PlanetSide 2 News

PC Servers will come offline on Wednesday, September 25 at 6:00 AM PDT / 3:00 PM CEST for maintenance. Downtime is expected to last up to 2 hours.

AERIAL ANOMALIES

• Improved server performance while these events are active.
  
• Buoys have all been lowered by 100 meters.
  
• Buoy deposit range from 150 meters to 200 meters.
  

MISC. FIXES, CHANGES, ADDITIONS

• Fixed some issues relating to faction balance queues.
  
• NSO characters will now get a friendly fire warning when firing on allied terminals.
  
• Prowler has deploy and undeploy sound effects again.
  
• Your first loading screen tooltip should no longer inform you of the game you're currently playing.
  

PLANETSIDE ARENA EARLY ACCESS IS HERE!

To celebrate PlanetSide Arena's early access release (now available to download for FREE on our Steam page), we've added a special PlanetSide Arena-themed bundle with weapons and cosmetics for your PlanetSide 2 characters!



PlanetSide: Arena - Mercenary Bundle - 2499 DBC
This bundle will be available until October 1, 2019, at 12:00 AM PDT, and comes with the following items:

• PSA-01 Hammerhead AMR
  
• PSA-02 Diamondback
  
• Arena Mercenary Helmet
  
• Arena Light Assault Armor
  

PSA-01 Hammerhead AMR (NS-AM7 Archer cosmetic variant)
The Hammerhead anti-materiel rifle revisits the power of the trusted NS-AM7 Archer, while bringing with it a more striking and modern visual design.



PSA-02 Diamondback (NS-11A cosmetic variant)
The Diamondback assault rifle is a more aggressive take on the time-tested, and highly adaptable NS-11A.



Arena Mercenary Helmet and Light Assault Armor
A battleworn PlanetSide: Arena helmet for all VS/NC/TR infantry classes, and a VS/NC/TR Light Assault Armor set.



Download for FREE on our Steam page now!

OCTOBER SEASONAL ITEMS COMING SOON!

In preparation for our Halloween event (Oct. 18 - Nov. 08), you will see seasonal items become available on October 1, with more to come later in the month. You'll see the following items start appearing in the Depot:

• NS CandyCannon 3000
  Slasher Knife
  Halloween Vehicle Horns
  Vehicle Tire Trails
  Flaming Skull Helmets
  Halloween Variety Helmets

LOOKING AHEAD

Hey there. The response to our dev letter a while back was pretty good, and the desire for continued communication is high, so we'll start adding little blurbs at the end of most of our patch notes to keep you in the loop with what we're currently working toward. This "hotfix" (not really a hotfix, more like an interim update,) was mainly to get a lot of timely marketplace information out now, as well as other data relating to the Halloween events slated for mid-October. Speaking of which, we'll be revising the way the Halloween event works this year. Instead of harvesting pumpkin seeds that can be used to purchase items, (a sporadic, mini-economy no one ever really knew how to price,) we're going to give you a chance at Halloween themed cosmetics by popping pumpkins. Shoot a pumpkin? Win a prize! We're going to be generous with some of the easier to purchase items, things like face masks and face paints, and increase rarity for for some of the nicer things. Horns are about middling rarity, flaming skull helmets are more rare, as an example.

The next update will be setting up the Halloween event primarily. That will be running from October 18 through November 8. With that update will come a round of faction-specific Assault Rifles, the possibility of an NSO-specific Sniper Rifle, and some Player Studio items, which we've had some issues processing lately. Sanctuary and Mandates are currently in the works, and making decent time. That'll be mainly what we start buttoning up after the October release, but we'll talk more about that later. Be on the lookout for an official Livestream coming early October where we'll show off and go into more detail about our progress.



October kicks off what tends to be the busiest three months for us on the dev team, and it will be a great time for PlanetSide 2 as well.

-Wrel, Lead Designer, PlanetSide 2

https://youtu.be/8AW0TuDUt5I
Gear up, Mercenaries, PlanetSide Arena is now available for FREE on Steam Early Access!

