Planetside ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1: Copyright Info and Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 Anthony Ventura Terms of Use: Anyone has the consent of the creator of this guide to distribute this guide by any means they see fit on the sole condition that you do not charge any money for access to this guide. If anyone has charged you money to access this guide then contact the creator immediately via email at avalonx1@yahoo.com Version History: Version 1.1 Date: 26/09/2003 Copyright information has been corrected. Certification Points on certifications are now easier to comprehend, and errors with CP costs have been corrected. Some minor grammatical errors were also corrected. Version 1.0 Date: 22/09/2003 Contact Information: Email me at avalonx1@yahoo.com with any questions, comments, complaints, or information pertinent to this guide. Introduction: I originally wrote this guide when a friend new to PlanetSide asked me for a few pointers on what to do with his character. Before I realized it I had a full blown 7Page FAQ on my hands and I decided to post it here on GameFAQ's when I noticed there wasnt a single guide listed for PlanetSide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2: Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: Section 1: Copyright Info, Intro, and Version History Section 2: Table of Contents Section 3: In General Section 4: Grunts [4.1]: Description [4.2]: Certs [4.3]: After BR12 Section 5: MAXes [5.1]: Description [5.2]: Certs [5.3]: After BR12 Section 6: Support Personnel [6.1]: Description [6.2]: Certs [6.3]: After BR12 Section 7: Combat Vehicle Specialists [7.1]: Description [7.2]: Certs [7.3]: After BR12 Section 8: Stealth Units [8.1]: Description [8.2]: Certs [8.3]: After BR12 Section 9: Credits and Final Words ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 3: In General ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, for starters 95% of all characters SHOULD pack the Medium Assault cert. that is what lets you carry assault rifles and the standard shotgun. Without that you cant use a weapon any more powerful than the sub-machinegun you spawn with. You can run and hide from vehicles and artillery, but at some point EVERYONE has to fight toe to toe. You dont NEED to pack Medium Assault, but if you are not going to then you better have a specific plan and you better know what you are doing. Id also say that 70% of all characters should pack the Reinforced Armor cert. Its the thickest armor that standard infantry can wear and it gives you more room for more gear. You can holster 2 rifle size weapons with that, plus a larger backpack (note that you CAN carry rifles and pistols in your backpack, not just ammo and gear). Keep in mind that you cant fly or drive vehicles besides ATV's or buggy's with that armor on, and if you have to march on foot somewhere, it slows you down significantly compared to agile armor. So, if you are going for a vehicle expert, that's out of the question. But, medics and engineers can appreciate the extra space for their support gear on top of some light combat gear so they may defend themselves. And, its a MUST for grunts. Beyond these 2 certs it really depends on what you want to do. I can give you some ideas but its up to you. First off, most characters can be classified into 1 of 5 levels of classifications: grunts, MAXes, support characters, vehicle specialists and/or flyboy's (you may consider ground and air vehicles to be 2 different classifications), and stealth units. Ill give a basic run down of how each one will look like at BattleRank 12 (BR12) which gives you a total of 15 cert points, which is fairly average. Keep in mind that I list the certs in the order you get them as you raise levels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section4: Grunts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [4.1]: Description Grunts are the most common form of characters in the game. Their primary role is toe to toe combat. They dont rely on vehicles very heavily, fulfill any major support roles, or pack any form of big armor. Their really isnt much to say about grunts. [4.2]: Certs >>Medium Assault (Cost:2 Cert Points) >>Reinforced Armor (Cost:3, Total Cert Points spent so far(TCPS):5) >>Harasser (Cost:2, TCPS:7) or Enforcer/Marauder/Thrasher (Cost:3, TCPS:8) (depending on your empire): While not necessary to the character I recommend this because if your squad/outfit didnt think to bring along transportation for everyone, you will be doing a lot of walking and that really sucks. If you have a spare cert point, the more advanced buggies are a lot of fun. >>Any 2 of