PUBG Season 4 out August 27: 4.1 update adds Aftermath Survivor Pass, co-op missions and over 100 new rewards

PUBG Season 4 will finally be released on August 27 on console, so let's take a look at what's been added and how the new co-op mission system works.

You can now purchase the Survivor Pass: Aftermath on Steam for £7.49, which comes with new missions and rewards to unlock. Erangel has had a visual makeover, with refreshed buildings, new complexes and updated graphics, amongst other yet unknown surprises.

The Military Base, Quarry and Mansion are just some of the buildings to have had an overhaul, and new trenches, blast marks and abandoned tanks have been added across the map "to better illustrate Erangel's history."

Aftermath's new co-op mission system will allow you to work with other players to complete mission goals and earn more rewards. You can also use BP to swap out up to three daily or weekly missions, though if you complete three daily missions, you'll be able to use 1500 BP to buy three more missions.

You can view the mission progress gauge from the Mission tab and you'll get rewards for each step that is completed. There are daily and weekly missions, as well as the seasonal missions and Survivor Pass missions, so there's loads to be getting on with.

Aftermath runs from July 23 until October 15, so there's plenty of time to jump in and net yourself some cool rewards. You'll also be able to purchase level-up items in that will boost you up to 50 levels should you want to avoid much of the grind.

Missions will reset every Wednesday at 7 pm PDT/ 10 pm ET/ 3 am BST, so keep checking each week for new activities.

Any previous Survival Points you earned will automatically be transferred into the new season, and you'll be able to earn more in the Erangel, Miramar and Vikendi maps.

Several weapons and items have been buffed and nerfed, such as increased effective damage over distance for all SMGs and reduced maximum bullet travel distance of all shotguns from 1000 m to 150m. You can check out the major changes in the patch notes below.

Console players will have to wait a little longer for Season 4, so check back for an update soon.

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PUBG Season 4: 4.1 patch notes

Weapon and item balance

• Buffs
• Increased base damage of Kar98k from 75 to 79.
• Increased per pellet base damage of S12K from 22 to 24.
• Increased per pellet base damage of Sawed-off from 20 to 22.
• Increased per pellet base damage of S686, S1897 from 24 to 26.
• Increased effective damage over distance for all SMGs.
• Slightly increased damage multipliers for SMGs:
• Torso 1.05 (previously 1.0), Limb 1.3 (previously 1.25).
• Increased damage multipliers for Crossbow:
• Torso 1.4 (previously 1.0), Limb 1.2 (previously 0.9).
• ADS zoom for default crossbow sight increased by 3%.
• Laser sight attachment dispersion multiplier for pistols was decreased from 0.5 to 0.3 (non-ads shooting with pistols will now be 70% more accurate when laser is attached).
• Nerfs
• Reduced base damage of M24 from 79 to 75.
• Reduced base damage of Beryl M762 from 47 to 46.
• Reduced base damage of AKM and Groza from 49 to 47.
• Reduced base damage of M416, G36, QBZ, SCAR-L and AUG from 43 to 41.
• Reduced maximum bullet travel distance of all shotguns from 1000 m to 150 m.
• Changes
• Duckbill attachment now distributes bullets vertically instead of horizontally.
• Crossbow will now have a visible tracer following the trajectory of the bolt for easier aiming.
• Added top rail to Uzi to allow Red Dot and Holographic Sights attachments.

Vehicle balance

• Buffs
• Improved handling of RWD vehicles (Buggy, Mirado, Rony, Motorbike, Snowbike, Snowmobile, Scooter, Tukshai).
• Regular and three-seater motorbikes stabilization improved.
• Increased maximum speed of Scooter from 90 to 105 kph.
• Greatly improved handling of Buggy and Increased Buggy’s wheels durability by 50%.
• Increased max speed of Buggy from 92/115 to 100/125 kph (no boost/boost).
• Increased HP of UAZ from 900 to 1200.
• Increased HP of Tukshai from 500 to 1000 as well as increased max speed of Tukshai from 70 to 85.
• Nerfs
• Decreased HP of Mirado from 1000 to 900.
• All motorbikes will now consume roughly 50% more fuel than before.
• Decreased acceleration and boost multiplier rate for Dacia. Maximum speed will stay the same.
• Dacia and Mirado vehicles speed will now be reduced by around 15% when driving on surfaces like sand, mud, grass, dirt.
• When driving on rocky surface with any vehicle, friction will be decreased by 10% making them more difficult to control.
• Introduced BRDM-2 specific vehicle damage modifiers per game mode.
• Increased damage taken in Solo mode by 80%.
• Increased damage taken in Duo mode by 40%.
• Changes
• Implemented new Buggy and Mirado sounds.
• Visual effect while using boost has been removed and replaced with high RPM engine sounds.
• Improved aiming while inside vehicles to be more steady.
• Improved the FPP camera view inside most vehicles.
• Added auto-acceleration to vehicles (identical to auto-run feature)
• Auto-Acceleration can be activated with ‘=’ key just like auto-run.
• Added “locking” mechanism to BRDM-2.
• Only teammates will be able to enter BRDM-2.
• When all teammates exit the BRDM-2, it will unlock, allowing any player to enter.
• Added Car Audio feature to play preset music while inside a car.
• Only the driver can control this feature.
• Car audio will stay turned on even after players exit the vehicle.
• Turning the audio On/Off while inside a vehicle will play random music every time.
• Use F5 key to play or stop the music, Use F6 to change music. The mouse wheel can be used to control music volume.
• Music will stop playing automatically after a full song.
• Music can be stopped by destroying or flooding the vehicle.

