PlanetSide 2 News

Game servers will go down for our scheduled pc update tomorrow @ 6am pt / 3pm cest. for a 3hr downtime window.

[h2]Halloween Event (Oct. 01 - 31)[/h2]
The spooky Halloween vibes are back on Auraxis!

Experience the return of the space pumpkins, new Dia De Los Muertos inspired cosmetics, month long sales for infantry AND vehicle weapons / gear, camo, a 4x EXP for all event and more!

Muertos Mask and Muertos Camo from the Nanite of The Living Dead 2024 directive

[h2]4X EXP For all Event[/h2]
Everyone can enjoy 4x exp this week starting Oct. 1 - 6. Enjoy!

[h2]The return of the Space Pumpkins![/h2]
Randomly spawned across a continent near you, you'll find a space pumpkin! Destroy it for some sweet XP!



[h2]Nanite of the Living Dead 2024 Directive[/h2]
Space Pumpkin season is back and this year we have decided to make some cosmetics themed around Dia De Los Muertos. Below you will find a table of what rewards you can reap!


Veteran players will notice we are still distributing the older masks in the missions and the in the Novice tier of the directives! This will be changed next year for a new set of masks and the masks that are available now will be moved into a Directive Bundle for members to purchase in future.

Infernal Facepaint from the Nanite of The Living Dead 2024 directive

Muertos Banner and Frame

[h2]Monthly Members Bundle[/h2]
October's Monthly Member Bundle contains:

• Phylactery [Perfect]
  
• NS Homerun
  

[h2]Directive Bundles[/h2]
Members can now purchase previous year's Halloween Directive rewards through Directive Bundles in the Members Only section of the Depot.

• Members can choose to purchase with A7, which will be for their CHARACTER only
  
• Members can also choose to pay with Daybreak Cash to unlock these cosmetics for their entire ACCOUNT
  
• These bundles will only be available during their respective seasons (Auraximas, Valentine's etc)
  

The first Directive Bundle will be for Nanite of the Living Dead 2023 which contains:

• Title: Infernal
  
• Halloween Banner 2023
  
• Halloween Banner Frame 2023
  

This Directive Bundle may feel a little lackluster compared to the future ones we will add. The reward structure for Directive Rewards have changed this year (2024), as previously described in our Directive Dev Letter.

There are a LOT of items in PlanetSide 2 and as much as we strive to bring old or limited time items back to the depot (within reason), we would love to hear if there are any specific Seasonal Directive Rewards you would like brought back!

[h2]Sales[/h2]
The following sales will be active all through October!

• Infantry Weapons - 40% Off
  
• Infantry Gear- 40% Off
  
• Infantry equipment- 40% Off
  
• Vehicle Weapons- 40% Off
  
• Vehicle Gear- 40% Off
  
• Vehicle Equipment- 40% Off
  
• Camo - 40% Off
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• The Springstep implant now triggers when completing the reload of a tube-fed weapon (eg. a shotgun)
  
• Fixed preview for Ice Dragon Camo when showcasing it on a vehicle
  
• Removed discounts that have been permanent on some scopes for non default rifles
  
• The integrated suppressors on the NS-30 Tranquillity and the NS Viscount G6 now stop the Counter-Intelligence implant's primary effect
  
• The LC2 Lynx AE use correct laser as it's default
  
• M12 Kobalt | Magrider audio fixes
  
• The progress of the specifc Conquest directives being transferred to Conquest Oshur directives has now been fixed
  
• TR Vulcan, Enforcer and Larion PPC have had some audio tuning
  
• Fixed in weapons that come across too loud in first person and too quiet in third person
  
• Reduced pitch on the spool up for the Kindred
  
• Replaced spin down noise for the Light PPA nose canon
  
• Removed a spin down sound effect on the Reaver M30 Mustang AH
  
• When driving from the ground into water with the Sunderer, it will always start floating
  
• Dying while using an ability now won't prevent you from using it when revived or respawning
  
• Fixed a crash when changing the shadow quality of the game
  
• Sunderer's diving deployment now displays in the UI
  
• Removed the ability for the Sunderer to spawn cargo while reversing
  
• Fixed a bug where Bouncing Betty, Proximity Mines, and the F.U.S.E. could deal increased damage in odd circumstances
  

Kick off the month of Halloween with an all week long 4X EXP event!

4X EXP will begin after maintenance completes. Event is scheduled to go through Oct 7th.

Get up to speed on our Nanite of The Living Dead event here.

Enjoy, Auraxian!

Welcome back, Auraxians 

Welcome back Auraxians! This month we will dive into the making of the new medic tool inspired by the Extra Life fundraising event. Learn about our participation in the event and how you can be part of our Extra Life team here.

Extra Life is a fundraising program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®. Donations go to local member hospitals to fund critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services, innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, and child life services.

Our previous assets for the Extra Life event had a theme based on the program logo, where the element of angel wings is used as an accent piece on the Benefactor Helmet, an asset with a protective nature, so to speak. 

Benefactor Helmet

This year we decided to expand on this theme by using another element based on the fundraising program logo, a halo. Instead of making assets with a protective nature, we focus on the assets with a restorative nature (healing and repair).

Logical choices were the Medical Applicator and Nano Armor Kit, where we took the feather design we have seen on the benefactor Helmet and translated it to the tools as a main recognizable element. Here you can see the final concepts and models for both tools, where the accents on tools are the primary while the feathers are in the faction's secondary colors.

Medical Applicator Concept


Nano Armor Kit Concept


Medical Applicator 3D model without faction coding


Medical Applicator 3D model with faction colors


Nano Armor Kit 3D model without faction coding


Nano Armor Kit 3D model with faction colors

It’s worth noting that these tools' impression was strengthened by using VFX in the form of a halo effect around their beams. 

As a bonus, to make the whole fundraiser more interesting, we did the set of Decal, Banner, Banner Frame, and Camo. We didn’t want to use the fundraising program logo design as it is, so we focused on the elements we used as inspiration and made a play around that.


Extra Life Decal


Extra Life Banner


Extra Life Banner Frame


Extra Life Banner Frame in usage with Extra Life Banner


Extra Life Nudge

We hope you enjoyed a glimpse at the work in progress for these upcoming assets. As we get closer to in-game development we will share further details later.

If you would like to learn more about donating to Extra Life or simply want join our Extra Life team to show your support, head on over to our official PlanetSide 2 Team Page.

See you next time, Auraxian!

The PlanetSide 2 Team

PC servers are coming down at 6AM PT / 3PM CEST tomorrow for a PC Update that will address the following below. Estimated downtime may be up to 3 hours.

[h2]Labor Day 2024 Sales[/h2]
Celebrate Labor Day weekend with Flare Guns, 40% off gear and more!
The sale runs from September 1st - 10th.

• 40% off Infantry and Vehicle Gear
  
• Return of Patriot Camo and Flare Guns
  

Some older cosmetics are making a return for limited time (mostly hood ornaments):

[h2]Returning Cosmetics[/h2]
Name DBC Certs
NC Patriot Flare Gun 299 1000
TR Patriot Flare Gun 299 1000
VS Patriot Flare Gun 299 1000
NS Patriot Flare Gun 299 1000
Patriot Camo 399
NC Triumph Flare Gun 299 1000
TR Triumph Flare Gun 299 1000
VS Triumph Flare Gun 299 1000
Stars and Stripes Contrails Bundle 999
Liberation Bundle 1499
Nomad-I Light Assault Armor 1299
Blue Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
Cyan Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
Gold Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
Purple Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
Red Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
Silver Sparkler Hood Ornament 99
VS Hood Ornament 49
TR Hood Ornament 49
NC Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Crosshair Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Flames Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Heart Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Lion Head Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Mermaid Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Pistol Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Sledge Hammer Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Smiley Face Dead Hood Ornament 49
Chrome Wings Hood Ornament 49
Crossed Shotguns Hood Ornament 49
Dog Tags Hood Ornament 49
Ferocious Bear Hood Ornament 49
Gold Crosshair Hood Ornament 49
Gold Flames Hood Ornament 49
Gold Lion Head Hood Ornament 49
Gold Mermaid Hood Ornament 49
Gold Sledge Hammer Hood Ornament 49
Gold Smiley Face Dead Hood Ornament 49
Gold Smiley Face Hood Ornament 49
Revival Hood Ornament 49
Rhino Hood Ornament 49
Scorpion Hood Ornament 49
Shark Hood Ornament 49
Wasp Hood Ornament 49
Cockpit: Daisy Decal 25
Liberator Vagrant Chassis 399
Liberator Vagrant Cockpit 399

