Questions of a true newb on Markov.

[Undaermon]

Yesterday was my first day of planetside! I have played EQ for little over a year now and have been wanting to try it, because of the twitch factor as opposed to autoattack like eq. I have been browsing the forums for the past week trying to soak in as much strategy and tips as I could before playing so as not to be completely clueless. However after 8 hours of continuous play last night I have many questions and concerns about PS battle. First let me describe my first night of PS:

When I first log on, I go through the entire training and familiarize myself with the controls. I then choose an empire (NC) and create my character. I run through all the VR training to get my 2 battle ranks, then head to the H.A.R.T. to spend my Certification point I have acquired. After reading electofreaks sniper guide earlier in the week I decide that may be fun to try so I spend some point in Medium assault and and Sniping. I then gear up and ESC and head to instant action. I arrive at Hossan an there seems to be plenty of battles going on just outside of Bitol. As I'm heading out on foot. I am passed by a Thundy and thrown a squad invite. I take a few goes at sniping but I couldn't seem to find a decent spot to set up shop. My squad Leader tells me I really need to look into a Rexo suit pretty soon. I die numerous itmes while trying to pretend I'm Tom Berenger and decide that I may need to get a few more certs before I go for snipe so I can have the Rexo suit. I head back to Sanctuary and give of my sniping ability and begin looking over my options. I noticed the large amount of tanks and predators etc... on the battlefield and decide hey!!! Maybe a A/V MAXX would help me get a few kills and get some better exp.....so instead of getting the Rexo suit like my squad leader suggested I get the A/V MAXX..(Apparently this was a mistake after reading a thread about how A/V Maxx's are close to useless. anyways my Newbish excitement in a newgame made me get the big suit with the big gun : D So I head out ready to blow some stuff up and.....get dropped by a tank. I decide to do some infrantry work and everytime I get near another infantry person....I get dead. Keep in mind that my genius self is carrying medium assault weapons and wearing an agile suit. Respawn....run to battle.....die....Respawn....run to battle.....die....Respawn....run to battle.....die....Respawn....run to battle.....die....a NEVERENDING ZERG! I asked my squad what I should do to try to avoid the consta-death and all they said was keep moving.....duh. Anyways I ended the night with:

Battle Rank: 5
Kills: 4
Deaths: 76 ><

There seemed to be little to no leadership from the squad or platoon. It seemed everyone knew what to do and was just trying to do it....but it also seemed that little to no strategy was used.

My questions are as follows:

1. Are all empires/platoons/squads based around pure blind smash/blast/zerg chaos or are there folks out there that take pride in form and tact? I enjoyed the madness it was extremely exhilirating however sometime I like to find some sort of method to the madness.

2. Is the reason my ass gets handed to me oh so often the fact that I am only BR 5?

3. Is the infantryman useless outside of bases/towers where the Vehicles/MAXXs/Skeeters Roam free?

4. Tonight I will be able to unlearn the A/V Maxx suit and purchase a REXO suit. I plan to do this as soon as I log on tonight. Does anyone have suggestions for what the first few weapons/armor/whatever a new player should work towards first. I like being on foot over being a gunner or in the air but would also like to see an increase in my alive-time. Last night I averaged 1 death per 10 mins.

5. I have read the beginners strat on the Planetside official forums however it doesn't go that far outside of getting a squad and listengin to your leader. Anyone know of a better new player strategy guide or anyone out there willing to take a PS newb under their wing and hone me into a PS killing machine I have no problems re-rolling if it means I will have a skilled mentor. The controls is not a big deal for me I just want to choose a cert path that will allow me some longevity and effectiveness in the field.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Lonehunter]

Originally Posted by Undaermon

1. Are all empires/platoons/squads based around pure blind smash/blast/zerg chaos or are there folks out there that take pride in form and tact? I enjoyed the madness it was extremely exhilirating however sometime I like to find some sort of method to the madness.

You need to find a good outfit. A lot of good ones use TeamSpeak, a voice program that helps out a LOT, you're on Markov so I can't help ya with an outfit.

