This article is part of a weekly blog series by our eGG-steemed writers, to share our progress playing your favourite games not only for fun but also to level up our mastery and understand your love for the game.
Well, guys, this is my last Getting Good post for PUBG Mobile at eGG Network, though my colleagues will eventually pick up where I left off today. And lo and behold, PUBG Mobile released its biggest update yet with 1.5 (Project Ignition) last week - perfect timing to write my final learnings from it. Time will tell which features of PUBG Mobile 1.5 will remain later, but for now, they do spice up the meta - well, as spicy as black pepper is - that keeps Tencent Games' mobile battle royale fresh. Finally, something to top off my venture into PMNC 2021 Solo.
Here's my personal experience of PUBG Mobile 1.5 with Blog Entry #8:
Mission Ignition's Erangel (which can be accessed from Evoground) boasts a plethora of new features. The most obvious one is the futuristic infrastructures erected in several key areas across the classic map, as well as the LRT, I mean, HyperLines (the map's first-ever public transportation) and Air Conveyors, allowing players to make long yet quick rotations.
First things first, the super clean and high tech structures in Transit Center (formerly Pochinki), Georgopol, Tech Center (formerly School), Security Center (formerly Military Base), Logistics Agency (formerly Yasnaya Polyana) and Energy Center (formerly Mylta Power) consist of expansive corridors and delicious good loot.
New areas are almost always hot spots, but they're even hotter this time with the top-tier gear they hold. Plus, unlike the narrow space in most buildings in Erangel, these futuristic ones hold vast hallways with little cover, making them riskier to fight in for both you and your enemies - truly high-risk high-reward places to drop into.
Nothing ruins one's fun than having to trek halfway across the map just to be in the safe zone, which is where the HyperLines and Air Conveyors come in. The former literally act like trains, with designated stops across the map with its own schedule. The first time my buddies and I got on one, we were enthralled by how cool it was. You can also shoot out the side windows of the HyperLines to pick off any helpless passersby you come across, though I didn't have the chance to do that. (sad reacts)
The Air Conveyors are similar to what we experienced in Season 18's Hundred Rhythms mode, which catapult you as high as 600 metres before dropping. It's half the height of jumping from the plane, but you can still travel a much farther distance quickly if you don't have any vehicle.
Speaking of transport, the Mission Ignition mode also includes Tesla cars in PUBG Mobile. There's supposedly a Tesla Gigafactory on Erangel that allow you to build a Tesla car, though I didn't manage to find it in my hours of playtime. Nevertheless, my gaming buds did get to drive the Tesla Model Y after I (tragically) died and it was extremely quiet. I'm not sure if driving it near enemies will alert them via sound and in-minimap indicator, but if it doesn't, all the more reason to assemble one and surprise your enemies.
I got to try out the all-new 5.56mm assault rifle, the ASM Abakan. And let me tell you, this gun is such a banger. Its gunshots are the loudest I've heard in PUBG Mobile, especially when you fire it rapidly so the volume builds up. Alas, I tried the ASM Abakan before knowing it had three firing modes (single, burst, auto), and this feature has definitely made this my current favourite assault rifle, giving you the option to either spray or shoot more accurately as you please. The spawn rate for the ASM Abakan is pretty high, so you'll surely pick those up much easier than the previous new gun, the Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle.
Finally, I applaud the new quality-of-life improvements that PUBG Mobile now possess. The new Jump Markers (which you mark on your map) will now appear as columns of light, making it much easier to know your destination. On top of that, you can enable Auto-Jump based on the Markers you or your teammates' place, so if you've been worried about your jumping skills, you can now play PUBG Mobile without worrying about it. Make sure not to put your own Marker if you're following your friend, because you may accidentally fly towards your own Marker instead.
And that's all there is to it! It's been fun detailing my PUBG Mobile journey for the past few months, and I hope you find my reads informative and/or entertaining. I know I've learnt to be a better PUBG Mobile player, and have been thoroughly entertained playing with old friends as well as competing in an esports tournament. GGWP, everyone!