This is just the beginning of our epic journey to bring you the ultimate massive multiplayer sci-fi arena shooter. If you’ve been with us since we first began playtesting in Beta, a HUGE thank you. We never would have made it this far without you! To all of you new recruits, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the next phase in the war for Auraxis!

To DOWNLOAD and get started, click here to visit the PlanetSide Arena Steam page.


We launch today with two initial game modes:

• SQUADS
  • 300-player match-based game mode
    
  • 12 players per Squad
    

• TEAMS
  • 150-player match-based game mode
    
  • 3 players per Squad
    

PlanetSide Arena is an ambitious project that will ultimately feature a variety of match-based game modes, some capable of supporting up to 1,000 players per match! We’ll be working hard throughout Early Access to bring you new modes like Sunderdome, Outfit Wars, and Massive Clash, which will be released on a regular cadence in the form of weekend events with special rewards, or as primary modes that are always available.

Check out our Early Access Roadmap for a look at the new modes and features on the horizon.





Three initial character classes are available at launch: Assault, Medic, and Engineer. Each class fills a tactical role on the battlefield, and comes outfitted with its own unique ability, utility (or tool), and primary weapon option:

• ASSAULT CLASS
  • Escape Jet (F Key): Launches character at accelerated speed
    
  • Flash Totem (5 Key): Places a totem that blinds nearby enemies when activated
    
  • Has access to Carbines and Mods that improve speed and mobility
    
    
• MEDIC CLASS
  • Team Heal (F Key): Activates area of effect (AoE) aura that heals you/allies
    
  • Shield Totem (5 Key): Places a totem that buffs shield regen time of nearby allies
    
  • Has access to Scout Rifles, can revive teammates faster than other classes
    
    
• ENGINEER CLASS
  • Spitfire Turret (F Key): Deploys auto turret that targets enemy players/vehicles
    
  • Hardlight Barrier (5 Key): Places a barrier to use as cover for you/allies
    
  • Has access to LMGs and Mods that improve utility
    
    

For more on each of the classes, check out our introductory guides on the Assault, Medic, and Engineer.



Ready to choose your class and drop into the Arena?  Don’t forget to gear up for combat! From lethal sniper rifles to high-velocity particle weapons, PlanetSide Arena features a deep and diverse arsenal to choose from - and with the ability to customize your Loadout before diving into a match, you'll NEVER need to loot for a weapon. For more on each of the weapons and upgrades available in-game, check out our introductory weapons guide. 



Along with choosing your class and mastering each weapon, you'll want to familiarize yourself with each of the vehicles in PlanetSide Arena to fully dominate the battlefield. Every class starts each match with their own personal vehicle, which you can pre-select from the "Customize Soldier" main menu option, then summon in-match by hitting your X key (default). Very useful for scouting ahead for your Squad, or escaping an ambush! Once you dismount from your personal vehicle, there will be a short recharge time before you can summon it again.

The full garage available at Early Access launch include:

• Personal Vehicles: 
  • Tempest (Hoverbike): Lightweight, maneuverable, excellent strafing
    
  • Flash (Quad): Heavier feel, gets extra air off jumps and ridges
    
    
• Vanguard MK2 Tank:
  • 3-player Assault Tank
    
  • Driver plus 2 mounted guns: Main cannon and machine gun
    
  • Slow but exceptionally durable in combat
    
    
• Harasser
  • 3-player Transit Buggy
    
  • Driver, passenger, and 1 mounted gun: Halberd Rocket Launcher
    
  • Fast and mobile, with lighter armor and weaponry than the Vanguard
    
    

Additional vehicles will be introduced throughout Early Access - including aircraft, which are slated for Q1 2020 with our Outfit Wars update!



PlanetSide Arena launches as a free-to-play game with two premium bundles available for download on our Steam page:



The PlanetSide Arena: Recruit Edition ($19.99) includes the exclusive Alpha Strike banner and 80 NS-0 Standard Crates - $80 worth of value!



