It feels only yesterday when PUBG Season 9 went live, and now the battle royale is preparing to launch its tenth season. PUBG Corporation released an intense cinematic teaser trailer a few days ago as an announcement that Season 10 will go live on December 16 for PC and December 17 for consoles.
That being said, the Season 10 update has officially gone live on the test servers today, and the developer has published the patch notes containing new information about this upcoming season on PUBG’s official website, including details on the new, limited-time map.
The new map for Season 10 is called Haven, and it will come as a replacement to Paramo, the dynamic map from Season 9. The developer describes Haven as a dense urban map located in “an industrial island in the rust belt of America.”
It’s reportedly so dense that only 32 players can be supported at a time. According to the 10.1 patch notes, Haven is home to several districts, namely the Coal Yards, the Industrial Zone, the Carbon Steelworks Complex, the Docks, the Residential Zone, and the Overpass.
The Update 10.1 Patch Report is now live! Learn about Pillar and what you'll need to utilize and avoid, to survive the night in Haven. #PUBG #Season10 #Haven pic.twitter.com/jA92FvdZCi
— PUBG (@PUBG) December 9, 2020
Since Haven is a smaller, more vertical-oriented type of map, there are a couple of restrictions that have been implemented. For instance, only Duo and 1-Man Duo Modes can be supported, especially since there are fewer players than in a normal match. Consequently, a PUBG match in Haven would end faster as well.
In addition to that, the new map won’t be utilizing the typical bot players that we’re all so familiar with. Instead, the developer implemented a new AI-controlled group called the Pillar who isn’t happy that an unwelcome group of people are on their turf.
The Pillar will make things harder for the players, as there are armed soldiers situated in various areas of the map who will be keeping watch on the hidden supply caches. Just like any regular faction, the Pillar also has different levels of authority.
Primary members include guards and commanders, and they won’t hesitate to attack players upon sight. Not only that, but they can also request backup from scout helicopters. In turn, these scout helicopters will turn on their spotlights, which will attract the attention of the Pillar Tactical — solid armored vehicles that can inflict damage with bombs and/or guns.
If the player is in a high area and suddenly encounters a member of the Pillar, they can potentially escape by using emergency parachutes, which will allow them to safely glide away from potential death.
Among other things, Season 10 will also introduce a new Survivor Pass set that will end on March 24, 2021. There are also extra Mastery medals for players to collect, customization presets, a new ranked season, as well as updates to PUBG’s UI and matchmaking system.
All these updates come after the fact that Raven Software’s Art Director, Dave Curd, is now the Creative Director of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. He said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that he wanted to “make it easier for novices to transition to veterans” instead of trying to replicate other popular titles such as Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone.
