PlanetSide 2?

[Thandran]

Planet Side 2 piqued my interest... anyone here playing it?

If yes... is it an enjoyable game? Would you spare a few sentences describing it? I saw it's F2P? How's the model handled? Intrusive, all the goodies need to paid for, good, bad...? Is the learning curve steep? How are newcomers treated (provided they are willing to learn) ? Are you enjoying yourself?

Thank you.

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

I started playing it last week. It's a good game, and I have been enjoying it but it's one of those games you need a party of people to really play effectively.

Just make sure your system is up for the job. This game hammers down hard on any CPU that isn't an i5 or AMD equivalent.

 

[Thandran]

I started playing it last week. It's a good game, and I have been enjoying it but it's one of those games you need a party of people to really play effectively.

Just make sure your system is up for the job. This game hammers down hard on any CPU that isn't an i5 or AMD equivalent.

Thank you for your comment.

Anybody else willing to share their opinion?

 

[Shdwrnr]

I tried to play it with my son and make a little youtube video. Game crashed on me three times and him once. I no longer play.

 

[Haakmed]

Expect to get killed a lot. If your in a plane look out for surface to air and air to air missles. If your in a tank look out for air to ground missles and other tank blobs. if your infantry look out for everything cause it all explodes or runs you over!

Don't take me wrong when you figure out how you want to play the game is great. But you will die a lot!

 

[Kukakkau]

Have a strong system if you're going to play it and ideally play it with friends if you can. For new players it can be very frustrating and not overly fun at first, but it picks up once you get hang of it.

As to your other questions its thousands of people on each server and the server is divided into 3 separate zones (you can only be in one at a time but you can switch at will). You can save up certs in game that you get reasonably fast when playing to get things, but it will take a while to get new weapons etc. Which leads to the problem of pay to win players, who just splash out their money on certain things that are really strong(aircraft rocket pods especially which are the bane of my existence in that game). And chat isn't really used in the game from what I saw so new players are generally passed over as just another faceless member of your army.

I got roped into playing it with a few friends and to start with it is very confusing till you get the hang of things. Also be prepared to be overwhelmed by enemies the first few times you spawn and join battles(first spawn ever ALWAYS puts you in the middle of a battle)

And faction choice on each server is a big thing to consider with certain factions often dominating and other factions getting stomped on a lot (new conglomerate seems to get the short end of the stick and gets pounded on a lot of servers, good thing my friends chose that faction for us...)

Other than that best thing I can suggest is experience and hey it's free to play so no loss there

 

[DustyDrB]

It's OK. Good with a group, but the endless tug-of-war feeling is very strong in this one. They are making changes that I love and actually suggested (underground areas from certain spawns so defenders aren't so served up on a silver platter is a big one). I hate the gunplay. I think it feels awful. I admit I'm not used to aiming down sights and whatnot, though, as TF2 is my game of choice. I also don't like how the default weapon for each class except infiltrator is so samey. I bought a shotgun as soon as I could. Also, Infiltrators suck at infiltrating in this game. They're main weapon is a sniper rifle (or scout rifle). Wish they had a better close range option. So, you know, I could actually infiltrate effectively.

 

[Terrible Opinions]

Yeah, started playing a week or two ago as a TR on the Helios server. Seems pretty good. Got a nice new computer with an i5 3570k and a 660ti, so the game's infamously heavy demands haven't been too much of a problem. It gets really annoying when 75% of your faction decides to bash their heads into the same unbreachable walls for hours on end while the enemy gobbles up the rest of your territory, and I really wish SOE would merge some servers and give bonus EXP for being on the other continents, though.

Working on getting my medic the top-rank heal gun right now. After that I figure I'll either start outfitting vehicles or save up for a shotgun on my LA.

EDIT: SMGs were added to the game in the last big patch, so infiltrators now have a good close-quarters weapon.

 

[Wharrgarble]

There's a few YouTube video's on TotalBiscuits "TotalHalibut" channel that give a pretty good overview if you haven't already seen them. I started off playing the original Planetside, so Planetside 2 was a nice upgrade, but not perfect.

That said, they do have a few issues that I find pretty common in new games. They're still going through balance changes, and since there's three factions who behave a bit differently, someone will ALWAYS be complaining about such-and-such being overpowered. Don't let that deter you, as it's actually pretty even. They also have a six-month "road map" that outlines their plans for the future, so at least they're thinking ahead.

The game is F2P, so it does have microtransactions to help keep it afloat. But, everything other than the cosmetic options can be bought with certification points or "certs" that can be earned in-game. Unfortunately, certs can take a while to earn (they can't be bought) and some of the guns can cost up to 1000. Cert points are also used to upgrade your character as well as tanks and aicraft, so without paying for a new gun, it could take you a while to get one. I do find the overall pricing model to be a bit too expensive (the guns can cost anywhere from $2.50-$7.00), but that's a complaint going around and might be lowered in the future. However, the default weapons you get out of the starting gate for free are more than functional, and you'll be at no real disadvantage using them. The other guns are mostly just side-grades that alter playstyle.

Since there are a whole lot of players at any one given time, you don't ever feel singled out if you mess up. It's a group game, and no one person is going to take a base, so newcomers are treated well as any additional person to help the push means one more person to overwhelm the enemy with. Either through tactics, or zerging. I'd pick a high-population server though, as some of the lower pop ones are struggling to find fights and they they may be merged together in the future.

In short, it's F2P so you may as well pick it up and try! If it can't run on your comp or you just don't enjoy it, uninstalling is a breeze. I have a lot of fun with friends, though I don't play it much on my own.

(PS: Loyalty until death! Strength in unity!)

 

[Wharrgarble]

(Double post, ignore please!)

 

[Windcaler]

I played it for about a month before I quit. Its an interesting game, definately worth a try especially since its free to play (really with it being Free to play I dont know why you ask instead of just trying it). My information my be out of date now, if it is others can feel free to correct me. Its business model is designed around aesthetics like gun/vehicle camos and alternate weapons. I have an issue with the alternate weapons because some of them like lock on missiles for heavys, or a secondary for empire specific fighters are locked behind a 1000 cert point cost. This makes the game "pay to win for now" because these ultra high costs on needed equipment force free players to be ineffective vs certain vehicles which are used routinely. To put the cert cost in perspective it takes 250 points to get a single cert. A kill is around 100 points. So 1000 certs = 250,000 points which amounts to around 2500 infantry kills (assuming youre not getting bonus points for base defense and other stuff like vehicle kills, heals, revives or passing out ammo) to get a single vital weapon like the lock on anti-air missile launcher. To be fair there are not many vital weapons like that

There are two other issues I had with the game. The first is the lag. It was awful at launch and it got a little better then much worse. I run a pretty beastly computer on a DSL connection but it was common for me to drop down to 30-40 frames per second anytime there was a small enemy squad nearby. Im used to playing fps at 60+ fps so that was a major hurdle for me. The other issue I had was hit boxes were off. There were many times I would get the drop on enemy players, pump half a magazine into their forehead and not get a hit marker.

Those two problems made the game unplayable for me so I quit and didnt look back. Its not a bad game if you have the equipment and patience for it but when I play an FPS I tend to just want to shoot people with my gun during smooth gameplay. PS2 couldnt provide that

 

[Hazzaslagga]

A few points to make about the game from someone who has been playing since beta.
Don't buy station cash until it's on offer for 2x or 3x.
After playing a while join an outfit. Whilst it's not necessary it's the way the game is meant to be played.
Most guns you get with certs are side grades not direct upgrades and can only be trialled for half an hour.
Unfortunately an ingame tutorial is not in yet(planned for the next month or two) so watching the online tutorials or guides may be a good idea.
The game is very much not in its final state, they have plans to add/adjust content every month called the roadmap which you can look up for details.
I'm sure there's more that I should add that I can't think of right now.

 

[PxDn Ninja]

It all depends on if you played the first Planetside. If you didn't, then PS2 is really good. The system is stable with minimal lag, interesting weapons, and for the period I played, there wasn't any issue finding a battle.

However if you are like me and played the first Planetside extensively, then PS2 will be a rather large letdown. All the things that made the first Planetside great have been removed or changed for the worst. The base layouts are overly complex. The capture mechanic feels phoned in. The Max suits look too generic and bland. Also the cert system is poorly set up compared to the original.