these 3(TCPS: ranging 13-15): >>Special Assault (Cost:3): The decimator is the most powerful hand weapon in the game, thats why its only 3 shots per unit and you cant reload them. You have to carry multiple units. Rocklet Rifle is great against infantry and armor alike, the most versatile weapon that comes with the SA cert. Thumper grenade launcher is not as useful as the other 2, but it does have its place, especially for charging up or down winding staircases as you can lob grenades around the corner without exposing yourself. >>Heavy Assault (Cost:4): The biggest anti-infantry weapons come with this cert. they include the New Conglomerate(NC) Jackhammer 3 barreled assault shotgun which is great for indoors, but its worthless in open field combat, the Terran Republic(TR) Chain gun which is in my opinion the most cheating handheld weapon in the game, and the Vanu Sovereignty(VS) Lasher which in the right hands is a great weapon, but Ive seen too many idiots who dont know how to use it and I can easily take them out with inferior weaponry. >>Anti-Vehicle Assault (Cost:3): TR Striker is a POWERFUL lock-on missile that lock's on to any armor, MAXes, tanks, and aircraft alike, the second most cheating hand weapon in the game(are you beginning to notice a pattern with TR gear?) NC Phoenix is a remote guided missile which you control yourself via the mouse and guide it to its destination. if you are really good with this weapon then it can be even better than the Striker because with the striker you need a direct line of sight on your target but with the phoenix you can stay behind cover, shoot the missile one way, then loop it back around to its intended target. And, it doesnt warn the target of a lock-on because there is no lock. The NC Phoenix packs an even bigger punch than the striker. The VS get the Lancer, which I am not at all too sure how it works, and come to think of it, I dont know if Ive ever even seen one on the field which may indicate that it sucks. Here I would recommend that the SA cert is a must as it gives you 3 useful weapons over 1. After that, picking HVA or AVA is up to you. Which do you find more fun, grinding infantry into meat pudding, or tanks into shrapnel? [4.3]: After BR12 But thats what a standard grunt looks like at BR12. After BR12 you will probably pick up the 3rd weapon cert. perhaps sniper cert (Cost:3) which I didnt include here because snipers are really a class of their own and dont fight in the same way as normal grunts. However there is no real description for a sniper. A sniper is nothing more than a sniper and doesnt really need any other certs to support him. Also, perhaps some sort of support certification like Engineer (Cost:3), Medic+Advanced Medic (Cost:3+2), or Hacker+Advanced Hacker (Cost:3+2). Note that basic hacker and basic medic are worthless without their advanced counterparts. Maybe you can take a MAX suit. MAXes can be a lot of fun. Just remember the most cert points any character can get is at BattleRank20 which gives you 23. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 5: MAXes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [5.1]: Description MAX suits are those big bouncer-looking robots. MAX suits are walking death machines that annihilate anything in their path and in the right hands can stand up to any type of unit in the game, tanks and aircraft alike. A MAX specialist likes to kill things in large numbers. Also, MAX suits are a GREAT way to get a lot of EXP quickly and then once you reach the level you want you can start changing your certs out for what you really want. The downside to MAX suits is they cant do anything much besides killing. They cant ride any vehicles with the exception of the Galaxy and Sunderer, which are strictly transport. They cant open enemy owned doors. They cant repair themselves with engineering certs or perform any other form of support for that matter when inside the MAX. So, while MAXes are powerful, they become dependent on other people to support them and are much less useful without them. Another thing to note is where 1 MAX suit is useful, 2 MAX suits are instant death. 