[h2]Monthly Members Bundle[/h2]
September's Monthly Members Bundle is available from September 1st - 30th and contains:

• Spitfire "Prime Directive" Turret
  
• Meteorite Drop Pod
  

[h2]Features[/h2]

• Implemented a feature where the Sunderer can now deploy underwater. Pressing the deploy button (default B) will make the Sunderer sink to the floor and deploy as usual
  
• Improved Stealth Module. Allies that emerge from a Sunderers Stealth Module will now be cloaked for 5 seconds. Cloak effect will be cancelled upon usage of items, weapons abilities and when swapping between weapons
  
• Implemented a separate mesh for the Sunderers Reactive Armor which will replace the standard model from the moment it receives damage until it recharges
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Updated the U-ARX Dirac's stat card, changing its iron sights zoom of 1.35x to 3.4x
  
• Fixed a visual bug with the progress bar of capture points
  
• Fixed Acan Bio Lab rendering issues on Hossin where meshes would pop in and out of view at close distance
  
• More Weapon audio fixes and reworks
  
• Fixed a bug with some of the Conquest Directives where progress of point capture would contribute to Oshur
  
• Fixed a Point Defense sound effect issue where the sound would be slower in 3rd person
  
• Enhanced the Reaver's Air Hammer sound effect as it is too quiet for an aircraft mounted shotgun
  
• Lumine Edge's sound effect is now more prominent
  
• Fixed a bug where the Wartime Emissary and Frontline would disappear and not shoot when equipped and resupplied
  

[h2]Welcome back, Auraxians [/h2]
Some of the unique experiences in PlanetSide 2 reside with the events you play in the game. Whether they are Seasonal Events such as the Tides of Summer, Nanite of the Living Dead, Auraximas or others, there’s always something for everyone. For this month’s letter we’ll cover the topic of player retention along with some of our plans for upcoming events. But first let’s cover some of the urgent topics at hand: our Anti-Cheat update, past directive rewards and sunderer cert refunds.

[h2]Anti-Cheating Update[/h2]
We are aware of the rampant cheating that has been going on in the game. Your voices are heard. Over the past couple weeks we have been making some progress in preventing cheaters from ruining your fun. Unfortunately we cannot reveal additional information on how we are addressing the issue as we do not wish to give these bad actors the satisfaction of knowing how to circumvent our anti-cheat measures; however, starting with our next update an additional change to the game will be made with the hope of deterring future disruptions.

Beginning with our next update, after character creation, all new characters will be required to play through the tutorial. We understand that this may frustrate current and returning players looking to start fresh but the goal here is to deter future troubled cheaters from ruining your fun.

As these and future measures are implemented we will continue to monitor your feedback and experiences in the game.

As always we encourage you to report cheaters with a screenshot, or video recording and send it to our Customer Support team. This data is helpful as our team continues to work around the clock in minimizing cheaters in the game. Submit your screenshots / videos to us here: [email protected]

[h2]Previous Directive Rewards[/h2]
We have been addressing this issue and a resolution is almost ready to remedy the problem. Thank you so much for your patience. 

[h2]Sunderer Cert Refunds [/h2]
We removed previous Sunderer modules in a way that interfered with the way cert refunds were handled in the past. 

We now know how to perform cert refunds correctly for the future and we truly apologize for the stress and inconvenience this has caused. 

There is no need to contact Customer Support on the matter as we are well aware, and we are working on a way to get players some form of compensation for this mistake. Please bear with us a little longer.  

[h2]Directives[/h2]
Directives are goals that are measurable for the player.

Players love progress, so with our Directives you can see the progress of each directive and view what rewards they are going to receive upon completion. 

They also provide players with what are called “Open Loops.” 

[h2]What are Open Loops?[/h2] 
Open loops are achievements, goals, or commitments you make but which have not been fulfilled yet.
You know that long term directive you want to achieve? Or that weapon you want to Auraxium? Those are open loops.

A lot of casual free to play games will use open loops to frustrate players into monetization. Here in PlanetSide 2, we keep it mostly as an achievement system.

