For the full post with images, head over to our website.
PTS Schedule:

• PDT: October 19 7 PM - Live server maintenance end
• CEST: October 20 4 AM - Live server maintenance end

Please note that we will have the following modes open for the 9.1 PTS on NA server.

• Ranked Solo / TPP (64 players)
• Paramo World (Seasonal Match) (64 players)
• Normal match - Squad / TPP

What is the PTS (Public Test Server)?
The PTS (Public Test Server) is a separate PUBG server that is free for anyone who already owns a copy of PUBG. The purpose of the test server is not just to provide a preview of upcoming features, but to find the issues and bugs we need to solve as soon as possible. To take part in the test, all you have to do is own a copy of PUBG.
All player data, statistics, etc from the test server will not carry over to your live server account.
For Xbox:
You can search and download the “PUBG - Public Test Server” on the Microsoft Store or the 'My Games and Apps' menu.
For PS4:
You can find the "PUBG - Public Test Server" in the 'Purchased' section of your Library.
For Stadia:
Update 9.1 will be available on Stadia once the live server launches for consoles.
Live Maintenance Schedule:

• PDT: 10/28 10 PM - 10/29 4 AM
• CET: 10/29 6 AM - 12 PM

Live maintenance schedule may change. We will update you if there are any changes made.

New Map: Paramo

Cradled hidden among the clouds in the highlands of South America lies Paramo, an ancient land with ancient secrets. Paramo's dangers are plentiful, but none so dangerous as the active volcano nearby whose molten lava streams flow across the land. Survivors dropping onto the Paramo Battlegrounds will only be able to reach the highlands via helicopter, which also have the task of distributing Care Packages around the field. Paramo is a 3x3 map with a dynamic world new to PUBG. This dynamic world system alters locations between matches, making every trip to Paramo a unique experience. Read on for the full details!
Seasonal Match
Due to our new Dynamic Map Locations system, Paramo will be provided as a Seasonal Match separate from current matchmaking pool.

• Paramo is provided as a Seasonal Match exclusive for Season 9 only.
• Seasonal Match will have bots disabled.
• Seasonal Match will not count for your Career > Stats.
• Seasonal Match will have Battlestat feature disabled.
• Seasonal Match will allow you to complete missions.
• TPP Squads Only
• FPP will be supported only in NA and EU regions.
• Paramo does not support separate brightness control in the 'Universal Brightness for all Maps'
• Match beginning time for Paramo will be 120 seconds.

Paramo Map Rules

• 3x3 km playable area with dynamic map locations.
• 64 Players
• No Red Zones
• The Blue Zone shrinks slowly but deals more damage compared to other maps, even in the early phases of the match.
• Motorcycles are the only vehicle available on Paramo and can usually be found near small villages.

Paramo: New Features

Dynamic Map Locations

• Major landmarks and parts of the terrain are relocated in every new session.
• Players must adapt and use suitable strategies and tactics according to the changes.
• Several streams of the lava flow from active volcanoes throughout Paramo, presenting a unique environment hazard as you traverse across the map.
• Stepping foot in lava can lead to a quick death, dealing 10 damage per second to players, ticking every half second.
• Riding a Motorcycle into lava will destroy your tires and quickly begin to destroy the vehicle, whilst also dealing damage to the player.
• Unlike other maps, players can wander outside the bounds of the playable area and a warning will display on the screen. Failure to quickly return to the playable area will result in you being killed.
• New item boxes can now spawn in certain houses.
• Destroy the boxes to find multiple pieces of loot, such as ammo, throwables, and healing items.
• Players will drop into the Battleground of Paramo from helicopters.
• During the match, these helicopters carry precious cargo across the map, with the plan of dropping it just outside the play area. Pay close attention and if you shoot enough rounds into a helicopter, you'll force it to release the cargo early.
• Paramo has a handful of Care Packages exclusive, highland themed items not found on other maps, including new full-body camo suits, ghillie suit and backpack.
• With a critical response kit in your inventory, you will be able to revive a downed squad member in just one second.
• In Paramo, you might find 'Secret Room Key' while looting.. it’s gotta unlock something, right?

Ranked Mode

Ranked Mode just got a little more solo friendly with the introduction of Ranked Solo queue. You'll now be able to take on the Ranked Battlegrounds against other solo players as you climb the competitive ranks.

Season 9 Begins

A new ranked season has begun. Ranked rewards earned from Season 8 will be granted to your account upon login. For more information on the rewards, see our ranked rewards announcement.

• Player ranks have been reset
  • Players will be given their initial rank after 5 placement matches.
  • RP has been soft-reset, so your initial Season 9 placement will be influenced by your Season 8 rank.
• Leaderboards have been reset
  • Final player ranks and the regional Top 500 leaderboards will be finalized once live server maintenance is complete, to ensure all matches are accounted for.
  • View your Season 8 stats and the Top 500 leaderboards of each region under Career > Stats.

Ranked Game Mode Updates

Ranked Solo

• Solo matches have been introduced to Ranked Mode.
• These matches will have the same competitive qualities as Ranked Squad matches.
  • 64 players
  • No Red Zones
  • More loot
  • Erangel, Miramar, Vikendi and Sanhok only
  • TPP only

Ranked Leaderboard Changes
For the following regional modes, we're lowering the minimum rank required to display on the leaderboards from Diamond 2 to Gold 5:

• Europe
  • TPP Solo and Squads
• South America
  • TPP Squads

This change has been made to ensure each region has a sufficient percentage of their player base displayed on the leaderboards.

