PlanetSide 2 News

PC servers will come down tomorrow, Wednesday April 29, 2020, at 6:00 AM PDT (3:00 PM CEST), for the game update below. Downtime is expected to last up to four hours.


Welcome to Outfit Wars, Alpha Cycle 2. This cycle's schedule is listed below, and some major updates to this cycle's ruleset are listed below that.

The following start times are the same for all servers, and use the server's local timezone:

Enlistment Phase - May 01, 2020 - 12am
Qualify Phase 01 - May 08, 2020 - 2pm
Rest Phase 01 - May 08, 2020 - 10pm
Qualify Phase 02 - May 09, 2020 - 2pm
Rest Phase 02 - May 09, 2020 - 10pm
Qualify Phase 03 - May 10, 2020 - 2pm
Preparation Phase - May 10, 2020 - 10pm
Combat Phase -

• May 16, 2020 - 8pm - Gold Tier
  
• May 16, 2020 - 8:30pm - Silver Tier
  
• May 16, 2020 - 9pm - Bronze Tier
  

We have made major revisions to how Outfit Wars functions both from a ruleset perspective, and a technological standpoint. The Alpha Cycle 2 schedule is listed further down in these notes.

[h3]Phasing Revisited[/h3]
Outfit Wars now uses three separate Qualification Phases that take place over three days and have Rest Periods in between them. The new flow is as follows:

Enlistment → Qualifier 1 → Rest 1 → Qualifier 2 → Rest 2 → Qualifier 3 → Preparation Phase → Combat Phase → Off Season

Qualifiers will be available for a limited number of hours on each Qualifier day to emphasize participation during times of high population. These changes are intended to create intense sessions of focused play leading up to the Outfit Wars matchup, while avoiding player burnout in the process.

[h3]Offset Match Start Times[/h3]
Match start times will now be offset by 30 minutes for Alpha Cycle 2, and we'll be starting with Gold → Silver → Bronze. This order and timing may change in the future based on feedback.

[h3]Scoring[/h3]
We've removed the emphasis on base ownership over time, and refocused our scoring on the combat taking place instead. Instead of gaining a static value either by capturing a base, or owning it as its resources tick up, the eligible score of the top-10 players in your Outfit is now combined to reward you with Outfit Wars score on a successful capture or defense.

[h3]Capturing[/h3]

• Participating in a base capture will award attackers (of all participating outfits) score upon capture.
  
• Capturing a base can earn up to 250 Outfit Wars score (this is the equivalent of 25,000 combined score, anything above this is discarded.)
  

[h3]Defending[/h3]

• Participating in a base defense will award defenders (of all participating outfits) score upon a successful base defense.
  
• Defending a base can earn up to 100 Outfit Wars score (this is equivalent of 10,000 combined score, anything above this is discarded.).
  

[h3]Bastion Fleet Carrier[/h3]

• Spawning a Bastion for your Outfit immediately grants you 1000 Outfit Wars score during a Qualify phase.
  
• Destroying a Bastion weakpoint now awards all opposing Outfits that have at least one member within 500 meters with 100 Outfit Wars score if done during an active Qualify phase.
  

[h3]Desolation[/h3]

• Outfit members who aren't flagged with the "Outfit War Eligible" privilege will no longer be allowed to access Desolation.
  
• When the Desolation alert ends, the victorious players currently in the zone receive the "Warrior" title. Dev Note: Victorious players from the 1st cycle of Outfit Wars will be granted this title before cycle 2 begins.
  
• Increased the Desolation alert point maximum from 500 to 750.
  

[h3]Misc. Outfit Wars related Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue with the Outfit War HUD notification showing prematurely.
  
• Fixed an issue where Outfit Wars HUD notification wouldn't appear when the war ended.
  
• You will no longer receive a prompt to join the Outfit War after the match has ended.
  

[h3]Outfit Base Capture and Resource Gain[/h3]

• The TAB battle scoreboard now only tallies score that contributes to a base capture, and ignores exempt experience types.
  
• The minimum score required to award resources when a base is captured reduced from 3000 to 1000.
  

[h3]Misc. Fixes, Changes, and Additions[/h3]

• Spitfire and Auxiliary Spitfire Turrets can no longer be stacked on one another, and the minimum placement distance has been increased slightly.
  
• Hardlight Canopies should be less likely to be culled during times of high server load.
  
• Fixed an issue where Bastions could be damaged without attacking the hardpoints.
  
• Flail and Glaive IPC are affected by AI Modules once again.
  
• Scrolling on the Outfit Management page no longer applies to both the focus and the pane behind it.
  

Members, your double XP weekend starts right now!

