It's okay. Everyone has to start somewhere. Whether you're an experienced Counterstrike vet or some dirty casual who just plays games for fun (yes, there are some sick individuals out there) or even a returning PS1/PS2 player, you may feel a little overwhelmed, you'll probably make mistakes, you might have no idea what's going on and you'll probably get killed...A LOT. Don't worry. This is normal...even for experienced players.

Don't let yourself be intimidated by players with high Battle Rank. Yes, they probably have more experience than you do but they don't have enchanted armor (except Vanguards) or magical protection against bullets and exploding things.

Planetside 2 isn't like regular FPS games where you play a match and one side wins and one side loses, then it shows your score and then some 10 year old calls you something I can't repeat here.

PS2 is at its core a never-ending territorial point control game that takes place across multiple massive and seamless continents. To break it down ever further, it's about shooting and blowing up dudes on a grand scale. At peak play times (depending on your time zone) one server will generally have over a thousand players, all trying to kill each other at the same time.

It doesn't matter if you lose a battle. Lose one battle, win another battle. Behind every machine gunner mowing down hapless noobs is a sniper...and behind that sniper is another sniper...and behind that guy is a tank...and behind that tank is a light assault dropping C4...and so on.

PS2 is an in your face, bullets and explosions flying from every direction game where your next death can come from any direction at any time...and sometimes even from your own teammates. (Friendly Fire is ON!)

It doesn't matter what your KDR is, what your battle rank (level) is, how pink your camo is or how many points you have. The only thing that really matters in PS2 is having fun and fun...is what you make it.

*Note: While many of the game's basic mechanics and fundamental principles have remained the same, through the course of many updates, a number of in-game features have changed over time. Check out the "Returning Players, Updates & You" and "Would you like to know more" sections for the latest information.

As a new player the first thing you need to do is name your character, pick your faction and your server. It is recommended that you pick the server that most closely represents your geographic location.

There are 3 factions, New Conglomerate, Terran Republic and Vanu Sovereignty. Each faction has unique weapons and vehicles that somewhat define their playstyle. However, with the numerous weapon choices in the game including non-faction (NS) weapons, you aren't limited by your faction's default weapons.

*Note: A NS faction is now available to premium subscribers. While playing on the NS faction, you will be recruited to fight for the current lowest population faction on your current server. Playing as a NS operative comes with its own perks. Click here for more info.[planetside.fandom.com]

Each faction has their own unique lore and backstory. The NC are freedom fighters but they are funded by large corporations with their own (possibly sinister) motivations. The TR believe in uniting the galaxy...through a ruthless military dictatorship. The VS also believe in uniting the galaxy...by killing everyone who refuses to be assimilated by their alien technology and tight pants.

So basically everyone sucks...or at best have ambiguous motivations and methods.

The NC specialize in shotguns and have hard-hitting, heavy recoil weapons that generally deal more damage.

The TR have low damage, high rate of fire weapons that excel in close quarters combat.

The VS specialize in versatile, energy weapons. With a few exceptions, VS weapons have no bullet drop but have decreased damage at longer ranges.

Each faction also has main battle tanks with characteristics unique to their faction.

Don't worry too much about picking the "wrong" faction. You initially have 3 character slots so you can create a character for each faction. Additional slots can also be purchased. Try each faction out and see what suits you best.

Which Faction to Pick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laFpAhZAhlc

You will be presented with an in-game tutorial that teaches very basic game concepts and gameplay mechanics, such as using terminals, completing objectives and base capturing.

After completing the tutorial you will be placed in Koltyr. This is a continent for new player's to get a feel for the game. Koltyr is smaller than the game's normal continents and population on Koltyr is usually low. Because of this you will probably earn XP/certs at a slower rate and it can also be easy to be camped or out-played by the occasional smurf, e.g. an experienced player playing on a new account.

I would personally recommend that you don't spend a lot of time on Koltyr. Jump into the main game as soon as you feel comfortable or maybe force yourself out of your comfort zone.