Ranked Mode Ruleset Updates

• Algorithm Update
  • Points earned per kill and assist have been increased by 50%.
• Sanhok Blue Zone Adjustment
  • Compared to other maps, the number of players who die in Phase 2 is very high. We've made some Blue Zone changes which we believe will improve the overall pacing of Sanhok matches.
    • Increased the size and waiting time of Phase 2
    • Removed the dynamic Blue Zone mechanic which scaled circle speeds based on the number of players alive.
    • Please note, these changes are only to Ranked Sanhok matches.
• Item Spawns
  • Increased ADMR Magazines spawns
  • Increased 4x, 6x and 8x spawns
  • Increased Canted Sight spawns
  • Slightly decreased the spawn rates of 2x and 3x spawns
  • Decreased Handgun/SMG Magazines spawns
  • Decreased Handgun spawns, along with 9mm and .45ACP ammo
• Vehicle spawns
  • Esports vehicle spawn locations will now always spawn a vehicle.
• Added to Care Packages
  • MG3 has been added Care Packages on all Ranked maps

Regional Matchmaking Changes

This update to regional queues adds a Solo option to Ranked. In addition, we will now begin adjusting the available queues on a per region basis in an effort to deliver the best experience possible to each region.
When players go to select a game mode in either normal or ranked sections, they will see that the options that are available will be different. At a minimum, the changes will include the addition of a solo ranked option, but depending on the region they may see different combinations of options available in terms of team size, perspective, and ranked/normal matches.
For the game modes available for each region, please see below.
AS

• Random Map Selection
• TPP: Solo, Duo, Squad, Solo Rank
• FPP: N/A

EU

• Random Map Selection
• TPP: Solo, Duo, Squad, Solo Rank, Squad Rank
• FPP: Squad

NA

• Random Map Selection
• TPP: Solo, Duo, Squad, Solo Rank, Squad Rank
• FPP: Solo, Duo, Squad

SA

• Random Map Selection
• TPP: Solo, Duo, Squad, Solo Rank, Squad Rank
• FPP: N/A

OC

• Random Map Selection
• TPP: Solo, Duo, Squad, Solo Ranked
• FPP: N/A

Weapon Balance Update

After the weapon balance adjustment from patch 7.2, we have been receiving lots of feedback from players on how Beryl and SLR are too strong compared to other weapons, and our data has showed that Beryl and SLR were indeed dominant picks among our players. The PUBG team are working on plans to allow players feel more free to choose their weapons based on their surroundings or strategic goals.
With this 9.1 update, we will be making some adjustments to Beryl and SLR. Please note that this won’t be the last update and we will continue to have in-depth monitoring and analysis to provide best gameplay experience.
Beryl M762

• Base damage reduction: 46 → 44
• Increased vertical recoil of early spray by 5%
• Increased horizontal recoil of early spray by 5%
• Slightly increased the min horizontal recoil

SLR

• Based damage reduction: 58 → 56
• Increased recoil during ADS by 5%
• Increased loss of bullet velocity by distance by 15%

Survivor Pass: Highlands

Survivor Pass: Highlands loads you up with the looks you need to explore Paramo's mysteries. Unlike previous passes, Highlands will run for a reduced duration of 2 months but is also easier to complete with only level 50 needed to receive all its rewards. Drop in early to hit the ground running and claim your great Paramo-themed rewards.

• Survivor Pass: Highlands will be available for 990 G-Coin
• You can collect a total amount of 1,000 G-Coin from the rewards. Yes, that's correct, collecting all the G-Coin rewards means earning the pass for free!
• Unlike previous passes, Survivor Pass 9 has a reduced duration of 2 months with 50 levels with rewards.

QoL improvements

• Missions
  • Missions XP is now automatically claimed upon completion.
  • Once a mission is complete, you'll see a MISSION COMPLETED animation the first time you return to the pass.
• Pass Reward and XP Visibility
  • Upon returning to the lobby after a match, you'll immediately see an animation of XP earned filling the Survivor Pass bar.
  • Claimable rewards are animated and highlighted to better display which rewards are ready to collect.
  • Daily, Weekly and Challenge missions can now be viewed in the lobby without having to dive into the pass page.
• Preview Improvements
  • You can now preview multiple items on your character at once, while on the Survivor Pass page.
  • You can now preview emotes while also wearing skins you wish to preview at the same time.
• Weekly Missions
  • Now all players will be able to challenge weekly missions.
  • There are a total number of 7 weekly missions.
  • Weekly missions are now grouped by difficulty, giving XP based on how challenging they are.

Highlands Pack

With the specially offered Highlands packs, you can enjoy the very best out of the Survivor Pass: Highlands.
PUBG - Highlands Advanced Pack - $24.99

• Sales Period:
  • 10/29 4 PM KST - 11/12 0 AM KST
  • 10/29 0 AM PDT - 11/11 7 AM PST
  • 10/29 8 AM CET - 11/11 4 PM CET
• Included:
  • Survivor Pass: Highlands
  • Tribal Glyph Hoodie
  • Tribal Glyph Pants
  • Tribal Glyph Winter Hat
  • Tribal Glyph Boots
  • 20 Levels

PUBG - Highlands Pack - $14.99

• Sales Period:
  • 10/29 4 PM KST - 12/10 0 AM KST
  • 10/29 0 AM PDT - 12/9 7 AM PST
  • 10/29 8 AM CET - 12/9 4 PM CET
• Included:
  • Survivor Pass: Highlands
  • Tribal Glyph Hoodie
  • Tribal Glyph Pants
  • Tribal Glyph Winter Hat
  • Tribal Glyph Boots
  • 5 Levels

Custom Match

Custom Match - Observer

A long-requested feature from our community, Custom Match now has observer functionality in almost all of its modes. You can select the "Observer" slot in the custom match lobby to enter the game session as an observer. Detailed observer settings are available under "System Menu - Settings - Gameplay - Observer".

Custom Match - Match Settings

We are glad to introduce the new 'Match settings' feature. You will be able to toggle around through a wide range of game options, such as the Blue/Red Zone, detailed settings on reviving and Flare Gun Package Settings and so on. Features like saving presets and more will be made available over time.

Framerate Priority

The Framerate Priority setting has some exciting changes this time around. The frame cap is now lifted to 60 FPS and the screen resolution will be set to 1920 x 1080 to increase framerates. The new Framerate Priority is available on Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro, and we are investigating ways to bring the lifted frame cap to other console devices as well. Stay tuned.