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Thanks to the recent events in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, I’ve been playing the game a lot more over the past week, but I haven’t neglected Wild Rift either. In both games, I’ve been playing new heroes – Jawhead in MLBB and Alistar in WR. I've been doing alright with them!
I can’t stress how much fun this hero is. His(its? her?) toolkit is extremely fun and can be deceptively tanky. However, like most tank/support heroes – you can’t end the game on your own. You will need to play around your team and respond to calls for help. The way I play Jawhead is as a roamer unless another teammate wants the role, then I’ll just head to the EXP lane for the first few minutes and start roaming after.
Jawhead punishes your opponent’s bad positioning – but you also have to be alert and quick on your fingers. I love punishing cocky opponents who underestimate Jawhead’s toolkit – you can usually get free kills from them as early as level 2 (toss them into turret range and rocket them). Jawhead is useful at every stage of the game, and making the right moves during the later stages can usually be game-winning – it’s hard to outplay a flicker into toss back into stun if an enemy steps out of position. When you toss an enemy away, there’s also a chance that the rest of them will try to save them, possibly putting them in a bad place as well. A 4 v 5 on the enemy’s side of the map can turn into an easy push to win the game. If the enemy is ahead, they’ll tend to play cockier and you can set up easy ejects back to your turrets or allies.
However, Ejector isn’t an auto-win spell. You can mess up team fights if used improperly – this means you have to be aware of your teammates’ spells and positioning. Also, make sure to toss the right targets because things can go wrong. Tossing in a Tigreal to your teammates can give him a free implosion on your unprepared teammates, or tossing an enemy out of an area can ruin an incoming Vale Windstorm.
A lot of people also forget that Ejector can be used to save allies – just make sure you toss them in the right direction. While Jawhead is a good initiator, you can also use it to counter-initiate any ganks on your squishy teammates by ejecting them to safety. You need to have a good feel of the situation and map awareness. There is also a cool trick to extend the range of your ejector (something I only learnt today!):
And let’s not forget the movement speed and damage shield you get from the spell – this ability has saved me from death countless times! Enough to run away while spamming the emote to frustrate opponents and bait further dives from them.
I usually go Magic Defense Tank emblem, and magic defense items on this hero because if there’s one thing that Jawhead hates, it is getting stun-locked and burst down by spells before being able to cast anything. With how versatile Ejector is, being missing from a teamfight can spell disaster for your team. Roaming equipment is good since I like to move from lane to lane to setup ganks or save allies, I don’t spend much time farming.
In Wild Rift, I’ve been playing a lot of Alistar (you see the trend here?). While he isn’t as versatile as Jawhead, he’s great at disrupting team fights and crowd control. Headbutt has got to be one of the most fun spells in the game. Instead of pulling enemies towards you like Blitzcrank’s Rocket Grab, you charge into enemies and push them towards the direction you are facing. This spell is great for catching out-of-position enemies and for saving allies who are getting dove.
Used in combination with Flash, Headbutt is a decent initiating spell. Flash to behind your opponent, and then Headbutt them into your teammates. If the enemy tries to escape, you have Pulverize to stop them. It’s a bit tricky to pull off compared to Jawhead’s ejector since you don’t select the direction - you have to face the right direction, but it can be just as effective (assuming your teammates are ready for it).
Trample is a pretty good spell you can spam in the middle of team fights, while I’m still trying to remember to use Unbreakable Will in the heat of battle (I keep forgetting that the ability is there sometimes). As for item build and runes, I’m still experimenting, but the usual front liner gear seems to be the choice.
The problem I have with this hero is figuring out what to do during the laning phase. Alistar seems quite difficult to play versus ranged Champions – I keep getting harassed with no good way of returning the favour. I’m going to have to watch some replays of better players than me.
I’m still a big noob in Wild Rift (Silver) but my rank is slowly increasing – I’m not stuck yet. I feel like I have a better grasp of when to fight or retreat, I recognize more enemy champs, and have a better read on the game state.