Healing and Boost item improvements

• Healing and boost items can now be used while moving.
• You’ll be limited to walking speed only.
• Press the use or run/jump keys to cancel healing/boosting.
• Bandages will now be used continuously until the player fully heals to the maximum of 75% health, or runs out of bandages, without the need to manually use bandages multiple times.
• Press the use or run/jump keys to cancel healing.
• First Aid Kits can no longer heal additional damage you receive after the healing starts.
• Previously, if damage was taken after the 2-second healing period had started, any additional damage received would be healed if the total healing amount was still 75% or less.
• Med Kits and Adrenaline Syringes now stack in the inventory, rather than occupying one inventory space per item held.

Visual Effects improvements

• Optimized and reworked the visuals of the Molotov Cocktail.
• Optimized and improved weapon and vehicle shaders.
• Optimized and improved Frag Grenade explosion effects.
• Different effects will be used depending on the surface the Frag Grenade explodes upon.
• Optimized and differentiated muzzle flash effects for each weapon.

Radio message marker distance adjustment

• The maximum range of automatic marker placement using Radio Messages has been reduced from 500m to 300m.

Implemented solution to alleviate FPS affecting rate of fire

• In February, we announced our plans and begun testing a solution to help alleviate FPS Affecting RoF. From the results of the testing period and after additional development work, we’re now adding the solution to the live server.
• Weapon rate-of-fire is now less affected by FPS.
• Improved rate-of-fire consistency at low FPS.

Erangel Blue Zone balance changes

• We’re making changes to the Blue Zone on Erangel thanks to player feedback and changes in gameplay since the most recent Erangel rebalance. The experimental Blue Zone was trialed on the test server during the Erangel Visual Update, and based on player feedback we have applied a few more adjustments.
• The size of the safe zone in early phases has been reduced.
• Blue Zone waiting time in early and mid-game phases has been reduced.
• Movement speed of the Blue Zone during some mid and late phases has been decreased.
• Blue Zone waiting time for the final phase has been reduced.

Turntable added to Erangel

• Added a new playable Turntable which can be found across Erangel.
• Turntables are spawned randomly on Erangel. Press the use key to turn the music on/off.
• Turntables can be destroyed.
• Music played on the Turntable can be heard by all nearby players.
• Music will stop playing automatically after one song.

Character Customize tab UI update

• Customize tab UI update
• Removed sub-tabs and re-categorized various elements under the customize tab.
• Changed default sorting order of items by quality grade (previously date acquired).
• Newly acquired items appear first temporarily until the notification is acknowledged.
• When acquiring new items you’re now prompted to go directly to the customize tab by clicking the button on the popup.
• New categories added:
• Vehicle: New vehicle skins have been added.
• Utility: Inventory is now located in Utility.
• Menu background and character rendering
• Effects have been improved to better fit the lobby background.

Store UI improvements

• Added the Survivor Pass 4 page, where you can access the pass details page, purchase page, and pass progress.
• When purchasing an item in the store, you can go directly to the category screen of that item in the customize tab by clicking the button on the popup.

Weapon Mastery UI improvements

• Improved UI elements such as icons and other aspects of the layout in the Mastery tab.
• The Last Match Report notification at the upper right side of the lobby will no longer show if no Weapon Mastery XP is earned in the last match.
• Time bonus values, which were incorrectly displayed in the match result screen, have been fixed.

Plane and Wheel UI improved

• Plane map UI now resizes dynamically when zooming in the map.
• Wheel size has been reduced, and its location has been moved from the center to the right side of the screen.
• Wheel responsiveness has been improved.
• Mouse direction indicator has been added to the center of the wheel.
• Removed screen blurring effect around the wheel UI.
• Order of items inside the healing wheel UI have been changed.
• Total emote wheel slots reduced from 12 to 8.

Matchmaking system update

With this update, we made some significant changes to matchmaking. We have been working to resolve issues around extended matchmaking times in some regions and have made a number of improvements to allow players, and the system, to adapt to regionally specific needs.For more details on the matchmaking system update, please refer to our Dev Letter: Matchmaking System Update.