2 MAX Suits supported by an Engineer who constantly repairs their armor, are practically invulnerable. That is perhaps THE BEST WAY to secure an area inside a base. MAXes make great escort for an advanced hacker to get into the base safely behind 2 tons of armor and get his thing done fast. I would not field 3 MAX suits together unless the enemy significantly outnumber you and there are at least 20. Its a waste of personnel and you can expect to lose 1 MAX suit as it is very difficult for an engineer to have to keep tabs on THREE of them to keep repairing their armor, unless you have 2 engineers supporting the 3 MAX suits, and even then, its overkill. Also note that MAX suits CAN NOT be acquired at AMS's. So, when assaulting an enemy base, if you rely on your MAX suits, it is IMPERATIVE that you secure the tower pertaining to that base. Likewise, on the defensive, even if you field an AMS near by in the event your spawn tubes get blown or base generator gets taken out, you will not be able to field your MAXes from the AMS. Its something to think about. Also there is a 5minute spawn time limit on any 1 type of MAX suit. If you take a vehicle MAX suit and get killed within 5 minutes of equipping it, you have to wait the 5 minutes out, or take another type of MAX suit. MAX Suits also carry special systems in them that allow for a special ability. Each ability is unique to its empire. NC MAX Suits get shields that work much like the shield implant, except they last longer. The NC MAX shield repels virtually all fire for up to about 15 seconds. VS MAXes get a built in jump system. Where other MAXes cant jump, VS can. And I dont mean a little hop. VS MAXes can shoot a good 25 meters into the air. TR MAX ability is gay. Essentially they hunker down and shoot anchors into the floor (which makes them immobile) and this is supposed to ground the MAX properly so he can shoot more accurately and have a higher rate of fire. also while MAXes are very slow normally, you can put them into auto-run mode with the Q key which makes them run up to 42kph (about as fast as an ANT vehicle). However, they can not fire weapons in auto-run mode. In case you havent noticed, I have said quite a bit about MAXes, but thats because there is a lot to say about them. They are a very special unit and should be treated as such. [5.2]: Certs >>Medium Assault (Cost:2): There will be times when you CANT get to your MAX suits, face it, you dont want to have nothing but peashooters for that event) >>Anti-Vehicle MAX Suit (Cost:3, TCPS:5): This generally should be your first MAX suit. Even if you dont face vehicles, they are still very effective against infantry no matter what your empire is. In general, the AV MAX Suit is the most versatile of the 3. >>Anti-Personnel MAX Suit (Cost:3, TCPS:8): This cert should follow immediately after. In general you should think not as AP and AV MAX suits, but indoor and outdoor MAX suits. AV are great outdoor, AP are great indoor. The VS and NC AP MAX Suits have a significant advantage over the TR AP MAX Suit in the sense that the VS/NC AP weapon systems are NON-EXPLOSIVE. so what I like to do when I see a TR AP MAX is I get right in his face and let his own weapons explode right on him while Im pumping my non-explosive weapons into him. Note that that NC AP MAX Suit is a SHOTGUN weapon and while it has alternative fire modes that tighten the pellets firing radius, its still not effective against targets outside 50 meters. >>Anti-Air MAX (Cost:2, TCPS:10): Most "MAX Specialists" just pick up the AV and AP MAX and leave it at that and use the rest of their cert points on other things. I think that is a big mistake and largely the reason why aircraft are so effective. All it takes is 1 AA MAX Suit to rain on your parade when you and your buddies are all flying planes. The AA MAX IS BY FAR THE MOST EFFECTIVE AA WEAPON IN THE GAME. Note that VS and NC AA MAXes lock-on to their targets while TR AA MAXes dont and require the player to aim manually. >>Lightning Light Assault Tank (Cost:3, TCPS:13): The reason I include the lightning with a MAX Specialist is that the lightning is very similar in concept to the MAX Suit. With the exception of the Basilisk, which should NOT be considered a combat vehicle anyway, the Lightning is the only armed ground vehicle in the game that does not require 2 people to operate. It is a single man tank where the single player both pilots the tank and operates the guns as opposed to other ground vehicles where gunner and driver are 2 separate functions. With that said, I DO NOT like the Lightning. It is very difficult and takes a lot of practice to get good with. This is primarily because the guns are fixed in a forward firing position. The guns are not turreted. They cant be rotated to fire in other directions. You can only shoot forward. This means that the lightning can dodge fire, and it can shoot, but it cant do both at the same time. You are a sitting duck when firing. There was talk of making the Lightnings guns turreted so you can rotate them, but they havent done it yet. If they do this then the lightning will be an invaluable addition to any squad, but for now it takes a lot of skill