Planetside 2 - Getting Started
Planetside 2
Planetside 2 is an MMOFPS. It is a large-scale shooter that boosts very large maps, huge player numbers and a persistent battlefield. It is set in the future on the world of Auraxis, where three factions battle for dominion. The game will be released this year (2012) and will be Free to Play.
Beta Access
Planetside 2 is currently in semi-closed beta. This means that not just everyone can play this game right now. However, getting in is relatively easy. There are a few ways you can go about this, each with its own success rating.
You can try to get a key through twitter. Apparently they're giving them out pretty often to anyone who tweets them with something original or meaningful or funny. While getting a key through Twitter is not a certainty, it's definitely your best bet if you don't want to spend any money and don't want to wait for a key to come through the regular sign-up process (which is likely scheduled on the same day that Hell freezes over).
Success rating: 7 (success not 100% guaranteed, but getting a key is quite likely)
Sign up on the site
You are a brave and patient man if you try it this way. There are people who have been signed up for months and didn't get a key. If you're not in a hurry, this could be your option, but don't expect anything.
Success rating: 1 (you're going to wait. A long time)
Alpha Squad
This is a package that costs approximately 40 dollars, 35 euros and 30 pounds. This package will give you the equivalent to the purchasing price in Station Cash, which you can use to buy in-game items. It also gives you 12 free weapon unlocks, new skins/camos and a Founders emblem. In addition, you receive instant access to the beta. This makes the Alpha Squad package the most surefire way of getting into the beta, as long as you pay the money.
Success rating: over 9000 (though you DO have to pay for it)
Waiting for extra keys
We had a key giveaway here on this very forum quite recently, after e-mails had been sent to people currently in beta, containing spare beta keys to give to friends. This doesn't happen all that often, but hey, it's a possibility.
Success rating: 1 (there's a chance it'll happen again, but don't count on it too much)
Installing and launching the game
After you gain access, you can download the Planetside 2 launcher. This file is not very big. It will install a launcher that will, when run, fully install the game and will also download and install patches in the future. Simply run the Launchpad program and let it do its thing. After it is launched, press 'play'.
The Launchpad program also displays news on the right-hand side. In the lower-left corner of the launchpad, there is a wrench-shaped button that will take you to Advanced Options. Here you can view servers, validate game files and other items.
Getting in-game
When you are in the game, you will find yourself on the main menu. You cannot join a game yet; first, you have to create a character. This will be a persistent character that you can upgrade using certifications and purchase new guns for using Auraxium (currency earned in-game) or Station Cash (currency purchased with real money). You can create a character by pressing the big green button at the bottom of your screen. You will have a choice of three factions:
Vanu Sovereignty
The Vanu Sovereignty are a faction who wish to further humanity by using alien artefacts. They use alien technology in their war machine, giving them access to energy-based weapons with reduced recoil as well as hovertanks that are very maneuverable. They are about flexibility and accuracy.
New Conglomerate
The New Conglomerate are a faction who are tired of being ruled over by others and became freedom fighters. They use heavy weapons in every sense of the word; their guns and tanks are well armoured and pack a punch. They are about survivability and raw power.
Terran Republic
The Terran Republic are a faction who want to maintain law and order at any cost. Their weapons are designed to fire a lot fo bullets in as little time as possible. So are their tanks, which have double barrels. They are about speed and high rate of fire.
After picking a faction, you will be asked to pick a server. Currently, the beta only has two servers online: one in the United States and one in Europe. The European server is called Eurydome.
Currently, =NF= are playing as the Terran Republic. This is during Beta, it is still subject to change, depending on our experiences and preferences when the game is released. Since most people from =NF= are based in and around Europe, our current server is Eurydome. This is also subject to change, in particular because servers are still being changed around in the beta. A more permanent server will be listed here after release.
Getting started
Now that you are in-game, there are a few things you should know. You will most likely start at the Warpgate of your chosen faction. The Warpgate is a neutral area that belongs to your faction and cannot be taken by another faction. It is your faction's foothold on that continent. You will see a number of terminals placed throughout the Warpgate. These can be accessed by standing in front of them and pressing 'E'.
Class Terminal
Use this terminal to change class. There are a number of different classes in Planetside 2:
-Light Assault: This is the standard class, the first you will spawn as. It has a jetpack that allows you to jump higher if you press and hold [spacebar], and which can be used to scale walls and other obstacles that would otherwise be unreachable. It has access to a carbine that does OK damage.
-Heavy Assault: This is the only class that can pose a threat to tanks. It has access to a rocket launcher as well as a Light Machine Gun. Its special ability is a shield that mitigates enemy fire somewhat. You can activate this by pressing [F].
-Combat Medic: This is the medic class. It has access to a healing tool that can both revive downed teammates and heal wounded ones. The medic also has an Area of Effect healing ability that heals both himself and wounded teammates within its radius. This ability is actived by pressing [F].
-Engineer: The engineer has no special ability but in exchange for that has many tools to support his team with. It has a repair tool that can be used to repair vehicles, turrets and generators. Its inventory also includes an ammo resupply box, which can be placed around teammates to replenish their ammo. And last but not least, the engineer has access to a deployable shielded turret that can rip through enemy infantry.