As an additional note, the NC is the only faction whose Infiltrator class gets a bolt rifle by default. The TR and VS both start with semi-automatic sniper rifles. Both the TR and VS can unlock a starter bolt rifle for 325 certs. If you intend to play bolt rifle, you can quickly earn enough certs to unlock a bolt rifle if you're TR or VS. Don't let this affect your faction choice.

Check out some of these basic new player tips from the Planetside 2 Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/wiki/new_player_tips_and_hints

You can also find more detailed information for beginners here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkxiRPA31Uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmv7gD3JXlQ

Something for new players to keep in mind is that you don't need to "main" a class in PS2. Players will often find they have a favorite class but as a new player I would recommend that you get to get to know all of the classes, their strengths and their weaknesses and use the best class for the current battle and supporting your squads and platoons on the battlefield by being flexible.

If you're on a holy quest to grind certs, ask yourself what can I do in the current battle to most effectively support my teammates and earn the most XP?

There are 5 basic classes and 1 special class in Planetside 2. This is a very basic overview of the in-game classes. You can find out more by checking out the guides linked throughout this guide and trying them out yourself!

Note: You begin the game with 750 nanites. This is a resource that regenerates over time. These are needed to spawn vehicles, MAX units and to re-equip consumable items such as grenades, C4 and mines. This prevents players from non-stop and immediate respawning vehicles and MAX units without making some tactical decisions.

http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Resources

Heavy Assault: HAs are your heavy hitters. They specialize in light machine guns and rocket launchers. They are great at defending, suppressing enemy infantry, attacking and providing direct defense against air and ground vehicles. A few HAs coordinating their attacks can take down a main battle tank on open ground.

Light Assault: LAs have a class exclusive jump-pack which allows them to reach places such as trees and cliffs that other infantry normally may not be able to and can position themselves for sneak attacks. They are specially suited to taking out enemy vehicles with C4 and the rocket rifle from above. If you hear the rumble of a jetpack (FFFFFFFFFFFFF...) it may already be too late.

Engineer: Engis provide ammo resupply to infantry, can set anti-tank mines which damage vehicles and MAX units, place anti-infantry and vehicle turrets and can repair friendly vehicles, structures and MAX units. This is a great class for earning a lot of XP and certs. There is almost always something to repair in-game and players always need bullets during big battles.

Medic: Medics can heal and revive fallen allies on the battlefield while providing supporting fire. ProTip: Shoot first, heal later. Medics can sometimes make the difference during a heated battle by keeping allies healed and getting downed allies back into the battle sooner. Medics can especially be crucial in smaller battles as well, when you may not have a respawn nearby.

Infiltrator: Infs specialize in sniper rifles and have special cloaks which allow them to achieve partial invisibility or in some cases nearly complete invisibility. They are able to hack enemy vehicle/equipment terminals and base turrets. They specialize in sneaking up on enemies or taking them out from afar.

MAX: MAX units are a special class with a large pool of health and heavy hitting anti-infantry, anti-armor and anti-air weapons. MAX is the only class that requires nanites to spawn. A MAX costs 450 nanites to spawn so if you anticipate the need to spawn a MAX in the near future make sure you have enough nanites saved up! If you're a medic and you see a friendly MAX downed, try to prioritize reviving them. You will be saving your allies 450 nanites by doing so.

You can purchase weapons, other unlocks and cosmetic items for your characters and vehicles with cold hard cash in the form of DBC currency. Some people will argue that this makes the game Pay2Win. However, many of the default weapons in PS2 are some of the best weapons. Any weapon (with the exception of some cosmetic only variants) can be purchased with certs which are earned in-game simply by playing.

Note: As already mentioned, there are some special gold or other cosmetic weapons that can only be purchased with DBC. These cosmetic variants all have a non-cosmetic variant that can be purchased with certs and functions the same way and has the same stats as the cosmetic one.

It's more accurate to call it Pay2NotGrind and Pay2LookCool.

Before you spend actual cash in PS2, I recommend you play at least 100 hours. Get to know the basic mechanics of the game and find out if PS2 is for you and whether or not you really want to spend your hard earned money. If 100 hours seems like more time than you want to invest into PS2 then maybe hold off on spending money on it.

