Strategy for beginning Vanu - Advice needed

[Hertston]

Depends if you want the fun way or the easy way.

The fun way is to train up to BR3 then grab med ass and heavy assault from the off. Then go kill stuff.... with or without squad/outfit - despite what you will read (usually from those desperate to accumulate points for CR3 ) PS is quite playable solo, indeed as a heavy grunt you will score more alone IMHO as long as you are in the right place at the right time . When you have gained a few BR, you can begin to develop your character into what you really want.

The easy way is to train in whatever you like as long as it has wheels then be in the right place at the right time . In effect, that means "follow the Zerg".. or, to be accurate stay one step ahead of it. In other words, you want to be at the enemy base your onrushing Vanu hordes (although faction makes no difference to any of this) will be capturing next. Stay there until the hack, grab thousands of XP for doing naff all and move on. Never defend anything.. the XP system is so nerfed it's pretty much pointless..... I should point out this is not fun but if you really want to gain XP in a hurry, it's how a lot of players have. Especially those who whine about newbs a lot

[Kyler]

From what you wrote, i think i found your problem, my friend did the same thing.

You cant level of kills only, it's too damn slow.
Participate in base attacks and get some good XP to show for it 2-3K a pop. Depending on how active the defense is at that base, i have seen 5k at times and nothing at others.

Sure a solo kill can bring you 150xp, question is how many can you kill in the 15minutes it takes to cap a base?
Dont forget if someone else gets the killing blow to the target, he gets the xp...


Look some stats up for fome folks, some of them are BR 10+ with 300kills and less.... Base capture is where the XP is.

[Hertston]

Originally posted by Kyler

Look some stats up for fome folks, some of them are BR 10+ with 300kills and less.... Base capture is where the XP is.

In fairness, kills is only a measure if killing is what they do (or should be doing). One of the strengths of PS is that it does offer other possibilities. My own character on Werner for example is a BR12 with maybe 300 or so kills - but as his whole career has been as a medic/engineer/bus driver I don't think that's bad going.

[Knuckles]

c_rotius:

It could be that You simply haven't found a play style, or a role, that fits You. Why not take some time to try out different certs in order to find out what You like - what really is Your bag?

Grunt

I play a Vanu grunt on Werner and I do believe I have some valid input. First off - forget taking up the Pulsar. It's just not good enough. My current weapon combo is the Lancer/Sweper.

The Lancer is a decent AV weapon and a very good ranged weapon vs infantry. Crouch, aim and perhaps use zoom. Learn to lead moving targets - this will take quite an effort to master (and I am nowhere close to actually doing that ). But the Lancer is a damn nice gun - don't leave home without it.

Sweeper: close to mid range this is currently the best gun You can get for a measly 2 cert points. I actually get my most kills with this baby. (I switched back to it from having used the Lasher for a while. I just found the Lasher to be lacking, in most every department.)

You might want to try out the Special Assault weapons too. Some really like the Rocklet (aka poor mans Jackhammer). Some also like the Decimator - but I found it very hard to use, due to its slow moving projectile (but boy oh boy - does it ever pack a punch). The Thumper is very good for clearing out topwers and such - might be just Your thing.

A word on the Vanu specific weaponry: There's been post after post on the official boards complaining about the Vanu weapons - Knife, Beammer, Pulsar, lasher. (All except the lancer, which is one of the Vanus strong points.) The devs, Spork, has promised to have a look at it, and maybe they will try and balance said weapons a bit against the other factions.

One thing that I've found out, and that is that combat engineering is very fun. To mine the crap out of a tower and then watch the ensuing mayhem as the enemy attacks... If You are any good at setting up defenses, that tower will be extremely hard to get for You opponents. Learn to use the surroundings to Your advantage. Cover behind trees, rocks, slopes etc. Where will they come from?

"Pilot"

Why not try out the Reaver? This is a beast in the right hands. I don't think that You can get anywhere near this lethal just using 4 cert points. I'd recommend reading the following article posted by Tack:

http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/p...ML/001306.html

Another vehicle I'd recommend trying out is the Magrider. Learn how to drive it, get a good gunner, know when to pull back in time in order to repair (because You must have Enginering if You plan on driving a tank) - and You have one helluva killing machine.


Infiltrator

Some just love sneaking around... (Bastards ). I'm not one of them, but I have seen some stuff that just put me in awe. If You have patience (and an especially devious mind, I'd add) this might just be the thing for You. You can create mayhem and chaos if You get any good at this. I'd recommend taking up advanced hacking and combat engineering... Hacking enemy vehicles (AMSs in particular), bases, towers, terminals - You name it - is a very powerful tool. Add to this that You can operate behind enemy lines (if You are careful and patient) and You can throw a whole enemy operation into chaos.

... or just go on a killing spree, taking out approaching enemies, snipers and what have Ya.


... There are so many roles that You can fill in PS. I really do recommend You taking some time to try different certs out. I am sure You'll find Your calling.

[wasupx]

get used to driving the magrider. Grab engineering cert. Learn terrain around bases, takes sometime to know what to look for, then place mag in spots and gun for yourself. 1 reaver hovering cant kill you before you kill it (i.e 24rockets in their clip isnt enough to kill you), its easy to hit them with practice. Position the mag ~200m from target, out of range of striker, but close enough that 1/4 shots will hit an infantry directly.

Why the magrider at low level?
heavy armored transportation
easy killing (running people over or preferrably gunning)
squad friendly
suppressor is almost as good as pulsar so dont worry bout medium assault


take the time to learn terrain and how to use it to conceal your magrider so u can gun for yourself if needed.

[Hertston]

Sweeper: close to mid range this is currently the best gun You can get for a measly 2 cert points. I actually get my most kills with this baby. (I switched back to it from having used the Lasher for a while. I just found the Lasher to be lacking, in most every department.)

Likewise... my weapon of choice in close. The sweeper is very effective, considering it's low cost. Effective range is about the same as the Lasher, it's slower firing but easier to hit and harder to dodge. Circle-strafing a stranded MAX to death with one of these babies is a true highlight of the game, IMHO.