Match Standby Time Changes

To resolve the long loading issue, the match beginning time for all maps in Normal mode will be increased to 90 seconds from the previous 60 seconds when Update 9.1 arrives on live servers.

Performance

• Character animation preloading has been added to improve performance
  • This will result in shorter loading when entering matches and slightly reduced instances of hitching.
  • Although, as the game now loads character animations when first launching PUBG, there will be a slight increase in loading time upon launch.

UX/UI

New Feature: News Page
We've added a new News page to the client, which will include helpful info on game contents, promotions, maintenance as well as community messages. All the PUBG info you need in one convenient spot!

• The News page replaces rolling banners previously located in the top left corner of the lobby.
• The Patch Note icon at the top right corner of the lobby now opens the News page, which also contains the patch notes.

Lobby Menu Improvements

• Enhanced the visuals and navigation of the menu.

In-game Store Improvement

• Along with general navigation bar upgrades, we have also revamped the in-game store for a better experience. Rather than simple crate images, now item sets are displayed with unique key art.

Customize Menu Improvement

• The structure and layout of the customize menu have been revamped. Categories have been combined to provide quicker and easier navigation.
• Overall menu structure and layout improvement
  • Category home menu has been deleted for quicker access
  • Streamlined the excess amount of categories (e.g. vehicles)
  • Number of items displayed on the screen has been increased
• Enhanced searching tools
  • Items earned most recently will be now filtered to the top
  • Search filters have been applied to more categories
  • Added on-off toggle to show or hide face accessories when accessing the appearance category.

Player Status in Party
It has been difficult to distinguish whether a party member had disconnected or was still in a match and we've now improved the information displayed right above the characters to share more clear information on their status.

• New UI and text have been added to clearly state the player's current status.

Other UI Updates

• New emote volume control slider has been added under Settings > Audio > Sound > Gameplay section.
• Now you are able to control the volume of emotes separately from gameplay volume.
• Karakin map image used in Match history section has been updated.
• Optimized the UI in Observing Mode to provide more clear visibility.

Custom Key Binding

"Back in August 2020, we had our first Open Dev program where we asked our community to try the Custom Key Binding feature ahead of release and give us early feedback. Custom Key Binding was a tricky feature to develop, but with Open Dev, we were not only able to figure out what you wanted in terms of game controls, but were also able to discover design issues that we weren't expecting.
To all those that were in the Open Dev program, we would like to thank you for participating. This feature wouldn't be what it is without your help. And of course, even though the Open Dev program is over, that doesn't mean we'll stop receiving feedback on this feature, so please let us know if there's something with Custom Key Binding you would like to improve upon."
- PUBG Console Team
You will now be able to bind an action to a key you prefer, as well as make actions activate through button hold instead of tap and vice versa. For example, you can customize the jump and the parkour on different keys and (Tap) to reload in lieu of the traditional (Hold) to reload. But please note that some key binding combinations are restricted as we found that some don't even allow you to play the game normally.
How-to

• ​

1. System Menu - Enter the controller settings menu (image assets can change)

• 2. Activate customize (Tap) R-Stick Thumb from the controller guide
• 3. Find and select the custom key binding you wish
• 4. Find the desired action group and confirm

Brightness Setting Improvement

We have added a guide image to help you set up the right brightness for an improved battle royale experience.
The above screen will greet you when you launch PUBG for the first time. Once you set your brightness preference, it will remain the same unless you adjust the settings under the "Settings - Graphics - Brightness".
Also, we have added a guide image in the map brightness settings to help you to get an idea of what your brightness will look like on each map.

Changes in Bot Ratio

Ever since the introduction of the AI to our game we have been reviewing the community feedback and at the same time, collecting/analyzing data. As a result, we are now ready to announce some changes to the system.
We have made changes to the ratio of the AI in Normal Matches for those in the higher MMR matchmaking groups. Long story short, now you can have sessions with only human players playing. The session will wait 5 minutes until 100 players(64 for Karakin) have filled up and if it fails to fully fill up, only then the rest number of slots will be filled with bots. Therefore, when the matchmaking conditions are on green light, sessions will be bot-free, leaving only human players.

Skin & Item

• Baseball themed items - 9 set items, 16 individual items. (Release on October 29th)
• Doggy themed items - 7 set items, 21 individual items. (Release on November 4th)
• Streamer (Thomas) set - 1 set item, 3 individual items. (Release on October 29th)
• TBR - Batch 7 - 5 individual items. (Release on November 4th)

DLC

PUBG Gear Up Pack - $9.99

• Sales Period:
  • 10/29 4 PM KST - 12/17 2 PM KST
  • 10/29 0 AM PDT - 12/16 9 PM PST
  • 10/29 8 AM CET - 12/17 6 AM CET
• Included:
  • 1,100 G-coin
  • 5 Levels
  • Shiba Crew Backpack - Level 1

(PS4 Only) PUBG - PlayStation®Plus Drop Pack II - Free for PS Plus members

• Sales Period:
  • 10/29 4 PM KST - 12/17 2 PM KST
  • 10/29 0 AM PDT - 12/16 9 PM PST
  • 10/29 8 AM CET - 12/17 6 AM CET
• Included:
  • Blue-sleeved Windbreaker
  • Fire Axe 12010135
  • [BATTLESTAT] Rip Tide - Beryl M762

Bug Fixes

Gameplay

• Fixed the issue where players could cancel the reload animation of M249 to reduce the time to reload.
• Fixed the issue where the player is stuck in a single direction when parachuting.
• Fixed the issue where after using the gas can to fill up the car, you can discard remaining items without opening inventory.
• Fixed the issue where the sensitivity of casting cancellation in moving vehicle was inconsistent between PC and console platforms.
• Fixed the issue where the player can shoot through a wall with a UZI in FPP at a certain location.
• Fixed the issue where the player could cancel the reloading of M249.
• Fixed the issue where the throwing distance varied between TPP/FPP.

