Planetside 2: Purple Wednesdays (From 8pm, Vanu, Thyone server)

[Cooper]

A shift from the Tuesdays of before to a Wednesday this week. Nothing too strenuous; a chance to get an outfit invite and roll about for a bit.

UPDATE: After server changes the outfits are now on EURYDOME (EU)

Be on the Thyone server, with your VS character from 8pm on Wednesdays

1) Create / login as your Vanu Sovereignty charater on the EU Eurydome Server

2) Join the Mumble server Details here
Join the "Planetside 2 > Barneys" group

3) Ask in Mumble for an outfit invite if you need one.

4) Get in the bang bus.

[The JG Man]

It might be worth considering someone who is in the outfit being on about 15 minutes before so that people who want to be invited to it can get into it, so that at 8pm (that's BST) squads can start to be sorted.

[Cooper]

I'm not able to make it in the end. In anycase, was just on and Mumble's empty as is the outfit.

Next time I'll remember to organise something more in advance / remember to add a Steam group reminder...

Apologies...

[Cooper]

Given people have mentioned Wednesday may be better than Tuesdays, let's hop in again tonight.

I realise constantly changing the VS night will probably just lose people, but there it is.

8pm again. Hop in Mumble, get an outfit invite and jump in the bang bus. See the main thread for outfit / mumble / derver details

8pm BST by the way. UK time. 9pm CET. 7pm GMT.

We'll play the continent by ear.

[Pirate]

This turned out quite nicely. As I was telling. Scheduling anything on Tuesday on this forum is destined to fail. ArmA 2 is just too big of a thing.
Since we had like 20 people yesterday I hope our outfit will kickstart a little.

[Cooper]

Yeah, I've thought Wednesdays were the better night as it clashes neither with Arma nor TF2.

But it started on Tuesdays and last time I tried moving Wednesday virtually no one turned up...

Still, even with no-warning on the forums here, the Steam annoucement brought a fair few in. It was a good night. Shame about the screwed up waypoints though. They become almost vital for keeping a squad together (it can get a bit ropey if people move off all over the place).

I'm not convnced Esamir is a good place for small squads / platoons. Too few locations means that you can't get in and get out quick, nor hold places very easily. And the large bases were much more meat-grindy than I've seen them in a long time. I'd suggest a return to Indar for next week.

Still, it was a good night. A bit of bang bus, a bit of Gal dropping and a couple of tank columns, was a good mix.

[Skydancer]

What's the deal with going esamir instead of indar?

[Xari]

I'll be there next wednesday :]

[QuakeMatt]

Just received a beta invite yesterday, so count me in, too!

I know, first post and all. Very regular reader of RPS, but for some reason never signed up on the forum...

[Pirate]

I don't know if any of you have seen but this thread has been featured in the RPS article about the new continent. Hopefully this will bring more people in. Not that we had not enough lately but the more, the merrier :)

[SirDavies]

If anyone has a spare beta code I would gladly take it out of your hands. The game looks amazing.

[Ta'Lon]

@SirDavies: Look in your inbox. ;)

As for the outfit may I suggest people consider certifying the following:

1.) S-AMS for the Sunderer - 24 Certs.

Gives you a mobile spawn point on a deployed Sunderer which is pretty much essential for taking any defended base. (Don't forget to equip it) If you manage put one in a good spot it'll also bring in a lot of XP from people spawning on it.

2.) Spawn beacon under the Leadership tab. - 48 Certs

Gives you access to a deployable beacon that you can equip on your character. Any squad mate can respawn on this point via a drop pod no matter where he is are on the map. Makes it much easier for people that get separated from the squad to come back to it and allows for some creative use of drop pods. Since anyone in a squad can deploy, it having a couple of people with these can be very helpful. (Again, needs to be quipped)

[Rotekian]

I think it is important to understand what will be expected of you if your going the AMS Sunderer route.

1.) Squad Transport.
Generally at the start of play the Sunderer won't be used for squad transport. You might be carrying 2 people around on the turrets but that will be it. Instead everyone else will bring a tank. This occurs if we start out at the warpgate. As tanks die off people begin to stack up in Magriders and begin to want Sunderer transport.
You are expected to at least ask if anyone needs a ride before driving to the next objective.

2.) Quantity.
We don't need everyone going Sunderer at the same time. Generally we will get through quite a few Sunderers in a night, so be prepared to wait for a call for a Sunderer before getting one out and make sure everyone knows you are getting one.
Generally we want 1 Sunderer per 12 man squad.

3.) In Play.
Generally the driver is expected to remain in or near the Sunderer. Generally a Sunderer will live a lot longer if the driver is prepared to reposition (run away) when enemy tanks show up. Alternatively the driver may need to be an engineer repairing the Sunderer while under fire. It is often possible to hide under the Sunderer while repairing it (if spotted you will be shot though).
Facing matters. A tank firing on the rear of a Sunderer can kill it very quickly. Equally the starting Sunderer turrets are effective enough that the Sunderer can win when firing on the rear of a tank (although generally only if the tank misses at least some of the time).
Ideally we don't want the Sunderers deployed in the same location. Try to find a good spot to allow people to flank from based on the position of other deployed Sunderers.

4.) Riding the bang bus
If your in a turret position you need to keep an eye on your ammo.
Although the turrets are quite effective against air targets, it is generally a bad idea to waste ammo on them if they are at long range. If they have clearly spotted the Sunderer or are attacking/defending the same position then they are good targets.
The same applies to tanks. If the tank hasn't spotted the Sunderer, then we would much prefer to sneak by it.
If you are not in a turret position then your only job is to be prepared to jump out and defend the Sunderer should it blunder into something it can't handle. Tanks are the prime threat to the Sunderer, but Liberators and massed interceptors (Scythe/Mosquito/Reaver) can also be dangerous.
As such switching to a Heavy/MAX are your best options. You should do this before getting into the Sunderer. When under fire the Sunderer can't afford to stop to give you access to the terminal. It is much easier to jump out and switch to engineer to help repair the Sunderer than the other way round.

[Flobulon]

All great advice, Rotekian. Especially concerning the locational damage - one charge of C4 on the back of a Sundy can take it down to half health instantly. Sadly I'm a terrible driver (as anyone who saw my mis-hap involving a magrider and a rock will attest to) so I'm avoiding putting myself in a position where I'm responsible for the lives of 11 other brave Vanu soldiers.

[Vandelay]

Received my beta key a couple of weeks ago, but not played too much. Although it has been enjoyable enough playing on my lonesome, it definitely seems like the kind of game that gets exponentially better the more people you play with, as it doesn't seem to cater to random people being organised.

Definitely interested in joining in with you guys.

[Cooper]

All great advice, Rotekian. Especially concerning the locational damage - one charge of C4 on the back of a Sundy can take it down to half health instantly. Sadly I'm a terrible driver (as anyone who saw my mis-hap involving a magrider and a rock will attest to) so I'm avoiding putting myself in a position where I'm responsible for the lives of 11 other brave Vanu soldiers.

Yes, as we found out yesterday (at the same time as all 12 of us gloriously got repeatedly wiped out by the same lone medic), C4 can remove a bang bus from play incredibly quickly.

[QuakeMatt]

Been playing the game a bit today - the phrase "I have no idea what I'm doing" has never been quite so apt...

I think I'm being useful, but the game doesn't give you a huge amount of feedback on that. I guess it's something that you begin to get feel for the more you play, which I'll definitely continue to do.

[Boris]

Whats the protocol on including Skyguards in the armour column? I just certified on the Skyguard turret for the Lightning, and I'm liking it alot. Do you put in one Skyguard or do you just trust the top turrets on the Magriders will pop any interceptor that tries?

[Cooper]

Skyguards rip through libs and fighters. Having one nearby can never hurt.

However, when using a flak cannon (skyguard, MAX or turret) hold back opening fire. Don't let rip the moment you see them, wait until they're closer and you're certain of scoring hits.

No air vehicle, bar a Galaxy, can survive sustained fire from a Skyguard for more than 4 seconds. A Galaxy will take you about 10 seconds...

However, you do not damage to tanks. Nada. Nowt. Well, except maybe a bit if you are scoring direct hits on their rear armour.

[Billzor]

1) Create / login as your Vanu Sovereignty charater on the EU Thyone Server

I'm not seeing a Thyone server.