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1: NC

2: NC and TR

3: NC, TR and Vanu

[sambojin]

I'm thinking of starting to play a lot of Planetside 2, and I'm wondering what B12'ers think of the whole store-cash idea. So far, I'm absolutely bloody hopeless at the game, can't shoot, can fly, can chuck down an ammo pack sometimes.

But I have a basic plan to it.

#1: Get good with one weapon. Get good at FPS's again, but get good at this one. With one weapon. So no matter what class I want to play, I'll have a fallback that I'm reasonable with, with the class I'm playing as flavour, and their basic free weapons as more flavour. Any role, but a reasonable weapon to upgrade, with other stuff if wanted.

#2: I like to fly. I'm hopeless at it, but I like flying in PS2. If I was any good at it I could make all sorts of statements. "Why did you bundle 3 people into a Liberator when you could have all just jumped in Scythes?". "A tank column? Good. Thankyou for the cert points". "Fuck, I chose scout radar and not flares!". Anyway, flying is good. I'm going to choose scout radar.

#3: I'd like to play a class with lots of depth, group potential and gameplay styles. The cert points aren't going to come easy for me, so I'd like to invest them in something I can enjoy for a long time. I can change classes for different experiences, but I want a main class to get going with.

So saying that, I'm thinking Engineer. A Store credit, flying engy that can do a support role if necessary or go CQB if I want.

So, my basic budget is looking like 2100 store credits. It's not meant to be play to win, it's play to have fun in any way I want to. Here's what I'm thinking.

#1: SMG. 700 SC. Specifically, one of the new ones with the 50 ammo capacity. At least the cert points I drop into the weapon can be used by any class I play, and I can use it in a few different roles (sort of scary that they're nearly as effective as battle-rifles at range in semi-auto, except they're better when they're in full-auto close up).

#2. Rocket pods. 700 SC. Fly Scythe. Shoot things. Blow stuff up. Sometimes use it as a transport/road-kill generator, and as a thing that you can dump certs into that makes it always get better. When bored or when last horrible crash means aquistion timer is still up, fly something else. Or go infantrying. Whatever. Flying fast is fun.

#3. AV Mana Turret. 700 SC. It makes engy's anti-tank, and lets me be happy that I can sort of Heavy Assault it. Sort of. It's just another role for me when I'm not flying or shooting/repairing/ammoing. If I'm going to dump certs at one class, I want a bit of everything. They'll probably nerf it, but it is still a very cool and worthwhile weapon/option regardless.

So that makes a F2P game cost about $21. Cheaper if they do a double credit day or something, but still, not free. From what I've seen of PS2, I'll probably be happy to log in and have a laugh for ages to come, regardless of the changes. My main question is, if you were going to spend $21 on a game so you could open up all kinds of roles and options for long-term play, what would be your choices?

If they're exaclty these, then cool. If not, where should I chuck my 20 odd dollars? It seems to be a pretty fun game, even if there is a bit of balance probs and bugs in it. I just want to dive in at everything all at once, and get some fun out of it.

[darkrider2]

Play NC, reaver doesn't need rockets to be worthwhile, just the Air Hammer, and its cheap.

[Toaster]

If you're not in a hurry, you can wait for SC sales and item sales.  I've spent $25 on the game, bought eight or so weapons, and have 2220 SC left over.

Other than that, engy is a pretty versatile class, with access to many good weapon classes (shotty, SMG, carbines, battle rifle*) and the turret's nice.  Plus, tank mines.  Just get what you have fun with and you'll be content.


*How's the VS one stack up?  It has no bullet drop, right?  The NC one hurts with its bullet drop.

[palsch]

Note that you can get 170 free SC from logging into the sites of other SOE games, so you would only need to buy 2000 SC for three full price items.

The AV turret is high on my shopping list as well. Especially with the tank mine changes.

I have bought the SMG (NC Blitz), but got it for half SC in a recent daily deal after buying the SC during a double weekend, so it only cost £1.30 in the end. I also don't use it on my engineer (I feel you want it on a class with a closing ability, like the LA or Inf). I much prefer the 500 cert S type carbine (with under barrel grenade launcher) for extra utility.

[Tylui]

blah

Stick with VS! We rock!

If you're looking for an all around gun that you can use in most situations, I'd say get the NS-11C Carbine. You can use it on most classes, and if you wanted to play TR or NC, you'd have it for them, too, so you'd have an edge being good with it. It really is a swell gun. Compared to an SMG, yes, you might lose some CQC battles, but you'll win all the long-range battles you'd lose with the SMG.

[sambojin]

Battle rifles seem to be a bit crappy all round. They're a bit slow, and from testing, just about any weapon with a scope and a semi-auto mode does pretty much the same thing as them. They might keep their damage a bit further, but everything else has a 30-75 shot magazine on it. Plus, everything else has full auto and/or good hip-fire when you want it. Although, the VS one does at least go where you aim it. But it's not exactly a sniper rifle, it's just a low capacity plinker.

I was thinking of the SMG due to the fact that I can use it on closing classes, infiltrators, as well as my engy. Actually, what isn't a closing class in PS2? Get in Scythe, fly the hell where you want, get out of Scythe. You have then closed the distance.

I even drove a Lightning up an over a base's wall with the assistance of a nearby hill once. I got out and died shortly afterwards, but I got inside the base and into CQB range pretty damn quickly. Quicker than the friendly tank column outside it anyway.
 

[Toaster]

Battle Rifles are getting buffed in GU07.  The Warden and I say huzzah.

Also a few more, including changes to VS damage scaling.  I'm hoping Falcons get a nice buff- dual falcon Max is something I've wanted to give a fair shake.

