Questions from a Disgruntled Battlefield Veteran

[YaJackWagon]

So, as the title says, I am a Battlefield fan. Bad Company 2 and "Battlefield" 3 have kinda killed the franchise for me. Although Team Fortress 2 is by far the best FPS I've ever played, it just doesn't satisfy for that Battlefield experience. For reference, I think 2142 is the best Battlefield game to date, as it was properly balanced (unlike BF2-jet rape) and could support intense combat on a fairly large scale.

I imagine you all might look upon me like us old school Battlefielders look upon the consolers and CoD kiddies that inspired DICEA to sell out their long time support and turn BF3 into just another CoD clone (but it has doritos so it's original ). I sincerely hope that my suggestions and the reasons this game attracts me aren't things that you all think are poisoning your game. I have never played Planetside and had never heard of it until one of the members of BF3 UK (affectionately known as Mordor) started mentioning it as the only real hope for a Battlefield 2143.


I've been trying to read up on this game for the past week. Frankly there's alot of info (and jargon) that I've been muddling through. And I've got some questions. I apologize for length (that's what I said ) and if I missed something in that stickied info thread. Bolded "So,"s contain the boiled down question.



1. PS2 is F2P, but there are microtransactions. In one video () the dev dude says that nothing that affects gameplay will be exclusively sold. In other words, the only things for sale are skins (weapon and playermodel) and cosmetic items, which is nice. But I believe later on he says that you can "purchase sidegrades." As a TF2 player, I know there's no such thing as a perfect sidegrade. A gun with higher ROF but lower damage (and even does the same TTK) than the stock gun is not a sidegrade in the right hands.
So, is it "not a single weapon skin that you purchase has unique properties" or "SOE says that this gun fits criteria for a sidegrade, you must purchase" ?


2. Related to #1, if I can indeed unlock everything gameplay-affecting via playing for a while and earning my weapons, implants, and certifications without having to spend a penny, what's the catch? From my understanding, BF Play4Free said the same thing, but you lost the weapons you earned from endless grinding at the end of the day unless you paid. In TF2, it can take weeks for a new weapon to drop for you, while the guys who buy get it the next day (or recently a couple weeks early).
So, just how free are we talking? I don't have to pay, but I have to grind day after day to earn my weapons that I only secure for a limited time?


3. Infiltrators have invisibility, and from what I've read, they could be invisible indefinitely and kill invisibly in PS1. That doesn't seem like it's fun or balanced... but I never played PS1. What kind of limitations were there in being invisible.
So, is this the same in PS2 or are talking 2142 and TF2 invisibility where you have to switch to a weapon slot for limited-time invisibility with significant cooldown?


4. Apparently, there are faction specific weapons and vehicles, that only differ in minor capacities from the rival empires (sidegrades... and all that).
So, are there non-faction specific weapons and vehicles? If I take so-and-so territory, do I effectively "capture" the spawn point of a light tank that is "sidegraded" differently from all the other empire specific tanks?


5. Related to #4. Opposed to taking access to a tank away from your enemy, does taking a territory instead give your side access to a "perk" for marginally heavier armor on your tanks? (doesn't apply exclusively to tanks, can be weapons, sprinting, etc.)


6. What is an implant? What is a certification? It seems like it's similar to "perks" in CoD and "specializations" in BFBC2/BF3. I'm not saying that in disgust, I actually think it's a nice addition to FPS's nowadays (if it's done right).


7. What is a MAX?


8. Doth mine eyes deceive me? Commanders and Squad leaders? Just how similar are they to those positions in the real Battlefield titles? It seems like you have to specialize your soldier to be able to utilize these roles.


9. I keep getting references to hacking like it's a game feature. I assume this might be similar to Blacklight Retribution or Brink (keep in mind I have only watched brief youtube videos of gameplay for those). What is it? A fancy name for a Flag capture or MCOM arming event (if we use BF terminology) by holding a button while a timer counts down?


10. What other features vastly distinguish PS2 from BF2/2142 that I've missed? Besides the obvious MMO bit where there's a thousand (or 2) more people trying to kill everything.