PUBG Mobile: 10 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn’t Tell You

1. Always Flank From Behind

As previously mentioned, one of the biggest gripes with PUBG Mobile is the controls.

As a result of not having the fine aiming capabilities of a mouse or the ability to swing a stick around to see behind you, if you get caught from behind, you are screwed.

There’s just no way to effectively turn around and take out the person gunning at you in time.

Because of this, you should always be trying to get behind anybody you see if the opportunity presents itself. It’s going to catch them off guard and almost guarantee they die before even having the ability to turn around and return fire.

PUBG Mobile just really doesn’t allow for fast movements, as players often need a couple finger swipes to turn around, instead of a flick like on console or PC. This is just one more thing that can give you a major advantage in a gunfight.

2. Re-Map Buttons To What Is Most Usable

Since you’re going to be working on such a small screen, everything is a bit of a cluster. As previously stated, you may find some things hiding under your thumbs or buttons might be too small and too close together. God bless those with big thumbs who are trying to play this game, as this may be a lifesaver.

You’re actually able to move around buttons to areas that will be most comfortable while playing. It’s an extremely useful feature considering the shoot and crouch buttons are painfully close to one another.

The amount of times you’ll accidentally fire off a few rounds instead of taking cover is probably already driving you mad, so go ahead and create some space between them so you don’t accidentally give away your position.

3. Try Out Gyroscope Controls (If You’re A Psychopath)

If for some reason you feel like making aiming that bit more complex, there’s an option to turn on gyroscope controls. These essentially give you a basic amount of motion controls with your phone.

It’s not going to be a drastic amount, as this isn’t the Wii. However, there will certainly be a range that you can look while moving your phone. Some people could find this useful, as it allows for a certain amount of fine aiming that using your fingers on the screen just doesn’t. It can also be switched to only trigger while in a scope, so you can use it specifically to fine aim.

Try it out for a game or two and see if you like it. In all honesty, you’ll barely notice it’s on for the most part if you play with stable hands. That little boost of fine aiming might just save your life though, so it can’t hurt to try.

4. Play While Plugged In

PUBG isn’t exactly the most demanding game in the world, but that’s not to say that it isn’t going to completely drain your phone’s battery. After playing my first match of PUBG mobile on a freshly fully-charged iPhone, on medium graphics, my phone was sitting at 50%.

One match of PUBG mobile ate exactly half of the phone’s charge, which means if you’re lucky you can get two games out of a single charge of your phone.

Not everyone is going to experience the same amount of battery drainage, but the best way to combat this is just having your phone plugged in while playing. It certainly seems like a no brainer, but it’s safer to warn than to go in without knowing.

Just imagine being in the final three and going for that chicken dinner with a racing heart and sweaty palms, all for your phone to die because it wasn’t charged enough or you didn’t have it plugged in. PUBG doesn’t display battery in-game, so play it safe and make sure you’re appreciating how quickly this game is going to kill your phone.

5. Use Free Look While Running To Avoid Being Caught Off Guard

While using that previous tip and auto running around the map, you’re going to be making yourself an easy target for other players. On PC you can free look while sprinting, allowing you to go in the same direction while keeping an eye on your six. This is still possible on mobile, although it’s hidden in plain sight.

To activate free look, you’re going to want to took in the top right corner of your screen for another TINY eye icon. You cannot simply tap on it to activate free look – instead you need to tap and drag to move the camera as you please, all while still going in the same direction.

This is essential to PUBG, to make sure you never get caught off guard by someone behind you. You’re going to be moving around a hell of a lot, so always be aware of as many incoming angles as possible.

6. Activate Auto Run

Auto-run is a pretty basic feature on other versions of PUBG, and it’s almost essential when you need to get from one area of the map to another – especially when covering long distances. How easy it is to activate on mobile may go over your head though, especially with your thumbs covering up a good portion of the screen.

To enable auto run in motion is pretty simple: When you push up to go forward, just KEEP your thumb moving up to where it’s in line with the tiny sprint icon next to the map. Once there you can let go, and you will be locked into a sprinting animation without having to constantly be pressing upward.

Also note that holstering your weapon by tapping on it again will make you run faster. Now get out there and run like the wind.

7. Your First Few Games Are Filled With Bots, So Learn The Ropes

One of the most interesting things to come out about PUBG Mobile is the fact that your first few games will be full of bots.

This is new for PUBG, as neither the console or PC versions feature A.I. whatsoever. The mobile version presumably does so to ease in newcomers, instead of having experienced players run all over them. The good news is as you play and progress, your games will be filled with more players than bots, and as you reach the end of the match it will usually only be real players.

The better news is that with this knowledge, you can use your first few games as a trial run. You can get used to the very wonky controls as well as shooting and aiming on such a small screen. Chances are, even as you mess around and get used to things, you’ll at least come very close to a chicken dinner.

Take advantage of the slow-paced first games against bots, and learn the best way to move forward as you face more challenging foes

8. Use Your Left Thumb To Shoot

One of the things PUBG Mobile falls victim to is not really allowing you to both shoot and aim very well at the same time – if you’re using your right thumb for both, anyway.

This will really screw you in a gunfight, so make a point of shooting using the additional fire buttons on both the right and left side of the screen.

The one on the left in particular is very easy to miss, as your left thumb will almost always be hiding that side of the screen. This may be a challenge for right hand dominant people, but using the left WILL save you.

9. Watch The Map To Track Gunfire

There’s multiple reasons you need to pay attention to the map in PUBG, all of which are going to help you survive longer.

For starters you need to know where the playing area is, this is a basic part of PUBG but if you have no spatial awareness you’re never going to get far.

Another reason you need to pay attention to the map is a reason specifically for PUBG Mobile. When people shoot near or around you, there’s going to be a notification on the map in the top right corner that will tell you which direction the sound came from. It’s orange and barely noticeable, so keep an eye out.

If someone is taking potshots and you don’t know where they are, this is going to save your life. Normally on PC or console, headphones would act as your saving grace, but on mobile, when most people will not be playing with headphones in and some may not even be playing with sound, this is a feature you must take advantage of.

10. Manually Activate Leaning

When you go into your first game, you may think that leaning – one of the most useful features in PUBG – is absent from the mobile version. It is present however – you just need to turn it on.

This should be the VERY first thing you do before even loading into a game. To enable leaning, go to the Settings using the small cog symbol and, well, enable it.

Having this on means you give any other player as little area as possible to shoot, whilst being able to pick them off no problem.

PUBG Mobile certainly has its own quirks that you’re going to need to master to reel in those chicken dinners left and right. But for a mobile game it’s not far off the original, and any fan of the previous versions will find themselves right at home.