Krafton has released the full patch notes for PUBG Update 22.1 ahead of its release next week, introducing a new creature available only in Vikendi: Bears. Although these fiercely territorial creatures may look friendly from a distance, they are soft to the touch and will begin to attack if players are within a certain range. The upcoming update also brings the much-awaited Moonlight mode to Vikendi, a unique ambience that blooms within the frost-laced lands.
PUBG: Battlegrounds update 22.1 is set to go live on PC on February 15, followed by the console on February 23 after some short server maintenance. Bears awoken from hibernation will make their way to Vikendi to blow up bloody winds across the map. Players will be able to see bears dotted throughout the map, but should keep calm when a bear rushes toward them, as they can be killed. Vikendi will also receive another update with the return of Moonlight mode, which will bring an old favorite ambience to the snowy grounds.
The update also brings a new Thermal 4X Scope that allows players to detect snooping enemies without having to use infrared rays. It will be available only in Vikendi as a world spawn item. Additional content coming to the game next week includes weapon balance changes and vehicle adjustments. With the release of the 22.1 update, the ranked leaderboard will reset and players will receive their rewards based on their final tier from this season.
If you're eager to find out every improvement, bug fix, and new piece of content included in the update, you can check out the official 22.1 patch notes below for further details:
Live Maintenance Schedule
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PC
- PST: February 14, 4:30 PM – February 15, 12:30 AM
- CET: February 15, 1:30 AM – 9:30 AM
- KST: February 15, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
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Console
- PST: February 22, 8 PM – February 23, 4 AM
- CET: February 23, 5 AM – 1 PM
- KST: February 23, 1 PM – 9 PM
World
Vikendi
NEW CREATURE: BEAR
- Bears can be killed.
- Bears will begin to attack if you are within a certain range.
- Bear warning signs have been added throughout the map.
- Bear kill/damage stats will not reflect on your Profile Overview, Stats, Match History, Mastery, and End of Match screen.
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Available modes
- Bears reside in Vikendi only.
- Normal Matches, Custom Matches
THE RETURN OF MOONLIGHT
- Moonlight weather will appear randomly in matches.
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Available modes
- Only available in Vikendi.
- Normal Matches, Custom Matches
NEW SCOPE: THERMAL 4X SCOPE
Would you perhaps remember LABS: Thermal Scope Mode, where you had to fight in darkness using only infrared rays? Well we’ve collected your opinions based on our previous experimental mode and decided to add the popular feature to the snowy grounds: detect snooping players with the new THERMAL 4X SCOPE! (Shouldn’t it be your best friend in Moonlight weather?)
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The Thermal Scope utilizes heat signatures to help you detect obscured enemies more easily.
- This includes enemies hiding in smoke, darkness, brush, etc.
- The Thermal Scope is a world spawn item.
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Available modes
- Only available in Vikendi.
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Training Mode, Normal Matches, Custom Matches
- (PC) Available on every map through Sandbox Mode.
ADDITIONAL UPDATES
- Supply Drops have been added to Vikendi caves.
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To make the recently added natural disasters a bit more realistic, smoke and flame from throwables such as Smoke Grenades, Molotov, etc. will no longer work properly within the Blizzard Zone.
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Players who are caught on fire will also not receive damage within the Blizzard Zone.
- However, you will still receive initial damage when your body is hit with the Molotov.
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Players who are caught on fire will also not receive damage within the Blizzard Zone.
- We’ve noticed the friendly Folded Shields seemed a bit too hidden in the snow. We’re digging them out by increasing their spawn rate by approximately 172%.
- Item spawn spots have been increased in Train Station, Villa, Castle, and Winery to further richen looting experience in various parts of Vikendi.
KARAKIN
- Adjusted footstep and weapon sounds of the surface/underground so they sound more distinct from each other.
Gameplay
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Weapon Balance
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We’ll be balancing the Mk12 a bit this update. Our graphs on weapon loot rate, kill rate, etc. were showing us Mk12’s overperformance over its other DMR fellows. Therefore, we’ve decided to go ahead with some healthy balance changes and made sure to adjust the Mk12 so that it’ll still remain a helpful, hard-hitting weapon but not outshining other options too much.
- Damage: 51 -> 50
- Initial Bullet Speed: 930m/s -> 900m/s
- Recoil recovery: Reduced by approximately 6%.
- Recoil speed: Increased by approximately 2%.
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We’ll be balancing the Mk12 a bit this update. Our graphs on weapon loot rate, kill rate, etc. were showing us Mk12’s overperformance over its other DMR fellows. Therefore, we’ve decided to go ahead with some healthy balance changes and made sure to adjust the Mk12 so that it’ll still remain a helpful, hard-hitting weapon but not outshining other options too much.
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Weapon spawn balance
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We have adjusted the general spawn rates of 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons (AR, DMR, LMG only) to have them share similar spawn rates, and to provide more primary weapon options to our players.
- This spawn balance applies to every map and mode.
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We have adjusted the general spawn rates of 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons (AR, DMR, LMG only) to have them share similar spawn rates, and to provide more primary weapon options to our players.
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Vehicle adjustments
- Zima has been slightly sized up.
- Vehicle models with open roofs such as the UAZ, Mirado, and Pickup Truck have been removed as they made drivers/passengers a bit too vulnerable.
- Dacia and UAZ will now spawn in Taego.
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Trunks have been added to Pickup Trucks and UAZ.
- Capacity: 250
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An option to hide your in-game vest and belt has been added to settings.
- Inventory shortcut (Show/hide Vest/Belt) UI only available in PC.
Known Issue
- (Console) We are looking into the issue where the sounds of vehicles and certain weapons do not play on the Xbox platform. Sound optimizations are ongoing and will be reflected in Update 22.1 and 22.2.
Ranked – Season 22
A new challenging Season of Ranked – Season 22 has arrived this update.
- The leaderboard will reset after the Live Server maintenance.
- Check out your final Tier from the previous season through your Career page.
- TheParachute skin and Medals are permanent rewards.
- The rest of the obtainable rewards are available for use during a single Ranked season.
- Rewards can be found in your Inventory once Season 22 starts.
- Once Season 22 is over and the server undergoes maintenance, every reward but the Parachute and Medal will be withdrawn from your Edit Profile page.
Custom Match
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Intense Battle Royale mode has been added to Custom Matches. Enjoy that quick Chicken Dinner even more with friends!
- Min: 2 players, max: 16 players
- FPP/TPP both available.
- Maps are selectable among Erangel/Miramar/Taego/Deston, but the specific play areas within each map will be selected randomly.
- The new Moonlight weather/Bear/Thermal 4x Scope have been added to Vikendi’s Custom Match settings.
- Haven has been added to Custom Match.
UX/UI
- The preview for equipping item slots in Customize Lobby have been added.
Performance
- Optimized several in-game UI such as the health bar, blood effects when hit, Inventory, etc. to improve frame rates.
- Fixed several hitches (in-game footsteps, PUBG ID loadings, equipping weapon skins, etc.) to improve frame rates.
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The logic for interaction canceling in vehicles has been improved for certain in-game situations.
- This especially applies to low-end devices.
Bug Fixes
Gameplay
- General in-game bugs have been fixed.
- Improved the issue where you were unable to revive your knocked out teammate you were carrying.
- Fixed the issue where you are unable to see another player’s emote from within a certain range.
- Fixed the issue where a spectator is unable to see the Airboat’s boost effects.
- Fixed the issue where your body moves slowly out from the window when you’re shot from seats 2~4 in a Pickup Truck.
- Fixed the issue where your settings from Custom Match – Match Settings – DBNO Revive Time are not applied to your session.
- Fixed the issue where the area goes black within a certain range in the ocean.
- (PC) Fixed the spectating issue where you hear a specific ringing sound from the player you’re spectating but the sound persists even after switching to a different player.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where your perspective looks briefly awkward after you follow certain steps in FPP then switch to TPP.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where the screen is awkwardly displayed when you reaccess the game when you’re on an Emergency Pickup plane.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where your footsteps sound slightly louder when you sprint left/right/back when your movement speed is identical as normal walking.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where the sound is not played consecutively for Victory Dance 56.
World
- Fixed collision, texture, performance, and more general issues in Vikendi, Miramar, and Karakin.
- Fixed the issue where a loss of grass was discovered at a certain area in Sanhok.
- (Console) Fixed the issue where Tactical Trucks were attacking each other in Haven.
UX/UI
- Fixed the issue where the K2’s rail preview UI did not match its in-game UI.
- Fixed the issue where equipment such as the vest or helmet shown with red gauges in the Inventory show reversed red gauges when placed in the Drone’s inventory.
- Fixed the issue where the “Not enough space” UI shows up when a character with a full inventory (holding a Self-AED) gets knocked out in front of an item.
- Fixed the issue where only the player coming in first place is displayed on the results screen for both the host and observer in Custom Matches.
- Fixed the incorrect translation issue with the “Basic Killfeed Skin” and “Special Killfeed Skin” in Hideout – Weapon.
- Fixed the issue where the player who killed you is not shown on the report window in Arcade – Team Deathmatch.
- Fixed the issue where the progressive weapon item slot’s Lv.1 UI is not consistently displayed on the Step Up page.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where the menus weren’t working properly in the Event page.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where you are unable to separate your weapon skin stacks in Customize.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where the “Phase 1” label is displayed on the minimap when you’re waiting on the starting island.
- (PC) Fixed the issue where the Phoenix weapon item’s images are not shown in Steam – Item Inventory.
- (Console) Fixed the issue where the sound is not played when moving focus in Hideout – Scrap Broker.
- (Console) Fixed the UI issue of the next page of the pop-up that shows up when you Salvage a high-tier weapon skin.
Items & Skins
Clipping issue: Graphics that are shown outside the visible part of an image/object.
- Fixed the issue where a female character’s left arm goes transparent when equipping Handwraps with the Huya Biker Jacket.
- Fixed the clipping issue on the waist when a female character equips Dead by Daylight “The Legion” Jacket with Wasted Future Pants.
- Fixed the clipping issue on the head when a male character equips the Legend Status Hat.