Fantasy Battle Royale – PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

Greetings Internet Warriors!

April Fools’ Day is a long-celebrated tradition in the gaming world. Whether through silly videos, fake patch notes, or even full blown in-game events, it’s the time of year where teams can go a little crazy and try something completely different— and it doesn’t get much more different for us than Fantasy Battle Royale.

First off, we understand that times are difficult right now due to the impact of COVID-19 around the world and that some companies have chosen to forego April Fools activities this year. In a time when people are keeping themselves safe and indoors, we believe that video games offer a diversion from solitude and a way to be social while still staying safely apart. For these reasons, we’ve chosen to go forward with our planned event in hopes that it offers a little bit of lighthearted fun during this necessary isolation.

We’ve also ensured that all rewards associated with this event can be earned, with no purchases required, to prevent people from missing out on them if they have to choose more necessary things to spend their money on during this time. The first set of rewards are earned through special event missions, either directly or purchased with the “gold” that the missions give. These rewards can also be purchased in the regular shop if you have some extra income and choose not to participate in the event. The other set of rewards can only be purchased with BP and there will be an option to convert your extra “gold” into BP to help acquire these. Taking care of yourselves and your loved ones is the most important thing right now, so making sure that all of the Fantasy Battle Royale rewards could be earned was a priority for us.

So what exactly is this event? Fantasy Battle Royale is an optional event mode that lets you choose from one of four fantasy classes to take on the Battlegrounds in a completely different way. Creating a true fantasy mode would require more resources than we wanted, so we made a couple… alternate choices in how we represent the fantasy in Fantasy Battle Royale. By utilizing existing PUBG mechanics in fun and crazy new ways, we came up with (what we consider) a funny mode that didn’t have to waste important development resources for a week-long joke.

Even a silly event mode has its uses, though. Fantasy BR has given us the opportunity to test a few new ideas in a real (but fantasy) (but still real) environment. A big part of Battle Royale is survival and we’ve been curious what crafting on the Battlegrounds might look like. Fantasy BR gave us the perfect opportunity to try out a crafting system and as such, the vast majority of the loot you’ll find in Fantasy BR consists of crafting components used to improve the items you begin with. Utilizing fantasy classes, such as the Paladin, had the added bonus of finally letting us test a certain shield we teased out to you all a little too soon.

Now, none of this means that these test features are going to appear in normal PUBG matches tomorrow, or ever for that matter, but it does finally give us a good way to get them out to you and gather your feedback so we can decide whether or not to develop them further.

We wanted to mention all this up front because it’s important for us that you know Fantasy BR wasn’t some giant use of our development resources. It is mostly some creative new art on top of a few bits of code to change how things that already exist in PUBG work. We know that what we spend our time on is important to you, especially while some persistent issues remain unfixed right now.

We also know that we’re late on delivering the Community Letter we promised you that talks about those issues, but plan to have that out within the next week or so. All in all, we’re happy we can test potential future content and give you something silly on a day that’s all about fun, with minimal impact on the more pressing issues we’re actively working on.

So, put on your robe and wizard hat, because this is Fantasy Battle Royale and things are about to get… well, weird.

Fantasy Battle Royale

Fantasy Battle Royale will be available as an event mode for a limited time from April 1st, 00:00 PDT ~ April 7th, 1159 PDT / April 1st, 0700 UTC ~ April 8th, 0659.

To play, click on the Fantasy Battle Royale banner in main lobby to enter the special Fantasy BR lobby.

Basic Rules

• Fantasy BR takes place on the Dragon’s Isle (Erangel)
• TPP only, 20 Squads of 4 (maximum of 80 players per match)
• Fantasy BR does not support 1 man or 3 man squad but will automatically find suitable companions for you
• Friendly fire is disabled (unless we’re talking the mendingstar and heal bomb, which are the friendliest fire of all)
• Fantasy BR does not grant XP rewards but BP is earned based on your total gameplay time
• Fantasy BR matches don’t count towards the Survivor Pass. However, there are separate Fantasy BR exclusive missions
  • Complete Fantasy BR exclusive missions to earn special Fantasy BR mode rewards
  • Please refer to the ‘Fantasy Battle Royale Exclusive Systems’ section for more details

Class Selection & Starting Out

• After matchmaking completes, players will be asked to select a class to play before flying to the Dragon’s Isle
  • The Class select screen is automatically shown and may be brought back up using the F8 key
  • There are no class limits, so get creative with your party! (Just remember you’ll be sharing loot if you double, triple, or quadruple up on classes!)
• First circle will be displayed before you jump
  • Blue Zone will move faster and deal more damage in Fantasy BR than in normal matches! Be careful!

Fantasy Battle Royale Classes

Barbarian

“I would like to RAGE”

The fearsome Barbarian is a melee combatant with high HP who uses his rage to increase his movement speed. Swinging his Kick Ash Longsword in a wide arc in front of them, they gain additional movement speed with each successful attack on an enemy.

Barbarians also produce Mega Energy Drinks, which can be used to recover large amounts of HP over time. Although he doesn’t have any other special attacks or skills, his fast movement speed makes him the best suited to chase down squishy opponents and show them the business end of his weapon.

Ranger

“They’re taking the Hobbits to Erangel!”

The Ranger is a long-ranged sniper equipped with the deadly ‘Dragonslayer’ crossbow, capable of firing multiple shots in succession. With a long range and high attack damage, she is a formidable opponent, other than her rather low amount of HP.

Ranger’s utilize stealth to emit no movement sounds, making them the perfect sneak attack class. The Ranger brings utility to the fight as well with their Flash Powder grenades that temporarily blinds enemies and decreases the damage allies receive.

Wizard

“What manner of man are you that can summon up fire without flint or tinder?”

Wizards are heavy damage dealers who rain down fire on groups of enemies at once. Whether firing 2 consecutive blasts from their wands, dropping a powerful Fireball spell, or calling meteor showers from the sky, Wizards always have something fiery and explosive to pull out of their arsenal.

Keep your allies close though, as the Wizard has the lowest HP of any class and make a delightful squishing sound that Barbarians find irresistible.

Paladin

“I can do this all day.”

The Paladin is the key healing class in Fantasy Battle Royale. Healing allies with their Mendingstar and blocking incoming attacks with their Brooklyn Shield, the Paladin is right at home protecting the weak.

The Paladin’s Mendingstar serves two functions; healing allies it strikes or dealing damage to and slowing down enemies. The Paladin’s Shield Charge can also knock away enemies who get too close to his party.

Paladins also regularly produce First Aid Kits that can be given to allies or toss a ‘Heal Bomb’ to create an AoE healing zone, but be warned that this zone can also heal enemies!

One slight hitch though, maybe it’s because of their heavy armor or the fact that they have no free hands, but Paladins cannot ledge grab and may have to find more creative ways to keep up with their team.

Ye Olde Chicken Dinner

• Just like traditional Battle Royale, the last surviving squad is the winner

Items

• Fantasy BR has its own set of world spawn items, which mostly include crafting materials
• No weapons, ammo, throwables, boosts, or equipment will spawn
  • Bandages will still spawn in the world

Vehicles

• Only the Noble Steed (motorcycle) and Dragon Wagon (UAZ) spawn in Fantasy BR
• Vehicles are slower and have lower durability than in normal BR to keep fights more focused on class warfare

Care Packages

• Care Packages are dropped more often in Fantasy BR and are be marked on the map for all players
• Care Packages can contain the Zircon, a powerful gem used to upgrade your gear to Lv.5
• Using the interaction key (F) on Care Packages grants a temporary invincibility buff
  • The Buff lasts for 30 seconds, making you immune to all damage

Fantasy Battle Royale Exclusive Systems

Character Equipment

In Fantasy Battle Royale, players start the game with a class-specific weapon, necklace, and ring equipped. These items are exclusive to your character and cannot be dropped or traded.

Some classes have ammo and special skills that they can use. These are automatically refilled in specific intervals depending on the levels of your equipment. There is a cap to how many of each you can hold, so make sure to use em if you got em!

Item Crafting

• Picking up crafting materials allows you to upgrade your weapon and gear
  • Use the right mouse button on components in the inventory screen to start crafting

• Class Weapons, Necklaces, and Rings can be upgraded to Lv.4 using class-specific gems found throughout the world
  • Loot crystals can be dropped for your teammates, so grab everything you see!
• To raise your equipment to Lv.5, you will need to find a Zircon
  • The Zircon is a crystal that spawns very rarely across the map.
  • Care Packages will always contain a Zircon

Fantasy BR Exclusive Missions and Store

• There are new Fantasy Battle Royale Missions to complete, which earn you costume set pieces or a special event currency called Gold
• A total of 8 costume sets can be earned or purchased during this event, 2 costume sets per class
  • The first set of skins is earned by completing missions and spending your Gold in the Fantasy Battle Royale store
    • Alternatively, these sets may be purchased in the normal in-game store for $9.99/set if you who do not wish to earn them
  • The second set of skins can be purchased in the normal in-game store using BP
  • All unlocked Fantasy Battle Royale skins are permanent and can be used in normal PUBG games!

That’s the basic rundown! We sincerely hope you enjoy Fantasy Battle Royale. It’s silly, short lived, and certainly not for everyone, but for those who appreciate such things, the happiest of April Fools’ Days to you all!

– PUBG Dev team

*No unicorns were harmed in the making of this game mode*