to use it. Other than that, the lightning is actually much faster than its larger counterparts. It tops out at about 80kph and has decent off-roading capabilities. [5.3]: After BR12 Thats what a MAX specialist might look like at BR12. An alternative to the lightning might be a Reaver fighter jet. Im just going with the same concept of "1 man death machine" of which the Lightning and the Reaver both fit into that description with the MAXes. After BR12 you might want to get perhaps Special Assault for those odd moments when you cant get to your MAX suit, you can still be an effective fighter as a grunt. And I recommend Advanced Hacker as well. Also, note that while it may APPEAR that TR Empire gets shafted in the MAX department, they make up for it with the AV MAX Suit. The Dual Cycler is in my opinion the sickest unit in the game, short of the Liberator Aerial Bomber. Remember those TR chain guns I referred to earlier? Well those are MINI-Chain guns. The TR AV MAX packs 2 of the FULL-SIZED version of that chain gun. Its supposed to be Anti-Vehicle, but God HELP the poor group of infantry that huddle together. It would be the equivalent of mowing the lawn. Yeah, theres more grass out there, but that just means more stuff to mow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 6: Support Personnel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [6.1]: Description Support Personnel while not the most glorious role in the game, is in my opinion the most important. A squad can have firepower to hell and high-water. But, without support troops, they will get their asses kicked. Every character should carry AT LEAST ONE support role even if they are not geared for support. Anyone who doesnt is in my opinion being greedy with their certifications and not thinking about the needs of the rest of the squad. Most higher level characters carry 2. When I refer to a "support character" I refer to someone who is certified in 3 or 4 different forms of support. The following are all support roles: >>Galaxy Pilot (Cost:3): The big cargo plane that can fly a vehicle, 2 MAXes, the pilot, 3 gunners, and 6 people anywhere. It is often referred to as the flying brick, or the cow with wings. While GAL's are useful over all, they are especially useful when trying to secure a heavily fortified tower. Towers should be hit from the bottom AND from the top at the same time. And with the exception of VS MAX suits, there is really no other way to get on top of a tower unless you are willing to sacrifice your fighter jet and crash it, and eject right over the tower, which is stupid.) >>Sunderer/Deliverer Driver (Cost:3/3): Ground counterparts of the galaxy. They are somewhat useless in my opinion compared to the galaxy, you will see very few of these and for good reason, the one exception might be the deliverers ability to drive UNDERWATER so bases near a river can be snuck up on easily from behind. However, these are rare occasions. >>AMS Driver (Cost:2): Advanced Mobile Station, essentially a base on wheels. It comes with 2 spawn tubes and 1 equipment terminal. When deployed into station form it envelops the nearby area in a cloaking field making the AMS and anyone near it invisible to enemies. >>Advanced Hacker (Cost:3+2): Hacking an enemys equipment terminals inside the enemy base so that your own people can use them is one of the most important roles of the advanced hacker. Also, hacking an enemys vehicle terminals in the courtyard to spawn combat vehicles right in their own base is equally important. Both of these require ADVANCED hacking which is what makes regular hacking so useless >>Advanced Medic (Cost:3+2): Regular medics can heal troops, whooptiedo. Thats what med kits are for. There are also implants that heal you. Advanced Medics however can revive dead players. While good, it is not the most important support role in the game due to the fact that your troops DO respawn. Rather than fielding an adv medic, you are better off fielding an AMS from where you can respawn closer to the enemy. However, an Advanced Medic coupled with an engineer to revive a fallen player and repair his armor can be useful. This takes quite a bit of coordination though and the players must know an advanced medic is present to assist them so they dont try to respawn the moment they die and instead wait to be revived. >>Engineer(Cost:3)(Engineers repair the armors on their fellow troops and MAX suits, as well as repair vehicles and base devices like spawn tubes and equipment terminals. On a side note, an Engineer can be perhaps the most difficult ground troop to kill. Engineers can repair their own armor, and if a player is an Engineer