Developer Letter: SMG Rebalancing – NEWS

Hello players!

Today's developer letter looks at the SMG rebalance introduced via Gunplay Labs with patch 28.2. Following Gunplay Labs, we engaged in in-depth discussions, analyzing the metrics accumulated in-game and the feedback provided in the survey.

For Update 30.1, our main goal is to refine each weapon in the SMG category, ensuring that each has unique characteristics. We believe that SMGs, with proper tuning, have the potential to meet the needs of players of all skill levels, providing decent damage and low knockback. The JS9 on Rondo illustrates this potential, prompting us to rebalance SMGs to ensure they have distinct traits and improved effectiveness, rather than remaining less favored options.

Through the Developer Letter: Gunplay 2023, we shared our plan to closely observe and develop non-traditional weapons, ensuring that each has a unique identity and functionality. The SMG Rebalance is part of this initiative and we believe sharing our thought process is meaningful.

As part of our commitment to delivering Gunplay updates that resonate with the community in 2024, we'd like to share our thoughts with you and explain how your valuable feedback has been incorporated into Update 30.1.

Exploring the intentions behind Gunplay Labs

Previously, SMGs had a 2.2% kill rate, making them the least used weapons, excluding some weapons like sidearms and the crossbow. While this may vary on maps where SMGs are used more frequently, such as Sanhok, similar trends were observed when analyzing other metrics regarding maps, MMR segments, and phases. This data led us to recognize that the problem extended beyond a few specific weapons, indicating the need for adjustments across the entire SMG category.

Through Gunplay Labs, our goal was to adjust various aspects of most SMGs, such as movement speed, recoil, damage, and ranged damage, to determine if individual weapons needed to be rebalanced. However, we excluded weapons that already performed well in the SMG category, like the JS9 and MP9. For the MP5K, we sought to improve its performance since its efficiency varied depending on the number of accessories while maintaining a decent utilization rate.

Last March, we sought to provide this context to the community when implementing Gunplay Labs updates. Weapons are an integral part of PUBG's gameplay, and our goal was to allow players from diverse backgrounds to experience the changes to the gun game. Additionally, we aimed to validate and refine the SMG rebalance through multiple channels, including proactive Arcade updates, community surveys, and discussions with key partners and Esports stakeholders.

Post-gunplay labs on SMGs

In Gunplay Labs, SMG kill rate increased from 2.2% to 18.3%, while win rate ranged between 50% and 53%. These metrics indicate that Gunplay Labs has fostered an environment conducive to collecting a significant amount of data for meaningful analysis, driven by player interest in testing shooter adjustments. However, we analyzed these results knowing that this might be a temporary spike for testing purposes.

In the case of the JS9 and MP9, which performed well without individual adjustments, player perception seems to be an important factor. Since they maintained their performance after the rebalance, we felt no further adjustments were necessary. As for Vector, its usage rate and win percentage have increased in Gunplay Labs. Recognizing its unique characteristic of extremely high revs and high recoil, we decided not to improve it further. It became apparent that the additional buffs would only be for experienced players, so we are keeping Vector at its current performance level, allowing it to retain its distinct strengths and weaknesses.

Although we have worked to improve the unique characteristics of SMGs, we recognize the importance of maintaining a balance between weapon categories. Our goal was to ensure that SMGs did not overshadow ARs and DMRs, which offer greater versatility in mid-to-long range engagements and require a higher learning curve. As a result, we focused on the distance-based kill metric. Previously, SMGs shared the same damage reduction formula as ARs, which risked making SMGs overpowered even at ranges beyond 100m, especially in light of the SMG rebalance. The JS9 before the nerfs was a great example of this risk, prompting us to change the effective distance of SMGs in Patch 30.1 to maintain balance across all ranges. These adjustments are particularly noticeable at distances of 50 yards and beyond.

Additionally, we have increased the movement speed when using SMGs to accentuate their distinctive characteristics. The increased movement speed, matching that of an unarmored vehicle, will further emphasize the lightweight nature of SMGs. This change will also give SMGs an advantage over other weapon categories during engagements.

In response to feedback regarding ammo availability discrepancies compared to ARs and DMRs, we have standardized the ammo used by all SMGs worldwide to 9mm. This adjustment will make it more convenient to find ammo in the world, and it should be relatively easy to acquire the necessary ammo in later stages of the game if SMG usage increases. Additionally, you will benefit from the lighter weight of the 9mm cartridges compared to the .45 ACP.

And after

Even after the official introduction of SMG Rebalance, your commitment and ideas remain invaluable to us. As we've promised fortnightly updates on the shooter this year, we aim to respond to your feedback quickly. Depending on player responses, a follow-up update for the SMG rebalance could be implemented within a month or two.

Remaining attentive to your feedback, we are committed to our proactive approach to continuous improvement. Looking ahead, our goal is to cultivate an even more engaging and dynamic shooter experience, introducing new avenues of play and learning. We plan significant updates to various weapon categories in the future, building on the foundation laid by Gunplay Labs.

Stay tuned for further discussions on how we can improve future Gunplay Labs to better meet your needs and gather broader feedback.

PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Team