance, now that version 1.0 is out the door.

The blue zone in PUBG is the mechanic that forces players to an ever-shrinking circle. How long it takes for the zone to shrink, and the speed of the movement are all factors that affect the pacing of the game.

Getting stuck outside the blue depletes your health, but sometimes you feel like you're always chasing it only to get shot in the back. As such, there are many opinions about some of the changes that could and should be made to some of the blue zone's values.

This is particularly true in the mid-late game phase, since this is when it does the most damage. PUBG Corp is looking into that, and has rolled out a new patch on test servers on PC that implements the first set of changes.

According to the developer, the goal is to more evenly balance the distribution of combat encounters in a match and decrease the element of chaos. These changes are all experimental, of course, hence the test server rollout.

Here's what the changes are:

• Slightly decreased the waiting time of the blue zones in mid-to-late phase of a match
• Slightly decreased the shrinking speed of the blue zones in mid-to-late phase (In this phase, blue zones will now move at a slower speed and the travel time of blue zones has slightly increased due to this change)
• Slightly increased the damage per second of the last blue zone

PUBG Corp plans to keep the changes on test servers for "several days" and make adjustments where necessary. This is just the beginning, too, as the developers notes it'll be making changes to other areas.