AND a Medic it would take one big hit to kill him if he can keep running for cover to re-heal and repair. A more useful version of this might be the Advanced Regeneration Implant which lets you heal yourself, or packing med kits, instead of wasting certs to be a medic. You may even want to couple the Personal Shield Implant with this for those moments when you ARE subjected to heavy fire and may not live to make it to cover to re-heal/repair. The shield will keep you alive for those extra 2-3 seconds you need. >>Combat Engineer (Cost:3+2): Note that I list regular and combat engineer separately because regular engineers on their own are still highly useful, unlike regular medics and hackers, however a Combat Engineer does all the things that a regular one does. While not the most important role, they can be very useful. Combat engineers can deploy landmines and remote turrets for automated defense. And, like MAX suits, where 1 is useful 2 can be deadly. A single combat engineer can only have I think 10 turrets and 20 landmines spawned at anyone point in time. However 2 combat engineers can provide enough automated defense to keep anything short of a full squad out of a base, or at least significantly slow them down, so you dont have to worry about defending one base when you move onto the next) [6.2]: Certs >>Medium Assault (Cost:2) >>Reinforced Armor (Cost:3, TCPS:5) >>Engineer (Cost:3, TCPS:8): Engineers fall under the 3 most important roles of support. With an engineer on your squad, you can safely destroy spawn tubes, equipment terminals, turrets, or the generator and render an enemy base useless for them. Then, when you wipe the enemy out of the base and secure it for yourself, your engineer can repair everything to make the base functional once again. This is in essence a much better way to take out an enemy base than to sheer pound the enemy troops into submission until the hacking of the base is complete. >>Advanced Hacker (Cost:3+2, TCPS,13): Advanced Hackers also fall under the 3 most important support roles. Note that anyone can hack a door or base, but it takes hacking certifications to hack anything else. The Regular Hacker certification is worthless. It is merely a stepping stone to reach the Advanced Certification. Anything worth hacking requires the Advanced Hacking certification. Also, the Advanced Hacking certification makes hacking things that do not require the advanced certification a lot faster. Hacking a door takes about 3 seconds as opposed to 10 seconds without any hacking certs. [6.3]: After BR12 Thats what a support character might look like at BR12. A HEAVY HEAVY INTENSE support character may even be suicidal enough to drop medium assault and reinforced armor and pick up AMS driving and maybe a Galaxy. AMS's also fall into the 3 most important support roles. AMS's are life. I think a complete squad should carry TWO AMS drivers. 1 AMS can stay safely hidden slightly farther away from the enemy base. And the second can drive in and setup shop right inside the enemy bases courtyard once the courtyard has been secured and the enemy is contained inside. This way you spawn right there on the enemy, and should they happen to re-secure the courtyard, you can fall back to the AMS farther away. Note that when it comes to MAX suits, AMS's are no substitute for the base itself or the adjacent towers near the base. MAXes can not be equipped at an AMS. Other than that, you can make a lighter support character and maybe drop 1 support role for special assault, so that you are a capable fighter when forced to fight. But for the most part, Support characters are the 1 type of character where you cant really cover EVERYTHING in 1 character. My main character is actually a support character and he looks like this: Medium Assault Engineer AMS Driver Galaxy Pilot Advanced Hacker (note that I dont carry reinforced armor, but there are times when I really wish I did) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 7: Combat Vehicle Specialists ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [7.1] Description Vehicle specialists are not exactly the masters of subtlety. You WILL attract the attention of everyone around you when you are encased in about 2000 points of armor and are feeding hot fender to all the enemy infantry in your path while your gunner spews forth the hand of death itself at the enemy farther away. Vehicles are the kings of outdoor combat and it will still take more than 1 Anti-Vehicle Infantry to bring a vehicle down. Please note that many think to get vehicles for the big guns they pack. But with the exception of the Reaver and the Lightning, you are stuck in the driver position of the vehicle and rely on a gunner to do the shooting for you, which some may not regard as very fun. The following are the combat Vehicles: >>Harasser(Cost:2):a 2 man light buggy with a light AP Machine gun mounted on it operated by a 2nd man. While really meant more as a means of personal transportation, it is not completely useless in combat. >>Marauder/Thrasher/Enforcer (Cost:3): These are Empire Specific buggies, and more advanced than the Harasser which any empire can access. The TR Marauder is in my opinion the best of the 3, but not by much. The advantage the TR has is it seats THREE players, the driver and 2 gunners. 