The PlanetSide Arena: Legendary Edition ($49.99) includes the Alpha Strike banner, FOUR exclusive skins (M-20 Tempest Hoverbike, and Alpha Strike Armors for the Medic, Assault, and Engineer) that will ONLY be available during Early Access, and 200 NS-0 Standard Crates - $200 worth of value!



Have additional questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions guide for a rundown on everything else you need know.

If you don’t find your answer here, tweet us @PlanetSideArena or let us know on the official forums.

See you in the Arena, Mercenary!

Attention, soldiers! Hold your Labor Day plans and gear up for deployment: Infantry and Vehicle Weapons are 30% OFF from tomorrow Saturday 8/31 through Monday 9/2!

Patriot Camo for VS/NC/TR will also be available in the Depot until the sale ends at 11:59 PM PDT on Monday!

Load up, look good, and stay safe out there, soldiers!

Today's PC update includes changes to the Death Cam, New Bounty System, new Main Battle Tank abilities, bug fixes, and more. 

Connery and Soltech

Server transfers are now available both to and from Connery Soltech for a limited time. This window of availability ends September 30, 2019, at 11:59PM.

Continent Events

Aerial Anomalies
This event has been restructred to encourage more active participation and offer more tactical depth. In this new version, Data Buoys will appear in the center of the map, and Anomalies themselves will coat vehicles in a mysterious residue called Tempest.

Players must deliver Tempest to the nearby Data Buoys located in the center of the map.

• Galaxies can carry up to 500 Tempest
  
• Liberator can carry up to 400 Tempest
  
• Valkyrie can carry up to 250 Tempest
  
• Empire Specific Fighters can carry up to 100 Tempest
  

Spotted vehicles carrying Tempest display a special icon that changes based on how much Tempest has been gathered. If you kill a target carrying Tempest, all of the resources are lost. Deposited Tempest is converted into score in this alert, and the first team to 25,000 score wins. 

Automated Bounties

We've reinstated the bounty system in an automated form that will flag players who are getting strings of kills. We hope this encourages some new cat and mouts style dynamic mid-battle, and allows for more organic completion of the Bounty directive.

• Bounties will now automatically be placed on characters who have an active 10 killstreak (kills without deaths) or greater. There is a long cooldown between how often this can occur.
  
• Players will receive a 5-stack of bounties upon activation.
  
• Stacked Bounties are now stripped one at a time when killed, instead of removing the entire stack when a player receives three deaths.
  
• Kills on bountied targets now award a flat rate of experience, instead of basing it on the stack count.
  

Death Camera

In this update, players will notice a slightly different behavior from the death camera. Instead of a top-down view of your body, the camera will first track and highlight your killer for a few seconds before refocusing on your corpse. We believe this new camera will help players achieve a better understanding of where attacks are coming from, and ease frustration caused by deaths that feel abrupt or unfair. We've heard your concerns regarding the impact this change will have on stealth oriented gameplay, and will keep those concerns in mind as we evaluate the feature in Live play.

Infantry

Cosmos VM3 (VS MAX)
Maximum damage from 167 to 143
Minimum damage from 143 to 125
Dev Note: The bigger bullets of the Cosmos, despite the headshot damage reduction, has made this weapon overperform when attached to such a high health pool target. We're going to keep the unique aspect of the weapon while trying to reel in that performance a bit.

NSX-A Kappa (NSO SMG)
NSX-A Kappa minimum damage from 50 to 42
Dev Note: We've corrected an oversight with the minimum damage range of this weapon where it was equivalent to the maximum damage. This is a slight nerf, and stays in line as a Tengu variant while giving Soft Point Ammunition a reason to exist on the weapon.

Vehicles

Magrider Magburner (Utility Slot)

• Rank 1 Magburner has been integrated by default, and Magburner's skill line has become a passive part of the vehicle instead of living in the utility slot.
  
• Added an additional rank to the Magburner skill line.
  
• Moved the cost of each tier up a rank, as the first tier is now free. Costs remain the same overall.
  
• Adjusted the regeneration rates of Magburner for better scaling at lower cost ranges.
  
• Fuel tank recharge to full from 35/30/25/20 to 35(default)/28/25/22/20
  
• Fixed an issue where framerates would drop drastically while trying to activate Magburner without an appropriate amount of energy.
  

