The newest patch spent just a day on test servers before going live earlier today, and fans quickly noticed that amongst the smaller issues it addresses, the update decreases item spawn levels on the starting island. This refers to live rounds of actual gameplay and not the opening lobby where players can grab weapons like the Groza or the 9 mm VSS sniper rifle and various tools before boarding the plane.

While this will certainly be frustrating news for some, the change isn’t without reason. Developers chose to decrease spawn rates on the island in order to adjust the balance on the Northeast side of Erangel and attempt to level out gameplay. Some PUBG players would jump out of the plane and locate a boat, and then immediately head to the island in the Northeast corner of the map. Reportedly, the loot on the island would alter the loot table in surrounding areas. Players would then collect enough healing items, weapons, and protective gear to hop back into the action on the main island with the blue wall as their only real threat. This tweak fixes that.

A handful of bug fixes came with the update, including the elimination of the flame animation that would occur in the plane when a player was on fire from being struck by a molotov cocktail. This change means players will no longer see a trail of fire shooting out from the back of the plane. Find the full patch notes below:

Gameplay

Decreased the Starting Island item spawn levels in order to adjust the item balance on the Northeast side of Erangel

Bug fixes

Eliminated the fire animation and effect that occured in the Starting Airplane when a player was on fire from a molotov cocktail Fixed a bug that enabled a character to hold a main weapon and frying pan simultaneously Fixed a spectator mode bug of flickering weapon UI icons

This patch is the final live update for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds until version 1.0 is unveiled later this year alongside the Xbox Game Preview build for the Xbox One console. Bluehole does, however, have test servers for vaulting, climbing, and a new desert map planned as the game’s two million players wait for the title to launch in full.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available now on PC in Early Access and will launch on Xbox One in 2017.

Source: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds