Airdrops in PUBG are very eye-catching for a lot of players on the map since they're being dropped from around ~200m in the air and it has a relatively big parachute being deployed above it making it hard to miss. When it's dropped, it emits red smoke for around 20 seconds making it hard to miss when you need to walk over hills to reach the airdrop. But is it really worth it going for the airdrop or is it better to camp around it or just all around avoid it? In this guide, we'll be talking about every upside and downside of the airdrop in great detail. With that being said, let's get into the guide.

Airdrop Loot

The only real reason why you would want an airdrop is because of the exclusive loot that it contains that can have a great impact on your game. We'll list all the loot that you can get out of it, what it is, and if it's worth picking up compared to what you've already got.

Airdrop Weapons

• The Groza, an Assault Rifle that can only have a Suppressor on the muzzle of the weapon and an Extended Magazine + Scope. This weapon mostly isn't worth picking up since it isn't that great compared to other Assault Rifles due to the fact that it has a relatively bad spray pattern and no Compensator/Flash Hider to put on it.
• The AUG, an Assault Rifle that is very superior compared to the Groza since it's just better in every way. It has a more stable spray pattern, can use every muzzle attachment and it can use a Foregrip. This Assault Rifle is stat-wise the best Assault Rifle in the game currently and is always a worthy pick-up compared to all the other ARs.
• The AWM, a Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle that has seen the most controversy around it compared to all the other weapons in the game. With the fastest bullet speed in the game, exclusive .300 MAGNUM ammunition, and highest damage even being able to one-shot someone with a level 3 Helmet makes it absolutely the best long-range weapon that's currently available in the game. The only two downsides of this weapon are that it only comes with 20 bullets and its iron sight is absolutely useless, not that you should be using it without a scope greater than 2x anyway.
• The M24, another Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle that got buffed in the 1.0 patch with its damage. This gun feels inferior to the AWM but still has a lot more damage than the Kar98k leaving an enemy with a level 3 helmet at 2 HP if you headshot him. The upsides of this weapon are that it has really fast firing speed, more commonly found ammunition, and relatively low kickback when you've shot it. This makes it always a good pick up.
• The Mk14 is a Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle that probably has the highest vertical and horizontal recoil in the game. The reason I say "probably" is because Bluehole (PUBG's developers) doesn't actually release the statistics of every gun. The Mk14 is a very strong gun that suffers from the requirement of having to crouch/prone while shooting or attaching a Compensator on it otherwise the bullets will sway to the side and not actually hit anywhere near your target.
• The M249 is one of the 2 LMGs (Light Machine Gun) that are currently in the game. This gun has the biggest magazine in the game and uses 5.56 ammunition. If you practice with it a lot, it becomes a very viable weapon, and for newer players it may be a weapon you should avoid. It has a little less wild spray pattern than the AK but almost matches it. Beware, it also also takes around 6 seconds before you actually can shoot it again when you need to reload. The M249 is best used to destroy vehicles.

Airdrop Equipment and Consumable

• The Ghillie Suit is a very rare drop that spawns in the airdrop, making you essentially invisible when going prone in the grass. There are different Ghillie Suits depending on which map you're on, but the one on Erangel actually has enough bushes and grass to make it viable compared to the Miramar counterpart since Miramar mostly uses hills and rocks as cover.
• The level 3 Military Helmet/Vest/Backpack are common drops and self-explanatory. These items always spawn in combination with one of the weapons.
• The 15x scope is an extremely rare attachment and is mostly used in the mid-game because it zooms in too far when you've reached the late game.
• Adrenaline Syringe is the best "booster" item in the game giving you 4 full bars in the time-span of 10 seconds, be sure to use this before combat rather than in-between fights with other players due to the large amount of time that it takes before it goes into effect.

When Should You Go to the Airdrop?

Knowing the rewards that the airdrop may yield, it's now easier to answer the question of when should you go the airdrop? There are many aspects of the game that could have an impact, some of which you may not even know yet and could provide some food for thought.

The first aspect is the most obvious one. Where did it land? This is completely random and it can even fall over from trees but if it's on flat land, it's mostly a no-go. If it's on flat land, you should mostly just try to snipe people trying to go for the sweet loot that's in the airdrop or you can park your vehicle in front of it, blocking anyone's sight on you while trying to loot the airdrop.

The second aspect of the game may seem easy but is hard to focus on. The sound of gunshots and vehicles are very important to keep track of before even going anywhere near the airdrop. Park your vehicle in front of the side where the gunshots came from to block the shots or block that direction with the crate. Just be careful, the crate doesn't cover a lot of gunfire angles due to the relatively small size of it allowing people to still shoot you once they move like 20 meters to the left/right.

The third aspect of the game that you should really remember is when the airdrop is dropping take into account where the flight path of the current game was. If it was close, it means that a lot more players will see where the airdrop gets released from the plane and correspond to it in whatever way they want. Just be aware that a lot more players want that airdrop than you may think.

The fourth and final aspect of the game that you should always keep in mind is are the rewards really worth it? For example, if you've already got a Kar98k and a fully loaded M416 is it even worth risking a quick death to get a weapon you're maybe less familiar with?

Conclusion

Has the answer to our question been answered? Well, kind of. Like many other things in PUBG, you should always be adaptive to your current situation and no game is the same. Going for airdrops can be really fun and fit in a very aggressive playstyle to maybe even practice aim as well. I hope you learned something from this guide and wish you the best of luck hunting for that sweet sweet airdrop loot!

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