World

• [Miramar] Fixed an issue of colliding into an invisible object near a cactus in Impala.
• [Miramar] Fixed an issue of certain parts of the rocky areas west to Puerto Paraiso was transparent.

UI/UX

• Fixed the issue where players damage in match history and match report page shown differently
• Fixed the issue where unrelated system message displayed when player stays certain amount of time at the out game screen such as lobby, customize screen.
• Fixed the typo in the loading screen of the training map.
• Fixed the issue where changing the volume of Gameplay / UI / Music in Settings - Audio tab does not apply in real time.
• Fixed an issue where the ingame banners were not shown in some regions.
• (PS4 Only) Fixed an issue where the Item Exchange Window is duplicated when exchanging items.
• Fixed an issue where the makeup preview is not displayed as intended when there are more than four rows showing.
• Fixed an issue where an unintended message is shown when waiting in the lobby for a certain period of time.
• Fixed an issue where the player character's UI on the world map was slightly shacking when the player was on the move.
• Fixed the issue where the fifth kill feed was not displayed as intended.
• [Arena Mode] Fixed the typo for Georgopol Downtown.
• Fixed the issue where the highlight is gone if you scroll down from the settings, game play tab, use items continuously and then going into deathcam.
• [PTS] Fixed an issue where the old Sanhok image was displayed on the Normal Match button in Random map mode.

Skin & Item

• Fixed the issue where characters appearance could distort when equipping Madsy Utility Belt with certain other clothing items.
• Fixed the issue where wrong item being displayed when previewing Jockey boots with a male character

Spectating

• Fixed the issue where player's number could mismatch the number displayed on the player list when observing a match.
• Fixed the issue where M16's iron sight could block players ADS view when attaching scopes.
• Fixed the issue where players could receive wrong penalty pop-ups when trying to leave the match after spectating the killer.
• Fixed the issue where you can't return to free look while spectating a player in Custom Match Observer mode.

Welcome to RD2L Season 13 EST-Sunday Division
Hey everyone, welcome to RD2L season 13’s EST-Sunday division. I write a bunch of random shit about the division because people want me to and I somewhat enjoy it. To introduce myself, I’ve been playing dota since dota 1 and I’ve been in RD2L since season 3. I captained season 4 and have been a player ever since playing in PST Sunday, EST Saturday, EST Monday, and now finally EST Sunday. I typically play 5 or 4 but over the last few seasons I have been transitioning to the offlane and would like to play there again next season. I’m 25 and currently living in Springfield, Missouri where I’m trying to learn how to handle the cold. It’s not going well. Send help. Anyways, on to the power rankings.
EST-Sunday Power Rankings
As a bit of a forewarning, all these rankings are completely arbitrary. Last season I had 3 teams in a “below average” category and one team as a “playoff lock”. ⅔ of those teams made playoffs and the playoff lock missed. It’s a long season. Shit happens. People get better, people get worse. People throw games they should have won and win games they should have lost. Just because I think your team is slightly less good than the rest doesn’t mean that I’m right or you as an individual are a bad player. I just think, on paper, that your team is a little worse. It’s really hard to do immediately after a draft. Trust me. Try it yourself where you haven’t seen 60% of the players play.
Playoff Lock
NOBODY A LOCK THIS SEASON GRATS NOBODY IS CURSED.
Contender

• DongerClose

Donger was one of the most steady safelane players last season which really works out well when you consider his mid laner, Niffum. The duo hook up again after a solid playoff worthy performance last season. I think the two compliment each other well and hey if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Niffum is probably the one player with the highest difference between his best play and his worst play. He’s a very emotional player but he generally kept it in check in officials last season as far as I can tell which is definitely a good sign. Plus he’s really fucking good when he’s playing his best. I hope that we get to see more of good niffum than bad niffum this season because this team will be fun to watch when they’re humming. Here’s why: 2nd round pick zypher. The former 5k+ player fell to the second round because he’s not incredibly active. He’s a super super solid support player who probably led his team last season in KDA from the 5 position. I think this season will be a bit more beneficial to donger than niffum as i believe zypher plays a bit more stationary role as a 5 player. Additionally, rust is a factor here. He hasn’t played since his last games on boog’s team last season. But man was he good last season. Donger followed up that pick by taking KeyNote to play offlane. KeyNote has had a resurgence of activity of late and looks to get back into the swing of things. The only hole I see on this team is a lack of a 4 player but considering how they played last season with two 5 positions instead of a 4, that’s probably absolutely fine. Donger, Niffum, Zypher is a fucking incredible trio that’s gonna be a nightmare for people to deal with this season. Bulldoge and nil look like carry players based on their most played hero but nil has played more support lately. Hoooowever he’s archon 1. Idk whos the 5th player on this team but man is the starting 3 hard to ignore.

• Riles

Somehow coop snaked his way onto the best player’s team for the 3rd season in a row. Dude is a magician. Anyways. Riles comes to EST Sunday off the back of a RD2L main championship where he was hands down the best player on his team. He’s a captain, a mid player, and a shot caller. He’s been described as a bit of a micromanager which might be perfect for his RD2L team. First round pick Badger is a player who, until recently, i have recently learned is actually a really good carry player. He should have a toooon of space with the amount of time and resources people will put on riles mid. Watz has a random assortment of heroes that he plays to varying degrees and frankly I wasn’t entirely sure what role he was going to play. 5th round pick NoMoreFlames/HEFFBALLZ has no games showing in the last 9 months so I have no idea what he’s playing either. BrownNinja has been a rd2l player for the last 2 seasons and I think he’ll be the 5 player on this team with watz playing 4? 4th round pick coop is a steal. He can actually play offlane on a playoff team which is a position desperately needed at this point. I don’t know if he’s gotten back to the point where he was before his move but I believe riles is banking on him being able to play a lot more dota. Plus riles will just tell him where to go. I believe that riles is the best player in the division and that is why this team is here. I am not a huge believe in some of the pieces on his team but I have little doubt that riles will end up winning more than half of his games on his own. The dude won RD2L. Hello? Plus badger plays a fuckton of antimage which is a nice change of pace from putting all the onus on riles to carry the team by himself.