You can also purchase a DBG All Access Membership which in addition to benefits in other DBG games, will also grant you 500 DBC a month, additional XP/Certs, increased nanite regeneration (used to spawn vehicles and re-equip special items), special member only discounts and sales and priority queuing.

Anything purchased with DBC will be unlocked account wide meaning any character on your account will have it available for them to use. If you purchase a faction specific weapon or item, only characters of that faction will be able to use it. If you purchase a non-faction specific weapon or item, all characters on your account will have it unlocked and be able to use it.

If you do decide to purchase items from the shop, I recommend purchasing NS weapons which can be shared by characters of any faction. Also, check and see if there are any discounted bundles available. Some of these bundles particularly the non-faction specific ones can be a great deal.

Secondly, if you want to look cool check out some of the helmets, camo and other cosmetic items.
While camo is not a necessity in PS2, I would recommend purchasing a green-ish camo for Amerish/Hossin such as Amerish Brush and a white-ish camo for Esamir such as Rocky Tundra or something similar. Faction specific camos typically use flashier look at me colors and designs and can only be used by one faction.

There are also special cosmetic camos and weapons that can only be earned through completing in-game directives aka achievements. Check out the link below to learn more.

http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Directives

Performing a multitude of actions in-game such as killing enemies, enemy vehicles, capturing points, etc. will grant you XP. For every 250 XP you will earn 1 "cert" point. Certs are used to unlock weapons, vehicle weapons, attachments, abilities and more.

For players who played during the alpha, beta and the initial launch, XP and certs were much harder to acquire. Since then the developers have added more ways for players to earn XP on a fairly regular basis. Pretty much every damn thing you do now earns you XP and certs including scratching your ass.

As a new player you will earn 100 certs every level up to Battle Rank 15, at which point you can choose to refund your certs with the exception of weapon purchases. At times, some players have reported that this feature doesn't work properly allowing them to reset their spent certs so instead of spending your certs haphazardly, it's better to do a little research and spend them wisely.

There is a list of actions that grant XP and how much XP they grant here:
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Experience_Points

This doesn't include bonus XP from bounties, alerts or victory point objectives as well. When your faction collectively achieves continent/victory point objectives on the continent you're currently playing on, all faction players will receive bonus XP.

To get the most XP possible, it is recommended to join a squad/platoon (which provides bonus XP), follow the big fights and play on alert continents when possible or on a continent where your faction is leading in victory points.

Support actions such as repairing vehicles, structures, resupplying ammunition, healing and reviving, call-out spotting and radar spotting are a great way to earn lots of XP.

Engineer and Medics are both very strong classes for getting XP and certs. You can't go wrong upgrading your medic and repair tool. The only drawback with Medic is during a massive battle/zerg where your faction is absolutely roflstomping the other side. If no allies are taking damage or dying, no heals, no revives, no XP, no certs.

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=653446717

You can find some great tips on gaining XP and certs here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2mt6Gc4Lbk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCaOS7oAJF0

Additionally, here are some of my personal XP/Cert grinding guides:

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=736311754

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=646701074

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=641881833

You don't need to own every single weapon in the game. There is no weapon that is "best" that can only be bought with cash. Generally speaking, you only need about 2-3 primary weapons for every class and some weapon types are also shared among multiple classes. Secondary weapons are also shared among all infantry classes.

When PS2 was initially released grinding XP & certs was just that...a grind. Now, the game gives new player free cert boosts, free certification unlocks and spits out so many certs that I genuinely wonder how they get people to spend money in the shop rarely if at all.

Most experienced players will recommend that you avoid purchasing weapons as a new player until you have more experience. An exception to that is if you are VS or TR and wish to purchase a starter bolt rifle which as already mentioned will only cost 325 certs.

Your priority for upgrades should be your class abilities, suit slots, class tools and 1x or 2x reflex scopes for your default weapons.