2XP Members weekend will run through Sunday, April 26 at 11:59PM PST. Start racking up those certs, members!

That's no sunset, soldier - those hulking shadows looming over the horizon herald the arrival of the first Bastion Smash!

Bastion Smash will feature SIX Bastion Fleet Carriers split between two massive Outfits (TR vs NC) in a battle for air dominance over the jungles of Hossin on Jaeger (a special PS2 server reserved for large-scale community events). This community-organized competition will be an epic air spectacle like no other, with over 350 pilots committed to each side. All the action is set to go down on Saturday, April 25 at 12PM PDT (9PM CEST).

Saturday's event will be our first opportunity to experiment with allowing Empires (and Outfits) to summon more than one Bastion, and the community organizers have worked diligently to organize the signups and ruleset. You can check out all the details here. 

If you want to tune in, we'll be hosting PooNannersPlay at twitch.tv/planetside2 starting at 12PM PDT on Saturday. Some of your favorite PS2 streamers like ArsheeTV and Faber0ne will also be bringing you their live coverage. Don't miss out on some epic air carnage this Saturday!

PC servers came down at 6:00 AM PDT (3:00 PM CEST) to bring you the Tactical Loadout game update. Servers are expected to come back up at 10:00 AM PDT (7:00 PM CEST).

Full patch notes below:

[h3]Tactical Slot and Merit Assets[/h3]
We have added a new loadout slot to all players. This slot now houses Merit Reward deployables, and in the future may house other limited, tactical equipment.

Tactical Slot Deployables
Tactical Slot deployables will now be able to be restocked with Merit from the loadout screen after purchasing an initial schematic from the Outfit Quartermaster on Sanctuary.

• Flash XS-1 is now located in the Tactical Slot.
  
• Caltrop has been added as a Merit Reward item. These deployables are for outdoor use only, and can be placed to help hinder the movement of enemy vehicles.
  
• Hardlight Canopy has been added as a Merit Reward item. Provides small, circular cover to protect infantry against airborne assaults.
  
• Auxiliary Spitfire has been added as a Merit Reward item. Places a single-use Spitfire Turret that mimics the functionality of the Engineer version.
  
• Cortium Bomb has been added as a Merit Reward item. Deploys a large explosive device that deals high damage over a wide area, particularly to construction objects. This bomb can be defused.
  

Caltrops - These deployable tank traps prevent the passage of enemy vehicles, while the holo-emitters allow the passage of allied vehicles. Enemy vehicles with gate shield diffusers will be able to pass through, as well!



Cortium Bomb - This high-yield explosive are effective at destroying enemy constructs. While armed, their beeping can be heard from far off, so finding good hiding spots are important.



Hardlight Canopy - This portable skyshield provides limited cover to infantry from airborne attacks. The skyshield is heartier than the generator itself, which can be destroyed fairly easily with gunfire.

[h3]Outfit Resources[/h3]

• Outfits now require a minimum participation score (combined between members) of 3000 before receiving base capture resource rewards.
  
• Outfits who capture the base now receive their first tick of resources over time immediately.
  

[h3]World Map[/h3]

• Multiple instances of the same zone will now associate a number with each one. For example: Sanctuary 1, and Sanctuary 2.
  
• The targeting reticle when selecting Sanctuary on the World Map is less obstructive now.
  

[h3]Koltyr[/h3]
The island of Koltyr has now become an instanced playspace that will become available under certain conditions.

• During times of high server population, Koltyr will become available to accommodate the population overflow.
  
• Likewise, during times of very low server population, Koltyr will become available to provide a more focused playspace.
  
• Capturing 66% territory on Koltyr will trigger a 30-minute Meltdown alert, after which the continent will lock.
  
• Unlike Meltdown events on full continents, Koltyr does not provide rewards on completion, but will increased experience gain by 25% for the duration of the event.
  
• War Assets are not available for use on Koltyr.
  

[h3]Sanctuary[/h3]

• Various visual improvements and art cleanup.
  
• Warpgate Terminals have been added to the lower levels of Sanctuary.
  
• The Join Combat prompt no longer appears in Sanctuary.
  

[h3]Outfit Armory[/h3]

• Outfits now have access to the "Bastion" permission type, and all Bastion-related components now use this permission instead of Expedition permissions.
  
• Overclocking assets can no longer be done by players who do not posses the correct permissions.
  

[h3]War Assets[/h3]
We've made our first round of adjustments to War Assets to make them more accessible to Outfits, and adjusted pricing based on their relative desirability in-game:

Steel Rain

• When Steel Rain is activated, a swirling maelstrom now appears above the location, visually indicating the drop zone.
  
