Nov 13, 2023

PlanetSide 2 - Mithril

Hello, fellow Auraxians! We're thrilled to bring you this development update, giving you a sneak peek into some of our upcoming plans for PlanetSide 2 and some clarity on our intentions for future communication and better transparency. To kick things off, let’s talk about what’s coming this week: Outfit Wars!

Outfit Wars – Nexus Season 2

The Enlistment Phase for Nexus Season 2 begins Nov 15th, and the first round of qualifiers for the new season of Outfit Wars begins December 1st! We are excited to host this event this year and are looking forward to watching this year’s matches play out. Feedback around the timing of this year’s event along with the concern over player participation is something we have noted. Although today’s letter will not get into many details about future Outfit Wars plans, we want to share that we will review the event and will consider some future adjustments. We will have more details on what that entails when the time is right. Learn more about this year’s Outfit Wars here.

Game fixes and a new future

Undoubtedly, the departure of one of our key team members has impacted our communication with you all in recent months. However, we want to assure you that the current team is more than capable of carrying on the PlanetSide legacy, and we have some exciting plans ahead. As we regain our footing, consider this the first of monthly dev updates we plan to publish moving forward. Our Community Manager Mithril will continue to gather vital feedback and bug reports via post-patch notes on Reddit, forums and social threads. We will also do our best to address your questions and concerns on those channels as timely as possible.

Moreover, we're delighted to inform you that our dev team has welcomed some new members in recent months and has been actively tuning in to your feedback from various channels such as our forums, community Reddit, Discord, and social media channels.

In the past couple of months, we have released various game fixes and miscellaneous additions to the game which you can check out here. For each subsequent update in the coming months, we will continue to focus on fixing critical bugs and other malfunctioning mechanics wherever possible. Several new game fixes have been prepared, and we can’t wait to have you check them out. As we want you to have a fun gaming experience on Auraxis, we hope these fixes will remedy some of the pain points of the game.

As we need a little more time to announce the entire roadmap for 2024, we're eager to share details on some of our current projects. Here's a sneak peek at one of the many things we are working on! 

Capture the Conduit Update

Current State of Capture the Conduit

In its current state, Capture the Conduit (CTC) suffers from many issues and is recognized as being a hassle to play with. We hear you. Here are some of the issues we are reviewing with the current CTC status.

Long capture times
Repository, flag, and hard spawn placement often makes them too easy to defend
Even when a base is undefended capturing it can take a while
While capturing a base it is too easy for defenders to reset the capture progress
The base status information on the map is difficult to parse
It is difficult to get a sense of urgency based on the UI
It is difficult to ascertain the exact status of the base based by only the conduit count
The faction roles are extremely limited, with 1 faction being the attacker and the other a defender
This leads to more static concentrated battles without good in-base flow

With all of this in mind, we created a set of goals we want to achieve with this update:

Change the Capture the Conduits mechanics to improve capturability of bases
Improve map flow within bases
Make the status and urgency of bases more apparent in the user interface

Before we continue describing the changes, we understand the common question asked by the community is: “Why not get rid of Capture the Conduit entirely?” The current iteration of Capture the Conduit moves the game away from what we are trying to accomplish. One of our big picture goals moving forward is to minimize the repetitive nature of capturing territory and to increase the diversity of tactics, loadouts, and play styles the game supports. Having only one way to capture a base narrows the scope of the game when one of its strengths should be its openness.

How the new Capture the Conduit will work

To solve many of these problems listed above, we will be "hybridizing" Capture the Conduit bases with more traditional Capture Points. This should make many aspects of capturing a base more readable, familiar, and reliable while still maintaining the more interesting aspects of needing to capture conduits.

How the new system will work:

Bases are no longer captured by bringing the number of strikes to zero by delivering Conduits to Repositories.
Instead, bases are captured via the traditional method of holding capture points until the overall base is captured and changes ownership. The new system will use conduits to activate repositories, turning them into capture points.
Once a repository is activated, it behaves like a normal capture point until the base is captured, or the capture point progress is reversed and deactivated.
Activating a repository will grant some amount of immediate capture progress, giving attackers a buffer from recapture.
Currently, more flags can be captured to speed up the capture process. This is one of the mechanics that we are looking for public testing and feedback on.
Overall, conduits themselves will behave the same, and be subject to the same rules and restrictions as they are now.

