PUBG Mobile Update 0.14.5 Turns Nature Against You

Winter is coming. Upon hearing that phrase, almost everyone instantly thinks of Game of Thrones, especially with the show’s final season coming in just a couple of weeks. However, in another world, winter is also coming to PUBG Mobile.

Recently, Tencent rolled out update 0.14.5 for the Chinese server of PUBG Mobile. One of the additions of this update is a new “innovation factory” option, under which is the “extreme cold mode.”

In this mode, you’ll have more to worry about than just snipers in ghillie suits. Nature itself will be trying to kill you.

The “extreme cold” mode takes place in the Vikendi map, but this time deadly blizzards will cover the entire battlefield every 5 minutes. Each blizzard lasts for 90 seconds, during which you must gather wooden branches and build bonfires to fight off the cold, lest you freeze to death.

 
A short clip showcasing this new mode

If you fail to find any source of warmth, you will die within 30 seconds regardless of where you are on the map. Even hiding in shelters or buildings won’t make any difference.

Luckily, the game provides you with plenty of resources to help you avoid that fate. For example, each wooden branch you have available can feed the fire for 15 seconds.

Another way to stay warm is hunting animals for meat. As you jump into a game in this new mode, you can see many deer and chickens wandering around, and they can be killed with only 2 or 3 bullets. So, whenever you find yourself in need of a meal, just hunt down an animal, pick up the raw meat, then find a bonfire and enjoy your tasty barbecue (guess you don’t have to be a winner to get a chicken dinner anymore, huh?). Eating won’t regenerate your health, but at least it serves as an alternative to keep you from dying of hypothermia when you run out of branches.

If you can’t find either branches or meat, there are also “emergency heat patches” to keep your body temperature up. They’re quite rare compared to the other two resources and only last for 30 seconds, however.

This is the first time that the developers have included a temperature factor in PUBG Mobile, and while it’s undoubtedly a fun and refreshing experience, there are some details that are rather illogical.

For instance, the cold damage doesn’t take your clothing or whereabouts into account. Even if you wear warm clothes and stay indoor during the blizzards, if you don’t have a heat source, you’ll still die at the same speed as if you were naked outdoors.

Another counterintuitive thing is about the “Hot Springs” located in the southeast of the map. You’d expect a place with a name like that to allow you to fend off the cold by jumping into the hot water. Apparently, it doesn’t.

Also, the chickens and deer never even try to run away from you, even when you’re shooting at them. Sometimes they even walk straight into your line of fire.

It’s clear that Tencent has plenty of ideas for new modes to bring to PUBG Mobile. Just last month, the game received a zombie mode as a result of a collaboration with Resident Evil. A bit further than that, during Christmas last year, the studio put several tiny Christmas trees in some spots within the game. Players could water them from time to time so that they’ll grow larger.

Right now, the “extreme cold” mode is only available in the Chinese version of the game, but if past experiences are any indicators, this means that it’ll probably make its way to the global version in the near future. The update also brings a new weapon and several other changes.