This has been my experience in MLBB/Wild Rift over the past couple of weeks, and if you’ve been looking for some fun repositioning heroes to play give Jawhead and Alistar a shot, you might have as much fun as I did! If you have any tips about playing these heroes, feel free to drop them in the comments.
I stream Wild Rift live occasionally on my Facebook Gaming page – do follow me if you want to catch me live. Stay tuned to eGG Network for all the latest esports coverage, and don’t forget to check out Soupykambing’s journey in getting good at PUBG Mobile!
This article is part of a weekly blog series by our eGG-steemed writers, to share our progress playing your favourite games not only for fun, but also to level up our mastery and understand your love for the game.
If you've followed my journey so far, then you'd know I am, by all means, a casual PUBG Mobile player who has many lows and some ups. Nevertheless, I've been curious about how competing in a professional PUBG Mobile tournament would feel, so when I saw that one can sign up as a solo competitor in the PUBG Mobile National Championship (PMNC 2021), I didn't hesitate to join. It may not be like PMPL MY/SG, but hey, it's just one step behind the national top tier.
Behold, my experience competing Solo in PMNC 2021 for Blog Entry #7:
The registration process for PMNC 2021 was pretty simple, with just a few fields to fill out. I simply followed what I wrote in our "How to join PMNC 2021" guide and didn't have any issues with the process whatsoever. IO Esports really made the whole registration as easy as it can, so there's little room for error save for personal ones.
I was slightly anxious waiting for my confirmation and constantly checked the PMNC 2021 website, and it was neat that I could easily just type in my name to get my answer without scrolling through the ocean of names. After less than three days, my PENDING status converted to that sweet green CONFIRMED.
All that's left was to prepare myself for the big leagues (from my perspective)! My biggest anxiety was how I would fare when I get into CQCs (closed-quarters combat) during the qualifiers, which is why instead of jumping into Classic mode, I opted for Team Deathmatch mode to help hone that aspect of my gameplay.
It didn't help that my Arena level wasn't high enough to equip me with more attachments, but I saw that as a way to adapt using bare-bones guns since there's a chance I won't have such luxury during the battle royale matches (which turned out to be mostly true).
It's game night! After a round of check-in, all 35 of us - about 20 more were unconfirmed or no-shows - in Group E of Karakin Zone huddled around virtually on Discord for the room ID and password, which changed every match. When the clock struck 8.12 PM, what began were three of the most important PUBG Mobile matches I'll ever play in this lifetime (I think).
Since I still had little confidence in my CQC skills, I played more defensively and avoided encounters as much as possible, assuming which are the unlikeliest areas that others would drop in (like Ruins in Erangel, albeit with terrible loot). I also made the effort to remember the flight path and how many players were on the plane, so I can predict where they'll be coming from to enter the circle.
I did pretty well placement-wise (11th) in my first match, moving on foot the whole time and going prone when there was a vehicle nearby. It was pretty uneventful in the first 15-ish minutes, up until my blunder - I was too exposed in Pochinki, and little did I know an enemy player was nearby hiding. He had the high ground, so it was like shooting a fish in a barrel for him.
For my second match in Sanhok, I adopted a more risky approach by rotating in a vehicle I found. I eventually became overconfident and thought I was untouchable in the car, which cost me placement points by dropping early. In the midst of entering the circle, while crossing a bridge, a silent ninja (hiding behind one of the abandoned trucks) gunned me down when I drove past him.
And finally, how fitting I got my very first kill in Miramar (Match 3) when I finally got a DMR (marksman rifle) with the SKS and a Micro Uzi (my favourite combo). I drove around towards the circle, constantly watching my surroundings to avoid being surprised again before I stumbled upon a vehicle in a peculiar location.
When I realised that an enemy player was inside, I quickly got out of the car to shoot him before he noticed me. Although I got knocked a few minutes after, I was pretty happy with the outcome.
I confess that I identify as a lurker (someone who doesn't get involved much) in the virtual space, but if you're a Malay speaker who's up to chat with your fellow competitors, rest assured that the Discord server for PMNC 2021 was rife with activity.
Plenty of them chatted away anything that's tournament-related, but what stood out for me most were the open invitations by other players to participate in casual scrims/training. Unfortunately, I didn't check my Discord as often as I should and missed out on said scrims, but it's something I'll keep in mind if I join the next PMNC.
Most importantly, to any reader who's planning to go pro in the PUBG Mobile esports scene, the PMNC Discord server is a great way to not only network but also hopefully join a team to compete together in other tournaments. I saw at least five open tryouts seeking out new members for their team. So if you're serious about PUBG Mobile esports, don't miss this out.
Will I join the next PMNC? Undoubtedly, yes. I would want to take part in the casual scrims other players are hosting, just to have a little more fun, as well as network with them a little more.
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The past two weeks I took some time in between games of Wild Rift to hop back into Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, thanks to the hype of the MPL-MY S7 playoffs and MSC 2021, and have been having a good time with the game again. Playing these two games brought to light the key differences of what I like about each game.
In addition to near-instant queues, thanks to the large number of people playing MLBB, games are much faster paced. It might not seem like a big deal at first, but I feel it contributes to how 'addictive' each session can feel - when one game is complete, you feel like you have time for another. It's like playing a Turbo match in Dota 2. Wild Rift's longer games feel like they take up more mental energy, and usually, after 2-3 games, I'm drained - similar to how I feel after a regular ranked Dota 2 match.
This speed also allows games to turn the tide quickly - in the late game, sometimes all you need to do is hold out for one good team fight to immediately end the game after - it's much easier to destroy turrets in MLBB. In Wild Rift, I've felt that the game has very little potential for comebacks - maybe it's just a problem at my rank, but a lot of times I've felt that a game was over and we were just going through the motions waiting for it to end. It's easier to maintain a lead in the game. But thanks to MLBB's faster pace, I've played many more games than WR and have graduated to Grandmaster, with Epic on the horizon. One thing I do like about Wild Rift is that loading into games feels much faster on average than MLBB.
In terms of gameplay, both games are great but have very different playstyles. Wild Rift seems a lot more static compared to MLBB, especially during the laning phase. People tend to stick to their own lanes until the first tower is down on the opposite side. In MLBB, it's a lot more unpredictable and chaotic (which I enjoy). I also love the masks in MLBB, which allow support players to roam around different lanes and not steal experience and gold from your cores. When upgraded, they also provide very useful skills. I never bought these masks when they were first introduced, but playing with them now has taught me what I've been missing out on. It enables such a unique gameplay style where you can roam from lane to lane without being punished.
Playing more games means I gain more experience using a new hero in MLBB in the same amount of time compared to Wild Rift. I recently unlocked Jawhead after watching pros play and I'm in love with the hero! It's like a combination of Gyrocopter and Tiny from Dota 2 - a match made in heaven! I've been having tons of fun learning and playing it over the past week.
I'll be upfront - Wild Rift has a better user interface and experience outside of the game. The fact that the main menu is not a mess of notifications and buttons to press each time you log in to the game is such a breath of fresh air. It would be nice if more mobile game developers followed in their footsteps but I understand the reasons why they won't. When you launch MLBB, you are constantly reminded of how many different pages you have to check out - and if you're bothered by those red dots like me, you'll spend many minutes getting rid of each one.
When it comes to the game itself, I like how MLBB labels the spells each hero has - when using a new hero, it's easy to quickly tell which ability is a stun, blink or nuke and so on. In WR, I have to spend time reading what each skill does.
In-game communication - both games have pros and cons when it comes to their ping system, but I do like how WR's pings allow you to specify where on the minimap you want the alert to be. In MLBB, you're stuck with pinging wherever you are unless you use the other ping option which requires you to do some fancy gymnastics with your right hand or to stop moving your character due to the position of the button and the map.
Wild Rift's Rune Pages are superior to MLBB's emblem system. I don't agree with gameplay changing abilities being gated by spending currency. All players should have access to them and currency should only be spent on cosmetics. Different heroes/champions being behind paywalls I can understand, it also allows people to slowly learn heroes as they accumulate them, but emblems that can be used on all heroes should be as accessible as possible. I know that over time a player will unlock all of them, but it's still unfair for newer players who don't have their emblems upgraded or might not even have any idea about how they work.