Players will usually try to complete open loops (and we want you to, just not too fast but not too slowly either). 

This is also a proven psychological phenomenon. Humans tend to remember incomplete or interrupted tasks more than those they have finished.

So, if you want players to think of your game outside of the game in some way, then try out some open loops (and when they close it, open another!). 

[h2]Planning Directives[/h2]
PlanetSide 2 is coming up on its 12th year anniversary. PlanetSide 2’s directives have not been updated for some time and we want to address this.

We are going to add some more long-term directives for all factions to strive towards, however we need to plan these out and coordinate with the art and production teams for next year's roadmap.

Long-Term Directives 
When it comes to planning Long Term Directives, we tend to assess what features we are updating or adding. 

Planning Around Features 
With brand new features we will add a Long-Term Directive to accompany it. Once all the hype dies down, players will use the new feature less after having a solid binge. To prevent players from forgetting about the feature, we give them some goals they can achieve with the new content. Directives are a good starting point for making a new feature “sticky,” creating some new open loops. 

Friction 
Each directive Tier is an indicator of how much “friction” a player will encounter when attempting to complete directives.   

This friction is important because we need to make sure players are achieving at a decent pace. If we have too little friction, the challenge of completing a directive becomes too easy and players may just get bored and leave the game entirely.

On the other hand, too much friction can cause players to leave the game due to frustration of achieving Directives too slowly. Or the rewards are not worth the time and effort to obtain. In short, if something has too much friction, it becomes annoying and feels futile. We want to challenge and reward you, not punish you! 

There is only one exception when we lower the friction of Directives, and that is with our Seasonal Event Directives, as they are designed to be completed over a month. 

Below is how much friction to expect from each Directive Tier:


Rewards 
If you flick through the Long-Term Directives of PlanetSide 2, you will see we reward our players for achieving Directives. 

These have been around for years and while the game rewards you for your efforts, sometimes the rewards can be a little underwhelming.  

Directive rewards cannot be retroactively obtained (so updating rewards for existing ones is out of the question as you will not be able to obtain them if you have already completed them). Anything that has gone live will stay the way it is.

Although we cannot add rewards to the already released Directive Trees, we do want to create a solid reward structure for future Long-Term Directives. 

The reward structure for long-term directives is not solidified yet, however the structure we implemented in the new Conquest directives is a step in the right direction.

Tier 1 – Beginning here, is our starter reward for Tier 1.

Tier 2 - Expanding to Tier 2 we attach another reward for encouragement.

Tier 3 - This is quite an important Tier. It is a challenge, so giving the players a decent reward to celebrate and encourage them to keep going to Tier 4 is crucial.  

Tier 4 – And here we place the biggest reward for the whole event.

Seasonal Event Directives 
These Directives are designed to be achieved in the short term, usually over a month.   

We release Seasonal Event Directives throughout the year for our players to enjoy. Here is a list of them in monthly order: 

• February - Valentines Day 
  
• July - Tides of Summer (Alpha) 
  
• August - Tides of Summer (Bravo) 
  
• October - Nanite of the Living Dead 
  
• December - Auraximas 
  

Since these are limited, we can change the rewards how we see fit. In fact, we have made a solid reward structure for seasonal events that you might have noticed! 

Season Directive Event Reward Structure

Seasonal Directives yield a lot more rewards than Long-Term Directives. Especially when it comes to offering currency such as ISO-4 and A7. 

One of the main reasons we formulated and switched up the reward structure for Seasonal Event Directives was due to player feedback. On Reddit, we noticed players talking about how Seasonal Directive rewards were not worth the grind. We really hope this reward structure has addressed that concern.

We would like to be able to offer a similar reward structure to Long-Term Directives, but it takes time to make these rewards, especially if we decide to make rewards for each faction (including NSO).

[h2]In Conclusion [/h2]
We hope this has been an informative Dev Letter and that it gives some insight into the design process. Design is always tricky to demonstrate and give examples of. 

We want to hear from you! Fill out our survey and let us know what would you like to see Directive-wise in PlanetSide 2! 

Directive Survey Link

Thank you so much for reading, 

See you in Auraxis! 

- PlanetSide 2 Team