To Keep or Not To Keep: Understanding the Basic Items in PUBG

Looting is a fine art.

It’s a fine art that you have to master if you want to be the last person standing in a game like PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS. To be proficient at looting, you’ll need near-psychic skills akin to Nostradamus to figure out which items are worth the trouble of keeping on your character. Fortunately, we’re here to break down the essentials and help you figure out which PUBG items you should be keeping, and which ones you can afford to go without.

Put your thinking cap on and pay close attention because today we’re going to run through all the important items in PUBG.

Storage

Let’s start things off with storage since this item type dictates how much you can carry. Vests (50 capacity); utility belts (50 capacity); and backpacks(150, 200, and 250 capacity) are as essential to survival as the items they hold. Contrary to what you may have heard, high-level vests do not offer extra carrying capacity over lower-level ones. Many players also tend to unequip their utility belts in their player menu. Backpacks are where it gets tricky. High-level backpacks do give more carrying capacity than lower tiers. However, their sheer size can also cause you to be easily spotted by enemies—a tight predicament if you’re into the covert style of play. Depending on your approach to the game, you may or may not want to level up your backpacks.

Armor

You need more than just a good firearm if you’re to survive wave after wave of gunfights. This is where good armor comes in. Vests and helmets can give you the leverage to outlast others—especially in surprise encounters. Level 1 vests have a durability of 200 and can provide you 30% damage reduction. With level 2 vests, durability goes up to 220 while damage reduction increases to 40%. Lastly, level 3 vests come with 55% damage reduction with a durability of 250.

With helmets, we’ll skip right to the most important point which is that level 3 helmets can give you enough protection to withstand a barrage. In fact, the AWN is the only firearm with enough power to knock you out with a single headshot while you’re wearing a level 3 helmet.

Here’s one that’s definitely worth keeping: the frying pan. Laugh if you will, but the iconic pub frying pan will save your butt sooner or later. In fact, you can even use it to deliver strikes of utter ignominy to send an unwitting opponent to an early grave. There’s no bigger insult, after all, than to have been done in with kitchenware.

 Consumables

Here comes the fun part; the consumables. Let’s take an item by item approach.

Adrenaline Syringe –With an instant boost of 100 adrenaline, there’s no reason to throw this item aside. While there's the issue of an 8-second casting time, you can negate that by using it when you’re well covered.

Pain Killer – With a boost of only 60 health, you might want to think twice about this item. That being said, every bit helps—especially if you’re in a tight situation (e.g. surrounded by enemies). If there’s ample room in your storage, take it. If not, you can probably live without it.

Energy Drink – Need an instant buzz? The energy drink can give you a boost of 40 health. Just like the painkiller, it’s not a necessity but every little bit can help in a scrimmage to be the last player standing.

First Aid Kit – This item provides an instant healing surge. The downside is that you can only use this when your overall health is lower than 75.

Med Kit – Utterly essential, make room for this in your storage. Med Kits can instantly heal you to full strength.

Gas Can – This really depends on your strategy. If you’re the type of player who steers clear of vehicles, why bother? If you do intend to use it, however, note that it comes with a 3-second cast time.

An understanding of the basic items in PUBG can give you the knowledge to know which ones are worth keeping and which ones are not. A lot of times, this understanding is the difference between winning and losing. Having the right items can give you the confidence to launch headlong into seemingly impossible firefights. When you have the right items in your backpack, you effectively boost your chances of coming through unscathed. Remember the points we’ve raised and you’ll increase your chances of getting that ever-elusive chicken dinner.