• Polystellarite cost from 5 to 0.
  
• Synthium cost from 50 to 25.
  

Orbital Strike

• Maximum held count from 3 to 2.
  
• Polystellarite cost from 3 to 5.
  

Citadel Shield

• Weight from 75 to 50.
  
• Auraxium from 100 to 75.
  
• Polystellarite cost from 3 to 0.
  

ANVIL (Light)

• Auraxium cost from 20 to 15.
  
• Synthium cost from 2 to 0.
  

ANVIL (Medium)

• Auraxium cost from 50 to 25.
  
• Synthium cost from 10 to 3.
  

ANVIL (Heavy)

• Auraxium cost from 100 to 75.
  
• Synthium cost from 25 to 10.
  

[h3]Expeditions[/h3]
Length of each expedition has been cut in half.

• Expedition (Short) from 24 hours to 12 hours.
  
• Expedition (Medium) from 48 hours to 24 hours.
  
• Expedition (Long) from 72 hours to 36 hours.
  

[h3]Bastion[/h3]

Crafting Adjustments
Each piece of the Bastion now crafts in 6 hours, opposed to 12 prior. Pieces of the Bastion must now be crafted in the following order.

1. Hull Reconstitution
   
2. Support Systems
   
3. Rearm and Refuel
   
4. Response Vehicles
   

Dev Note: The intention of these changes are to create a buffer of time where resources won't feel "wasted" if they're not going directly toward funding a Bastion. This does slow the rate at which a Bastion can be pulled for those outfits who can easily harvest resources, and we can readjust again in the future if Bastions appear too infrequently on the battlefield.

[h2]Mauler Cannons[/h2]

• Now have a unique model.
  
• No longer deal damage or impulse through one-way collision (like spawn room shields.)
  
• Maximum Blast Damage from 1250 to 1000
  
• Blast damage resistance type from 9 (Tank Mine) to 23 (Air to Ground Warhead)
  

Dev Note: These changes should create a better window of survivability for vehicles aware of an incoming barrage, and allows for certain defensive slots (like Flanker Armor) to help mitigate these attacks.

Misc. Bastion Changes

• Bastions now generate Power Projection score while over VS territory.
  
• Bastion Uplink Terminal has been renamed "Command Terminal," and has new UI visuals.
  
• Seats 3 - 6 no longer show empty ammo pools in the HUD seating chart.
  
• Added a missing panel to the starboard side of the Bastion.
  

[h3]Black Market[/h3]
New items have been added to the Black Market vendors. We will not be rotating the old items out of the store in this update.

[h3]Infradine (Utility Slot)[/h3]
This single-use Infradine injector will allow the soldier to view heat signatures as if they were using an infrared scope. Lasts up to 20 seconds.
This consumable is restocked using A7.

[h3]NS-30 Tranquility (Common Pool Battle Rifle)[/h3]
Heavy modification has reclassified this NS-30 Vandal as a "non-lethal rifle," capable of firing concussive smart-slugs that slow enemy infantry on impact. While less powerful than the original, the Tranquility boasts higher projectile velocities, and remains suppressed at all times.

[h3]Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions[/h3]

• Included in this update are optimizations to server performance based on bottlenecks discovered during times of high population.
  
• Remedied some inconsistencies with construction resistances across a variety of structures.
  
• Construction objects beneath a Skyshield will now greatly reduce the damage taken from an Orbital Strike, but will not protect the Skyshield Module itself.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were using construction turrets in their debuffed state while entering them while an AI Module was active.
  
• Concussion Grenades' turning speed reduction now scales on distance from the blast, similar to the blurred screen visuals.
  
• Fixed and issue with MG-HBR1 Dragoon (TR Battle Rifle) not playing firing audio under certain conditions.
  
• MG-AR1 Arbalest (TR Assault Rifle) now has updated audio.
  
• Clicking the Outfit button as a player without an Outfit will now bring you to the Outfit Search page initially.
  
• Underbarrel Grenade launchers should no longer have large animation hitches during a reload.
  
• Repair Ribbons once again count toward directive progress.
  
• Wielded knives no longer flip in the hand while leaving a sprint. (Note: There still remains an issue where knives will flip in hand after a weapon swap.)
  
• Switching weapons while reloading pump action shotguns no longer causes you reload other weapons with the pump action's animations.
  
• BR15 cert refund no longer prompts players to "Leave Koltyr."
  
• Fixed an issue where Outfits couldn't set Outfit Decals.
  
• Desolation has received a beautification pass on the bases, capture points, and surrounding terrain.
  
