PUBG Mobile 0.17.0 Season 12 update now live: Top 5 new features

(Image credit: PUBG Mobile)

PUBG Mobile is celebrating its second anniversary and has released the new 0.17.0 version update for all players. The update brings back the Hardcore Mode along with amusement park mode, new weapons, death replay, and a new theme-- "2gether We Play".

The update weighs in at 1.69 GB on Android and 1.95 GB on iOS, so be sure to update your game to the latest version. Players updating their game before March 6 are entitled to 50 Silver coins, 2,888 Battle Points, and 3-day anniversary Pan skin.

Here are the top five new features of the PUBG Mobile 0.17.0 update.

PUBG Mobile 0.17.0 update Season 12: What's new

Amusement Park Mode

The developers have introduced a new Amusement Park Mode on the Erangel map that goes live from March 12. In the mode, three amusement parks will appear in Erangel with activities such as hunt game, space war, shooting range, and trampoline.

These amusement areas will also have arcade machines that players can interact with using tokens. Additionally, reverse bungee machines will spawn in these parks that will let players launch in the air and glide using a wingsuit.

(Image credit: PUBG Mobile)

DBS Shotgun added

The latest update adds DBS Shotgun, a double-barrel pump-action shotgun that can be obtained through airdrops. It can hold 14 rounds of 12 gauge ammo and features a faster reloading speed than other shotguns in the game. It can be equipped with holographic, red dot sight and 2x, 4x, and 6x scopes.

The DBS shotgun is perfect for close quarter combats and is very efficient in inflicting damage and reloading.

(Image credit: PUBG Mobile)

Royale Pass Season 12

PUBG Mobile's second anniversary also kicks-off the much-awaited Season 12 of the battle royale title and is themed "2gether We Play". The new Season offers Royale Pass reward upgrades that will allow players to choose between two sets of anniversary-themed items. 

Moreover, the shopping experience has been tuned with a new interface and support for vouchers. The game is also offering special bonus benefits for players who purchase the Royale Pass for Season 12 for the first time.

In addition to these, there are solo objectives and missions that players need to complete to collect rewards.

(Image credit: PUBG Mobile)

Hardcore Mode returns along with new Arctic Mode

Hardcore Mode is returning to PUBG Mobile with the latest 0.17.0 update. In this mode, players will have to do everything manually, from opening the door to picking up ammo for your weapons. To make the experience a tad bit exciting, there is no sound prompt if enemies approach you, so players need to keep their eyes open for surprise attacks.

There is a new Arctic map that's being added with the latest update under the EvoGround mode. The map is based in Vikendi, with players having to deal with arctic storms and keep themselves warm throughout the night. It's like a survival mode where players will have to gather branches and sticks to light a fire to fight the cold temperatures. 

The game will also allow players to hunt and cook chickens to keep the body temperature moderate. This mode also brings in drones for monitoring surrounding areas to develop tactical solutions for survival.

(Image credit: PUBG Mobile)

Death Replay, Universal Mark, Colourblind mode and more

The latest version of PUBG Mobile brings the much-awaited Death Replay feature that lets players witness their elimination from the round. It comes in handy for players who want to learn the mechanics of the game and keep an eye out for the last man standing in a better way moving forward.

Universal Mark will allow players to mark locations, supplies, and other such elements in the game for more natural communication.

The colorblind mode has been developed to provide more color options for in-game indicators.

PUBG Mobile 0.17.0: Changelog

Brothers in Arms Function

1. Through Brothers in Arms, veterans with rich game experience will guide and play together with rookies in the game. Rookies can learn from the veterans and master the game quickly, while the veterans can receive great rewards.

2. Players can enter the Brothers in Arms system and register as a Rookie or Veteran. Rookies send invitations to recommended Veterans, and Veterans who have enabled the Rookie Matching status will receive the invitation. The two will enter the battle after matching, which supports Classic mode rating calculations.