• NA Region
• Due to some difficulties players have experienced with lengthy matchmaking times, we’ve altered the map selection options available and made some additional changes to improve matchmaking times.
• 1. Featured Map option + Random Map option
• A featured map option will be available temporarily with the release of the Erangel Visual Update, alongside the random map option, which is an equal chance of the remaining 3 maps.
• After the initial Erangel Visual Update release period, the featured map option will be removed, with only the random map option available.
• In situations of extended matchmaking times, players will be prompted with the option of switching to another mode or region.
• 2. Preset Match
• A new match option “preset match” will be provided, allowing players to select the map they wish to play.
• Random Squad is only available in Preset Match, so you won’t be able to enter these matches as pre-made team.
• “Preset match” consists of 8 total sessions which include one for each perspective and map in squad mode.
• TPP / Squad / 4 maps (Total of 4 sessions).
• FPP / Squad / 4 maps (Total of 4 sessions).
• There is no lobby in the “preset match”. Once 80 players have joined, players will head directly to the in-game lobby.
• The session will wait 2 minutes for additional players once the in-game lobby has been created.
• When the match starts, a new session will be created in the preset match list.
• “Preset match” uses standard game settings and players can still earn rewards and progression through all systems, as they would with a standard match.
• OC, LATAM (SA) Regions
• These regions have been experiencing a severely impacted matchmaking experience.
• Only random map selection will be available to help facilitate healthy matchmaking times.
• Maps are randomly selected with an equal chance among the 4 available.
• If players experience lengthy matchmaking times due to an insufficient matching pool, a prompt will allow players to switch to another region or mode for a faster matchmaking time.

World

• eflecting player feedback, the chance of Moonlight weather on Vikendi has been reduced to the percentage chance it had prior to the recent increase.
• In celebration of PUBG Nations Cup to be held from August 9 to 11, 2019, at Jangchung Arena, Seoul, we’ve made added various themed elements to the game!
• PUBG Nations Cup decals, billboards, signs and a plane banner have been added.
• For detailed information about PUBG Nations Cup, please visit the official PUBG Esports website.

Skins and items

• PUBG Nations Cup Frying Pan has been released!
• PUBG Nations Cup Pan sales will be available from after July-31 live server maintenance, until August 14th (KST).
• PUBG Nations Cup Pan will be available for $9.99 USD (price may vary slightly regionally).

Performance

• Map loading speed has been improved.
• Improvements have been made to reduce instances of hitching/stuttering.
• Optimized calculation of character movement outside the player field of view to improve performance.

Replay

• The replay version has been updated. Past version replay files are now unavailable for use.

Custom match

• Observer UI has been improved in the following areas:
• Killfeed
• Damage UI
• Team and player list
• Name layout and tags

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where map boundary collision could prevent the parachute from deploying.
• Fixed an issue where smoke grenades could float above the ground in specific situations.
• Fixed an issue where teammate UI wasn’t displayed correctly in Platoon Mode custom matches.
• Fixed an issue where Care Packages could fall outside the playable area.
• Fixed an issue where the exact dropped location of Care Packages could be marked by using markers deployed with the Radio Message system while the Care Package was mid-air.
• Fixed an issue where players could enter the BRDM-2 at speeds higher than intended, without receiving damage.
• Fixed an issue which could cause players to receive damage unintentionally when exiting a vehicle in water.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the R1895 animation to be played on another weapon in specific situations in FPP.
• Fixed issue where the Extended Quickdraw mag did not properly improve the reload time for the Tommy Gun and Vector.
• Fixed an issue where players behind walls could be damaged by vehicles in specific situations.
• Fixed an issue where the reload animation could be cancelled, yet still allow a full reload, when dropping other equipped weapons.
• Fixed an issue where certain sounds from other players could be heard when observing and switching between teammates.
• Fixed an issue of missing empty shells when reloading the AWM and M24.
• Fixed an issue where the reloading sound from Scorpion and Deagle sounds louder than other handguns.
• Fixed an issue where players could not ledge grab/vault certain slanted object/terrain on Erangel
• Fixed an issue where mode/region change message would not show to players if not matched into a game within 3 minutes
• Fixed an issue where map images and content did not appear in replays of matches on the visually updated Erangel
• Fixed an issue when riding on a motorbike with sidecar, character’s head would be invisible in the death cam/replay
• Fixed an issue where wall collision was missing in certain locations in Hacienda del Patron on Miramar
• Fixed an issue where a level 3 backpack skin was displayed when equipping a certain level 2 backpack skin
• Fixed an issue of no shell auto-ejection when swapping to the S1987 after firing a weapon
• Fixed a graphical issue within certain buildings of Vikendi
• Fixed an issue where collision was missing in certain building walls of Paradise Resort on Sanhok
• Fixed an issue where a player’s health would not refresh when low in observer mode.
• Fixed an issue where ‘Play Duos with a Friend’ mission would not complete in FPP mode.
• Fixed an issue which prevented the character’s head from appearing when moving to the Survivor Pass screen immediately after accessing the lobby
• Fixed an issue in a duo/squad where would the team would display as unready after viewing the Survivor Pass, even if readied up
• Fixed an issue where ‘Pass page > Level Progress Bar UI’ was not displayed normally in some languages
• Fixed an issue where ‘Use Energy Drink’ mission could be completed by using a Painkiller
• Fixed an issue where the howling wind sounds from Vikendi could sometimes be heard on the visually updated Erangel
• Fixed an issue which caused certain low LOD models to display momentarily after scoping in/out.