• Octane

Octane was the best captain last season. Good luck keeping that mantle. Octane led off with another player he can form his entire draft around in francesca who has 98% of his games in the core role. I don’t think I’ve seen higher before lol. On this team he’ll be asked to hit a lot of creeps and carry the game. I think he’ll swap roles as the game dictates but I could be wrong. He has quite a few mid heroes in his top heroes played but that might just be a function of it being a pub where most players would prefer to play mid instead of carry. Lucky for him Octane is his captain. Second round pick, somehow, is recently crowned RD2L Mini division 1 champion noah who has done nothing but own and feed in inhouses since last season ended. He has the ability to absolutely take over a game on money gremlin(bounty hunter for you all with normally functioning brains) and whatever he calls earth spirit from the 4 position. I played a game against him the other day and he ganked me while I was in the offlane, killed me, and I noticed he was dominating as bh in 4.5 minutes with kills in every lane. Yeah. 3rd round pick is PayDay who I think is a tad underrated. I was really surprised to see he was still available so late in the draft. He’ll provide flexibility to francesca where they can swap roles depending on the farm priority. Last two picks will have to fight between the two of them for the offlane role. Early indications are that will be Yayo as he actually plays offlane in pubs but somehow Yoda- fell to the 5th round as a 3k player but hey when you’re Octane you do your damn homework. This team will do their research on a weekly basis through scouting opponents and play very similarly to how Octane’s team played last season. Reminder: that team was damn good.

• Minah(Velvet)

Minah is gunning to reclaim his throne as a top 2 player in the league. He’s a former 6k player who is somehow stuck at divine 2 right now. He’s an extremely good mid and captain and I think this captain role will suit him. The dude hit 6k. He’s barely missed playoffs the last two seasons and I am really glad he decided to step up and captain this season. He’s a guy who has a great mind for dota and how it should be played and can shot call and direct from any position. He’s an excellent support player but I think he’s best suited as a mid on this lineup(duh). First round pick subject is one of the more interesting new players to the division. I don’t really know how he fell so far as his dotabuff says he’s a 5.6k player. Maybe nobody wanted to pick him because he’s a dirty pango player. Given an extremely strong offlane player, minah should be freed up in the mid lane to actually have a 1v1 which should be a breath of fresh air from being typically suffocated with support rotations in previous seasons. 2nd round pick is one of the biggest anomalies of the division. He’s a friend of minah’s which is why I think this team is a contender. I honestly don’t really know how good he is but most of the people minah plays with are very good. 3rd round pick Joel Warlord looks like Vanilla Acoustic-lite with the spamming of crystal maiden. That’s a loooot of crystal maiden. I don’t really know yerbad but I know he’s a longtime RD2L player. I think with subject looking like a greedier offlaner this team will function as a team that drafts 2 5s instead of a more traditional 4+5 duo. Last round pick Camel has one of my favorite profile pictures in the league I have no idea where it’s from but it’s wonderfully dorky.

• Yak

Bit of a caveat here: I’m writing this under the assumption that Shea Dr. plays in most of their games. Even if he doesn’t, I love this lineup. There’s a ton of potential here if the personalities work. Like...actually win the division type of potential. Of course, the games aren’t played on paper. Starting off with yak who I think is a tad underrated in the server. I think he plays an excellent 4 position, particularly kunkka and spirit breaker. That’s important based on his first round pick. Shea Dr. is exceptional at clock and enigma and really does deserve to have those 2 heroes banned against him. Couple that with kunkka+SB and this team could be a bit of a nightmare to ban against. Yak followed up his offlane pick with Gohan who legitimately should have been first round picked. I have no idea why he wasn’t. All you had to do if you were concerned about how much dota he is going to play is add him and ask. Gohan will be one of the better mids in the league. The real changing point for Yak’s team is their safelane. It’s an extremely high ceiling combining the(probably) best offlaner, an exceptional mid player, a good support duo, and a good carry buuuut it could go really poorly if the team makes a ton of space and Mylan throws. I’m secretly a pretty big fan of Mylan’s dota skills. Sometimes his personality is a little abrasive but I really do think that if given the space he can perform and he certainly should have space with this lineup. The 4th round is lowkey insane. Guardian_MSSB is another player who I have a very high opinion of as a support player. He might actually be the best phoenix player in the division. Remember how I said this team would be hard to ban against? Better hope support phoenix doesn’t turn meta. Yak’s team is rounded out by Znyper, a 2.3k support player with pretty solid rates and I mean rather insane win rates. If shea doesn’t play, this team is not screwed. I would move them to a bubble team. The 4 other players in the starting lineup are good enough to make up for not having Shea and yak can play offlane I believe.

• Zamolxes

Sorry buddy, you drafted too well this season. I was a big fan of Dergo going into it and I think his play compliments yours very well. Last season I severely underestimated Zamolxes’s ability to play mid and ranked him as a below average team. He promptly made the playoffs and reminded me of his preseason ranking throughout the year. I will not make the same mistake twice. Starting off with Dergo who appears to play a bunch of do shit, divey heroes that perfectly compliments Zam’s insanity from the mid lane. Following up Dergo and further securing the safelane is vvodle who I have a ton of respect for as a support player. I think he’s really really good. He really impressed me in the preseason inhouses we played before season 12. Zamolxes dipped into last season’s team to select TrojanHorse, one of my old RD2L mates and a veteran offlaner. I’m sure TrojanHorse is excited to get back into the habit of the first half of last season where he only played large offlane heroes. Tidehunter and Underlord here we come. 4th pick somehow ended up being mertank who I thought performed pretty well on Octane’s team last season, stepping in and playing offlane at times and support at others. He also performed very well in RD2L Mini Division 3 as an offlaner. I think it’s a pretty high value pick to get someone who you know will perform and actually gets to play a role they prefer(support in 70% of games). Plus having an early support pick in vvodle should lead to some direction from the support duo. Somehow zam last picked 1Paz who is a 3k player with a 55% win rate. I don’t understand why exactly he fell. He plays allll the time. I think Dergo and Zam play a pretty similar style which should mesh and turn this team into an early game force. Edit: Zamolxes is a dumbo(pls no unfriend ty)
Above Average