Recharge (Utility Slot)
Added new "Recharge" Magrider utility that instantly restores Magburner fuel capacity, and momentarily disrupts lockon attempts.

• Rank 1: 40 second cooldown.
  
• Rank 2: 32 second cooldown.
  
• Rank 3: 28 second cooldown.
  
• Rank 4: 25 second cooldown.
  

Multi-directional Exhaust (Defensive Slot)
Added new "Multi-directional Exhaust" defensive slot item that further reduces the time to recharge Magburner, and allows for limited horizontal strafe capabilities while Magburner is active.

• Rank 1: Increases Magburner regeneration rate by 15%.
  
• Rank 2: Increases Magburner regeneration rate by 23%.
  
• Rank 3: Increases Magburner regeneration rate by 27%.
  
• Rank 4: Increases Magburner regeneration rate by 30%.
  

Prowler Rampart Projector (Defensive Slot)
While deployed, the Prowler receives increased front armor and projects a hardlight barrier forward to shield allied infantry. This barrier is tied directly to the Prowler's health pool, and damage to the barrier will also damage the Prowler.

• Rank 1: 10% additional front armor.
  
• Rank 2: 15% additional front armor.
  
• Rank 3: 17.5% additional front armor.
  
• Rank 4: 20% additional front armor.
  

Vanguard Nimitz Reactor (Defensive Slot)
Replaces 1000 Vanguard health in exchange for a quick-recharging shield layer of the same value.
Recharges 100 shield health per second at all ranks.

• Rank 1: Recharge delay of 6 seconds when damage is received, and 15 seconds when shield is broken.
  
• Rank 2: Recharge delay of 6 seconds when damage is received, and 12 seconds when shield is broken.
  
• Rank 3: Recharge delay of 6 seconds when damage is received, and 11 seconds when shield is broken.
  
• Rank 4: Recharge delay of 6 seconds when damage is received, and 10 seconds when shield is broken.
  

Flash/Harasser
Changed the model for the Stealth attachment visuals on these vehicles.

Lightning
Lightning's Engagement Radar attachment now uses the correct UI camera.

Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions

New Player Experience
Players now receive 100 certs at each new Battle Rank through BR100, instead of the first 15.

Continents and Alerts

• Continent rotation has been randomized on server startup.
  
• Warpgate rotation has been randomized on server startup.
  
• Alerts and continent events will now end prior to a server restart.
  
• Speculative fix for the 0:00:00 alert timer bug.
  
• Esamir's continent lock benefit no longer stacks particle effects, and the performance impact of this benefit has been greatly reduced.
  

Infantry

• Extended the range at which Hardlight Barriers will appear for distant players.
  
• Hardlight Barriers now have a slightly larger exclusion radius to prevent barrier stacking.
  
• NSO characters can no longer lock onto allied vehicles.
  
• NSO characters now receive grief for damaging unmanned allied vehicles.
  
• NSO characters should now be able to access faction specific jump pads.
  
• Fixed various IFF crosshair issues for NSO characters.
  

Implants
The Critical Chain implant buff no longer lasts indefinitely.

Construction

• Structure Shields should now despawn properly.
  
• Orbital Strike generator's shield should now despawn properly when destroyed.
  

Visuals

• Personal Shields have been given new visual FX.
  
• Fixed issues related to the impact effects when shooting targets with a shield layer.
  

Over the past few months we’ve been focused heavily on performance and stability post DX11 update on PC, and gearing up for our big (now released!) New Soldier update on PS4. With those initiatives complete, we figured that now would be a good time to talk about the next leg in PlanetSide 2’s ongoing development.

Toward the end of Summer we began making a serious commitment toward bettering the new-player experience. We still have loads of new players coming to the game each and every day, and long-time players know how brutal this game can be to a fresh recruit. To that end, we’ve been working toward a more satisfying first experience in hopes that those new players are excited to come back, and stick around long enough to eventually become salty veterans like the rest of us.

