What is Planetside II?
"Planetside II" is the sequel to the celebrated but only modestly successful MMO "Planetside". It is a first person, open world shooter where soldiers from 3 different factions battle for control of bases, landmass and glory. The emphasis is on large scale battles between air, infantry and tanks and it was not uncommon to end up in fights between hundreds of people in the original. Where the first game had a monthly subscription, this sequel will not. The plan is for it to be free to play with some sort of cash shop.
The first game came out just before the MMO boom in 2003. It immediately found a core fanbase but the game suffered from many isssues large and small and saw a major drop in player numbers after the first 6 months. Shortly thereafter the MMO behemoth "World of Warcraft" came out and gutted the population further. As a result, Planetside was largely abandoned by SOE and the game was left with a skeleton crew of developers.
However, the game has survived to present day as one of the extremely rare MMOFPS products on the market and while it never reached any particularly great heights, almost everyone saw the massive potential in the game. Now fans hope that Planetside II can live up to the expectations.
So what's the deal, man?
In Planetside II you will get to fight as a soldier in one of three different factions:
The Vanu Sovereignty "The destiny of the human species tilts toward ruin. Thousands of years of shortsightedness and provincial thinking have hampered its proper evolution. We plunge toward oblivion. Those able to comprehend the promise and potential of humanity will advance. They will usher the less gifted through the gateway of understanding and cleanse the taint of blindness, ignorance and mulishness from the species. We are the shepherds of evolution, the harbingers of progress. We lead toward the light."
—Vanu Sovereignty information brochure
The Vanu Sovereignty (VS) is an Enlightened/fanatical faction established around the technology of the exctinct alien species that once inhabited the planet of Auraxis, the world we're fighting for in the game. Their weapons are all energy based and most of their vehicles tend to hover. Oh, and they love the colour purple!
The Terran Republic "Loyalty until Death! Strength in Unity! Order requires law. Law is enforced through deterrence. Deterrence is based on the fear of consequences, and fear is the most powerful motivating force. The separatist groups, the Vanu Sovereignty and the New Conglomerate, will be dismantled through the exercise of forceful deterrence. Dissidents will fear the consequences of their disloyalty. Unity and order will be restored."
—Terran Republic propaganda poster
The Terran Republic (TR) is the benevolent overlord/evil dictator and they have an affinity for fast firing ballistic weapons and tanks and the colors red and black! They used to be the big dogs on campus and are now fighting to wrest control back of Auraxis from the other two factions.
The New Conglomerate "Tear down the Threat that is Tyranny! Burn it all down and Start Again! We call all able-bodied soldiers to The Frontlines to take up arms against those who would deprive us of our basic freedoms. Do not forgive! Do not forget the History of Oppression that we have endured at the hands of the Terran brutes and the Vanu maniacs! Volunteer Now!"
—New Conglomerate recruitment bulletin
The New Conglomerate (NC) are the freedom-fighting idealists/terrorists who want to usher in a new era for the people of Auraxis and their focus is on slow but hardhitting vehicles and guns. Their favourite colors are yellow and blue!
For more detailed info check out the videos below!
VIDEOS
Some Alpha and Beta videos from Higgs and TotalBiscuithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KSXXEOJUcG0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x6HgC6Exs0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mfwd3U709dc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ptGe-UplC34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qv4Y0YN5180
NEW PLAYERS
To fully enjoy this game, it is recommended that you join an outfit. Dont be a lone wolf, be a part of a group and you will realize that your team can exert greater force on the conflict at large. The PA Forums have created two official outfits so far:
The Cult of Arcadia is a Vanu outfit located on the Eastern US Server Waterson. Contact info is on their forum thread OP.
Tunnel Snakes Rule! is a Terran Republic outfit that is located on the Western US Server Connery. Contact info is on their forum thread OP.
There are a couple other guilds floating out there, the Euros have a VS guild somewhere, and there are a couple guys touting NC colors... if you want to join those guys you'll probably have to ask in this thread for the time being. I dont think the moderators would give another thread to this game.