Originally Posted by Undaermon

2. Is the reason my ass gets handed to me oh so often the fact that I am only BR 5?

Not completely, I can do pretty well with Agile/Sweeper. Now, Egineering to repair my self, and a few good implants help out. Get more BR and you'll get better toys.

Originally Posted by Undaermon

3. Is the infantryman useless outside of bases/towers where the Vehicles/MAXXs/Skeeters Roam free?

Not useless, but not the best strategy. Vehicles will win the battle from base to base, and weapons win inside the base. A good way to get BR fast is with a Reaver, only if you can operate it though. More vehicles could never be a bad thing, I suggest you always have some type of vehicle to get around.

Originally Posted by Undaermon

4. Tonight I will be able to unlearn the A/V Maxx suit and purchase a REXO suit. I plan to do this as soon as I log on tonight. Does anyone have suggestions for what the first few weapons/armor/whatever a new player should work towards first. I like being on foot over being a gunner or in the air but would also like to see an increase in my alive-time. Last night I averaged 1 death per 10 mins.

ReXo is nice, especially with a long range/short range combo, like Guass/Sweeper. Keep a few medpacks, or you could get Engineering or Medical to fix your self up, look over the implants too to see what fits you best.

Originally Posted by Undaermon

5. I have read the beginners strat on the Planetside official forums however it doesn't go that far outside of getting a squad and listengin to your leader. Anyone know of a better new player strategy guide or anyone out there willing to take a PS newb under their wing and hone me into a PS killing machine I have no problems re-rolling if it means I will have a skilled mentor.

Damn, if you were only on Emerald I know of some guy, (including me) who have been playing the game since release that are very good at the game and would be more then willing to train you, especially if you want Flying skills.

Originally Posted by Undaermon

I just want to choose a cert path that will allow me some longevity and effectiveness in the field.

Do what you think is fun, be it Grunt, Cloaker, Pilot what ever. Just do what YOU want. Now some outfits may want you to have certain certifications but those usually aren't a problem.


The best training guide I can recomend is The GAME, play it, land you'll learn it. I know everythign I know from experience.

[Rbstr]

1. Quite a few outfits are organized and use teamspeak or ventrilo, and do thigns in a coordinated manner, if you want you can joinup with my outfit, talk to Secondraven or Battlecruiser in game to get an invite and TS info

2. No, you just need practice at aiming and shooting thats one of the cool things about this game a br20 in agaile w/ MA may not beat the a br2 with agile and MA if the br2 has greater skill. I've never used HA as a permanent cert, and can hold my own against most any infantry man with either a guass or sweeper, and the Pshield implant.

3. No Infantry get AV weapons, to kill vechs with, and soon they will be the best counter to the BFR's, Tought generaly vechs are the best way to travel.

4. For a new guy you need to exparament. You can do a whole bunch of stuff in this game, at BR6 i think i was Reaver, MA, and AV. for an infantry leaning char i would get MA rexo and then either Sniper, AV, or SA.

5. The best strategy to learning this game is getting in a good outfit that is coordinated and learning from them.

[Undaermon]

Thanks for the help guys!! Rbstr I'll send a tell to one of your guys when I get on tonight!! I have a friend that has started playing with me and I'm sure he'd like to join also. We;ve both been playing eq for quite some time and have been looking for a change of pace. I really think PS is it once we figure out what the hell we're doing. : D

[Hamorad]

If you're looking for a GREAT outfit to help you with learning, join the devil dogs. Biggest outfit in PS and i've heard they're really good with helping new players learn the game.

[GreyFlcn]

If it were up to me, I say pick up
MA,AirCav,Eng

[DaShiznit]

If dying's a problem, I'd suggest taking a Vanguard. It's a bad mother (shut your mouth).

[Ducimus]

Why do newbies always go the the NC?
Not a flame, just an honest question. hell, even Kwip from neenerneener.net goes NC. Ugh.


Anyway. Sniping isnt something you want to do until you have the certs to support it. Medic and CE is my suggestion.


1. Most everyone uses teamspeak. So theres much your not seeing/hearing.

2. Rock, paper Sissors.

3. Varies. I dont recommend it. Reaver spammers and tankers have fun with infantry hoofing it.

4. As a newbie, id get Air Cav or RExo with Mediem assault. Pack you a guass and a sweeper. Or just go agile/ hA and spam a JH indoors. Expect to die alot, no matter what you do.