• Revenant Implant can now be crafted, and has been added to the Implant Pack drop table.
  
• Removed the "Broadcast" tab from the Social menu.
  
• M96 Mjolnir (NC Top Gun) first person camera fixed for both the Vanguard and Harasser.
  
• SR-200 (NSO Sniper Rifle) no longer has animation hitches when aiming down sights with optics less than 6x.
  
• Players now regenerate Nanites on Desolation.
  
• Mayhem Auraxium tier directive now uses the correct tier icon.
  

[h3]Looking Forward[/h3]
Last weekend (April 11) we completed the first Outfit Wars alpha cycle. The community's response to the event has been phenomenal, and our team was excitedly watching these matches unfold as well. Big shout outs to the community casters who made the event way more exciting and positive than we could have hoped for, and for all of the participants who put in the work. The team has a variety of changes we're looking to have completed before qualifiers begin for the next Outfit Wars. These changes aim to make qualifiers feel better, make match pacing feel better, and address a variety of the bugs that we noticed on stream. The next season will continue to be in what we're calling an "alpha cycle," and we want to make Outfit Wars feel like an integrated part of the experience.

We'll be kicking off Outfit Wars Alpha Cycle 2 enlistment on May 1, and plan to have the next war take place on May 16. I want to stress that that's the current plan, and we'll have a separate post detailing this finalized information (including phase lengths and new rules) later on. To circle back around, this April update focuses primarily on bug fixes, our first pass at War Asset pricing, and the introduction of a new Tactical slot that gives individual Outfit members more ways to influence the battlefield. We're planning for a livestream later this month to show off some of what's in store for the next update, so stay tuned.
-Wrel, Lead Designer

Special thanks to:

• ArsheeTV: twitch.tv/arsheetv
• CAMIKAZE78: twitch.tv/camikaze78
• Commander Cyrious: twitch.tv/cmdrcyrious or youtube.com/CMDRCyrious
• Faber0ne: twitch.tv/faber0ne
• PlanetSide Battles team: twitch.tv/planetsidebattles & twitch.tv/planetsidebattles2
• Project Incursus Gaming: youtube.com/projectincursusgaming
• wintergaming: twitch.tv/wintergaming

Gear up for off-planet travel, soldier, our first Outfit Wars finals kick off this Saturday, April 11!

Outfit Wars is a new tournament structure for competitive Outfits in PlanetSide 2 to test their mettle against the best-of-the-best on Desolation, an all-new Asteroid continent built for competitive play. Over 170 Outfits from all 5 server regions enlisted for the inaugural OW preseason cycle, and this Saturday marks your first opportunity to see the top contenders take the stage.

Read on for all the intel on this weekend’s finals event!

[h3]WHERE & WHEN TO WATCH[/h3]
Congratulations to all 45 Outfit finalists! You outlasted stiff competition throughout qualification – only you earned the right to represent your Empire in its first expedition off-planet!



This Saturday, each server will feature 3 Outfit Wars matches (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) between the top-3 qualifying Outfits from each Empire within the region. Matches will air throughout the day on twitch.tv/planetside2, where we will host a squad of PS2 community streamers equipped with spectate tools to bring you all the action (we also list their channels below).

Here’s the full Saturday schedule* (*SolTech kicks off late Friday night/early AM for viewers in the US and EU):

SolTech (Asia): 9:00 PM PDT (Friday, Apr. 10) / 1:00 PM JST (Saturday, Apr. 11)

Gold: [HHzs] HH WAR LEGION1 – [YLBT] YLB Hero Army – [MUvs] MUone
Silver: [PKaQ] Welcome to the world of Pikachu – [RWCN] RWCN – [CNOP] CNOP
Bronze: [BMLx] Blue Moonlight 2004 – [CNRT] RedThunderCHN – [CNVA] CHINA VNUA Outfit

Cobalt (Europe): 12:00 PM PDT / 9:00 PM CEST

Gold: [91AR] 91st Armored NC Regiment – [3EPG] ZERG RUSS – [T] Toxic Zergsurfers
Silver: [RE4] THE RE4PERS – [SON5] Sons of Einherjar – [MOOD] The Boys
Bronze: [AXMI] Auraxium Minutemen – [TRXF] Terran Strike Forces – [TRID] Trident

Miller (Europe): 12:00 PM PDT / 9:00 PM CEST

Gold: [BHO] BoNeHeAdEdOvErLoRdS – [K] Sector JKU TR – [THVA] NewOutfitName
Silver: [TATF] Training Alliance Task Force – [BRTD] BetterRedThanDead – [DIG] Dignity of War
Bronze:  [1RPC] 1e Regiment des Para Commandos – [FU] Freelancers Union – [SIN] Singularity of Dark Stars