TECHNICAL ADVICE CORNER
I'd like to pool together the little tips and tricks that can squeeze out that little bit of extra Frames per Second out of your computer.TOGSolid wrote: »
If you haven't tried using the CPU Unparker Utility, I HIGHLY recommend you give it a shot. Everyone who uses it is reporting solid FPS gains and that their rig is no longer chugging in big fights. It might make your game playable.
http://www.coderbag.com/Programming-C/Disable-CPU-Core-Parking-Utility
I suggest we put this sucker in the OP because it's solving problems for a lot of PA bros.
GAMEPLAY, TACTICS, STRATEGIES, ADVICE
This is will eventually be segregated into different sections regarding basic, intermediate, and expert level play and concepts.
-Basic concepts are what you need to know as a completely new player to jump in and help contribute to your faction as quick as possible.
-Intermediate concepts would explain classes and their capabilities as well as leadership administration and abilities. Maybe even about what purchases would be worth getting.
-Expert level concepts would be tips and tricks figured out over hundreds of man-hours we as a forum have played this game, as well as the meaty number crunchy aspects, and high level leadership advice like working with other platoons and the faction as a whole.
For now, we are just accumulating it all here.NotoriusBEN wrote: »
Below are some still relevant videos for Planetside 2. They talk about how to go about taking objectives and a facility instead of just shooting mans.
This video right here may be 30minutes long, but it explains about 90% of what you need to know as a new *capable* player. It explains facilities, how to take them, what many of the different icons mean. There will be minor changes due to some facility layouts, but the basics are relevant. I also think that new players should look at a LOT of Rival Xfactor's PS2 tutorial threads. Even though he's a filthy TR, I can't fault his friendly and informative demeanor. Plus he plays the other factions sometimes to give tips on empire specific weapons, and vehicles.
Breach busing Tech Plants. Not as much of a game changer as it used to be, but still a useful tactic.
Taking a Bio Lab. The most complicated base type to take. This breaks it down for you.Class DescriptionsLight Assault
Class Ability: Jetpack
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Shotgun
Special Weapon: none
Death from above! Light Assaults are all about close-range engagements where their instant height advantage lets them go places nobody else can. They also make effective demolitionists with their ability to drop C4 right on top of unsuspecting enemy vehicles. Remember not to engage in direct combat if you can help it, as the LA has no unique squishyness-lowering equipment.
Heavy Assault
Class Ability: Personal Shield System
Primary Weapons: LMG, Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Heavy Launcher
If Light Assaults attack from the sides, the Heavy attacks from the front. Their LMGs are great for engaging groups of enemies or loosing supressive fire (when you're not taking forever to reload) while their shield adds an extra layer of protection whenever you can call for it. Heavies are also the only class with anti-vehicle ability by default thanks to their rocket launchers (which can be replaced with lock-on anti-tank and anti-air variants). Their only specific downside, aside from reload time, is their reduced movement speed - they are otherwise effective at almost any range.
Combat Medic
Class Ability: Area Medical Applicator
Primary Weapons: Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Medical Applicator
Behold the Medic, helmet of alabaster. Medics are much more capable of offense than one would think, their battle rifles effective at medium range (though they come up short against carbines in close combat). Their Medical Applicator can restore health to allies and even revive fallen ones - just make sure the area's clear unless you want to feed kills to the enemy. For maximum not-staying-deadness, add Revive Grenades!
Engineer
Class Ability: Advanced Construction Engine
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Armor Repair Kit
Mechanical counterpart to the Medic, the Engineer can fix up tanks and planes right good with his repair gun. The A.C.E. can be used to deploy a MANA Anti-Infantry Turret for extra kick and cover or an Ammunition Pack for allies to reload at, effectively giving the Engie unlimited ammo (if you live long enough to need it). Finally, they have the unique option for Sticky Grenades.
Infiltrator
Class Ability: Cloaking Device
Primary Weapons: Sniper Rifle, Scout Rifle
Special Weapon: Recon Detect Device
One order of sniping with backstab on top! Infiltrators are the squishiest of all classes by default, so they must rely on staying out of enemy sights. To this end they are capable of cloaking for a short time, moving about while displaying little more than distortion to observers at the cost of being unable to use guns, grenades or melee attacks while hidden. The primary weapon of Infiltrators is the sniper rifle, delivering headshots in both bolt-action and semi-automatic flavors. Those wishing to do their thing in close quarters may enjoy a rapid-fire scout rifle instead. Serve with a side of EMP or Decoy Grenades.
MAX: Mechanized Assault Exo-Suit
Class Ability: MAX Charge
Primary Weapons: Arm-mounted guns.
Special Weapon: More arm-mounted guns.
The true "tank" class of the game, the MAX is so deadly and tough as to require Infantry Resources and a respawn timer. Most MAXes work best at close range, though weapons (available in both Left and Right Arm versions) vary among factions. What they all share is the Burster flak gun, available on Right Arm by default, making them the go-to anti-air option when there's nothing else around.Checkout what I found guys: visual representations of every weapons' simulated shot group. It excludes sniper rifles and shotguns (which are pretty much identical anyway), and it uses hip fire variables, but it's still the best way to conceptualize the data.dj.subversive wrote: »One thing to note about C4/AT Mines/Grenades, that new players are probably not yet aware of - that stuff costs infantry resources. C4 is 100/brick, Mines are 75, and frag grenades are 45 (not sure about the bouncing betties or other grenade types, since I haven't unlocked them yet). It's not normally a big deal, but MAX suits also cost inf. resources to spawn (100), and in prolonged fights where things aren't going your way (as in, you just can't compete with a zerg rush), you may run out of something if you don't stock up when you get a chance.
What I usually do is spend most of my accumulated infantry resources on grenades and mines when I first log in for the day (unlocked c4 first, then decided to get anti-tank mines and wow, c4 was a waste of 200 certs for an engineer - I don't have the mobility of an LA, so I almost always die getting into a position where I could use it). I try to save at least 100 inf. resources (in case I need to pull a MAX) and they start building up immediately, especially if your faction doesn't have their heads up their asses and decides to do something other than try to take the Crown.
Posts
The server will be Connery I believe.
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Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Oh yes, how do we get the Leader emblems again? I know it has something to do with Twitter but I don't know where to send my #LiveFreeNC
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Server transfers won't be open until the patch on the 30th.
If you are Vanu don't transfer to connery, the place is a shit hole.
Helios has some issues, but for the most part I like it. It's lower pop, so Esamir and Amerish are dead most of the time. At most, they will have 1 red zone and a few orange. Indar is usually busy though. I actually had to wait in a queue the other day. The best part is the server has a very balanced faction population. TR is always a bit lower, and Vanu are always a bit higher, but on average it's 37%-30%-33%. Because Indar is the only place for a big fight, it's always balanced.... and because of this balance, Indar hasn't been completely conquered in a month.
People are bored of always fighting on Indar though. I have a feeling server transfers are really going to screw things up. From what I've heard, other servers tend to have each faction dominate their own continent. How true is this? I'm curious to hear what other servers are like.
...Pax Conglomerate, anyone?
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Server transfers might screw some things up, but I feel that for CoA, it will help us.
1) we might be able to draw other forumers to Waterson since purchases on your character would transfer. Heck, we could even go play with Klyka for a while or vice versa depending on how purchases worked...
2) more dregs of the TR will flock to TotalBiscuit thus making Vanu as a whole stronger still.
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My buddies and I are NC on Jaeger. Populations seem pretty balanced, and we have lots of fun.
Big thing that I want to add to it is advice on how to play the certain classes and playstyles.
Such as what weapons do you use, what armor mods you equip, general tactics and how your class integrates into the war effort.
I suspect engineer to be a bit large due to the fact that it is the goto class for pilots and treadjocks, but then again, I'll probably split those out as their own thing.
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The problem (and argument against this) is that people would tend to just join the server where their faction is winning.
What they could do is put additional faction bonuses per server controlled. People already make alts as it is and switch around, so it's really not going to make that much of an impact.
Class Ability: Jetpack
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Shotgun
Special Weapon: none
Death from above! Light Assaults are all about close-range engagements where their instant height advantage lets them go places nobody else can. They also make effective demolitionists with their ability to drop C4 right on top of unsuspecting enemy vehicles. Remember not to engage in direct combat if you can help it, as the LA has no unique squishyness-lowering equipment.
Heavy Assault
Class Ability: Personal Shield System
Primary Weapons: LMG, Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Heavy Launcher
If Light Assaults attack from the sides, the Heavy attacks from the front. Their LMGs are great for engaging groups of enemies or loosing supressive fire (when you're not taking forever to reload) while their shield adds an extra layer of protection whenever you can call for it. Heavies are also the only class with anti-vehicle ability by default thanks to their rocket launchers (which can be replaced with lock-on anti-tank and anti-air variants). Their only specific downside, aside from reload time, is their reduced movement speed - they are otherwise effective at almost any range.
Combat Medic
Class Ability: Area Medical Applicator
Primary Weapons: Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Medical Applicator
Behold the Medic, helmet of alabaster. Medics are much more capable of offense than one would think, their battle rifles effective at medium range (though they come up short against carbines in close combat). Their Medical Applicator can restore health to allies and even revive fallen ones - just make sure the area's clear unless you want to feed kills to the enemy. For maximum not-staying-deadness, add Revive Grenades!
Engineer
Class Ability: Advanced Construction Engine
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Armor Repair Kit
Mechanical counterpart to the Medic, the Engineer can fix up tanks and planes right good with his repair gun. The A.C.E. can be used to deploy a MANA Anti-Infantry Turret for extra kick and cover or an Ammunition Pack for allies to reload at, effectively giving the Engie unlimited ammo (if you live long enough to need it). Finally, they have the unique option for Sticky Grenades.
Infiltrator
Class Ability: Cloaking Device
Primary Weapons: Sniper Rifle, Scout Rifle
Special Weapon: Recon Detect Device
One order of sniping with backstab on top! Infiltrators are the squishiest of all classes by default, so they must rely on staying out of enemy sights. To this end they are capable of cloaking for a short time, moving about while displaying little more than distortion to observers at the cost of being unable to use guns, grenades or melee attacks while hidden. The primary weapon of Infiltrators is the sniper rifle, delivering headshots in both bolt-action and semi-automatic flavors. Those wishing to do their thing in close quarters may enjoy a rapid-fire scout rifle instead. Serve with a side of EMP or Decoy Grenades.
MAX: Mechanized Assault Exo-Suit
Class Ability: MAX Charge
Primary Weapons: Arm-mounted guns.
Special Weapon: More arm-mounted guns.
The true "tank" class of the game, the MAX is so deadly and tough as to require Infantry Resources and a respawn timer. Most MAXes work best at close range, though weapons (available in both Left and Right Arm versions) vary among factions. What they all share is the Burster flak gun, available on Right Arm by default, making them the go-to anti-air option when there's nothing else around.
(edit #1)
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a terrible thing, but a thing nonetheless
edit: also Medics can't use carbines
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LA's C4 kills MAXs in 1, takes 2 to kill tanks, and more than 2 to kill a sunderer (and that it takes 700 certs to get both)
Engineer anti tank mines. 100 certs get you 2, which will kill tanks/sunderers (they stay after you die, go to a different zone, switch classes, etc)
Infiltrators are *slightly* weaker than the other classes. Your wording kind of makes it sound that the difference is big.
Do HA actually move slower? I wasn't aware of that.
LA is not just about being above (although that is useful since people don't look up much), but attacking from unexpected directions in general. For instance, if I come into contact with an enemy I can run out of the building, jetpack up and back through a window and catch him by surprise. Mobility is the key.
re: edit #1: medic Assault Rifles and engineer/HA Battle Rifles are quite different, so I'd name them as such
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
but if you have some hard won tips and tricks, I want that as well.
