Starting Over

[cybersaint2k]

Friends,

As a noob about to sign up for duty, I salute you.

If you were to start over and build a new player, one for a noob like myself, what would you do? I'm not a power-player and have extensive experience in RPGs and mech warfare online and tabletop, if that matters.

What are some other tips you would give a noob that usually don't appear in the FAQs? I've read those. Really.

Thanks for your help,

cybersaint2k

[TeraHertz]

It totaly depends on how you want to play and what kind of persona you are.
I don't know what server you play on either.
Nor do you say what empire you're going to play.

My advice is:

Do All the trainging. That includes using every weapon in VR and all the vehicles.
Avoid support certs till you get a much higher battle rank. (medic/hacker/engineer)
Grab Medium assault
Join a squad, tell them you're new, then just try to keep up with them.
Planetside isn't brain surgeory, and you'll pick things up in no time. Don't do what I did and think "I'll join a squad when I'm good enough" Just join the first one that comes along, and learn from them. Even if they are n00bs, they will know where to go, and might even get you some serious exp. Ditch them when you're ready to move on.

Once you get up a few ranks you might want to get a MAX. A MAX unit, even a newbie, can get alot of kills early on.

[Firefly]

1) Get an idea what empire you want to play, and find the server closest to you.

2) Decide to play Terran Republic on Emerald and join Black Widow Company

Everything else falls into place from there. I guarantee it.

[Vick]

Tell us what your interested in doing in Planetside, a pilot? cloaker? MAX?

[TeraHertz]

Choose the server closest to you. Whichever gets you the best ping, not the one somone tells you to join.

Base your empire choice on how you want to play.

Terran Republic : fast firing medium range, medium damage weapons. Currenty getting owned for some odd reason. They have the most powerful assault tank, and rocket weapons that lock on.

New Com: The most powerful weapons, close range fighters. Generaly most people consider the NC evil. Not becasue of the storyline, but becasue....well, they just are
They are currently owning Planetside most of the time, but due to the large numbers of them, it's unlikley you'll advance very quickly since it's harder to get any kills when your allies get there first and wipe everything out. Their main weapons consist of shotguns and a very resonable tank. They also have a cool remote guided rocket launcher.

Vanu Sov : The MA weapons are ok. They rely on versitility. A single Vanu behind enemy lines will do far more damage than a Terran or NC trying to do that same. While the medium weapon is pretty poor compared to the others, once you get enough experiance points, you can get a MAX, and VS maxs are the best in the game.

[Indecisive]

Pings are not that different. If you have dsl or better you can play on whatever you want.

[Winged_Nazgul]

Noob + Mech Warfare vet seems tailor made for the Uni-Max cert. Give it a try.

[Jagd]

Once you hit BR3, take Medium Assault and Anti-Infantry MAX. As soon as you've done some fighting and made it to BR4 trade in the single MAX for Uni-MAX, and you'll be on your way with some excellent killing power to help you advance in battle rank quickly. The reason I don't recommend taking Uni-MAX off the get go is so you don't get stuck completely defenseless when you spawn at an AMS. Nothing would be more frustrating than being soooo close to BR4 but unable to even put up a fight!

[Fenrys]

I just started playing about 2.5 weeks ago, and I also has an extensive gaming history (I remember playing the first MechWarrior/Doom/Wolfenstine/Keen/DNukem in a 7th grade typing class and have been at it ever since).

Use the VR training to test all the weapons and vehicles. This will get you to Battle Rank 3 and you'll exit VR with 5 certification points to spend.

To begin with, get the Uni-Max certification for 5 points and keep it for a day or two as you learn your way around (the extra armor will let you stay alive long enough to learn a thing or two).

After you've had your fun, I would actualy reccomend selling back the MAX and geting an Infiltration suit (2 certs) and Engineering (3 certs) and playing a support role until you get a feel for the tactics being employed by both sideds. The Medical cert (3 certs) is used less often.

Some of the most fun battles I've been in were in defense of a tower in wich I did not get a single kill. With Engeineering and Medical certifications, I would stand behind a line of friendly MAX's and repair them as they blocked the bullets being sprayed in our general direction. Doing this taught me about the areas of bases that need to be defended, and how to go about attacking them. And because I was in a Squad with them, I would get xp when they killed someone (and my repairs let them kill more 'someones' so they were happy too).

[Rbstr]

yep most of whats said is true, but i think the only reason the NC is wuping is becasue of a slightly larger pop right now, i would recomen getting Lighing, and MA as your first certs, lighing is good for a new guy to play and it give you lots of fire power(get the AI max if VS) the MA will let you use the sweeper or ES assault rifle and nades so you can also go as a trooper.

[TheN00b]

The Uni-MAX cert is tailor made for n00bs. Because you can get to BR4 without firing a single shot (by testing out new weapons, new vehicles, and looking at new things such as door locks and EQ terms), you can grab Uni-MAX and MA to have a fairly solid player. Because Uni-MAX has 3 MAXes included in it (duh), you sometimes never experience the pain of having to wait to suit up. Once you get to BR9, however, switch to my preferential build of MA, HA, SA, and ReXo, and get ready to kick some ass. After that, move on to a support cert grouping of your choice.

[Gigabein]

Try whatever cert sounds cool. If you're not having fun with it, ask for advice and do some research. If it still doesn't suit you or your style, re-cert your character.

If you take up a vehicle cert, get engineering as soon as you can, so you can repair battle damage to your ride.

Join an outfit that has people willing to offer help if you need it. You will get involved in coordinated attacks and start getting a feel for stategy. Plus it's always more fun playing with friends!

I've tried all 3 maxes, Sniping, Heavy Assault infantry, Special Assault infantry, Infiltrator, Reaver and Mosquito pilot. Currently I'm doing Armored Assault (mag rider), Special Assault and Advanced Hacking. At some point I'd like to try Combat Engineer for base defense. What I'm pointing out is that you should explore and experience all the different combat/support roles of your empire. It will give you a better understanding of how everything works together to capture bases and fend off the enemy.