Soon we will be releasing one or two of the updated bases to the test server for playtesting and feedback. On top of checking that the mechanics are functioning properly, we want to pay particular attention to the timings involved in capturing a base, such as empty vs. defended and how the balance of population affects the capture times.

Additional Updates

As part of the new CTC update, we are also reviewing the 22 Capture the Conduit bases. Here, we will be evaluating and adjusting elements like the placement of conduits, repositories, spawn locations, and sunderer locations. The goal here is to adjust them to accommodate the new mechanics and improve overall flow. As a result of the evaluation, and on rare occasions, some bases may revert from Capture the Conduit back to their previous base type.

Here is Andvari Barracks on Esamir an example of the kinds of changes we are making:

We’ve added more protected Sunderer positions to help sustain attacks.
Line of sight directly to the spawn room now has obstructions to increase protection from sniping.
We’ve placed much more cover between the spawn room and critical areas of the base to reduce the amount of time defenders are completely exposed.

Looking forward to your feedback on these updates in our forums. Don’t forget to follow the latest PS2 discussions our X, and Facebook.

We want to thank you all for your continued support and passion for this game that we all love. We’re looking forward to celebrating our 11th anniversary with everyone this Nov 20th and can’t wait for another amazing year on Auraxis with you all. We’ll see you planetside!

- PlanetSide 2 Team

Oct 25, 2023

Outfit Wars - Nexus Season 2

PlanetSide 2 - Mithril

Outfit Wars is back!

Outfit Wars is a tournament-based event where outfits (organized groups of players) compete against one another to show who is the most prepared, coordinated, and fearsome on the field of battle. Outfits will fight for leaderboard placement match in hopes of achieving rewards, recognition, and bragging rights. Below we'll walk through each phase of Outfit Wars to prepare you for the greatest fights on Auraxis.

Phases of War

There are four main phases in Outfit Wars (Enlistment, Qualifiers, Playoffs, and Championships) that take place over the course of seven weeks.

Enlistment - Enlistment phase begins Nov. 15.
Any outfit with at least 48 players can sign up to participate after paying the resource entry fee. At that point, at least 48 players from that outfit must confirm their participation to verify the Enlistment.
While 48 members are required to validate the signup, they are not the only outfit members allowed to play. Any outfit member can jump into a match that has begun, provided their outfit rank has the "Outfit War" assigned. These privileges are determined by your outfit's leadership.
Qualifiers - When the first week of Qualifiers begins, (Dec. 1 / Dec. 2) Enlisted outfits will immediately be assigned their upcoming match day and times. Matches take place once per week on a Friday or Saturday at 8pm or 8:30pm server time. When that week's matches are over, placements for the next week will be determined, and new match times will be assigned. This gives outfits an entire week to get organized and stock War Asset supplies as necessary.
Playoffs - After four rounds of Qualifiers, the top eight outfits will make their way into the Playoffs. (Dec. 29 / Dec. 30) The first-round Playoff winners will then move into the final Playoffs matchup to determine who will match up against one another in the Championships.
Championships - When the final Playoffs match is complete, their scores will determine the Gold/Silver and Bronze/Fourth place matchups. Placement in this last match determines the final winners in the Outfit Wars season. Championship games will take place exclusively on (Jan. 12 / Jan. 13).

The 1v1 Format

For this season, outfits will be pitted against one another in one-versus-one combat on the battle island of Nexus.

When a match begins two teams of up to 48 players can travel to their match on Nexus.
Each match has a 20 minute preparation phase, during which players can enter the zone and start getting organized. Players are confined to the Warpgate during this time.
When the preparation phase ends, a 45 minute match timer begins, and no other players will be allowed into the match.
The Colossus and Bastion Fleet Carrier are unavailable on Nexus, though other War Assets are fair game.
Construction is unavailable on Nexus as well, though ANTs are still available without terminal access.
Continent lock benefits, and boosts to Nanite gains are not in effect on Nexus.
The snowy battleground of Nexus is divided into two Warpgates and nine bases. The three center bases begin neutral, and the three bases nearest each Warpgate begin owned by their respective faction.
When the alert begins, players will be released from their Warpgates, and be able to begin capturing and defending these bases.
The team with the most controlled territory at the end of the alert, or the team who can connect their Warpgate to the opposing faction's Warpgate, will win the match.