Something to note, you can always go to the VR training area (from the warpgate/continent terminal) which lets you try out any loadout, weapons, abilities, vehicles, etc. freely.

You can also live-trial any weapon in the game for 30 minutes. Select unlock from an equipment or vehicle terminal and select the trial option at the bottom. I would recommend you immediately take your trial weapon to some active battles. You can use the live-trial option every 8 hours.

Note: It's best to create your class and vehicle loadouts at the warpgate or a protected spawn area. If you're standing in front of a vehicle or equipment terminal for an extended period of time in an open area where any enemy can waltz right in and shoot you in the head then there's a half-decent chance that's exactly what will happen.

Sometimes, enemy Infiltrators will camp vehicle and equipment terminals waiting for enemies to be completely vulnerable stuck in a game menu. If you have your loadouts already created before-hand you can spawn them quickly before they have enough time to kill you.

BR1-BR15 Cert Guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXf619V6__A

WREL New Player Guides & Cert Recommendations by Class:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5d3vzUrw9W0hrljNJozFTyf76FtMu_DO

Here's a general introduction to the newly revamped Implant system. Implants are basically perks for your character, such as regenerating health over time, auto-spotting enemy explosives, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEPbpW5F3e4

Implants are not critical for new players. You'll start with two basic implants anyway. Use those.

When you can, purchase the 750 cert pack which gives you 9 random implants. It's cheaper than buying the 300 cert pack which gives you 3 random implants. Saving up for the larger implant pack will save you certs in the long run. Buy 1-3 of the 750 cert packs and that should give you enough basic stuff until you really have certs to burn in the future. That said, it shouldn't be a priority.

Update: You can now get implant drops from participating in in-game alerts and you can also craft specific implants through the recycling system. Resources for crafting implants as well as implants can be acquired by participating in alerts and gameplay. Specific implants can also be crafted.

https://planetside.fandom.com/wiki/Implants

Spare certs you say? Ha!

You can see a basic overview of the vehicles available in PS2 here:
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Vehicles

You can find more information in the basic guides linked throughout this guide.

As a new player with limited certs, if you want to get into vehicle gameplay you're probably going to want to choose one or two vehicles to specialize in to begin with. If you spread your cert spending across every vehicle in the game, you'll be a master of none. In my opinion, it's better to have one or two really "pimped out" vehicles. Later when you've gained more gameplay experience and a LOT more certs then you can start to branch out.

I would personally recommend that you prioritize some of your basic infantry suit, ability and utility unlocks first before spending every last cert you have on vehicle upgrades and unlocks.

Learn to use your vehicle's default weapons before you start spending thousands of certs. At a minimum, you should unlock the 1.25 zoom optics for your vehicle's default guns and unlock 1-3 levels of basic increased ammo capacity.

There are many "meta" or recommended loadouts for different vehicles and the default weapons may not always be the most optimal, such as in the case of a harasser which can especially benefit from anti-armor or faction specific weapons. At the least, it's usually smart to mix weapons on vehicles with multiple weapon slots. Performance upgrades can be very important for vehicles as well. As a general word of caution, the "Racer" performance upgrade isn't always the best choice.

There are many more guides on YouTube that go into more detail on various loadouts and metas for each vehicle class and how to use them effectively. I recommend before you start spending a lot of certs, get some basic experience with each vehicle.

Ammo and Repair Sunderers are always useful and great for new players looking to make certs. You can purchase a couple levels in each of these upgrades for fairly cheap cert-wise. You will find these under the defense slot category for Sunderers, listed as Proximity Repair System and Vehicle Ammo Dispenser. These are indispensable during large battles as they allow vehicles to repair while their driver remains inside the vehicle and allows them to resupply their ammunition without having to retreat to a friendly resupply station. You can use your vehicle loadout slots to make one Ammo Sundy and one Repair Sundy.

Don't drive alone! As a new player especially you will be an easy target for experienced players. It is recommended to push together so you have friendly support.

Watch out for tank mines! I'm not gonna lie...whenever possible I let someone else drive in front of me. If you're attacking an enemy base, you should pretty much assume that the main road and avenues of approach to the base will be mined.

