During Training
We avoid lectures and seminars like the plague. You are playing a video game - we have no desire to try to shove this information down your throat. This document is meant as a supplement to our Basic Training so that our instructors can teach you things that actually do require playing the game instead of teaching you about all of the different screens and interfaces. We want even your training sessions to be packed full of shooting stuff, because that's why you're here. There will be only a few minutes of "deadzone" instruction followed by an hour or two of "live fire". We prefer to teach during the real game, not some contrived situation! Subjects you will cover in live-fire training include:
-Spawning and Redeploying
-Squad movement
-Class Overviews
-Vehicle Overviews
-Facility Walkthroughs
-Deployable Placement (beacons, mines, etc.)
-Minimap Usage
-Situational Awareness
-Basic Squad Tactics
-Bounding
-Using cover
-"Pieing" and Breaching
We have structured our training sessions to include, during the live-fire play, as much information from this document as possible. It's likely you won't need to read this document at all, you might have everything covered. However, people do miss and forget things, so this is here for everyone as a reference. We want you to be pulling the trigger more, and thumbing through manuals less.
Hardware Improvements and Settings Adjustment:
This section details specific hardware upgrades and settings adjustments you can consider if you need to boost your performance (special thanks to nullfunction and Halsoy). Full text with explanations and specifics available here, but important points have been summarized below.
FPS (Frames per second) - Your goal is to run Planetside 2 at 60+ FPS
Hardware that will significantly improve your FPS:
- Better CPU (most important)
- Better GPU (the CPU is more important for Planetside's ForgeLight engine, but if you have an older GPU consider upgrading)
- More RAM
- Solid State Drive instead of HDD
- 144Hz monitor
- Gaming mouse + large, comfortable mousepad
Settings Adjustments
- Resolution: Native (your game resolution should be the same as your monitor's native or default resolution)
- Texture Quality: Ultra (your computer has to work harder to make the graphics look worse)
- Shadow Quality: Off (your computer works harder to give everything a shadow, and all you get is a pretty effect)
- Fog Shadows: Off (if you decide not to completely turn off Shadow Quality, you can get a few more frames by disabling Fog Shadows)
- Bloom: Off (may be some debate on this one)
- Render Distance: Lower (your computer works hard to render terrain and other things far away from you that don't affect you inside that building)
- Mouse Sensitivity: LOWER (this will feel wonky for a while as you adjust, but you'll come out as a much better shooter - just keep halving the value periodically)
- DPI: ~700 (this is a setting you may have to change with your mouse-specific hardware or your mouse's DPI-adjustment buttons, if it has them.)
Keybindings:
Access your keybinding screen by hitting Esc, then Settings in the bottom right, then Keybinding. Make sure you are familiar with your binds. A few tips:
-Minimap Expand: "H" by default. Many players do not know this button exists.
-Minimap zoom in and out: "]" and "[" by default. It is recommended to change this to mouse wheel up and down and to learn which number keys correspond to your weapons and tools, but the point is to know that you can in fact zoom your minimap.
-"Throw Grenade" is "G", while "Interact" and "Enter/Exit Vehicle" is "E". For some players, it is helpful to simply switch these two keys. This will mean you won't accidentally throw a grenade when you access a terminal or eject from an aircraft when you're trying to do something else. The point is, make sure you're comfortable with your keybinding layout.
Below is a picture of the Keybindings menu. Pay special attention to the tabs at the top: General, Infantry, Vehicle, and Air. There are different setups for each different style of play in Planetside 2, so make sure you understand that different keys do different things whether you are boots on the ground or 500 meters up in a Scythe.
Certifications:
You spend certification points to permanently unlock upgrades, gear, and weapons. By hitting Esc and then the class icon (looks like a pistol) you can explore the different playable classes, your loadouts, consumables, upgrades, etc.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/569-/
If the class has any "passive certs" like the infiltrator's equipment terminal hack ability, those will show up as an orange button at the bottom left of the class panel.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/572-/
Otherwise, you can access each upgrade by simply clicking on the gear slot that corresponds with the item. To upgrade your suit slot options, click on "Suit Slot". To upgrade your ability slot options, click "Ability Slot". It should be easier from there.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/571-/
Implants:
In addition to your suit, ability, weapons, camo, and all of the other customizations you can equip in Planetside 2, there are Implants. Implants are attachable items that give you a small perk. Implants can be displayed when you are looking at a class by clicking the "Implant" slot or by clicking the "Nano-Cycler" icon on your bottom icon bar. It's the highlighted one, the lightning bolt. You gain implants (and chargers, next paragraph) by a random dice roll effect that happens whenever you gain experience points. All of those ticks of repair or healing experience give you a small chance to receive a random implant or charger. All of the ticks of Ground-to-Air damage, all of your kills, etc. Whenever you gain experience, you have the chance to get an implant or charger (you can also buy packs of random implants in the Depot).
