PUBG: Battlegrounds has always prided itself on its status as a more 'hardcore' battle royale - it's a sentiment that many players are drawn to, eager to prove their abilities or just to take a break from the competitors that are constantly adding new modes, intellectual properties, and concerts.
The game's switch to become free-to-play has seen many new players come and go, but for those wanting to stick around and become one of the best pan-slinging maniacs on the battlegrounds, this guide will help get them started on the right foot by maximizing their chances of going against bots.
Why Play Against Bots?
It's no secret that PUBG: Battlegrounds is one of the oldest battle royale games on the market, helping to popularize the trend in the first place. An older game means a more experienced player base, and it can be frustrating to constantly lose to players with a level in high hundreds.
Bots, while not programmed perfectly, can allow players to have fun in PUBG: Battlegrounds and learn which guns they prefer in a relatively stress-free environment - they're also guaranteed to not be cheaters, which certainly helps!
How To Recognize Bots
While PUBG: Battlegrounds' bots are useful for honing a player's skills, they still act unlike any player would, and as such can be recognized by the following behaviors:
- Fatal Curiosity: Bots will always rush to any loud noises, such as unsilenced gunshots, glass breaking, and car horns.
- Strange Usernames: Players have odd names too, but bots almost always have an underscore somewhere in their names.
- Lone Wolves: Bots very rarely stick with their teammates - they almost always travel alone.
- Heavy: Strangely, it is extremely rare to see a bot jump for any reason.
- Plain Strange: After being shot, bots will freeze up for a second before running to cover.
- Bloodthirsty: If the player is hiding in cover, bots will begin pushing to flush them out after a few seconds.
- No License: Bots never use vehicles - if players hear or see a vehicle moving, it's being driven by a player.
Casual Mode
There's no shame in playing casual mode - all players must start somewhere, and with PUBG: Battlegrounds offering three casual games a day, players can take advantage of them to easily find a game that is guaranteed to have 12 real players or less, with the rest of the slots being filled by bots.
Casual matches do have the following caveats that players should be aware of, however:
- There is no level limit to joining Casual games - enemy players may be a very high level.
- Casual games always take place on the largest possible maps.
- Casual games are all in TPP (Third-Person Perspective)
- Casual matches can be played with friends, and likewise, enemy players can join the mode in squads.
- Casual matches are best played at non-peak times to minimize the number of real enemy players.
Turn Off Crossplay
This strategy works best for console players, but can still help all players get into a match where the majority of enemies are bots. Crossplay is on by default, and can be switched off by navigating into settings and disabling the 'cross play' option in the gameplay tab.
Note that switching off cross play will greatly increase matchmaking times, but a bot match is usually created after just five minutes of matchmaking.
PUBG: Battlegrounds is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.