Win/Loss and Bracket Points

At the end of each match cycle, outfits will be sorted into their next matchups based on who has the strongest win/loss record. When ties in win/loss record exist, Bracket Points determine who has the better overall standing.

Each match on Nexus has a pool of 500 points that outfits are capable of earning. Once per minute, two points from this pool are given to an outfit for each base they currently own. In the case of a dominating victory, and remaining points in the pool are given to the victorious outfit.

This mechanic is meant to incentivize aggressive play where scoring a decisive victory is going to be more beneficial than a long, drawn out encounter. It also helps quickly segment outfits of varying skill levels throughout the Qualifiers.

Same Faction Fighting

Outfits from the same faction may fight one another whenever the matches line up that way. Each team will be assigned to either the Red or Blue team while on Nexus, and your tracer fire, abilities, and HUD indicators will be updated to follow suit. We've also made accommodations for setting your own HUD indicator colors while specifically on Nexus. Nanite Systems Operatives players who have chosen a home faction will now also be able to compete alongside their outfit.

Rewards

Outfit Wars rewards come in a few varieties, though the awards listed are subject to change:

Each match on Nexus awards ISO-4 when the alert ends, for all participants.
Any character that has ended at least one match on Nexus will be eligible for placement rewards.
Placement rewards are made available for outfits who make it into the Playoffs and beyond.
A special Outfit Wars profile banner is available for outfits in the top eight and higher, while unique Bronze, Silver, and Gold banner frames will be available for the top three outfits.
When Outfit Wars ends, statues for the victorious outfits will remain visible in Sanctuary until the next season begins.

Oct 4, 2023

October 5, 2023 - Nanite of The Living Dead - PC Update!

PlanetSide 2 - Mithril

Game servers will go down for our scheduled pc update tomorrow @ 6am pt / 3pm cest. for a 3hr downtime window.

Halloween Event (Oct. 05 - 31)

SpacePumpkins, frightening masks and more have arrived to the haunted world of Auraxis. Nanite of the Living Dead is here and with it brings the return of the haunted bastion fleet carrier, Halloween directive, cosmetics and more!

Space Pumpkins are back!

Scattered across a continent near you, these pesky squashes are springing up everywhere! Destroy them for bonus XP and progress on your Halloween directive!

Halloween Directive

Swing by Sanctuary and say hello to Sanctuary's festive vendors! When ready, venture out to battle and complete your Halloween missions to unlock the "Infernal" title and Halloween 2023 Banner and Frame.

Haunted Bastion Event

The Bastion Fleet Carrier has been spotted haunting the battlefields. Like an undead zombie, the carrier returns even upon its destruction. Keep an eye to the skies, soldier!

The Fleet Carrier can destabilize lattice hardlines while spawned making certain parts of the map incapable of being contested or captured until it is destroyed. The more SpacePumpkins are destroyed, the more likely this beast will appear!

New Depot Items

Doombringer Helios variant

This new Helios is wrapped with chains, spikes and horns, very doomlike.

Pumpkin Smasher Tire Spikes

Tread with style and equip these new wheels for your Sunderer, Harasser, Flash, and ANT.

Previous Halloween depot items have also returned including Halloween themed vehicle horns, decals, and helmets!

Fixes

Fixed a bug that allowed a MAX to be revived by revive grenade.
Fixed missing glowing textures on bugged decals.
Fixed an exploit that allowed you to shoot under barrel grenades while in the weapon's rifle configuration.
Fixed a bug that allowed you to revive through walls with the Revive tool.
Fixed decals that do not appear on vehicles.
Fixed glaive cannon rotation issues that caused abnormal cannon movements.
Fixed a bug involving purchasing the 1.75x zoom attachment for the JVN-30 Salamander with Certs for NSO.
Fixed a bug where the Recon Array did not trigger a sound when a construction structure was under attack.
Fixed a bug with the chimera's secondary gun turning into the tank itself appearing to shoot through itself in third person.
Fixed a wheel audio loop bug on the chimera that would trigger when the vehicle was stationary.