-An example would be how to fight MAXs with a light assault. Normally its a death sentence if you try to engage a MAX with your rifle, but if you can goad a MAX to follow you around the corner and place a C4 on the ground, you can catch the MAX and kill it with a detonation.
-If you are a squad leader with beacons, usually you want to be a light assault because you can place the beacon on a tree or out of the way roof top that no one save another light assault can reach.
-The collision detection is really on par in this game. If there is a slight ledge, it is possible to stand in some pretty unique locations and get the drop on a body in large rooms.
-currently, the only real decent MAX units are the dual airburster setups and the NC MAX AI setup.
this is also information I want to relay to new players.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
-Medics are Rifles and Shotties only.
-Heavies are LMGs and Shotties only. No Rifles.
-Engies are Carbines and Shotties only. No Rifles either.
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ie Eidolon/AMR-66/Warden
they are kind of hidden away for whatever reason, but they do exist and they can be used by HA/Engies
@Elldren - I saw no Battle Rifle category in the Depot search and Assault Rifles were exclusive to Medics.
Some of this weapon stuff might just be me as exclusively NC, but I checked around the shop and messed with the search stuff enough to narrow stuff down a bit.
@Ratsult2 - I'll save some of that for another section since C4 isn't exclusive to LA (even if unlocking it is).
@NotoriusBEN - Thanks for the vote of confidence! Now add some IMG tags to that NC portrait and we'll be golden.
...
Anyways! Take two.
Class Ability: Jetpack
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Shotgun
Special Weapon: none
Death from above! Light Assaults are all about close-range engagements where their instant height advantage lets them go places nobody else can. They also make effective demolitionists with their ability to drop C4 right on top of unsuspecting enemy vehicles (and around corners from a freshly-baited MAX). Remember not to engage in direct combat if you can help it, as the LA has no unique squishyness-lowering equipment. Don't forget, there's plenty of directions to flank from, not just from on high!
Heavy Assault
Class Ability: Personal Shield System
Primary Weapons: LMG, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Heavy Launcher
If Light Assaults attack from the sides, the Heavy attacks from the front. Their LMGs are great for engaging groups of enemies or loosing supressive fire (when you're not taking forever to reload) while their shield adds an extra layer of protection whenever you can call for it. Heavies are also the only class with anti-vehicle ability by default (besides MAXes) thanks to their rocket launchers (which can be replaced with lock-on anti-tank and anti-air missiles). Their only specific downside, aside from reload time, is their somewhat slower movement - they are otherwise effective at almost any range.
Combat Medic
Class Ability: Area Medical Applicator
Primary Weapons: Rifle, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Medical Applicator
Behold the Medic, helmet of alabaster. Medics are much more capable of offense than one would think, their battle rifles effective at medium range (though they come up short against carbines in close combat). Their Medical Applicator can restore health to allies and even revive fallen ones - just make sure the area's clear unless you want to feed kills to the enemy. For maximum not-staying-deadness, add Revive Grenades!
Engineer
Class Ability: Advanced Construction Engine
Primary Weapons: Carbine, Shotgun
Special Weapon: Armor Repair Kit
Mechanical counterpart to the Medic, the Engineer can fix up tanks and planes right good with his repair gun. The A.C.E. can be used to deploy a MANA Anti-Infantry Turret for extra kick and cover or an Ammunition Pack for allies to reload at, effectively giving the Engie unlimited ammo (if you live long enough to need it). They also have a separate, upgradeable ammo pack that can be exchanged for Anti-Tank Mines or Anti-Personnel Mines. Finally, they have the unique option for Sticky Grenades.