1 gunner operates the mortar, and 1 operates an AP Machinegun similar to that of the Harasser. The NC Enforcer has the most powerful weapon mounted on it of the 3, the Phoenix rocket launcher, which is very similar to the handheld AV weapon, and the AV MAX weapon. however unlike the other 2 weapons, this weapon is very sensitive and jittery, making aim a more skilled affair than the other 2, especially combined with the rapid movement of the vehicle. The VS Thrasher is the weakest in terms of firepower of the 3. What little advantage it has over the other 2 is that it is a HOVER buggy and can glide over water, is less affected by terrain, and can strafe left and right making it a much harder target. NOTE that an Advanced Hacker CAN hack the vehicles of other empires and if you are certified to drive your empires counterpart of that vehicle you can drive the newly hacked vehicle as well. Its a lot of fun to turn your enemies own vehicles against them. Especially when drivers bail out of their own vehicles before they are completely destroyed, and you repair and hack them and put them to use for you. >>Lightning (Cost:3): A 1 man tank. This is the light version of the empire specific tanks. Its smaller, leaner, and faster with off-roading capabilities. Its really more of a buggy than a tank. While it has decent firepower on it, its main drawback is its inability to rotate its guns around it. >>Prowler/Vanguard/Magrider (Cost:3): These are the 3 Empire specific heavy tanks and the most powerful vehicles in the game. As usual the TR have the best gear. The NC Vanguard features a single 200mm arch-firing cannon versus the two 100mm cannons on the Prowler which means that they spit out the same amount of firepower at a faster rate. As usual, the TR Prowler seats 3 players, a secondary gunner sporting dual AP machineguns, while the NC Vanguard only sports a single machinegun, and both weapons are operated by one gunner, meaning they cant be both used at the same time. The one advantage the NC has over the TR here is it is significantly faster vs. the prowler which packs more armor. The VS once again get shafted in terms of firepower in order to make room for added mobility. The VS Magrider can strafe and glide over water, however it is no match against the other 2 tanks in a tank fight. >>Mosquito Fighter Jet (Cost:3): This is the fastest vehicle in the game. It is undetectable by radar, and is not designed primarily for combat, really more of a "QUICK, GET THERE NOW!!!!" kinda thing, designed for reconnaissance, however it can make very effective strafing runs against infantry with its forward mounted machine gun. >>Reaver Fighter Jet (4): The 2nd fastest vehicle in the game with significantly more armor than the mosquito. It sports dual machine guns and dual rapid fire Rocket Launchers (not lock-on missiles) can turn any vehicle short of an AMS or a Galaxy into swiss cheese in a single volley of rockets. However the rockets are really meant for ground targets so they fail against the speed of the mosquito's. Mosquitoes have a tendency to win aerial dogfights against a Reaver. Also, a single Anti-Air weapon is all it takes to take out fighter aircraft vs. the heavy armor of ground vehicles which may require more than 1 Anti-Vehicle weapon present. >>Liberator Aerial Bomber (3): In my opinion this is the most devastating weapon in the game. IT KILLS ANYTHING AND I DO MEAN ANYTHING in a single bombing run. Even a Galaxy with fully powered shields gets killed with 1 set of bombs. Unlike its Mosquito and Reaver aerial brothers this one attacks from much higher altitudes making them harder to notice so its usually too late by the time you spot one. There is a bomb with your name on it coming down on you. The bombs ARE area effect weapons, not target specific. So an entire area gets blanketed in death when these things fire. >>Skyguard Anti-Aircraft Buggy (3): It was released at the same time as the liberator bomber actually, to counteract the liberator so you