• Zipper

Zypyphyr is one of the most interesting core players in the division. He only plays highly annoying shit that doesn’t actually deal damage quickly until minute 85 but is incredibly difficult to kill(arc warden, weaver, void, recently safelane ember in an inhouse). Him and Big Mike, 1st round pick, should be swapping off between mid and safelane. Big mike’s dotabuff is...fucking confusing. It says he’s 3.1k solo and 5k party. Fine. Says he’s divine 0. So..how’s he 3.1k solo? Idk. There’s actually not a ton of overlap between their hero pools so maybe they won’t have to fight over heroes. 2nd round pick rikirude is a little underrated imo. He’s a nice guy who always requests weird dumb shit so if you’re a good captain and can ignore his hero requests he’s a great player to have. King Reptar(colin) will, once again, be contributing to drafts and locking down the offlane. Rounding this team off is econ, captain from last season. This team of rd2l vets+the weird dude with random mmbadge combo should play together a ton which pushes them up from bubble to above average. The team fits together well and makes sense together. I really like this draft from zipper. Mostly depends how good Big Mike is. Last pick KoKo should be able to play a few games and make a positive contribution. He’s friends with people in the league so I’m sure he’ll stick around and want to play. Solid draft for sure.

• LTH

In terms of raw talent this team is a contender for sure. I don’t know how their roles work. LTH is an awesome captain, a superb player, and currently named “Nut: :Piazza:” which is close and deserves credit for trying. He’ll be this seasons Jakou(that’s a good thing). I think he’s playing safelane for his team this season but frankly I’m not sure. Sold coke to a pregnant girl is a divine 5 support morphling and roaming visage player. I have no fucking idea how good he is. He’s an old EST Monday captain so I know signing up means he’s aware of the commitment. OptimisticZack somehow dropped to the 2nd round as a 4.6k offlane player but he has barely played over the last month and a half. He plays offlane visage and offlane disruptor in early 2016. Sensing a theme? This team is weird. So far I have the roles as 1. LTH 2. ____ 3. Zack 4. Pregnant Girl 5. ____ soooo next pick clayman plays mid? Maybe LTH will play mid and clayman will play carry. I think that’s a bit more likely. I feel like LTH and clayman have been playing together in RD2L for 3 years now so this feels right to have them on the same team. Maybe LTH plays mid and clayman plays viper when they manage to pick it. PatchThomas will be the 5 player on the team and he actually only plays defensive supports which should fit in nicely with how the rest of the team plays(they’ll need saving). Last round pick for LTH has traditionally simply been a “nice name dude” selection and thus: tazdude99.

• Malakai

I really like this draft by malakai. He plays a lot of farm intensive heroes in the offlane so his first pick is style who has an enormous hero pool. I assume he’ll be playing carry on this team but I’m sure he can play mid depending on the hero. Next up he took squat who, at first glance, plays a bit of everything. With Malakai+style there’s not gonna be a lot of farm around the map for another farmy player. Enter Squat. Plenty of experience playing mid but also plenty of experience playing without as much farm and maintaining a high impact level. Next up is GAFF who might have had the most annoying player style in the division last season. Known for enfeebling mid as bane, following him around as a caster you’ll probably be able to pick out which lane Malakai’s team wins as it’ll be whichever lane he’s in with these three super solid cores. Mota and Hazard should fight over the 5 position and frankly I’m not sure who is a better 5. One of those rare times where there’s not a clear winner imo. I think this teams pretty good but it’ll depend on how malakai does drafting imo. I think they could be a bit too greedy and end up only winning 1 lane and then having shit team fight while hoping to outfarm everyone. Still. I like the player draft we’ll see how the games go. Fuck brood.

• Nuttypizza

Nuttypizza turned into one of the pleasant surprises of last season which is generally true for players with good captains. After like the 3-4th season of EST Sunday we should do a “coaching tree” thing they do in sports where we track all the current captains and where they got their starts as players and who their captain was. He’s a fine offlaner. Dark is dark. He was the main focus of the best tricore EST Sunday has ever had. He’ll be another front runner for MVP this season. 2nd round pick GG mode is someone I identified early in the draft process as a player who was probably going to make his team very very happy. He’s got a very good win rate overall and some insane win rates on individual heroes. He plays a ton every day. He’s like...a perfect 2nd round pick. Support is the only thing keeping this team from being a lock for contender(and they’ll probably move up after week 1 lets be real). 3rd round pick wise seems a bit weaker than the typical 3rd round pick support players. Their 4th round pick astroty plays shadow fiend and I’ll eat a bag of sea salt and vinegar chips if anyone but dark plays shadow fiend on this team. Last round pick TheJohan looks like a better support option with wise playing 4 and Johan playing 5. Wise has quite a lot of experience as a 4 player in pubs so that’s a plus but still. We’ll see. Dark+GG Mode might be too much for most teams to handle.