5. Find a good outfit. What's a good outfit to you may vary. Theres the zerg outfits like D2A or the 666th. Theres the l33t d00d3 crew like HT or PcP. Then theres a dozen outfits that are somewhat tactical in play, but mainly play to have fun and hang out. Do look around, don't lock yourself up into one empire like some of us have (*coughs* Loyalty until death!).

If you care to renounce your blue suited smurfy anarchist ways, lookup the 42nd Fire Ant Brigade. Local recruiting spam here: ( http://www.planetside-universe.com/f...ead.php?t=7800 )

[Baneblade]

I went NC when the TR was the noob empire.

[Peacemaker]

Just to let you know, BR has nothing to do with your ability to kill people other than the fact that a higher BR lets you tote diffrent weapon combinations that may be more leathal than others.

Next the fact in PS is that it is NOT for twitchers. Twitching in PS doesnt work because the weapons arnt as effective in real life.

AV MAX suits are effective against vehicles to a certain extent. Thinking that JUST because your in an AV max suit means that you can wtfpwn tanks is wrong. They are effective but not the uber god cannon vs a tank. They are simply more effective than other weapons.

To kill in PS with a sniper rifle or say the Gauss rifle takes time. Move slow through the trees and pick your targets carefully. Think about whats going to happen when you pull the trigger.

[KamiGaijin]

Some good points have already been posted, but there's a little I would like to expand on:

1. The reason maybe all you see is the blind zerg is because you are using hotspots to guide you. Generally speaking, the most tactical fights always happen behind the front lines with strategic generator drops or empty continent base drains. Leran to recognoize the strategic importance of places other than the one base everyone is trying to overrun, and head there. Chances are you'll find a squad of you're empire already there running clandestine ops.

Also note that while I usually play a Spec. Ops. squad leader; there are some days (stupid work) that I simply feel like running from the nearest spawn point into combat and killing as many people as possible. I don't think I'm alone in this feeling, either.

2. Pretty much summed up already. You're gonna die. A lot. Hopefully the new flail cert and nerf will ease up on the worst one: base/tower seige.

3. Try to think of vehicle outside as larger versions of the zerg you see running straight from the tower to the base. Before setting up outside (as per a sniper or other support role), look at the map and take note of the next closest enemy base. Generally a tank or reaver is going to drive/fly using the shortest route to the base in contention. Don't be along that path.

4./5. This you gotta expiriment with and find what suits your play style. If life longevity is your thing, try a medic/engineer combo and simply stay one step behind the zerg healing/repairing (and learn to avoid common sniper kill zones). Or being an infiltrator is another way to go, but this is the most difficult path to take. Being a good infiltrator requires memory-knowledge of the layout of every base and surrounding area. And you gotta learn to recognize the unique movement pattern (twitchy, checking all corners efficiently) of someone inside a base making a dark light sweep. Boomers are your best friend. Etc. Etc.

[MrPaul]

Something that wasn't mentioned, but I think is important is your implants.
For a first implant I recommend
Darklight if you wanna carry on with MA etc
Adv Targetting if you wanna be a sniper

Then get the one you didnt choose out of those two for your 2nd one.

Those two are by far the best implants in many people's opinion. The third is really up to you, as all the others are really balanced. I chose the one that gives you health back, but so many other people choose Surge or Personal Shield. Bah, nevermine about that, it's a long way of (believe me).

[Peacemaker]

I remember when most people didnt use adv targeting. I used it like it was god! I love adv targeting so much because you can just look and see people and be like "Oh hes at half health....." *BANG*

[Hamorad]

Originally Posted by Peacemaker

I remember when most people didnt use adv targeting. I used it like it was god! I love adv targeting so much because you can just look and see people and be like "Oh hes at half health....." *BANG*

Yeah Adv targeting is pretty helpful. It tells me which Vanguard to have my reaver smash into when i bail

[Ducimus]

Also good when you have to pass on intelligence reports on teamspeak.

"gal just flew by and is on its way to..."

verses.

"got a half full (or full) gal heading to .."