[Flying Dice]

sambojin, I'd concur with the rocketpods and AV turret, but here's a suggestion: GET THE S-VARIANT CARBINE. It's the Solstice SF for Vanu, the one with three fire modes (semi-auto, 3-round burst, full auto), and can get the underbarrel grenade launcher, smoke launcher, and shotgun. With your ammo packs, the GL has infinite ammunition and becomes a god-tier medium range bombardment tool. It's also a weapon for LA if you want a change of pace. But yeah, there's absolutely nothing else I would use as engineer.


Also, another suggestion: Don't bother with your factional MBT, at least not in terms of heavy certing. The Lightning is far faster and can often go ignored in larger battles, in addition to being able to mount the Skyguard, which gives you excellent dual-role AA/AI damage.

[Knight of Fools]

A hacker kept killing me during an alert, so I got my Light Assault out and killed him with my under barrel GL because he couldn't shoot me enough when I popped out of cover. Cue T-Bag, and a message to him saying, "Hack that, woman!"

I felt very proud of myself.


That said, I'm getting rather tired of the hackers in this game. There's more than I've ever dealt with in any other game, and even more blatant than the ones in APB: Reloaded, which is saying something.

[sambojin]

Kind of weird, I sort of felt the opposite. On PC you can't play five rounds of B.Ops 2 or B.Front 3 without getting wall-hacked, aim-botted and every other kind of BS. On PS2 I sort of felt it was just a lack of skill on my part that made me die (yes, it actually was).

I'm not sure what other servers are like, but on the Aussie servers it seems to be fairly rare, although they do exist. Jump in a vehicle of some sort and take half their fun away from them. Run them over too if you can manage it.

[sambojin]

Double post, but cool. Just read the patch notes.

Accurate grenades. Or semi-accurate. I'm sort of suprised there's not more small red blinking things getting chucked anyway, but I bet there will be soon. Kaboom!?!!! Doorway cleared.

VS drop-off rate. Yay. Now that I'm still a crap shot, I'll hit them a tiny bit harder when I do manage to hit/learn how to lead a target. We've got slow projectiles anyway, at least now they're big laser-accurate projectiles. (this really makes me want that SMG now).

Other stuff. AA MAX's doing AG as well. Which is good for someone certing into an engy. "Here, have some ammo. I'll heal you. Now go and blow some stuff up. I'll just sort of crouch here and lob accurate grenades every once in a while."

That whole UBGL concept sounds fun though. Under-barrel shottie if I want as well. Decisions, decisions...... 

[Flying Dice]

Just be warned, it's still a tad bit buggy, though it's much less broken than it used to be. Last I checked there was just a little bit of wonkiness with reloading. It's still more than worth it, though. Better exp than revive-spamming if you can find a relatively stationary zerg.

[Haschel]

I've  certed into several guns at this point: auto shotgun, battle rifle, several of the carbines and the 50 mag SMG off the top of my head. If you're sticking with a single weapon I would personally recommend the Serpent carbine for engineer. It's by far my favorite out of all of them, though it's mostly geared for CQB it will still work fine with a 4X scope to snipe people. Getting the grip and compensator are highly recommended, I found the laser dot didn't improve the spread enough to make it worth using over the grip but the suppressor is another valid choice over the compensator. Absolutely do not use the soft point bullets though, don't use them for ANY gun. They do not improve damage on any type of gun in a worthwhile manner and they increase your killing latency in a significant manner.

Of course, the carbine is only usable on light assault and engineer so that's something you might not want to go with. The SMG and shotguns are the only options for complete class coverage, but I'm not sure I'd recommend either as the ultimate go-to weapon. They're just too situational and you're left with the short end of the stick every time you aren't in the right situation, which WILL be quite often. I wouldn't rely on the default class weapons to fill in the gap either, you're literally at a damage deficiency if you use them. Heavy Assault is the only class that can get away with that handicap due to their survival ability, but you'll still get stomped by a better equipped heavy.

Still, if you want to go with either of them I would pick the shotgun over SMG if you are VS, any other faction and I'd say they're pretty much tied (I would still lean towards the shotty though). The shotgun for VS has better long range options thanks to no bullet drop combined with slug ammo. The SMGs are good but not really great. The only reason I would select it over the shotgun is for a silencer. No other reason. As for which shotgun, that really depends on what you're comfortable with. Try them out in VR and see what feels best to you. They're actually fairly diverse in options, fire speed, range, spread, ammo capacity, reload speed etc. The auto shotgun is a good choice for engineer thanks to the ammo pack but any shotgun is good really.

[palsch]

Actually, what isn't a closing class in PS2? Get in Scythe, fly the hell where you want, get out of Scythe. You have then closed the distance.

By closing I meant getting from medium range into close range. If you are using an SMG or especially a shotgun you want to be inside 10m in most cases. Infiltrators and light assaults can get into that range reliably with their class skills. Heavy assaults, engineers and medics are less capable of this. On those classes you usually want something that gives you an advantage outside close quarters and try to take down people using SMGs and shotguns before they can get into kill range.

Basically the closing classes have abilities that suit short ranges and shorter fights. The others shine at longer ranges and more extended combat.

[Jelle]

For the sake of closing into someone out in the open there's really no substitute for the flash imo. When I'm out shotgunning I'll grab my fury flash, if I fail to kill on the charge I just exit the vehicle right next to the target and blast em full of pellets. It's a sound strategy...so long as there's no enemy vehicles around and you're not immediatly under fire after ditching the flash.

I actually do that pretty often when facing a dumbfire launcher equiped heavy in a hilly area when driving a lightning. He'll be behind cover expecting to put some missles in my tank when in truth I'm flushing him out his cover and catching him reloading his launcher.