MORE MENTORS

Earlier this summer we released the New Player channel, alongside an expansion of the Mentor system. This system allows dedicated, helpful players to answer questions from lowbies, and provide guidance right from the start. In the future, we will be flagging trusted community members to speak in this channel without requiring a Mentor Rating, and we’re considering reducing the requirements to speak in this channel overall.

MODERNIZING THE DEATH CAMERA

Soon you’ll be seeing a revision of the Death Screen come to the public test server, and eventually to Live. This is a more modern style death camera that offers a brief look at your killer before panning back to your corpse. We’ve heard compelling reasoning both for and against features like this in the past, and ultimately we feel that there are pronounced benefits for all players when it comes to learning base layouts and easing the frustration of quick or unexpected deaths. On top of that, the new camera feels more in line with the pacing we see from modern day PlanetSide 2.

BETTER LOADING SCREENS

A smaller feature we’re currently working on is to make loading screens more contextual. New players, for example, might see loading screens with quick snippets about gameplay elements, like how generator overloads work; whereas a veteran player may see the typical gamut of loading screens currently available. This system would make holiday and event-driven loading screens easier to swap in and out as well.

TUTORIAL MODES

We’re currently working on modular tutorials where new players can dive into the specifics of different classes and elements of gameplay (like capturing bases.) While we feel like the community will continue to be the best resource for new player guidance once their boots hit the ground, we want to have structures in place that allow players to take a step back from the shark tank and learn at their own pace. These modules intend to replace the introductory tutorial currently available for new players on PC.

SANCTUARY

In the July Livestream, we showed off an early development version of a fresh, new Sanctuary zone for the first time. This feature was met with some confusion, as the greater vision for why it was even seeing development wasn’t made clear to the community. While it isn’t time to reveal all our long-term goals for the zone, I can offer some context for its initial implementation.

Sanctuary will be the first real social hub in PlanetSide 2. When we say Social Hub, we’re talking about a place where players of all sides can interact outside the war effort, and access features that don’t belong in a combat zone.

For initial implementation, we’ll be targeting the release of time-limited vendors of exotic and rare gameplay rewards, lore elements, and an all-faction voice and text chat. Ideally, our tutorial modules would follow (or optimistically, be coupled with) the initial release of the zone.

Having a social hub in place also gives us a better “holding area” for players waiting in queue, lets us build out some of the lore elements we’ve been working toward in the background over the past year, and creates the necessary foundation for long-term gameplay elements we’re looking to introduce next year and beyond.



The last thing I want to talk about is probably the biggest system we’re working on currently, one we’re tentatively calling the Mandate system.

Mandates are time-limited challenges with concrete objectives and rewards given upon completion. For the first implementation, we’re looking to create a system that can generate daily, weekly, and seasonal challenges (like the Directive system, but more robust and forgiving,) as well as create and trigger Mandates via script.

We will be using Mandates not only as a daily motivator, but also to incentivize participation when a context switch happens in-game. For example: An Aerial Anomaly event fires off, and you now have the time-limited goal of destroying enemy aircraft, delivering anomaly data, or supporting allied aircraft. If you don’t do it, you don’t get the reward.

The Mandate system will help make rewards feel more punchy and immediately obvious, it gives players a clear goal to complete, and it allows us to be more generous with rewards, while maintaining tighter control over our currency economies. Like much of what we’re working toward now, this is a system that will support the long-term development of the game.

Beyond the first implementation, we’ll be looking to create communal Mandates where multiple players contribute to the completion of the same goal. For example: An entire faction could be working toward a seasonal Mandate, and be trying to complete it before the other factions do. Or an Outfit could have its own Mandate that elevates the entire outfit as a whole upon completion.

This isn’t all we’re currently working on (Oshur is still in development, NSO weapons and vehicles are on the way, bug fixing, balance adjustments, and much more) but what I’ve mentioned above is our main focus heading into Fall. The reality of game development entertains that these features may be changed, pushed back, or dropped altogether, but we feel confident that everything on this list is worthy of our time and attention, and will help propel the game forward for years to come.

-Wrel, Lead Designer, PlanetSide 2