PlanetSide Beginner’s Guide

PlanetSide Beginner’s Guide by Huntsman889

Welcome to PlanetSide, soldier! Here is a short guide to help you get started. Feel free to print this out and keep it next to you as you begin to play. This guide is by no means a complete source on everything related to PlanetSide, but it should help you get started and take down a few enemies.

First, choose your empire.  Before you can play, you will need to select a faction to support.  Don’t worry; you can always change your mind later if you decide you don’t like your first pick.  You can also have characters belonging to up to two empires on any one server.  But what faction to choose?  Here is a brief guide to the different factions, so you can choose the one you like most.

Terran Republic

The Terran Republic is the original government of Auraxis.  They strive to re-unite the planet under the flag of the Republic and eliminate the terrorist groups who threaten to destroy all remnants of law and order.  The Terran Republic focuses on speed over power and accuracy.  Their weapons feature the fastest rates of fire and the largest clip sizes.  Their arsenal includes the Striker, a shoulder mounted, laser-guided missile launcher to devastate enemy vehicles.  Their main assault rifle is the Cycler, a fairly accurate, fast firing fully automatic machine gun with a hefty 50 round clip of 9mm ammunition, either standard or armor piercing.  They also tote an enormous minigun called the MCG (Mini-Chain-Gun).  This is the most accurate, fastest firing Heavy Assault weapon available.  With a 100 round magazine and its blazing fast rate of fire, the  MCG rips through opponents with devastaing efficiency.  So if ripping through terrorist scum in the name of democracy is your thing, the Terran Republic is the empire for you.  Loyalty Until Death!

www.terranrepublic.com

Vanu Sovereignty

The Vanu Sovereignty is the path to the future.  Embracing the technology of their namesake, the ancient Vanu, they value technology above all else.  The Vanu Sovereignty’s weapons feature versatility above power, accuracy, and rate of fire.  Their weapons can be used in many situations and used in unique ways.  Their assault rifle, the Pulsar, fires energy bolts that can be switched from Anti-Infantry to Armor Piercing with the flip of a button.  Their Heavy Assault weapon, the Lasher, fires large enery balls that “lash” opponents even if they miss.  The Lasher also does both AP and AI damage without switching ammo types or even fire modes.  The Vanu’s MAX units have special jump jets which allow them to fly high into the air, jumping over tall buildings in a single bound.  Their Main Battle Tank, the Magrider, can drive on water, as can their assault buggy.  If you are looking for cutting edge weapons and some of the coolest vehicles and guns around, join the Vanu Sovereignty today!  Technology Equals Might!

www.vanusovereignty.com

New Conglomerate

The New Conglomerate fight for freedom against the evil Terran Republic and Techno-Freaks who name themselves after a long dead alien race.  The New Conglomerate strives to win their freedom from an oppressive, militaristic empire.  The New Conglomerate’s weapons are slow but powerful.  Their assault rifle, the Gauss, is the most powerful medium assult  weapon in the game.  Extremely powerful and accurate, the Gauss is the best outdoor assault rifle and a formidable opponent indoors as well.  Their Heavy Assault weapon, the Jackhammer, is a powerful, three barreled shotgun with a gigantic punch.  The only one-shot kill handheld weapon in the game, the Jackhammer punches its way through enemies and rules close quarters.  Their tank, the Vanguard, features the most powerful cannon and the most armor of any tank.    Their MAX units have a special shield which can be activated to protect them from harm.  If you want to fight for freedom with powerful weapons and vehicles, enlist today!  Freedom Over Oppression!

www.newconglomerate.com

Pick any of the three empires above, and you will be ready to create a character.  You can choose their face from a table to the right, and their gender from the boxes at the top.  Female and Male avatars have the same sized hit boxes in PlanetSide, so there is no advantage to either one.  You will also need to pick a name.  Make it short and easy to read, because people will need to type it to invite you to squads, outfits, or even to send you a message.  Be sure to make certain it is not offensive, or it may be changed by the Community Service Representatives.  Click play when you are finished.

Now you are presented with a choice.  Instant Action or Sanctuary.  Pick sanctuary.  This will take you to your empire’s home base, where you will be safe from attack and free to explore a little.  You will appear in a “Spawn tube”.  These are of the utmost importance in PlanetSide.  Every time you die, you will reappear in one of these.  Directly in front of you is a computer console with a picture of armor, weapons or health packs floating above it.  This is an equipment terminal, where you are able to pick up guns, ammo and armor free of charge.  In fact, everything is free of charge.  There is no money in PlanetSide, so don’t worry about prices.  Walk up  to this terminal.  A window will appear describing equipment terminals in detail to you.  Read it or not, the choice is yours.  Once you are done reading, hit TAB to get your mouse pointer and click the X to close the box.  You will have done this a lot by the time you are ready to fight.  Look in the upper right of your screen.  There is a chat window there, and above it is another box in the same window.  This box is called the “KillSpam”  Right now it should say “You are facing an equipment terminal for the first time.  You have received 100 experience points. This amount adjusted by 1% due to your empire’s population” or something similar.  You will notice you have gained experience.  You receive experience points every time you look at something for the first time, kill an enemy, or capture an enemy facility.

Now go out the door and walk clockwise around the side of this building until you come to a set of 3 doors in the side.

Walk into one of them, and proceed down the hall.  When a message box pops up, select “Firing Range”  Here is your chance to try out all of the weapons on dummy targets.  Go to an equipment terminal and pick out some weapons you like.  You should try out everything in the equipment terminal, because you get experience for each one.  After a while, you will hear a blast of music play.  Congratulations! You have gained a battle rank!  Battle Ranks are the “Levels” in PlanetSide.  With each Battle Rank, you get one more “certification point.”  We will discuss those later.

Once you are done, walk into the beam of light in the middle of the room and select “Vehicle Area”    Go ahead and walk up to the terminal on the concrete pad.  Pick any vehicle and drive it around a bit.  You can also get out and try out the gunner seats as well.  You should try out every vehicle.  Chances are you will have gained another battle rank by the time you are done.  Now drive till you see a green column of light in a small concrete roofed pad.  Go ahead and use it to exit virtual reality.

Now that you are out of VR, head to the large building in the middle of town.  This is the HART building, and you can use its shuttle to go almost anywhere in a flash. The shuttle arrives every 5 minutes.

Go inside and proceed to one of the equipment terminals.  You will notice you can no longer get everything you could when you were in VR.  This is because you don’t have ther Certifications for most of the weapons.  Now try the smaller terminals next to the equipment terminals.  These are certification terminals, via which you can “learn” any weapon instantly, after which you will be able to get it from an equipment terminal.

Look at all the certifications.  I recommend you pick up Medium Assault first.  This will allow you to access much better weapons than you have right now.  When you “learn” it, the points get subtracted from your total certification points.  You can always “unlearn” a certification to change certifications later, though you can only “Unlearn” one certification every 24 hours.  Now go back to the equipment terminal, and you will see 4 new weapons are now available.  One of them is grayed out.  That’s because it is an “Ancient Tech” weapon,which can only be purchased from certain bases.   But before you buy one, you should get better armor. Hit “G” to exit the pad.  Hit “T” now to look at yourself.  You will notice your armor is pretty flimsy.  You don’t even have a helmet!  Hit “G” to access the terminal again.  Now, hit the “Armor” tab at the top.  You will see two armor types, one of which is grayed out.  It’s not an Ancient Tech, you can buy it anywhere.  It’s greyed because you already are wearing that one.  Select the other one and hit “Acquire”  Now you have increased cargo space, a second pistol holster and twice ther armor!  There is no reason to ever use the other armor, as this one is superior in every way.  Always get this armor as soon as you respawn.  Now you need some weapons.  Go back to the weapons tab.  Hit “Clear” in your inventory to empty it.  Now double click on the guns you want.  You can carry one rifle and two pistols.  Double click the ammo boxes next to the guns to get some reloads for them.  Grenades take up a pistol slot.  One other thing you will need is a REK.  Get it from the “Equipment” tab and replace one of you pistol slots with it.  You will need this to open enemy doors and capture enemy bases.  Once you are ready, click the “Favorites” tab and save this loadout in the 1 slot.  Now, whenever you want this loadout, just go to a terminal and hit 1 and you will instantly be equipped just like you are now.

Now you are ready for action.  Hit escape and click on “Instant action” in the menu.  A timer will begin.  Do not move for ten seconds, if you do, then timer will cancel.  Soon, your screen will be “Loading Continent” again.  When it’s done, you will be in a battle.  Head upstairs and fight the enemy.  Enemy soldiers will cause your crosshairs to turn red when facing them.  Be careful to only attack enemies.  If you hit a friendly, you will get some “Grief points”  if you get 1000 of these, your weapons won’t work anymore.  If you continue after that, some very bad things can happen, including being banned from the game.  When firing at an enemy far away, always crouch, it will increase your accuracy.

You may get invited to join a squad.

If you do, accept.  Squads are the basis of teamwork in PlanetSide, and provide a good EXP boost as well.  You will get a share of every kill anyone in your squad makes, plus 20% extra.  Be sure to follow your squad leader’s orders, or you may get booted from the squad!

Now you are in PlanetSide and ready to help your empire to victory.  If you have any more questions, ask people you find in game, they are always your best source of information.  They talk a strange language though, and it can be hard to comprehend at first.  So, to help you along, here is an excerpt from CalmTerror’s Planetside Dictionary to help you decipher what’s being said.

Abbreviations
BR- Battle Rank These are the “levels” in planetside

BFR- BattleFrame Robot  These are the heaviest vehicles in the game.  Beware of these, and be sure to attack them with a group, as taking one on alone is usually suicide for all but the most experienced players.
CR- Command Rank This is another path of level advancement.  By gaining command rank you prove your abilities as a leader and gain access to powerful command tools.
EXP- Experience See BEP
XP- Experience See BEP
BEP- Battle Experience Points Not to be confused with BR, BEP are the “points” you get for capturing bases, killing enemies, or looking at new things.  It takes thousands of these to advance a single Battle Rank.
CEP- Command Experience Points  Like BEP, but these are only gained by successfully capturing a base while leading a squad.  Gaining CEP advances your Command Rank.
HART- High Altitude Rapid Transport This interplanetary shuttle will drop you off anywhere in the planetside galaxy, with the exception of open sea or underground caverns.  Access it through the large central building in your empire’s sanctuary.
LLU- Lattice Logic Unit This little flashing ball is needed to capture some bases.  Bring it from the base you want to capture back to your own base before the timer expires and the base will become yours.  The term can also apply to the base which contains an LLU.
CC- Control Console or Core Combat  The control console is the heart of a base.  By hacking this console with a REK you can gain control of the facility for your empire.  The term can also apply to “Core Combat”  Planetside’s first and only expansion.  If you own Planetside Aftershock you automatically have this expansion.
CY- Courtyard  This is the exterior of a base, but still within the perimeter defensive walls.
BD- Backdoor  This is a small door in the side of a base’s perimeter wall which leads directly to the sublevels.  Often a critical chokepoint in battles.
LvL- Level This usually refers to Battle Rank but can be used in place of any use of the word “level.”
LFS- Looking for Squad  This indicates a player’s desire to join a squad.  If you want to join a squad, typing “/b LFS” in the chat window is the fastest way to get one.
LFSM-Looking for squad members  This indicates a squad member who is leading a squad that is not full.  If you’re looking to lead a squad, typing “/b LFSM” is the fastest way to get one
LFO- Looking for Outfit  This indicates a player’s desire to join a Planetside “Clan.” Clans or guilds are called “Outfits” in Planetside.  Joining one of these groups that exist even after all members log off is a great way to find squads and get help learning the game.
LFM- Looking for Members This can mean looking for Squad Members or Looking for Outfit Members, depending on context.
LFOM- Looking for outfit members  This means the person is looking for new recruits for their Planetside clan, called an outfit.
MCG- Mini-Chain-gun The Terran Republic’s Heavy assault weapon has a very long name, so most of the time players refer to it as MCG both via text and voice chat.

MBT- Medium Battle Tank  These are empire-specific tanks that look like tanks.  Weaker than BFRs but still a formidable foe on the battlefield.
AMS- Advanced Mobile Station  These mobile respawn/rearm stations are extremely valuable, and should be defended at all costs.  They are in essence mobile, invisible bases and a well placed AMS can turn the tide of a battle.
TR- Red teamNC- Blue team
VS- Purple team
CE- Combat engineering  This is a certification which allows a player to place landmines, Spitfire turrets, Boomer remote mines, and motion detectors.
M+ -Advanced medic  This certification allows a player to revive fallen comrades with a medical applicator.  If one is around, wait to respawn as they will probably be able to bring you right back into the fight by reviving you.
HA- Heavy assault  This certification allows access to the Mini-Chain-Gun, Lasher energy rifle, and Jackhammer shotgun.
MA- Medium assault  This certification allows access to empire-specific assault rifles, the Sweeper shotgun, the Punisher assault rifle, and the Spiker pistol.
SA- Special assault  This certification gives access to the Thumper grenade launcher, Rocklet rocket rifle, and Radiator radiation grenade launcher.
E- Engineering   This certification allows the repair or armor, vehicles, generators and terminals.
H-Hacking  This certification allows players to open locked doors faster, access lockers in enemy bases and access enemy medical terminals.
M-Medical  This Certification allows a player to heal wounds on themselves and other teammates.
H+ – Advanced hacking This certification allows players to hack enemy Equipment terminals and vehicles, and increases all hack speeds.
/tell- Private Message  This is a way to privately message any player you know the name of.  For example, type “/tell calmterror Hi”  to send a private message to CalmTerror saying “Hi”
/t Private Message  See /tell
mt – Mistell (Wrong chat channel)  This means that a player has accidentally sent a message to the wrong chat channel, and that you should disregard their previous message.
REXO– Reinforced Exosuit  This is the heaviest of the non-MAX armors, giving access to two rifle slots, two pistol slots, and 200 armor points, at the cost of a slower runspeed.
PJ’s– Standard exosuit  Never wear this armor!  This is the weakest armor in the game and the armor you respawn in.  Switch to another armor type immediately.
OS– Orbital Strike  These strikes cannot be survived by anything.  Coming in the form of a giant beam from the sky, these massively destructive strikes will kill you, no matter what.   If you see one about to strike near you, run.
CUD– Command Uplink Device  This pistol sized device allows commanders to access command abilities such as EMP blasts and orbital strikes.

ANT- Advanced Nanite Transport These defenseless trucks gather power from warpgates and carry it to bases.  Without these, bases would run out of power and become neutral.
WG– WarpGate By stepping into the center beam of one of these you can travel to another planet.  they also have a protective bubble around them within which you cannot be harmed.
VR- Virtual Reality  Here you can practice with different weapons and vehicles without being certified in them.
AI– Anti infantry  Denotes weapons that are designed to do well against infantry.  If you’re on foot, avoid enemies with these.
AV-Anti-Vehicle  Denotes weapons that are designed to do well against vehicles.  If you’re in a vehicle, avoid enemies with these.
AA-Anti Aircraft  Denotes weapons that are designed to do well against Aircraft.  If you’re in an aircraft, avoid enemies with these.
MAX– Mechanized Assault eXosuit  Large suits of armor that have built in weapon systems.  These are powerful, but cannot hack, heal or repair.
JH– Jackhammer  The powerful New Conglomerate Shotgun
AP- Armor piercing  This ammunition type does bonus damage against vehicles and MAX units, but fares poorly against infantry.
IMHO– In my humble opinion  This is simply an abbreviation for the aforementioned phrase
LOL- Laugh out loud  Indicates that something was funny enough to make a player laugh out loud in real life, though most often used when the player did not in fact laugh out loud.
ROFL- Rolling on floor laughing  Indicates that something was funnier than a simple “lol”
**bleep**- Shut the _____ Up This has been filtered by the forums but the letters of the abbreviation are said “ess-tee-eff-you”

COF- Cone of Fire  The accuracy of a weapon.  A large COF means a weapon is inaccurate, a small one means a weapon is accurate.

CSR- Community Service Representative  These are the Sony employees who make sure nobody cheats or does anything offensive.  They have the ability to suspend or ban players accounts without a refund.

SL- Squad Leader  The leader of a group called a Squad

PL- Platoon Leader The leader of a group of Squads, called a Platoon.

OL- Outfit Leader The leader of a planetside Outfit.  Outfits are Planetside’s name for a guild or clan.

Terms
GAL- Galaxy dropship
Mossie- Mosquito scout craft
Mosq– Mosquito scout craft
Pokeball- LLU
Football-LLU
Flag-LLU
Mod- Module
Caves- Core combat areas
Kill [Removed for Content]- Someone who only cares about kill count
Spawn camp- To kill enemies as they respawn in their tubes.
Dev- Developer
NoobHammer- Jackhammer
Noobrider- Magrider
Magmower- Magrider
Lawnmower- AMS or Magrider
Mow- Run over infantry with vehicles
NerfBat- Imaginary weapon used by devs to nerf weapons.
Pajamas- Standard armor
Lib- Liberator bomber
lag-Latency
warp– A player’s position being updated with the server, causing them to appear to teleport.
Sanc- Sanctuary
Poplock- Population lock
Drop- Use the HART to get somewhere
Hot Drop- Bail out of a moving aircraft
Sundy- Sunderer
Bus- Sunderer
Van- Vanguard
Mag- Magrider
Bunny hop- To jump repeatedly in an attempt to dodge bullets or cause warping on other’s screens.
L337- Elite
L337 Sp33k– Tal|

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