Implants drain "Energy" which you can see in the top right of the screen. In terms of quality, Tier 1 is the lowest while Tier 4 is the highest.
Tier 1 uses 0.5 energy / second,
Tier 2 uses 0.75 energy / second
Tier 3 uses 1.0 energy / second
Tier 4 uses 1.25 energy / second
You get more energy by acquiring "Chargers" which drop during normal play like Implants do. You can see all of the different ways to combine implants (to make better implants or to make Chargers) by clicking the big "HELP" button at the top of the Nano-Cycler screen. That will explain how recycling implants works, and it's better than what I could write here.
Map Overview:
You can access your map using the "M" key by default. On the right hand side you will be able to change various filters that show different data depending on what you are looking for.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/573-/
-The "Statistics" pane shows Population and Territory Control numbers as percentages. You can change this to show population on the continent you are looking at or for the server as a whole. Territory Control shows for the currently viewed map only.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/576-/
-The "Filters" pane allows you to select what icons and features show up on the map at any given time. You can turn certain items on or off whenever you wish, such as the grid lines, the terrain map, and the hotspots.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/575-/
You can also access the Heat Map, which shows varying colors of red or blue depending on which heat map option you pick. Brighter red represents more enemies, etc. As a squad leader, you use the heat map a lot - familiarize yourself with it when you can to understand how force allocation and the "grand strategy" of the game is designed.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/574-/
-The "Legend" pane shows a list of the different icons on the map and what they represent.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/584-/
-The "Search" pane allows you to search, worldwide, for the name of an outpost. It will give you a few different options and will center in on the option that you select.
Lattice Overview:
The "Lattice" is Planetside 2's system of connecting bases and facilities to each other and your empire's other holdings. There are three different types of Lattice "Links".
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/587-/
-"Open" or "Yellow" links are links between your empire's bases and the enemy empire's bases. The are represented on the map as a dotted yellow line. These are capturable bases as long as your empire's linked base is not currently being hacked. Likewise, you can prevent your base from being hacked if you hack the enemy's base first. Notice the circled area on the LOWER RIGHT side of the map. That yellow dotted line is an "Open" link.
-"Secure" links are links between two of your own empire's bases or links between two enemy-owned bases. These are the same color as the empire they represent on your map screen (remember that these colors are customizable). For instance, a link between two VS bases will show up as purple under the "default" empire color scheme. These bases cannot be hacked and are not in danger of capture unless one of their links becomes "open". Notice the circled area at the UPPER RIGHT side of the map.
-"Grey" links are links between the two enemy empire bases with no access points to your own empire. Using VS as the example, a "grey" link is link between a TR and NC base with no VS bases nearby. These links show possible fights between the other two empires. You may need to zoom your map in to see some of these as they are sometimes hard to spot. Notice the circled area on the LEFT side of the map.
Resources (Nanites):
The current iteration of the resource system uses one universal resource type: "Nanites". Everything from vehicles to medical kits to grenades uses this resource. You can see how many Nanites you have on the Tab screen or on the Classes or Vehicles pane in your Esc menu (blue circular icon). 750 is the maximum you can have at one time. When you use an item or purchase a vehicle or MAX, the cost is deducted from your total. For consumable items like grenades, you "purchase" the items automatically when you spawn in assuming you have the auto-resupply box checked. If you do not use the items during that life, that's fine, you keep the items you have bought. For vehicles and MAXes, the price is deducted from your total once you have acquired the vehicle. In the current phase of the resource system, you receive a flat 60 resources every minute - more if you are a subscriber or have a boost enabled. Eventually this will be tied to territory ownership and conquest.
Building and Area Names
Read this article to familiarize yourself with each building and area, and its specific name. This is how we refer to them. If you use a different name, your squad may have no idea of what you are trying to say.
Dying and the Death Screen:
In Planetside 2, your character dies a lot. That's how the game progresses. When you die, you will be presented with the Death Screen, shown below.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/581-/
Here are the important elements of the death screen:
-Your killer. You are shown various stats and data about the player that bested you. Name, outfit, Battle Rank (BR), how many directives points they have, what implant they have equipped, and what weapon they used to kill you. You will also see the player that assisted the most, if applicable, but you only see their name, outfit, and weapon.
-Medal progress. You can see in this example that I am 143/160 for my progress towards Frag Grenade Kills. You can see my progress on my primary and secondary weapons.
-Your session stats - how many kills, facility caps, facility defenses, certs, score, and ribbons have you gotten since logging on?