Wild Rift letting you have an extra spell is great - MLBB's one-spell limit feels restrictive, but then again, the game was balanced around that, so I guess they don't want everyone to have a blink. It's something I do miss when I play MLBB.
Personally, I feel that there is room for more than one MOBA in the market - they're both fun games with different flavours and competition in the scene is always good. Sometimes you're in the mood for one over the other, and that's okay!
Each game has its merits and I'll continue to play them both, but over the past week, I can understand why WR isn't the most popular game on the block right now. It's quite a challenge to move from one MOBA that you're used to, to another. I honestly believe Wild Rift is worth checking out at the very least and though the learning curve might be difficult, you'll have a good time.
I stream Wild Rift live occasionally on my Facebook Gaming page – do follow me if you want to catch me live. Stay tuned to eGG Network for all the latest esports coverage, and don’t forget to check out Soupykambing’s journey in getting good at PUBG Mobile!
I finally did it! Over the past few weeks of playing Wild Rift, I felt some improvements after getting help from the BJD guys and decided to finally jump into ranked matchmaking. I went 5-5 in my calibration games, using Braum, and ended up in Bronze III with one match to promotion. Not bad considering how my estimated rank was Iron I - at least I know I'm not the worst of the worst! Here are some of my thoughts during the calibration process.
Looking for a match took quite a long time, especially at night. I know it's a case of not enough players, but when a queue goes above 2 minutes, something is wrong here (this happens in unranked as well, but not as often). There aren't enough people playing this game, which means there aren't enough people at my level to match against. Considering how quick matches feel, waiting to find a match feels disproportionately long. But for what it's worth, when I do get a game, it does feel equally skilled, so that's a plus side. I haven't encountered any smurfs yet (or at least none that I can recognize immediately).
However, there were a couple of matches where I faced off against an almost full bot team, which was a free win, and there were games where I had bots on my team as well (luckily the enemy had more bots so we won). This is a big no-no for the game. It immediately sucks the fun out of the game and ruins it for people who are looking for a PVP experience. I'm not sure how these issues can be solved right now, but if it keeps up, I feel it will drive away new players. On the contrary, looking for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang games are almost instantaneous at all the ranks I played at, and I never encountered any bots in my games. Wild Rift definitely needs a lot more players in order to thrive. With so many people in the world who enjoy mobile games, especially in today's stay at home climate, it can't be too hard right?
One of the main factors that makes a Champion playable as a support is their ability to scale without items, which is why I love playing Braum (and the support role - who likes farming anyway?). Sure, more items means I get tankier and can stay in fights longer, but not having any items doesn't stop me from positively contributing to team fights. Throwing out my Glacial Fissure to start a fight or save an ally is good enough only requires levels, and so is jumping in with Stand Behind Me to block incoming attacks using Unbreakable. I only need to be there, and in a good position to help sway the tide of battle because honestly, unless we're stomping, I'm not expected to solo-carry the game or make pickoffs around the map. I'm there to make sure my cores can do their job with the farm they've secured. I've won and lost games where I've had a lot of farm on the hero - positioning and spell casting played the biggest difference in my matches.
Resilience is key. Not just in Wild Rift, but games like Dota 2 as well. Being behind 0-8 is not the end of the world. It just means some lanes are struggling, and you still have the mid and late game to come back. However, the significance of an early lead shouldn't be underestimated as well. Knowing you're ahead can also make your team more confident, and play better. But it can also cause overconfidence and stupid plays. Balance is key here, but don't give up - there's always a way back. Keep in mind that your enemies are as skilled as your team, and both sides are as likely to make mistakes, it's just up to one side to recognize and capitalize on them.
My final few calibration matches:
Now that I've got a rank, it's time for me to keep playing to get better at the game. If I'm somewhat decent, I see myself ending up at Gold - or at least I'll make it a mission to. I believe that it will be attainable. Not sure if I'll use Braum all the way, but I'm definitely going to stick to the support role (I'm kinda itching to play some Blitzcrank!).