Infiltrator
Class Ability: Cloaking Device
Primary Weapons: Sniper Rifle, Scout Rifle
Special Weapon: Recon Detect Device
One order of sniping with backstab on top! Infiltrators rely on staying out of enemy sights as they are a bit squishier than other classes. To this end they are capable of cloaking for a short time, moving about while displaying little more than distortion to observers at the cost of being unable to use guns, grenades or melee attacks while hidden. The primary weapon of Infiltrators is the sniper rifle, delivering headshots in both bolt-action and semi-automatic flavors. Those wishing to do their thing in close quarters may enjoy a rapid-fire scout rifle instead. Serve with a side of EMP or Decoy Grenades.
MAX: Mechanized Assault Exo-Suit
Class Ability: MAX Charge
Primary Weapons: Arm-mounted guns.
Special Weapon: More arm-mounted guns.
The true "tank" class of the game, the MAX is so deadly and tough as to require Infantry Resources and a respawn timer. MAX weapons come in both left- and right-arm varieties, allowing you to dual-wield to your Certs' content. These monstrous hulks usually work best at close range (the NC especially cleans up thanks to their shotgun arms) though exact vary among factions. The exception is against air targets as all three factions can access the Burster flak guns (and players start with the right-arm Burster unlocked by default) making them the de-facto AA defense when no flak turrets or lock-on launchers are available.
Also I wish the NS-11A was available for multiple classes. Yeah the Platinum looks sweet on my Medic but I'd like to get some long-range-ness on my Light every now and then.
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but here's the wiki page for them
edit: you can buy them from the Cert pages for HA and Engineer respectively
I don't know what you're doing wrong, but you can see the stats for the Battle Rifles here if you really don't believe that they exist.
Will make the changes tomorrow because sleeep
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Wait, what? 100 certs gets you two mines?! I guess I hadn't actually looked at it and assumed it was closer to LA's C4 cost. Hmm. I may play with that.
You know in TV and movies where someone is running in slow motion yelling NOOOOOO at some dangerous/horrible thing?
That's what it's like firing a Lasher, watching your stream of slow-moving plasma orbs as an oblivious friendly runs right toward them.
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What I usually do is spend most of my accumulated infantry resources on grenades and mines when I first log in for the day (unlocked c4 first, then decided to get anti-tank mines and wow, c4 was a waste of 200 certs for an engineer - I don't have the mobility of an LA, so I almost always die getting into a position where I could use it). I try to save at least 100 inf. resources (in case I need to pull a MAX) and they start building up immediately, especially if your faction doesn't have their heads up their asses and decides to do something other than try to take the Crown.
Speaking of Indar/The Crown: do NC on other servers ever get further out of the warpgate than Tawrich Tech Plant and Zurvan Amp Station, I think it is? the one east of the Crown? Because on SolTech, we even have difficulty keeping Tawrich out of the hands of the filthy xeno-lovers (who also generally outnumber both us and the Red Army - not combined, but sometimes it's close).
I did have a good run the other day. Story Time! I was running around repairing generators at an empty base (because who has time to resecure the base after that blue bar fills up? nobody, apparently), met another guy doing the same thing, and he invited me into his squad. Which happened to be a full-on platoon, four full (or nearly full) squads, with actual communication and coordination going on. I think it was The Terribads or Terribles or something like that? Good dudes. Anyway, we were re-capping territory that the Vanu had taken (Spec Ops camp, Sky Mesa or whatever it's called, Tawrich Tech, and Regent Rock Garrison), pushed some Vanu out of Regent Rock, then proceeded to hold the place for at least a half hour while Vanu pushed with armor from the west and TR came down from the north with an air force. It was a glorious 3-way battle, with proximity chat being used for actual tactics rather than spamming stupid music. One of the landing pads was home to an impromptu MAX Party, with at least five or six of us with dual-bursters, a couple engies keeping us supplied, and some heavies providing extra firepower (and anti-tank capability). The TR got bored first and left (after we shot down all their aircraft every time they got close), and then the Vanu (who decided to go cap Esamir, I guess), and I left to go eat something when the platoon was figuring out what to do next. The Battle for Regent Rock reminded me how fun this game can be when people work together and don't run away from a fight right away (and the pops were relatively close, for SolTech - 35/35/30 or so, with NC as the underdog, like usual).