-Stats for your last life are shown as blue numbers beside each category, but in this example I didn't do anything before I died. There will be a graph of your time spend alive and experience gained per minute, but again, I didn't get any in this particular example, so I am given a "Pro Tip" instead. Thanks, SOE.
-At the bottom, notice two important features: instructions on what to do next. By default (I think you can change these keys) you can press Escape to go the Spawn Screen, which you'll see in a moment. Or, you can hit Return (Enter) to "quick deploy". This command will spawn you back in to that location immediately, instead of taking you to the spawn screen first. If you don't need to change your loadout and you're already where you want to be for the fight, then you should consider using this feature and saving a few seconds.
Redeploying and Spawning:
Here is a picture of what your map will look like after you spawn.
https://test-ips4.gotr.us/gallery/image/586-/
Green ovals (they look like buttons, really) represent available spawn points on the map. Additionally, you can see a list of those locations on the left sidebar. A quick note about a glitch that's been in the game since beta: sometimes you will click on one location, but inexplicably spawn at a different location. The most reliable way to spawn is to double-click on the location on the sidebar, not the green "button" on the map. Let's look at the different spawn types.
-Squad Spawns
1) Squad Beacon - You may spawn on your Squad Beacon if you are within 1000m of it, or if the majority of your squad is very close to it.
2) Galaxy, Valkyrie, Sunderer - You may spawn inside one of these vehicles if a squad mate owns the vehicle and is currently crewing the vehicle (but it doesn't have to be the same person). Generally, you must be within 600m of the vehicle - however, if the vehicle is in a friendly, uncontested region, you can spawn to it from anywhere on the map.
-Standard Spawns. Under "normal" rules, you can spawn at
1) Your current location (the nearest spawn room to where you died)
2) Regions immediately adjacent to your location by lattice link
3) The nearest "large outpost" (Crossroads, Crown, Howling Pass, etc)
3) The nearest "large facility" (by lattice link). Notice that while Mao Tech Plant is a shorter "real distance" away from me, it is five lattice links away. Dahaka Amp Station, on the other hand, is only four links away. My default "large facility" is Dahaka.
-Reinforcements Needed. This list represents fights all across the planet, not just your continent, that are numerically in need of assistance. The list will prioritize locations on your continent, but if there are none it will show other continents' locations as well (as in this screenshot, a really even fight on Indar). Generally the Reinforcements Needed mechanic should shut off if your faction hits 55% of the regional population total.
You can change which class and which loadout you wish to spawn as directly from this spawn screen. You can never spawn as a MAX unit. If you wish to change something about your loadouts, you can click "Customize" in the Spawn As screen. This will take you to your Class Screen, just like the pistol-shaped Classes icon will on your icon bar.
Squad Deploy follows a very simple rule: it takes you to whatever is the closest spawn point to the majority of your squad, of any type. Beacon, vehicle, facility, whatever. Squad Deploy has a five-minute timer. There have been recent changes to this mechanic, this may no longer be accurate.
Squad Composition:
Most infantry actions require a minimum effective unit composition - the mix of squad members' class and equipment loadouts.
All unit compositions should be a variation of the following; that is, the template below is where every composition should start, before alterations are made.
It's very simple: You need the Light Assault's jetpack for good beacon placement, you need an Engineer for ammo and repairs, you need a medic for healing and reviving, you need another medic in case the first medic gets shot, and you need an Infiltrator for radar deployment and hacking. Then, you need a metric ton of firepower to shoot everyone that's trying to shoot you.
Minimum Effective Squad Composition
1. Squad Leader - Light Assault (for initial beacon placement)
2. Medic
3. Medic
4. Engineer
5. Infiltrator
6. Heavy Assault
7. Heavy Assault
8. Heavy Assault
9. Heavy Assault
10. Heavy Assault
11. Heavy Assault
12. Heavy Assault
As mentioned, the above composition is the "minimum effective dose" so to speak - but this compositions isn't normally used. In the below composition, several Heavy Assaults have been replaced with a third Medic, a second Engineer, and a MAX unit to make the unit more flexible. This is more indicative of a composition used in live play.
Flex Standard Composition
1. Squad Leader - Light Assault (beacon placement)
2. Medic
3. Medic
4. Medic
5. Engineer
6. Engineer
7. Infiltrator
8. MAX
9. Heavy Assault
10. Heavy Assault
11. Heavy Assault
12. Heavy Assault
Your Squad Leader or Platoon Leader may have specific plans for your unit, possibly involving a full-on Light Assault rush of a tower or a Lancer Nest that is made up almost entirely of Heavy Assault, and both of these are fine. In normal live play, however, make sure that your squad has what it needs to succeed: to give you ammo, keep you alive, sense the enemy, and kill everything that tries to kill you.
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