PUBG Update 28 contained a huge amount of changes, with one standing out which is the adjustment of the loot rate onErangel. Some love it, some hate it, and they both have their own arguments.
Being the first map in the game, it's very easy to see why Erangel is more popular than the lastest maps Miramar, Sanhok or Vikendi. This map will always be the favorite one for the hardcore fan due to the familiarity feel it brings.
Will Erangel become the next Sanhok?
According to the patch note, the 2nd Erangel Loot Rebalance will approximately increase 28% the total number of items. The spawn rate of AR, DMR, and SR increased by 64%, 114%, 177% respectively. This is on top of the Erangel loot increase from the last updated.
The result of these changes, of course, has made the map become the new Sanhok. Sanhok gameplay focuses on the action with fast-paced gameplay which is suitable for a small map. On the other hand, Erangel offered a true battle royale experience with high-risk high reward mechanism. Hot-dropping for good loot comes with the potential danger from multiple players in the same area. It seems that the trend growing toward faster-paced battle royale that others battle royale game bring has influenced the developer team to come to this decision.
What changes might come in the future?
There a high chance that Erangel will ever get its original loot rate back. However, it likely that we will see some more adjustments to this matter in the next update. The developing team is listening to the feedback from both sides and there will be changes over time to the map until everything is in the right place.
The mixed reaction
One Reddit user states his opinion about the update:" Exactly what we didn't need. At least Xbox/Playstation is months behind. The reason Erangel is already good is the risk/reward of dropping places."
However, to streamers, they seem to happy about these changes since they wish to have more action on the stream to entertain viewers and avoid "loot stimulator" situation.