If you hear a "FFFFFFFFFFFFFF" sound then there's probably a Light Assault trying to plant C4 on you. Get away from him, kill him or get out of your vehicle if you think you're about to die.

Vehicles are somewhat of a complex subject in PS2. I'll add more specific information here later. Until then, remember you can also experiment freely with any vehicles and vehicle loadouts in VR training!

This is another complex aspect of PS2, that requires a LOT of certs (or cash) and a LOT of experience to be effective.

Note: In later updates, both base construction and destruction have become less rewarding than they were initially. The Escalation update has put more of an emphasis on outfit assets and large battleships known as Bastions.

Much of the construction system has been revamped, removed, re-revamped, etc. since its initial release. Check out the link below for the latest information.
https://planetside.fandom.com/wiki/Construction_System

You must spawn more Overlords! (aka Tanks, Galaxies, Liberators, more Tanks...)

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=641882215

In a game like PS2 with hundreds of players fighting hundreds of players fighting hundreds of players, zergs are inevitable. There is such a thing as organized zergs and then there are average every day garden variety cluster-****s.

If you're on the receiving end of a massive zerg-stomp, it's often not fun and may seem incredibly unfair. Don't abandon all hope just yet though. Sometimes all it takes is one Galaxy or a surprise armor push to push back attackers.

Zerg vs. Zerg battles can be pretty fun too. Personally, I would say the "sweet spot" (not too many, not too few) is a 48 vs. 48 (platoon vs. platoon) battle. When you get a really massive zerg vs. zerg battle with bullets, explosions and tanks flying everywhere (yes, tanks can fly...usually as a precursor to exploding to death) it can tend to cause some lag and depending on your PC specs, you may have some issues in larger battles.

If so, refer back to the "Can your computer handle it?" section and check out the tips for optimizing your game performance.

Additionally, one of my biggest recommendations for new players engaging in combat is ABM. Always Be Moving. The second you're standing still, don't be surprised if your head becomes free XP for an Infiltrator...and by the time you realize you've been shot if you're not dead yet then the second bullet is probably already on it's way to your head.

Of course there are exceptions to this such as when you need to take cover or if you're playing an Infiltrator and moving would give away your position.

If your base is about to be captured and you're trapped in your spawnroom, make sure you redeploy ("U" key by default) before the base flips or you will most likely be killed again.

You can also use redeploy to avoid death, relocate to a more strategic position or as a general tactical retreat. You can also use redeploy to hop to different bases. Generally, your redeploy options are limited to surrounding hexes and available squad/platoon spawnpoints. If you want to get to the frontlines of a battle without pulling a vehicle you can do so by redeploying to the nearest base, then redeploying again to the next nearest base until you end up where you want to be.

It takes 10 seconds to redeploy. If you engage in combat or are injured the redeploy option will be temporarily disabled.

If you're playing with a squad or platoon, you may often be asked to redeploy after a successful capture or a failed defense. Listen to your squad/platoon leaders or you can get left behind pretty quickly.

...aka MLGPRO360NOSCOPE/1v1MEBRO/UMADUBAD, etc.

These are tongue-in-cheek suggestions however while indeed cheesy they are still valid and you'll probably encounter other players using these tactics.

• Stay with the horde/hive mind and follow where the large battles are. You can talk about strategy, tactics and flanking all you want but at the end of the day PS2 is a numbers game where the largest attacking force will almost always have the advantage.
  
  It helps to join an organized outfit or platoon/squad at least so you can squad deploy into battle.
  
  
• Surround an enemy base with armor, air, infantry, MAXes and have a field day. This is where explosives, rocket launchers, etc. shine by continually lobbing them into the exits so anything that
  tries to stick out so much as a toe gets incinerated on contact.
  
  
• Grab an ESF or Liberator and spawncamp away. Always make sure you're not far from a friendly zerg horde in case you get attacked by enemy ground or air. If you do, just turn around back towards the horde. If you actually get them to follow, it's usually free XP for the horde. Make repeated runs over enemy spawnrooms flying quickly over and dropping rockets/daltons on them.
  
  
• Find a position near friendly zerg with a good vantage on the enemy spawnroom/position. Use hills, rocks as nearby cover so you can uncover, fire and retreat to repair if necessary. Watch our for enemy LAs with bad feelings. Make sure you're aware of the enemy's line of approach/advance/retreat so you know which direction to expect enemy vehicles and infantry.
  
  
• Truly hardcore spawncamping comes from defending Bio-Labs. Spawn a MAX or HA and then just sit back and bang randomly on your keyboard while the XP spills in. Attacking a Bio-Lab can require a bit more work if you don't have a decent population or local zerg advantage so it's not recommended unless you do.
  
  
• Terminal Camping aka the "Out of Order" game.
  
  Take a look at the battle-lines in-game. Find out where the enemy is pulling their air and armor from. Infiltrate your way to their base and set up a good position as a sniper or a stalker and put bullets into the head of anyone who runs up to a vehicle terminal.
  
  You can also do this at constructed enemy bases, camping their cortium silo or waiting for an enemy to deploy their ANT's equipment terminal or as their attempting to set up module or other constructed object.
  
  If your base is about to be captured, get out of the spawnroom, find some place with a vantage point over the base's vehicle terminals because after a base capture enemies will invariably flock in numbers to the base's vehicle terminals making easy targets.
  
  Additionally, if you're an Infiltrator and you've made such a nuisance of yourself that there's a whole squad with darklights (which reveal cloaked enemies) chasing after you and you know you're about to be caught and killed with extreme prejudice, hit the redeploy key and try not to get shot/killed for 10 seconds, thus saving your precious KDR if successful.

Bonus Infiltrator Cheese: Racking up killstreaks by hiding inside the alcoves on the second rung of the air outposts, popping out for kills, then ducking inside and hiding when you hear the FFFFFFFF of a LA:
https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2022792269

As a new player, when you start playing you're probably going to be doing a fair bit of cursing at your computer screen and as many new players do you may swear that everyone in this game is hacking.

They're not.

PS2 uses both a developer in-house anti-cheat as well as BattlEye. No, they're not perfect. No anti-cheat is. Yes, there are some basic cheats in PS2 such as aimbots, esp/radar and speedhacks and there are cheaters in PS2. Just like every other FPS game ever. However, many aspects of the game are handled by the server such as damage, health and other stuff and cannot be hacked.

While some players have been able to take advantage of past exploits in the game, most of those exploits have been patched out.

In my general experience, compared to many other online FPS/shooter games, PS2 has either less or at worst an average amount of cheaters. While cheats can make a player hard to kill or nearly impossible if they're cheesing it to the max, even cheaters aren't invincible in PS2.

There are no god-hacks. If you think you emptied an entire clip into an enemy but he took no damage and then turned around and killed you with three bullets then...you probably missed most or all of your shots. Or a medic may have healed him, he could have used a restoration or medic kit, he could have activated a shield, etc, etc.

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=643790502

You may also think everyone in this game has radar hacks. Again...they don't. There are about a gajillion ways to spot an enemy in PS2. You've got motion spotters, radar darts, vehicle radar (including air) or simply being Q-spotted by an enemy. Additionally, when you Q-spot an enemy, enemies will be able to hear you and hear where the direction where your call-out is coming from.

Also, when you're running you make noise. If an enemy hears someone running around their base and there is no friendly nearby, they will know there's an enemy nearby.

Also, cloaks don't grant you perfect invisibility. If you're running enemies will be able to see your distortion. Also, whenever you cloak or uncloak enemies will be able to hear your cloaking sounds. If you're playing as a hunter cloaker and you just repeatedly cloak and uncloak you will give your position away. I've knifed many enemy Infiltrators that way.

As a general rule, Cover > Cloaking. If you're obscured by terrain objects, structures or other stuff, you have a better chance of not being shot. I've actually sat outside an enemy base, sniping enemies with a suppressor equipped on my sniper rifle (so the shots don't show on the mini-map) completely uncloaked and racked up killstreaks.

