After bringing in the new G36C rifle, Tukshai vehicle, and dynamic weather system with PUBG Mobile Beta v0.11.5, and then over to the stable branch with the Royale Pass Season 6 update, Tencent is now rolling out another update in the Beta channel. PUBG Mobile Beta v0.12.0 update brings in a new companion "pet" system, a new "Darkest Night" Zombie mode, changes to the "Survive Till Dawn" Zombie mode such as a new RPG weapon, liquid nitrogen grenade, jungle-style double magazines, and new zombies including zombie dogs and more.

PUBG Mobile Beta v0.12.0

Official changelog for the update is as follows:

  • New Feature: MugenSpace / Infinity:
    • Replaces Event mode
    • Survive Till Dawn is now under Expansions
    • More new modes will be added in the future
    • New Infinity Mode: Darkest Night
      • Stay alive for one night while fighting zombies
      • All teams that are still alive at dawn will win
  • New Feature: Companion System:
    • Take a Companion into battle!
    • Enemies will not be able to see them, so there is no exposure risk
    • Earn Companion EXP by taking them into battle, and level them up to unlock Companion emotes
  • Survive Till Dawn Improvements:
    • Stun Grenades now also stun zombies
    • Added Liquid Nitrogen Grenades to freeze enemies and reduce their movement speed
    • Added jumping zombies and zombie dogs
    • Some zombies can now climb over low walls or onto the roof
    • Added RPG-7 and Jungle Style Magazines
    • Flamethrowers now deal more damage
    • M134 handling has been tuned
    • Zombies now move slower after being hit by firearms
  • Bug Fixes:
    • Fixed a bug where hair was not displayed correctly when equipping certain headgear
    • Fixed a bug where Season 6 Pants caused graphic glitches in certain footgear
    • Fixed a bug where doors were not displayed properly
    • Fixed a bug where players may get stuck in buildings in certain areas"

Observations

Companions

The main talking point of this update will likely be the Companion system. Companions are pets that accompany you into the battle for reasons best known to them. Only an Eagle/Kite is currently available as a companion in the game. The companion has levels up to 7, with each level needing 10,000 XP to upgrade and unlocking more animations. I could not locate XP mechanics of the Companions, but since this is a Beta, there was a "food crate" option for easy leveling up (which I guess will be a beta-only item to test out the system). The companion flies away when you are prone, and it thankfully is not visible to other players outside of your team, so it does not affect gameplay. The animations are jittery and buggy, but that can be attributed to the Beta nature of the feature. You can also disable the companion feature by unequipping it, in case you find a bird sitting on your shoulder distracting while you spray AK47 bullets at virtual enemies.

I am guessing there will be more companions in the future, probably with more species to act as "skins." The feature gives Tencent some more areas to monetize without affecting gameplay. Since these companions do not offer any advantage, are optional, and can be disabled, I am not judging the feature harshly

Zombie Mode Changes

First up, the original Resident Evil: Survive Till Dawn zombie mode is now seeing the addition of some more weapons and characters. We now have a rocket launcher in the form of the RPG-7. I did not encounter the RPG anywhere, but I had the unfortunate pleasure of being one-shot killed by one. The weapon appears to be overpowered in damage (but may compensate with a short-medium range), and comes with 6 rockets and iron sights. But since RPG-7 is restricted to the Zombie modes, it will not affect gameplay in the standard modes.

Other new weapons include an explosive crossbow, which shoots arrows that explode on impact, a liquid nitrogen mine, which is a throwable that will slow down the targets within a certain range of the mine, and a new jungle mag attachment. The jungle mag attachment is like a double extended magazine that loads in 60 bullets instead of the standard 30 mag. It can be attached to ARs but not to DMRs or the S12K, and it has been reported to be found only in elite zombie drops.

The new zombie mode "Darkest Night"/"Survive until the Rescue Arrives" is unlocked once you kill a lot of zombies in the other zombie mode and reach level 5 for the zombie modes. This mode drops you to a random spot on the Erangel map. You then have to survive other players and zombies until the extraction crew arrives. You can't leave the building at night since there is toxic gas which will sap your health (though the entire game features open windows everywhere, so I guess game logic wins over real-world physics again).

Other Changes

You can now customize the Red Dot, Holo Sight, 2X, and 3X zoom reticles with different colors and shapes. There might be more options available for the other zoom levels when this feature goes over to Stable. The Hip-fire crosshair also has more colors to choose from.

You can now also spectate friends from the lobby itself, and there is an option to disable this feature.

When you spectate enemies (after they kill you), you can send them friend requests.

The lobby image now features in the inventory panel, which hints that more lobby themes/images may be added as part of additional, purchasable crate content.

The Quick Chat panel is seeing a rework that both, makes it easier to issue commands, and hides a good part of the display. I could not get the feature to work in-game, so it remains to be seen if it is a practical improvement for gameplay. The Portable Closet is also seeing a similar rework.

When the player opens doors, the animation now uses the character's hands to push the door open, instead of magically opening the door through sheer willpower.

Download PUBG Mobile Beta v0.12.0

The latest Beta for Android and iOS devices can be downloaded from the following link:

Download PUBG Mobile Beta v0.12.0

The Beta version can be installed alongside the stable release. As this is a beta, bugs and issues are expected. You can report these issues using the Report button located in the top-right during matches, or by clicking the ^ button located in the bottom-right corner of the main menu and selecting Report. If you want to provide more detailed feedback, you can participate in the official survey. Users who do fill in the survey with honesty will be rewarded with 2500BP and a Premium Create coupon for their efforts.

We currently do not have information regarding updates to the stable version of PUBG Mobile. Not all changes that are currently being tested in the Beta will make their way to the next stable update, but they do eventually get incorporated. We will keep you updated as soon as we have new information.