• Sonny

Sonny really likes windranger. I have no idea if you ban that hero against him cuz it’s...windranger. But he has like 850+ games played on it. Idk. Looking purely at his dotabuff I would love to be on his team. He’s extremely active, plays freaking chen in pubs, and plays damn near every role. First round pick ok is someone I have a soft spot for. I think he’s an incredibly stable mid player who will give you a good performance no matter what except invoker against razor. Don’t pick that. Anyways. Rubity is another player that’s very very stable. I think this team’s going to have to play around ok a bit which isn’t exactly how I think he’s best. I think he’s best as a 2nd fiddle to someone else where he plays a slightly less farmy role. Think ame, not maybe. Rubity will, for the first time in 2 seasons, actually get to only play safelane! Woooo. Poggey was one of the players who I thought would be one of the sneaky good support players. The biggest question I have about this team is who plays offlane. Codifferous is another player who mostly plays support but has a few games on other roles like fucking brood. Rounding things out is yerpaysse whose name I still don’t know how to pronounce despite it being his 3rd season. He’s 3.2k and got last picked. Makes no sense. I think this team will end up exactly here. Beats teams it should, loses to teams it should. A gatekeeper team unless ok and rubity really step things up.

• Vynil

First and foremost thank you Vynil for being a last minute captain add. He’s a mid player turned support, a nice dude, someone who has reached out to me to ask for advice on how to improve, someone who did an unprompted data dive on all of the heroes we played as a team last season, and should be a good captain. Helps with the start he had. First overall pick, deservedly so, is Melliflox, a carry player who I really respect. One of the few people who tells me what to do and I don’t say something snarky back because he’s GENERALLY right(not all the time). He’s someone who should really shine in a RD2L setting where he’s comfortable shotcalling from the 1 position by giving direction and objectives for the team to follow through on. 2nd round pick nabe is a good dude who stood in for my team last season in a pinch and a solid offlaner. He’ll do a good job of taking pressure off of the mid and safelanes. Again with most of these support player captains I think their seasons are really going to be determined by their 3rd round pick: I don’t know much about DaywalkeR but I’ve heard he’s a pretty high variance mid player. Based on the heroes he’s currently playing, he might need to change it up a bit to give more room to Melliflox but I am confident they’ll figure their farm distribution out in their scrims before the season starts. Vynil’s last 3 picks will form the other half of the support duo. Once again, CupOfJoe gets put on support. Maybe he’ll get to play more lich this season! Lol. 4th round pick Shmurda has a hell of a lot of games on engima and rubick which probably indicates he’s a good teamfighter. He’s been playing a ton of support in his pubs which is a good sign. Extra pick Reviewingllama will be asked to probably play support or stand in for vynil if he can’t make games so he has a bit of work cut out for him in learning what role he’ll be playing.
Bubble Team

• Dr Patrick Star, Wumbology MD

As much as I love the name, You’ll be referred to as Patrick for the rest of the season cuz I don’t want to write all that out everytime. Patrick looks like a pretty solid core player with the ability to play both the mid and safelane positions. He also has 800 games on the china server so he’s probably way better at dota than the rest of us. First round pick y-o-d-a is a lot like him in the sense that he can play either mid or safelane. Both look like a bit better at safelane so it’ll be interesting to see who bites the bullet and plays mid for the team. 2nd round pick SKarfaze is one of the people from PR and it’s great to have him back and playing in RD2L. I hope everythings going well, man. Also Skarfaze is one of the few legitimate offlaners we’ve had for the last few seasons. Here’s where the team gets a bit interesting: whos the 4 player on this team? Nobu looks like a better 5 than 4. Buck Fama barely plays core. 2. Is my brother and can’t play 4 i’m sure and y’ is definitely not innocence. Nobu+1. Good luck fellas. I think y-o-d-a ends up playing mid and patrick plays carry but that’s just a hunch. I hope this team does well it’s my brother’s first season be gentle :).

• Goahitle

I’ve gone back and forth on this team so many times. I think it’s ok? I learned that goahitle also plays support, I thought he was a safelane only player but actually he plays about 50-50 support-core. I’m pretty sure he’ll be the...support...for this team? I don’t know. That’s why this team’s confusing. Tekke has a fucking nuts 57% win rate overall as pretty solely safelane so he should, in theory, play safelane. Adz1k should, in theory, play mid. KTP should, in theory, play offlane? He plays a bit of everything but I think he’s the best option(by far, frankly) to play offlane so that should be the onefor sure. It all really depends what Goahitle plays. I really think he has to play support but as a divine 4 player does he want to actually play support when he’d probably be a top tier carry player too? Idk. Chuck Tingle and LoneWolf are solely core players. This team makes no fucking sense. I’ve moved them back and forth from the below average tier like 18x please don’t yell at me for not being consistent I’ve written so much I’m losing track of people LMAO.

• Huncho Jack(fuck your spaces)

How do you guarantee you have the most fun as a safelane player in RD2L? Captain, draft a offlaner first, follow that up with 2 supports, and hope one of your mid players work out. Oh, and get a 5.7k player with the 12th pick. Good start. Huncho Jack literally only plays safelane so he’ll be playing that. I do like his dotabuff. He’s got a good mix of stuff that he’s good at. A few different styles, solid win rates. First round pick alpaca is the other half of the new offlane players that I’m really looking forward to learning from. He’s a legitimate offlaner who plays a bit more carry type heroes in the offlane. 2nd round pick tricxterlad has a god tier dotabuff for an rd2l support player. Plays all the time. Plays frequently. Most played are high impact supports. Can probably play 4 or 5. I love it. Add me I wanna pub. 3rd round pick PaprikaCC played last season but I don’t know how active he is anymore. Based off his dotabuff it’s...not looking great. Maybe that activity comes back as he gets into the swing of the RD2L season. Here’s where the season is a make or break for this team: mid lane has been left to 4th and 5th picks seevil and RS, respectively. I have a higher opinion of seevil than most but there’s nothing more to say than he has an immense task in front of him. On the bright side, his side lanes should be owning so supports shouldn’t be spending too much time in his lane. It should be damage control from minute 1 rather than a flashy style of mid. Looking forward to watching this team play to be honest. They’re very interesting.