Emerald (NA East): 5:00 PM PDT / 8:00 PM EDT

Gold: [GSLD] The Guardian Shield – [AODR] Angels of Death TR – [BWAE] BUSHIDO WAE
Silver: [VCO] Voodoo Company – [1TMI] 1st Terran Mobile Infantry – [SKL] SoKaars Legion
Bronze: [HZN] Clan Horizon – [XSIL] Dolor Exsilium – [VKTZ] Vanu Sovereign KatZ

Connery (NA West): 8:00 PM PDT

Gold: [00] Recursion – [P1GS] SPACE PIGS – [DPSO] Dropping Purple Smoke
Silver: [WTAC] Western Tactical – [HMRD] Drunk Division – [TWC2] THE WILD CARDS
Bronze: [FEFA] IRON FORGED ALLIANCE – [CIK] BDogs Communication is Key – [BRAC] The BloodRaven Clan

[h3]RULES & REGULATIONS[/h3]
Outfit Wars matches are epic 48v48v48 player events between all three factions on Desolation, an asteroid belt harboring ancient Vanu relics located in deep space, far from the war on Auraxis. Matches will begin with a 20-minute deployment period for each Outfit to get organized beneath a protective shield near their command center. After deployment ends, a 90-minute alert will kick in to determine the fate of the match.



The objective for each Outfit is to capture and control critical territories on Desolation – Vanu obelisks – which accrue points for each second under that Outfit’s control. The only way to earn points is to capture and hold those obelisks, which will require exceptional coordination, skillful teamwork, and decisive tactics, with two other formidable Outfits warring over the same ground! The first Outfit to 500 points (or the Outfit with the highest score at the end of the alert) will have won the match on behalf of their Empire.   

Participating Outfits will have their armory of War Assets available (with the exception of the Bastion Fleet Carrier), and can continue to craft Assets during the match. Each Desolation Command Center is fitted with a Cortium Silo housing 75,000 Cortium, along with pre-installed vehicle and air pads capable of spawning all standard vehicles. The Construction System can be used across all of Desolation, and Cortium nodes can be found scattered throughout. However, resources are scarce (you do not use nanites to pull vehicles, and Cortium is limited) so spend wisely! Time is your enemy, and your opponents will show no mercy if you burn through all of your resources.

Each Outfits is limited to 48 members, though if a player drops they can be replaced by someone warming the bench.

Victorious Outfits from each match (3 Outfits from each server region - 15 total) will earn a completed Bastion Fleet Carrier for their Outfit. And as a “thank you” for your platoon's hard work, the winning team members on Desolation will also be granted a special title to commemorate their valorous trials in the Alpha 1 preseason finals of Outfit Wars!

[h3]CELEBRATORY DOUBLE XP WEEKEND![/h3]
Outfit Wars has gone through extensive pre-Alpha and PTS playtesting leading up to our initial preseason finals weekend – we’re far from done tuning, balancing, and testing new changes and features for this competition, but we never would have made it this far without the thousands of community members who chipped in their time and energy to play and provide feedback. As a show of our appreciation for all your help, we’re kicking off a 2XP for ALL PC weekend starting on Friday, April 10 at 12:00 AM PDT and lasting through Sunday, April 12 at 11:59 PM PDT!

We also want to offer a special shout-out to the PS2 community streamers broadcasting Outfit Wars matches throughout the day. Under different circumstances, we would have loved to broadcast from our own studio, but they’ve helpfully picked up the torch (as our community always does) to make sure you don’t miss a second of coverage. We’ll be hosting their broadcasts all day at twitch.tv/planetside2, or you can check them out at any of the channels below:

wintergaming: twitch.tv/wintergaming
ArsheeTV: twitch.tv/arsheetv
Project Incursus Gaming: youtube.com/projectincursusgaming
Commander Cyrious: youtube.com/CMDRCyrious
CAMIKAZE78: twitch.tv/camikaze78
Faber0ne: twitch.tv/faber0ne
PlanetSide Battles*: twitch.tv/planetsidebattles & twitch.tv/planetsidebattles2

*our friends at PSB are graciously hosting Chinese and Russian broadcasts from SowinLeonWu, KAVILOR and Dobryak

Follow their LIVE broadcasts on Saturday and you may even have an opportunity to win special giveaways!

Streamers and content creators competing in Outfit Wars have permission to stream or record their gameplay, however be aware that you may be giving away your position to the enemy!

Eager to see who earns the most glory on behalf of their Empire, soldier? Check out our coverage at twitch.tv/planetside2, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook!