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9 things we've discovered on Miramar, the brand new PUBG map
Miramar is finally here for us to get our hands on, at least on the test server, so we jumped in to discover what all the fuss was about and came away impressed.
The wait is finally over! As much as we love tearing around Erangel in search of a chicken dinner, it was starting to feel a little familiar, so the opportunity to play on the brand new desert themed map came at just the right time. Miramar has been playable on the test servers for the last few days and it’s safe to say that it's blown our minds.
Everything has changed. All of the buildings have totally different layouts, all of the towns and cities have a totally unique feel, the terrain is way more varied and there's been a load of new additions. Then, when you add in the fact that this map has been designed from the ground up to be used with the vaulting mechanic, this becomes a totally new ball game. A lot of your old tactics will go out of the window and it’s almost like learning an entirely new game.
Having sunk more hours than we'd care to admit into Miramar over the past few days, there were more than a few areas that struck us as either really cool, or at least very different – join us as we run through everything you need to know about the brand-new map ahead of its official launch with PUBG 1.0 on PC on December 20.
1. Pecado is amazing, but will become the new School
Pecado gets very busy in the early game
© PUBG Corporation
As the most central major town on the map, Pecado was always going to be a popular location to drop. However, the unique scenery means that it’s likely to become the new School, where people drop if they are looking for a fight from the off. The town houses both a massive casino, which is perhaps the most interesting building in the new map in terms of visuals, as well as a wrestling ring. These two buildings are already proving popular, so expect it to be busy if you ever drop there – watch your back.
2. Rooftops are now super-important
The rooftops of El Pozo are full of loot
© PUBG Corporation
Unlike Erangel, Miramar has been designed with the vaulting mechanic in mind, which means a lot of rooftops are now accessible and many of them have loot spawns on them as well. It’s actually not a terrible idea to have one person in your squad land on a high rooftop and try to scan for any good loot on the tops of buildings, but you always need to remember that there could be someone on top of any building at any time. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to get onto some of the bigger buildings, so jump around a bit and see what you can find.
3. The smallest places have the coolest scenery
La Bendita is certainly a striking location
© PUBG Corporation
On the map La Bendita doesn’t look that interesting, but when you come over the crest of the crater and notice a giant plane crashed into a small village you suddenly realise how many amazing locations are tucked away in seemingly boring spots.
The ruins at the north-west of the map look out-of-the-way and useless, but they provide solid loot and look great. The islands to the east look almost empty, but provide great views. Almost every location that looks a little underwhelming has some kind of interesting feature, so make sure you explore every inch of the map.
4. Los Leones isn’t as crazy as you might think
Los Leones is truly massive
© PUBG Corporation
Los Leones is by far the biggest urban area in both Miramar and Erangel, with a load of buildings and more loot than you could ever need. As a result, it'd be reasonable to expect it to be one of the busiest locations on the map, but in reality it’s often pretty quiet. Even when it’s packed it’s so big, and there are so many places to loot, that other players become difficult to even find, let alone fight or have to worry about.
5. New vehicles are a mixed bunch
These bikes won’t take you very far
© PUBG Corporation
The new map brings with it some new vehicles in the form of a camper van, a pickup truck and a jet ski. If you need to get across the small amount of water on Miramar then the jet ski is the perfect choice, providing there's only one or two of you, with good speed and excellent fuel consumption. The other two options are a little more fiddly, with the camper van ready to flip over the smallest of bumps when offroad and the pickup truck attempts to spin out at almost every opportunity. These'll take a while to get used to, but we’re sure you’ll be able to use them tactically.
6. We can't wait to have a boxing match
There’s a couple of these rings around the map
© PUBG Corporation
A couple of towns in Miramar have a wrestling ring located in them, with spectator stands offering solid amounts of loot. But the real reason we keep landing on these buildings is that we want to challenge someone to a boxing match in the ring. Just think how cool tha'd be. So far, people have opted to shoot at us from afar instead of accepting the challenge, but it’ll happen sooner or later – and you’ll be able to drop into the ring soon, too.
7. Hacienda del Patrón is full of loot
This small villa is full of loot
© PUBG Corporation
Out of all the smaller places on the map, it was Hacienda del Patrón that impressed us the most in terms of loot. This small area of the map is actually a pretty sizeable villa and it’s full of top-tier weapons and attachments. It may not be enough for a full squad of four, but in solos or duos, this is a great place to go if no one else is nearby.
8. Open terrain provides more cover, but is difficult to traverse
The open terrain is very uneven
© PUBG Corporation
You might think that Erangel is difficult to move across, but wait until you see Miramar. Massive hills are much more common, there are very few flat areas, and rock faces will often force you to go around instead of a straight line. This varied terrain does provide a lot more enviromental cover, making it much easier to take a fight out in the open, but it makes getting anywhere a lot harder, and it will take a lot longer.
9. There’s still plenty to discover
Puerto Paraíso is a great little town
© PUBG Corporation
After hundreds of hours of Erangel play we feel like we know the score, but with Miramar there is still so much to learn. We still don’t know where high-quality loot can be found on a regular basis, we don’t know the best routes around the map and we don’t know the best looting patterns – and these could easily change before it officially goes live. It'll take a lot of time to discover everything about the new map, but with it set to hit the main client in just a few days, we will have plenty of opportunity to do so.