wouldnt be completely defenseless to its cheating death. However, I have only encountered 1 in all my planetsiding since it was released. Its VERY effective, but only for 1 specific scenario which makes them unattractive to most players. You wont see too many of them. The AA weapon is a flak cannon similar to the TR AA MAX, so it is NOT lock-on. It also fields a light machinegun for AP groundwork. [7.2]: Certs >>Medium Assault (Cost:2) >>Assault Tank (Cost:3, TCPS:5) >>Assault Buggy (Cost:3, TCPS:8) >>Engineering (Cost:3, TCPS:11): Vehicles DO get damaged, so it is very common for a vehicle pilot to be a certified engineer so he can retreat his vehicle and repair it at a safe distance, then return to rain more death. Most ground vehicles do get packed with enough ammo that they will get killed LONG before they run out of ammo, so keeping the vehicle operating for long periods is kind of how its supposed to work anyways) >>Reaver (Cost:4, TCPS:15) [7.3] After BR12 After BR12 a Liberator Bomber is a great asset to any squad. As usual Special Assault would be great for fighting in the event you cant access vehicles. Advanced Hacker is an option to consider so you can use the enemies vehicle terminals to get your vehicles when you dont have one of your own near you. And, maybe a Lightning Tank or Harasser for when you have no tech plant at your disposal. People who wish to specialize specifically with aircraft might drop the tanks and buggies and pick up the mosquito, and pick up the liberator at an earlier date. They may even get certified in the galaxy just because it flies =). There are 2 things to keep in mind about vehicles. A: the assault tanks and buggies, the Reaver, the Liberator Bomber, and the Skyguard can not be acquired from a base unless you have a Technology Plant Base connected to the base you are trying to acquire the vehicle from along the continental lattice. If you have ever looked at the map of the base you should have seen a network of lines connecting all the bases. This is the "Continental Lattice" it connects all the bases together and transfers the benefits of one base over to the others. Keep in mind that that bases have to be CONNECTED. If your empire owns a tech plant, but there is no connecting line of the same color between it and the rest of the bases its effects will not work. So, in short, no Tech Plant=no toys. Its something to think about when you are getting rolled over by a squad full of vehicles. B: like MAX suits, vehicles have 5minute spawn time limits to each type of vehicle. If you get a vehicle and it is destroyed within 5 minutes of acquiring, you will still have to wait the 5 minutes out before you can get another of the same kind. So, while vehicles are great, they are best used in large numbers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 8: Stealth Units ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [8.1]: Description Stealth units are all centered around 1 simple certification, the Cloaking suit which takes 2 points and makes you invisible to opponents when activated. The Cloaking suit is NOT armor and provides no armor protection leaving the player completely unprotected against enemy fire. You can not wear armor with the cloaking suit. The cloaking suit does NOT have any rifle slots and only 1 pistol slot, so cloakers are NOT meant for combat. This does not mean however that cloakers arent deadly. They just have to use more creative means to do their death-dealing. Many cloakers will usually pack the Melee Booster implant which when using the alternate fire on a knife can kill any player in 2 slashes which is usually faster than they can turn around to react to the first slash. Some will also pack the AMP rapid fire pistol and cheap pop you at point blank range right in the back. TR cloakers can also use the Repeater for the same effect as it is the only pistol worth a god damn. More devious cloakers may even use Boomer remote mines and wait nearby to hit the button the moment you walk over their mine. Ive also seen more skilled cloakers in a completely outdoor visible environment lay down an entire minefield around you before you even notice what is going on, sometimes even trapping you in a circle of mines, or setting up remote spitfire turrets at every corner ahead of you after you have secured an area for surprise ambushes. Also when running at full speed the cloaker is SLIGHTLY visible. Also most players use the Dark light vision implant to see any cloakers within about 15meters of them, which works great indoors where cloakers do most of their damage anyway. So, cloaking is not ABSOLUTE stealth. You still have to keep your wits