• Iceyeti

I have a confession to make. I’ve never told anyone this. For the longest time, Iceyeti was “iceyetiz”. I did not know how to pronounce his name. I ended up with something in my head akin to “icy eye tiz” I don’t fucking know. It’s Ice Yeti. I was so confused when someone asked about yeti in discord. Then i put it together. I’m sorry iceyetiz. Anyways. Iceyetiz is a very very solid carry player and yet..this teams a complete question mark. I legitimately have never seen JTK play mid before. He’s become so obsessed with kaya that once we got to the main RD2L season he swapped to mid so he could continue to build it without getting flamed. Since he’s been drafted for mid he’s played 4 games of mid and lost every one so that’s a positive sign. 2nd round pick legion of one should again bring a bit of stability to the offlane which should be desperately needed. This teams a bubble team because I have no idea how this JTK mid experiment will go. Jbay7 continues to be criminally underrated as a player. Go fucking solo queue so we can see that you should be like legend 5/ancient 0. Ass. Out of mana will assist with the supporting and the drafting. He knows a ton of random shit about dota that’ll help the entire team to know. Knowledge is power. He’ll also help iceyetiz with the draft a bit I’m sure as he’s very strong willed about his opinions and doesn’t mind speaking up when he thinks there’s a better way to be doing something. Sonofpaint will be giving JTK mid lessons throughout the season xd.

• Jakou

Jakou was the brains behind last season’s dominant team. He drafted and strategized each game around dark’s request for a new hero every game. He was a standout offlaner and carried games whenever the enemy team’s supports weren’t in his lane. I was a little concerned with first picking patience, not that i don’t think patience is good but I thought there were some better options(sold coke to a pregnant girl went with the following pick). But I really do like jakou’s draft because of one pick. I’ll get to it. Patience turned into one of the better players on octane’s team last season. He was the unsung hero where curry got all the glory and him and interstate made all the room. This season a lot more will be expected of him. Jakou and patience will probably play in the same lane together to better suit jakou’s greedier offlane style. Ark is one of the EST Monday imports who has garnered a ton of respect from the community as a really solid, underrated player. He should be able to step into mid against most players and hold his own. Leaving me to a brilliant pick in the draft: LS.ibelieve...assuming he actually plays. He’s going to be the 1 player on this team. Patience, jakou, and ark will be doing most of the heavy lifting. Jakou needed a solid, stable safelaner and to carry the games he should carry and not throw the ones where his teammates own. I believe in ibelieve. Sabo and Drizzit will be fighting over the 5 position on this team. I’d like to see Drizzit win the role as I know he’s been in RD2L for 3 seasons now but he’s normally a core player whereas Sabo is a bit more of a support. We’ll see. I think this teams pretty solid and might struggle a bit if jakou can’t figure out where to properly deploy patience in each game.

• NuSolitude

As always, I believe in my team to win every game. I did this in RD2L Mini where I just put my team as bubble and moved us accordingly and I believe that’s more fair to the ranking system.

• Shmeezy

Shmeezy is a first time captain but RD2L veteran. According to him, this will be his first season playing offlane despite playing carry and support in past seasons. A bit of a jack of all trades, the transition to offlane should have a lot of influence over the success of his team. His first round pick might be the best player in the draft. He says he used to be 6.2k before the badges came out. He’s got an assload of games on ember and storm, both heroes you can 1v5 with from the mid lane and has extremely high win rates with both. He plays a ton of dota and has inhoused in recent weeks, both positive signs for your first round pick. 2nd round pick treat yo self should look to continue his play in the mid lane after last season’s weekly solid performance. Yet again he finds himself in a position with an excellent safelaner to rely on where they can trade farm priority depending on how well the teams doing. To secure that safelane, shmeezy drafted d00 who should be playing 5 considering his 4th round pick is rd2l vet o9. Typically o9 plays offlane. We’ll see if being on a new team can rekindle his love for dota and stop him from playing PUBG. He’s a strong personality who can help shot call and draft in games. It’ll be interesting to see if these lanes stick as they’re currently set out. I spoke with skkip a bit when he first joined rd2l in discord and I know he mentioned wanting to play 1 so I’m pretty sure this is how the roles will start but we’ll see. I hope D00 gets to play earth spirit and o9 plays 5. Idk. Maybe 1. Skkip 2. Treat yo self 3. O9 4. D00 5. Shmeezy by the end of the year? If o9 doesnt want to play dota, last round pick supra looks awesome and I have no idea how he fell that far. Rubick players are typically always good spell casters and that’s the main thing about playing support.

• We.Reformed

This season’s dark horse imo. I have a lot of respect for we. as a player. He puts a ton of time into dota and really cares about winning and losing. If he can manage his emotions and not flame his team he’s got a pretty good team formed. On top of that, he’s very good when he’s calm and playing his own game. He hit ancient 5 for a reason despite being low 4k last season. His first two picks I think are vastly underrated based on their badges. Rice Boi is one of the better mids in the division and, imo, carried the shit out of his team last season. We. got kind of stuck in the mid lane last season as he is, despite having a dotabuff that looks like a mid player, pretty strictly a safelane player. Killerkarate is a hell of a playmaker in the offlane position. He’s one of the few people I feel very comfortable with letting offlane instead of me because I know I can count on him to make shit happen. I remember the first inhouse I played with him I thought he was a bit of a dick but every game after that(much larger sample size) he’s turned out to be a nice dude and an enjoyable teammate. Next up is YaJ who, frankly, is a confusing pick. YaJ appears to be a strictly core player. There’s ~0% that rice boi or we. are playing anything but mid and safelane respectively so I am not sure what’s going on with this pick. We. avoids being below average through the high potential of his tricore and his last two picks: Iamperfection and p0nd. I wrote about p0nd in my mock draft post and I really do think he’s quite good based off his dotabuff. Iamperfection has some pretty good win rates on supports that he plays. Draft = saved. This team could either disband by week 2 or be a top 3 team in the division. Feast or famine. I don’t think this team ends up being a middling team unless we. truly has a changed attitude which would raise this team’s floor considerably.
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