Specifically in the original, you had to plan how you wanted to play and drop your certs accordingly. If you wanted to drive a tank, you would probably have to give up heavy armor or possibly flying aircraft. If you wanted to be a heavy weapons soldier, you probably couldn't do medic. In PS2, you can drive and fly everything out the gate and just use certs to get better with them. While this is a clever method, you end up with everyone can do everything. As such, you lose out on the preplanning of needing specific skills.

I understand WHY they did this, but I just prefer the original system. It showed better teamwork when you fought a well laid out Outfit.

 

[gigastar]

Its F2P in the same way that Tribes: Ascend is.

That meaning you can either unlock weapons using currency earned in game, or you can give SOE some money and get your shiny new gun right away. Keep in mind that real money cannot buy upgrades.

Never buy a gun without trying it out first. You can trial a weapon by going to its ingame purchase screen then hitting the trail button thats at the bottom of the popup window. You can activate one trial once every 8 hours but you can only trial the same weapon once a month.

Get into a squad, and try to find a decent outfit. This is essential for getting the most out of PS2.

Learning curve for aircraft is very steep. M&K controls are not optimal for them, so you had best get your hands on a Logitech gamepad or appropiate one from your PS3/360 if you have one.

Tanks are easier to operate by comparison, but are no less harder to master.

Always go for enemy Sunderers when you can, 99% of them can deploy as infantry spawn points and killing just the Sunderer is worth a whopping 500xp, which is tied third for the biggest single xp gain you can get in the game.

And if you are willing to spend money on the game, i reccomend waiting until station cash goes on sale. You can get alot more SC for your patronage and by extension more guns.

And aviod the Crown. No matter what people tell you, avoid the Crown. Also avoid its surrounding areas Ti Alloys, Stillwater Watch, Crossroads Watchtower and Zurvan Amp Station. Zurvan is an exception if your faction is currently in the southeastern Indar warpgate, as its the only Amp Station that you would typically have access to.

Also keep in mind that PS2 is still a work in pogress. It may have been "released" late last year, but quite frankly with what SOE has planned you would be forgiven for thinking that it was still a beta.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It's free and you get all good equipment right at the start so you can absolutely get the feel for it without spending a dime.

Two things to consider first however, you need a beastly machine for this or large fights are just unplayable, and you need to spend a lot of time on youtube tutorials because those in the game tell you nothing, trust me this will make the entire experience 10x better, because most people just get lost in the UI and in the world and coordinating with your own troops is a pain in the ass... it just isn't fun until you got the basics down.

Other then that you really should just try it, it's like a persistent Battlefield 3 but in sci-fi and as I said the starting stuff has you fully combat ready so it's game on from the first moment on (quite literately as you will see).
But the unlocks are made in MMO style, i.e. you will grind your ass off for any big buys so make sure you know what the unlocks go towards.

 

[Terrible Opinions]

The guy that said "ignore The Crown"? That guy is all different kinds of right. Some nights I just don't play if it seems like everyone in my faction is bashing their faces into The Crown. God damn.

I recommend using engineers for cert-farming early on. Dropping ammo packs into heavy assault bundles just dumps EXP on you, and you can help out MAXes when you're not shooting dudes. The heal gun upgrades, C4, anti-tank mines, and sunderer upgrades (especially the spawn point) are good early investments. Night vision and reflex sights are pretty useful. A lot of infiltrators like swapping sniper rifles for SMGs, and light assaults will typically switch over to shotguns (though some like carbines with grenade launchers or SMGs).

 

[Zhukov]

I just stopped playing it.

It's alright. It's basically Battlefield, except with shitty graphics, three persistent maps (so no rounds or matches, the games just keeps going, MMO style) and an immense scale. You'll sometimes see fights that involve 200 or so people, complete with tanks and air support.

