Ring of Elysium vs. PUBG – What’s the Difference?

If you are a fan of battle royale games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, there’s a good chance you’ve stumbled across a new battle royale shooter on PC called Ring of Elysium. Formerly named Europa, Ring of Elysium (shortened as ROE) is a new multiplayer battle royale game developed by Chinese game publisher Tencent. The game is basically a PUBG clone, which is why so many players have been drawn to it lately. But, just how similar are the two games? What’s the difference between Ring of Elysium and PUBG? We aim to answer these questions below so that you know what to expect before diving into Ring of Elysium.

ROE is Free, But Region-Locked

Like Fortnite Battle Royale, Ring of Elysium is completely free-to-play, which is one of the biggest differences between ROE and PUBG. In fact, the price point is why many players moved over to Fortnite in the first place. Now that there’s another free, realistic-looking battle royale game available on PC, PUBG fans should be tempted to at least give Ring of Elysium a try.

Although ROE is free-to-play, the game is currently region-locked and is only officially available in Indonesia and Thailand in closed beta. That doesn’t mean you can’t play it in the west, however. Players have discovered a way to download and play Ring of Elysium in English from outside its designated region. The process requires a few technical steps, but it shouldn’t be too difficult for those who are comfortable using computer programs.

60-Player Battles 

Most battle royale shooters like PUBG, Fortnite, and even Tencent’s mobile hit Rules of Survival are known for having 100-player battles. Ring of Elysium subverts this standard by offering 60-player matches instead.

A smaller player count helps make for quicker matchmaking, as players won’t have to wait as long for a lobby to load up with enough players, even if they may be bots. On the other hand, less players means less opponents on the battlefield, and given the size of the ROE island, finding opponents may take a bit longer depending on where you land.

Gliders vs. Parachutes

Players also do not parachute onto the island in Ring of Elysium like they would in PUBG. ROE allows players to hang glide their way down to the ground instead. There is also no open waiting area at the start of a match in Ring of Elysium. Players simply spawn into the cargo plane at the moment of matchmaking without having to wait around while the lobby fills up.

Dynamic Weather Effects

Ring of Elysium prides itself on having dynamic weather effects as well as a day and night cycle, features that are not available in PUBG. Ring of Elysium features changing weather conditions to keep players on their toes. Clear skies can easily turn to storm clouds in ROE, creating a realistic atmosphere where the climate changes over time.

Weather effects used to be available in PUBG as well, but were later removed during the PC 1.0 update, likely due to performance issues caused by weather effects like fog and rain. The only time players have gotten to experience weather effects since the official launch of PUBG PC 1.0 is during the testing phase for PUBG’s upcoming 4×4 map, Codename: Savage.

Temporary Clothing Unlocks

Permanent clothing unlocks are available for your character in both PUBG and Ring of Elysium. However, ROE also offers multiple options for temporarily unlocking clothing items as well, meaning players can essentially rent clothes for a limited time.

ROE features 3-day, 7-day, and 30-day clothing unlocks alongside permanent unlocks for their character. Head over to our guide on how to unlock clothes in Ring of Elysium to get new outfits for your character.

Third-Person Only

PUBG allows players to toggle between first-person and third-person perspectives. PUBG Corp. has even implemented a dedicated first-person only mode in PUBG to balance out the gameplay. Ring of Elysium, on the other hand, does not support first-person mode, at least not in its current state. While this isn’t necessarily a major difference, it is worth pointing out for players who are used to swapping to first-person in PUBG. 

While these differences set Ring of Elysium apart from PUBG, ROE is still a battle royale shooter at its core. If you’re a battle royale fan looking for a more realistic-looking, free-to-play equivalent of PUBG, then look no further than Ring of Elysium.