Firearm Balancing 

1. Slightly increased rifle burst mode rate of fire.

2. M16A4 balance adjustment: Slightly increased burst mode rate of fire and increased vertical and horizontal recoil.

3. Increased Mk47's single-shot damage from 46 to 48

Other Improvements 

1. Upgraded Dacia and UAZ models

2. Modified the UZI model: added an upper guide for equipping the Red Dot and Holographic Sight

3. Improved skydiving animation details, added parachute descending and disappearing effects when landing, and improved the character landing animation

4. Control Settings - Custom Layout Improvements: Increased maximum button size adjustability to 250%

5. Control Settings - New Custom Setting Feature: The left Fire button can be moved off of the edge of the screen as long as the center point of the button is on the screen

6. Improved the Molotov Cocktail flame particle effect

7. Improved the Frag Grenade blast effect on different surface materials

8. Added player standby emotes on all maps in Classic Mode, for example, Shivering emote in Vikendi.

9. The standby emote is only visible to the player and their teammates in battle.

10. Added a second confirmation to the Reset button in Custom Settings to prevent players from resetting the layout by mistake.

11. Removed the unnecessary virtual sound settings for vehicles. Fixed issues of Dacia idle volume being too low, Motorcycle idle volume being too high and Rony idle volume being too high.

Feature Improvements

Improved Bluetooth headphone latency on some Android models

Improved Performance

1. Improved vegetation and combat rendering efficiency for smoother gaming and lower power consumption

2. Improved low-level logic and UI efficiency on some Android models for lower power consumption at the same frame rate

3. Increased the combat frame rate of some low-end devices for a smoother gaming experience

4. Further improved the power consumption of some mid to high-end devices

5. Improved the frame length issue on some Android devices for smoother operating experience.

Effect Upgrade

Added support for streamers, plush, neon streamers, and better UI and fabric effects.

Added Team Reservation

1. Players with 50 or higher Synergy can send Team Reservation messages to friends in the game.

2. Players in the game can receive friends’ Team Reservation messages and choose to accept or decline.

3. When the reserved player returns to the Lobby, the system will send a notification to the two to team up.

Popularity Improvements

1. Added high-value gift “Airplane” with additional playback effect in player Spaces.

2. Added Message. Players can attach a message when sending Sports Cars or Airplanes, and the player who receives the message can perform Pin, Reply, Delete and other actions (Also added Block Message to Blacklist).

3. Added a Send Popularity Gifts function to the battle results interface of Teammate Spectating, EvoGround, and Team Deathmatch modes.

Synergy Feature Improvements

1. Improve Synergy through teaming up with or gifting coins among friends.

2. Some space gifts can also help improve Synergy upon sending to friends, which has no daily Intimacy increase limit.

3. Adjusted the proportion of Synergy increasing when sending gifts in Shop.

4. Fixed the issue of losing Connection application in some situations.

Radio Feature

1. Added chat item "Radio." Players can use Radio to post Radio messages with an exclusive effect on the World channel

2. Players can receive Radio messages in the main menu or in the World 2channel, or choose to block the Radio channel in Settings

Crew Challenge Upgrade

1. Player and crew verifications are required for players participating in Crew Challenge. Players in a crew need to link social platforms or complete in-game missions to increase their and their crew's verification points. Only crews that meet the corresponding verification requirements can advance to each phase of the Crew Challenge.

2. A fair and exciting game requires a safe environment. For Group and Finals phases, a security test is required before the game begins.

Bonus Challenge - Tournaments 

1. Experience the thrill of advancement: Daily Match -> Weekly Match -> Monthly Match competitions! Monthly match champions will advance to the online finals and compete for the opportunity to enter the offline finals or to watch the global finals at the venue and see well-known players in action!

2. Open daily to all: Six major divisions with matches every day

Esports Center

1. Added a landing page for players to find interesting content easily

2. Added Influencer & Crew options to the Video Center for players to follow their favorites, watch videos related to them, and send messages to them

3. Other Improvements: Increased loading speed for smoother experience.

4. Added legendary Golden Grenade Finish with Death Broadcast 

Inventory Improvements 

Added Close-Up View: The game will automatically switch to close-up view when players are trying on helmets, hats, glasses, masks, and backpacks

Rookie Mission 

Improved the 7 Day Rookie Missions tutorials and rewards 

Tutorial Improvements 

1. Removed the Graphics Quality Selection prompt in the tutorial. 

2. Changed the Tutorial options from three to two, and game type proficiency options from Shooting Game to Battle Royale Game 

Download Improvements 

1. Improved download status: When a download task is in the waiting queue, players can tap the task again to cancel the wait and restore the status to downloading.

2. Reset Resources Pack and Map Expansion Pack rewards, which can be collected after downloading.

Siddharth Chauhan
Siddharth Chauhan is the Consumer Technology Reporter at Digit India. He used to work as an Assistant Editor at TechRadar India