The free-to-player model is... a bit iffy. The only thing that is exclusive to the people who pay is cosmetic stuff, camo, custom armour, vehicle paintjobs and such. All the weapons and such can be unlocked with XP earned in game. All upgrades can only be unlocked with XP. However, the amount of grind required to unlock a weapon is a bit ridiculous. If I were to play 10 hours a day, it would take me 3-4 days to get enough XP points to unlock a single weapon. The cash prices are also pretty bad. A weapon usually costs about $7.00 or real world money. Cosmetic stuff costs $5-7. You can also buy XP boosts. A +50% boost costs $5 for a week.

My biggest problem with it is the lack of overarching objective. There's nothing to aim for, nothing to ultimately work towards except the next upgrade. It's just a constant match of tug-of-war as three factions conquer, lose and reconquer mostly useless territory.

If you want to play, I have three bits of advice.

- Find a decent outfit (it's like a clan or guild) and join up. The game is nothing special on your own, but playing as part of a relatively coordinated 48-person platoon can be awesome.

- As mentioned above, ignore The Crown unless (a) you know what you're doing and (b) you just want to grind for XP. (The Crown is a highly desired bit of territory on one of the three maps. It's ridiculously hard to attack and easy to defend due the the terrain and allows the defenders to essentially farm the attackers. The "pub zerg" (masses of non-organized players) always tend to converge on it.)

- Don't play as the New Conglomerate faction. Trust me, I did. Their starting weapons are complete and utter arse compared to the other factions. Also, a lot of people say they are underpowered as a faction. I don't know if that's true, but you will have to listen to people constantly whining about it. The ceaseless bitching was one of the reasons I quit.

 

[shintakie10]

The guy that said "ignore The Crown"? That guy is all different kinds of right. Some nights I just don't play if it seems like everyone in my faction is bashing their faces into The Crown. God damn.

I recommend using engineers for cert-farming early on. Dropping ammo packs into heavy assault bundles just dumps EXP on you, and you can help out MAXes when you're not shooting dudes. The heal gun upgrades, C4, anti-tank mines, and sunderer upgrades (especially the spawn point) are good early investments. Night vision and reflex sights are pretty useful. A lot of infiltrators like swapping sniper rifles for SMGs, and light assaults will typically switch over to shotguns (though some like carbines with grenade launchers or SMGs).

Whats wrong with the crown? Some of my most memorable defenses were there. Surrounded by both factions. No adjoining zones at all, just me and about 100 people against what must be the entirety of both factions. Aircraft zippin overhead. Tank rounds slammin into everythin. Engineers desperately tryin to keep stuff repaired.

Then out of nowhere, blam...massive drop of enemy infantry because they got a spawn beacon we didn't see. Now they're inside and we're tryin to fight them off. Yay, we succeed! Except now we've lost time and the enemy tank divisions are pushin in. Now we have a problem because our air support got wiped out in the chaos. Doesnt matter though, we fight on!

Pushed back almost all the way, suddenly out of nowhere we get relief. 2 Galaxies full of troops break through the enemy air as they're distracted with eachother and land an entire division. Its enough to push back the infantry assault for a moment, but the enemy tank divisions are still bearing down on us. We give it our all, but between the tank divisions and still not having any air on the field we eventually lose The Crown.

Best hour and a half of that game I've ever had.

Really Planetside 2 is a game of what I like to call moments. 90% of the time you play its pretty bland. Couple people to fight here. Small division to fight there that you overwhelm without much issue. Defense at a base with you and 3 guys against an entire company. Its fun, but not nearly as entertainin as other options.

The other 10% though? Its stuff you'll remember for a long time. Massive battles. Bullets flyin everywhere. Tank shells slammin into everythin. Aircraft zippin around. Missiles everywhere. Its just, crazy awesome.

 

[RolandOfGilead]

I love the Crown! Lucky me, I've never had network issues that weren't in the past week-stupid ISP. I'm a generalist so I went ahead and paid station cash to unlock things.
It's combined arms, you've tanks and planes and infantry, ideally working together, any force that becomes unbalanced is due for a beatdown. There's lots of niches and roles to fulfill so find a few you like cause you are unlikely to find every situation appropriate for your favorite tactics.
Also, there are mines (personal and vehicle), and they are effective.

 

[synobal]

I could go into lots of stuff, but I'll just say that it is certainly effective. For a free to play game it's sucked a lot of money from me, stuff I don't usual go for.