Beginner’s Guide to Looting in PUBG

When people think of PUBG, inventory management isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Yet, any hardened veteran will tell you that knowing what items to grab and when are key skills for any PUBG player.

Don’t believe us? Here’s a situation every PUBG player has experienced. A shiny new scope gleams enticingly from across the room—oh no!—your backpack’s full. As you try to make room for that super-vital piece of gear (“Chicken dinner, here I come!”), you take a bullet in the spine and end up eating dirt.

Game over. Prepare to spend the rest of the round being flamed by your squad.

This beginner’s guide to looting in PUBG is packed with tips to help you loot effectively and efficiently. We’ll go over the most important things, like which buildings have the best loot, what items to prioritize, and whether or not chasing down air drops is worth your time (spoilers: it’s not). Soon, you’ll be looting with the best of them, sifting through items, grabbing the good stuff, and throwing out trash as quickly as lightning.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before we jump into the nitty gritty, it’s good to start at the beginning. Welcome to basic looting training, recruit.

 

How to Loot in PUBG

“Looting” in PUBG just means “putting things into your inventory.” Every player starts with a basic backpack to store the things they grab, like ammo, guns, and weapon attachments. You can find these items on the floor, inside crates, or from dead bodies.

There are two ways of looting in PUBG: interact Key Looting and Drag-and-Drop Looting. Each has its pros and cons.

 

Interact Key vs Drag-and-Drop Looting

Interact Key Looting (“F Key Looting” for PC players) is performed by aiming at the item you want to pick up and then pressing the Interact key. The selected item will be instantly placed into your inventory, as long as there’s space in your bag.

You want to use this type of looting for things you always need, like ammunition and medkits. Also, if you already know you’re going to be using an item (i.e. you want to grab a scope because you currently don’t have one) it’s okay to loot with the interact key.

The downside of interact key looting is that you can easily pick up the wrong item by accident and fill up your inventory very quickly. If a bunch of smaller items are clumped together, it can be hard to pick up the exact item you want. In cases like this, it’s almost always better to use drag-and-drop looting.

 

Drag-and-Drop Looting is looting by opening your bag and then dragging and dropping the items you want into your inventory. When you access your bag, the game will show you any nearby items that can be picked up. Just drag and drop those items into your bag to grab them.

Drag-and-drop looting allows for more precise and detailed loot selection. Scopes and grips can all look the same from afar; with drag-and-drop looting, you can see what level the scope is and decide whether it’s worth holding onto or not.

Of course, as in our example at the beginning, having your backpack open leaves you vulnerable to enemy fire. The inventory menu takes up your entire screen and prevents you from turning or moving. If an enemy walks in while you’re checking your bag, you’ll have to close it up before you can react. That’s why it’s so important to practice identifying and dragging items as fast as possible.

Good players can drag-and-drop loot nearly as fast as interact key looting. They can open their inventory, identify the items they need, and drag them into their bag in the span of only a second or two.

 

Which type of looting should you use? It’s situational. In the heat of a firefight, the interact key will allow you to grab ammo and medkits as quickly and efficiently as possible. But when the tempo’s a bit slower and you’re relatively safe, you can take the time to drag and drop exactly what you want into your bag.

 

Tips for Effective Looting in PUBG

Now that you understand the different ways to loot in PUBG, we can go over some tips that will help you to loot more effectively.

 

Prioritize Big, Open Buildings

Think warehouses and factories. These buildings typically have decent-quality loot in large amounts. If you can get to one before someone else does, you’ll find guns, plenty of ammo, good armour, and a helm that will set you up for the rest of the round.

Since you’re new to PUBG, you’re probably unsure where you should land at the start of a round. You can’t go wrong landing near one of these structures. Just prepare for a firefight, since these locations are usually highly contested.

 

Equip Your Throwables

You can save space by equipping a throwable item. When equipped, throwables like grenades and Molotovs don’t take up any inventory space. The savings are minimal, but this is a handy tip in the early moments of a round when you still have the basic backpack and limited bag space.

 

Choose Weapons with the Same Ammo Type

You’ll need a lot of ammunition to get through a round of PUBG, and ammunition takes up inventory space. If you’re using two weapons with different ammo types, that’s twice the space! You can save your slots by picking primary and secondary weapons that both use the same ammo type.

One popular loadout that follows this principle pairs the Mini14 with the M416. You get two weapons with decent range and stopping power, while also conserving inventory space. Another one pairs the Beryl M762 with the SLR.

 

Leave Those Air Drops Alone!

We know how enticing they can be, but unless you’re rolling with a squad of PUBG pros, leave those colorful boxes alone. Yes, they contain the most valuable loot in the game, but the risk isn’t worth the reward. Why?

Simply put, everyone else can see them. You’re probably not the only person who has their sights on the airdrop. Some will try to rush to the drop location for a grab and dash; others will camp out at the spot, waiting with their guns out for a greedy looter to try their luck.

There’s plenty of loot to be found elsewhere. Don’t throw away your chances at a win. Play it safe.

 

Your Journey to Becoming a Master Looter Starts Now…

Hopefully, you found this beginner’s guide to looting in PUBG helpful. We’ve only just scratched the surface of looting in PUBG. There are all sorts of nuances specific to each platform, like queuing in drag-and-drop looting on PC, but those fall outside of the scope of this general guide. Master these basics and you, too, can become a true master of looting.

What other looting tips do you think new players should know? Help some newbies out by sharing them in the comments below. Plus if you would like some cool weapons and skins, make sure to get some PUBG Mobile UC from OffGamers here today!