about you and move sneakily. However, cloakers can be very useful. [8.2]: Certs >>Cloaker Suit (Cost:2) >>ATV Cert (Cost:2, TCPS:4): The ATV Cert gives you access to the Wraith ATV, which when plugged into an activated cloaking suit makes the bike cloak as well, making it the ideal means of travel for a cloaker who is trying to recon an enemy position. Note that like the cloaker himself, the bike is somewhat visible at higher speeds. >>Advanced Hacker (Cost:3+2, TCPS:9): The primary function of a cloaker is to sneak into an enemy base via the backdoor while all the fighting is going on outside and no one realizes it, makes his way to the Bases Command Console, hacks it and takes over the base quietly and stealthily. So being able to hack the console 3 times as fast as any other unit (during which point you ARE vulnerable and visible by the beam the hacking tool makes) is a big advantage. >>Combat Engineer (Cost:3+2, TCPS:14): When the CC is being guarded and is not accessible then the alternative function of taking a base out subvertly is for the cloaker to make his way to the bases underground generator and use the Boomer remote mines to take it out as it is the only weapon he has available to him that packs any punch. NOTE that a base generator is VERY thickly armored and Im not sure how many Boomer mines it takes destroy it. The Generator will also warn everyone in the base for EVERY hit it takes, so you are better off destroying it as quickly as possible before someone comes to catch you in the middle of your handiwork. Also, the cloaker cant carry more than 4 mines and his hacking tool at one time. So, this will be a delicate operation that may require a few trips back to an equipment terminal or locker. However, if the cloaker succeeds in knocking the generator offline, the enemy will not be able to spawn there. [8.3]: After BR12 That is what a good cloaker setup looks like at BR12. After BR12 a good idea might be to pick up a MAX suit. No you might be asking "What the hell? What does a MAX suit have to do with stealth work?" But in actuality it is a very effective tactic for a cloaker to work his way into an enemy bases spawn room, hack one of the equipment terminals and turn into a MAX suit right in that very room laying death to every poor idiot who happens to spawn there, and taking out the equipment terminals and spawn tubes. The goal here is to take out the spawn tubes so the enemy cant spawn anymore. However, more often than not if enough people are respawning they will overpower you and make their way to their lockers or terminals and get weapons to fight you with before you can destroy all the spawn tubes. Whether you succeed or not, you will deal a crippling blow to your enemies offensive as you will be spawn raping them and it may take a minute or two to stop you which is enough time for your squad to work its way into the base and take over even if you dont succeed. Some cloakers also take mosquito's and fly from unoccupied base to unoccupied base hacking them away from the enemy before the enemy can react. One additional note about cloakers: REMEMBER enemy cloakers names. While most cloakers work alone, there is really no way of telling how many of them there are. If there is more than 1, you can be in BIG trouble. So, remember the names of enemy cloakers that you have killed. That way, you will know if there is more than 1, and your squad can react appropriately. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 9: Credits and Final Words ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyways, this is the basic information on all the classes and certifications in the game. for additional info you can check the certifications and listing of vehicles and equipment at http://planetside.station.sony.com or get yourself a copy of Prima's Official Strategy Guide for PlanetSide which should be somewhere on the PlanetSide site as well. I own and have read the guide, and while I didn't access it in the creation of this FAQ, a lot of what I do know about PlanetSide comes from that guide so I can personally tell you it is very useful. I hope this has given you a few ideas of what you want to do with your character and how to get it done effectively. Also, remember that these are just suggestions. You can setup your character however you like and may not even abide to any 1 particular type of character or to the setup types shown here. While most people do it wrong, some people mix and match different aspects of different types of characters for a character that can be actually effective. Experiment and see what works for you.
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