Another general tip, if you stay in one spot for an extended period of time then someone is probably coming to kill you.

There are players who have played this game for years (like myself) and they know the spots that Infiltrators and other players like to hide or snipe from.

So before you call "HAX!" and make a fool of yourself, consider the possibility that either you were spotted, you were killed by a more experienced player or maybe...you just suck. It's okay. Even if you do, you can still be an effective teammate.

Also, sometimes you will just get killed completely randomly. Bullets and explosions flying everywhere from every direction...it's bound to happen at some point.

If you think you have definitely found someone who is hacking and you have some sort of proof, you can report them here:

https://help.daybreakgames.com/hc/en-us

There is an in-game report option (use "/report" in chat) but I'm not gonna lie, it's basically useless. If it makes you feel better though, you can still use both options. But if you really expect action to be taken, submit a report through the help system and submit whatever proof you can.

Here's my personal advice. If you find that there's most definitely a hacker somewhere spoiling your fun, go to a different part of the continent or to another continent entirely or hell, even login with another character on another faction.

The #1 Rule:

The most important thing about PS2 is to have fun and there are lots of different ways to have fun in PS2. There is no wrong way to play PS2. Also, KDR isn't everything. There are lots of bad players with high KDR because they're cheesy as hell and there are a lot of really great players with low or average KDR because they don't treat their KDR like their "preciousssss."

You can be a teamplayer, a spawncamper, a cheesemaster, a gung-ho spartan, a lone wolf or anything and everything in-between. That said, as a new player it definitely benefits you XP-wise to be a teamplayer.

Joining a squad, platoon and/or outfit will give you more options in-game as well as more XP and other bonuses and you might even make a friend or two.

I encourage new players and returning players to explore the world of PS2. This game is essentially a massive MMOFPS sandbox. Players have held flash races and even foot races starting from one end of a continent and finishing at the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wln-Lia8Yo

And sometimes players do completely stupid ♥♥♥♥ just for funsies. (and sometimes because they're just not that bright...)

The caveat to that is that almost everyone is trying to kill everyone else the majority of the time so sometimes exploring can be dangerous to your health.

Returning to Planetside 2? Missed some updates?

Check out the official PS2 updates here:
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps2/index.php?forums/game-update-notes.73/

Escalation Update:
https://www.planetside2.com/news/ps2-escalation-update-launch-february-2020

Yes it can! Well...maybe it can.

Check out the minimum system requirements here:
https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/planetside-2/11448

If you find you have problems running PS2 with optimal FPS, try setting GPU particles to off, Shadow Quality to off, disable Fog Shadows and Ambient Occlusion and setting your in-game graphic settings to low.

If you want even more performance boosts, check out these guides for editing the useroptions.ini file.

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=327837727

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5dez7aPWic

This guide is meant to be a basic overview for new players. Also, new features are added to the game on a fairly regular basis but you should find the resources and information in this guide provides a solid foundation as a new player. I've tried to use the most up to date and reliable sources as possible throughout this guide. If you're looking for more detailed and in-depth information you can check out these other resources and guides for Planetside 2 players!

Official Tutorials:
https://www.planetside2.com/tutorials

Wrel Videos/Tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/user/WarpathWrel/playlists

Official Forums:
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps2/index.php

Official PS2 Wiki:
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/PlanetSide_2_Wiki

Official Player Stats:
https://www.planetside2.com/players

Extended Player Stats:
http://stats.dasanfall.com/ps2/news/

Server Population Tracker:
http://www.therebelscum.net/world-population/

Reddit General Discussion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/

Reddit PS2 Recruiting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ps2outfits/

General Tips for New Players:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/wiki/new_player_tips_and_hints

More Stats & Resources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/wiki/communitycontent

The intent of this guide is to give new players a basic overview of PS2. If you have any comments, corrections or suggestions for the guide or think I missed anything critical feel free to share and comment below! I'll continue to refine and update the guide.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone in the PS2 community that has taken the time to create videos, guides and share their knowledge!