-Infiltrator: The Infiltrator is the sniper of the bunch. Its special ability is a cloak that renders him virtually invisible when still, and hard to spot when moving. This ability can be accessed by pressing [F]. The Infiltrator can also certify into hacking enemy turrets and terminals, which makes them inaccessible to that team and turns them to the infiltrator's team.
-MAX unit: The MAX is basically a walking tank. It has a weapon on each arm, which can be changed for other weapons to fulfill special roles (anti infantry, anti armour or anti air). The MAX's special ability is to quickly run out of danger (accessed by pressing [F]) which is quite useful since the MAX is quite large and quite slow. It does have a lot of armour, but the drawback is that it can only be healed by an engineer, due to the technical nature of the MAX suit. However, a MAX can be revived by a medic once it's down. Take note: a MAX costs resources to spawn, and can only be spawned once per every few minutes.
You can also use class terminals to resupply ammo and to get more grenades and spawn beacons.
Ground Vehicle Terminal
There are several vehicle terminals out there. Some only spawn certain kinds of vehicles. Some smaller facilities can only spawn Flashes (quad bikes) for instance. All ground vehicles cost resources and you can only spawn one every so often.
-Flash: A Flash is a quad bike that can get you quickly from A to B. It is unarmoured and unarmed, unless you purchase a gun for it. It can also be outfitted with a radar dish that detects enemy units within a certain radius. Its main purpose, however, is to get somewhere fast and cheap. It fits one person.
-Lightning: A lightning is a light single-seater tank that can fire 6 shots in quick succession. The lightning is lightly armoured and is not suited for protracted armourd engagements, but can be quite dangerous to infantry. It is also quite fast which makes it a good scouting vehicle. It can also be outfitted with an anti-air gun, turning it into a mobile AA platform.
-Main Battle Tank: Each faction has its own MBT. The NC's Vanguard is heavy, well armoured and packs a punch. Its special ability is to generate a shield to withstand even more damage. The VS' Magrider is a hovertank that can strafe and scale hills and mountains with ease. Its special ability is a temporary speed boost. The TR's Prowler is a fast tank with double barrels that can shoot two shells in quick succession. Its special ability is to anchor itself to the ground, losing all mobility but drastically increasing its rate of fire, turning it into an artillery platform. There is room for two people in this tank: a driver/gunner and someone on the machinegun on top.
-Sunderer: The Sunderer is a transport vehicle that has room for 12 people (including drivers and gunners). It has two machineguns on top. It can be outfitted for a number of different tasks, such as healing or re-arming friendly vehicles or serving as a forward spawn point for allied troops.
Air Vehicle Terminals
These terminals spawn air vehicles. At the Warpgate, the terminals for Galaxies and the otehr aircraft are seperate, but on most other places, they are grouped together. All air vehicles cost resources and you can only spawn one every so often.
-Empire-specific fighter: Each faction has its own fighter craft. The NC's Reaver is a heavy fighter, with the best armour and hardest hitting weaponry. The VS' Scythe is an agile fighter that is the most maneuverable out of the three. The TR's Mosquito is the fastest fighter craft. All three have room for one pilot.
-Liberator: This aircraft can be used as a gunship or bomber. It has room for three people: a pilot, who also controls the front gun, a bomber/gunner, who controls the main gun versus ground unit, an a tail gunner, who controls the tail gun in order to keep enemy aircraft off its back.
-Galaxy: This aircraft is a dropship that fits 12 people (including pilot and gunners). Passengers who drop out of a Galaxy do NOT suffer falling damage from ANY height. This aircraft can apparently be outfitted as a gunship as well. It is one of the main vehicles that get you from A to B. It used to be used as a spawnpoint, but in a recent patch this ability has been removed.
Continent Terminal
This terminal has a little world-shape on it, and is used to travel between continents. This is only a temporary way for use in the beta. Currently, this terminal is used to travel between the desert continent of Indar and the ice continent of Esamir.
So what do we do?
Well, fight for the Motherland! Or for Liberty. Or science. What you need to do is capture facilities, which govern hexes. These hexes give a certain amount of resources, which can be used to purchase vehicles and other useful things. Some hexes also provide Auraxium, which can be used to unlock new weapons in the store. Fighting in general also gives you experience, which translates into Certifications (1000 exp. is 1 cert point). Certifications can be spent on unlocking certain upgrades such as gun sights, bandoliers, abilities for vehicles etc.
You can capture bases by taking all of its capture points and holding it for a certain amount of time, after which you take the entire facility and the hex and its resources are now yours. Certain kinds of facilities hold certain kinds of resources, and each are assaulted and defended in different ways. I can all explain that here, but it's best to just see and learn in-game. After all, there must be SOME surprises, right?
So let's do it together!
All of this is much more fun if you do it with a group! So get into TeamSpeak, join the outfit and join our squad, and let's fight the enemies together!
Ask any of us for the TeamSpeak credentials and you can get in. Interested to see how we play? Here is a playlist of Planetside 2 videos that should show you exactly what kind of outfit we are!
Reply With Quote![Brewster[TAO]'s Avatar](image.php?u=4776&dateline=1313701916 "Brewster[TAO]'s Avatar")
! Ill read it in detail when i manage to get into the beta!