I love how Wild Rift doesn't have so many notifications to get rid of in the main menu. Don't get me wrong - there are still many 'dots' to clear, but it's nowhere near what MLBB, PUBG Mobile or Free Fire have. It doesn't take long for me to get rid of those dots, which I find pleasing. But this lack of objectives/goals for players might be an issue if the majority of mobile gamers look forward to them. I know I'm all for this cleaner user interface, and I hope it stays this way.
Wild Rift is a super fun game that translates the MOBA experience well to mobile devices, but like other games in the genre, the learning curve is steep and the skill ceiling is very high. If you're out there on the same journey as me, feel free to drop some tips or words of encouragement in the comments. All the best, and see you guys in the Rift!
I stream Wild Rift live occasionally on my Facebook Gaming page – do follow me if you want to catch me live. Stay tuned to eGG Network for all the latest esports coverage, and don’t forget to check out Soupykambing’s journey in getting good at Free Fire!
This article is part of a weekly blog series by our eGG-steemed writers, to share our progress playing your favourite games not only for fun, but also to level up our mastery and understand your love for the game.
Dear Internet,
Sometimes change is good, and seeing that it was almost eight weeks (my God, it's been that long?) that I decided to get good at PUBG Mobile, I've decided to (temporarily) holster my Mini 14 in favour of ... well, I'm not entirely in tune with what guns there are in Free Fire yet. But yes, I'll be trying out Garena's version of mobile battle royale, especially when I'll be covering Free Fire esports more and the Free Fire World Series 2021 in Singapore is coming up soon next month.
Since I'm not entirely accustomed to Free Fire's combat yet, I thought I should give myself a warm-up first by playing its newly-returned Clash Squad mode.
Let's dive into Blog Entry #5:
Free Fire's Clash Squad mode plays like the classic mode of CS:GO or Valorant - perhaps Apex Legends' new Arena mode would be more accurate - but with a battle royale spin, where the harmful circle closes in periodically as time passes. Plus, Free Fire is a faster-paced game than PUBG Mobile, so Clash Squad ramps up the speed twofold with a much smaller starting circle and the ability to purchase guns and equipment at the beginning of each round.
Free Fire definitely plays differently from PUBG Mobile, which my colleague explained before so I don't need to. The biggest obstacles I faced in the game were mainly the dissimilar movement and gunplay. I feel that there are a few microseconds of delay when I suddenly change my direction, mostly due to Free Fire's more animated actions. Even so, the motion of running and crouching is faster and you can jump higher, so it's easier to escape fights when you're at a disadvantage.
As for the gunplay, I feel it's a little bulky and aim assist is used more than PUBG Mobile. Now I understand what Facebook Gaming streamer JanuaryAKG meant when he said Free Fire is more strategic and dependent on your reflexes, as opposed to the more fluid gunplay of PUBG Mobile.
The buying menu of Free Fire Clash Squad contains all the firearms and essential equipment, so it's also a good time for me to be acquainted with them for its classic mode. After trying out a few of them, I pretty much narrowed down my favourites to these:
The MP5 has a crazy high fire rate that allowed me to shred my enemies, and its reload speed isn't so bad too. The downside is that the fire spread increases over time as I hold down the trigger, so I have to somewhat burst it in between, not to mention that it's terrible for long-range fights.
It's like the light machine gun version of the MP5, due to its insanely high magazine size. The downside is that it has a shorter range and longer reload time, but those are valid due to its firepower.
And finally, my go-to gun would be this baby. The three-shot burst assault rifle is deadly in mid and long-range encounters, and you don't have to worry about fire spread when it can only be shot in burst mode. As long as you can tap the fire button fast enough, it's almost as fast as your standard AR.
Next up: Free Fire classic! Alas, I can't play ranked yet due to my low level, but I'll eventually get it up to play in the major leagues.
Follow eGG Network on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to follow me on my PUBG Mobile road trip. You can also check out my friend George’s blog about his learnings playing Wild Rift right here.
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