Newbie Guide

Planetside 2 is a complex and difficult game, it's constantly changing and there is currently no tutorial when you start it. I n order for all of us to be effective in a squad, we each need to know the basics of the game and its mechanics.

Wikis

 * Official PS2 Wiki
 * Planetside Universe PS2 Wiki
 * reddit/r/Planetside

Tutorials

 * Getting Started (official)
 * http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_Started
 * Visual beginners guide
 * See image on the right. Note that adjacency information is outdated.


 * Field Manual (courtesy of TEST from Redditside)
 * Describes classes, basic certs, base layouts and capture.
 * Field Manual Google Doc
 * Ultimer Beginners Guide
 * ULTIMATE BEGINNERS GUIDE! - Planetside 2

Gameplay Tips

 * Spot enemies by pressing Q
 * ​It will put a red triangle on top of the enemy for you and your teammates, so you can track them on your HUD. It gives xp if the target is killed and is also useful for discerning between friend and foe.


 * Quick-Menu by holding Q
 * Hold down Q over a friendly target to get a quick-menu up where you can request assistance, send message, add to squad and more.


 * Activating Class Abilities
 * Class specific abilities are activated using F. Medics has an AoE/self heal, HA has a damage absorbing shield.


 * Resupply Ground-vehicles
 * ​Drive close to a vehicle supply tower on a captured region, or drive close to a sunderer with ammo dispenser.


 * Resupply Air-vehicles
 * Land or fly close to the air-ammo icons at captured facilities. Usually placed on air-pads on facilities, but can also be found on the roof of Tech Plants. It is also possible to hover over or land near a sunderer with ammo dispenser.


 * Deploy a Sunderer
 * Deploying a sunderer will ground it and allow for teammates to spawn from it. Default key to deploy is B. This requires AMS certification and equipping it in the vehicle loadout before spawning it!


 * Hot Dropping
 * ​Passengers on a Galaxy can jump out during flight and will not take any falling damage. This is often referred to as "hot dropping".


 * Locking Vehicles
 * ​Press PgDown by default, to bring up the vehicle menu. If locked to squad/platoon, these people will also be able to drive your vehicle. Locking a vehicle will automatically eject non-allowed passengers.


 * Vehicle headlights
 * ​Can be turned off by pressing L. Alternatively they can be un-equipped from the loadout menu . Generally you should turn them off, so you do not draw unneccesary attention from enemies.


 * Change firing-mode
 * Firing-mode for most infantry weapons can be changed by pressing B. Single-fire mode can be useful for long range engagements. A little icon with one or three bullets next to your ammo count indicates your current firing-mode.


 * Infiltrator Hold Breath
 * Infiltrators can hold their breath and steady their aim while zoomed in by pressing SHIFT


 * Infiltrator Hacking
 * Infiltrators can hack turrets, vehicle-consoles and resupply-consoles from enemies and use them against them. Hold E to hack.


 * Engineer Ammopack
 * Engineers can always drop ammo packs even without having it equipped in loadout. Just pull out the ACE turret, then press B to change to ammo pack. This ammo pack lasts 4 mins.


 * Spawning as a MAX
 * ​Cannot be picked when spawning. Access an equipment terminal and switch to a MAX after spawning.


 * Medics can revive MAXes. You save them ressources and cooldown by doing so.


 * Magburner ability
 * ​Magrider tanks can get the magburner ability which is a speed-boost that can be activated by holding SHIFT. Use this to quickly outmanoeuvre enemy tanks, or get to places you wouldn't think possible. Bought as a cert under Utility Slot.


 * Shoot it from behind!
 * ​All tanks take twice the damage if you hit them from behind. It takes 2 rockets from a HA to kill a tank if you hit it from behind. People also mostly reinforce the front of their tanks using certs. This goes for any explosives, even C4 and scythe rocket pods do double damage if you hit a tank from behind. So flank those bastards!

Tactical Tips

 * Run from cover to cover.


 * Stay low.


 * Don't stand in doorways/open areas longer then necessary.


 * Cover your teammates.


 * Report enemy movement/action.


 * Listen to your squadleader.


 * Respect one another and offer constructive criticism when needed as we all strive to improve.


 * Aim for the lower torso of the enemy as the recoil will turn your rifle upwards on full auto.


 * When turning a corner slow down and peek around as there might be a hostile there.


 * Try reviving a MAX as often as possible as a medic as they cost resources and have redeployment cooldown.


 * When MAXing you can reequip with other weapons without paying the deployment cost again.


 * Stay clear of enemy spawnrooms as they can shoot out, but we can't shoot in. Rather cover it from an angle and push in when the location is captured.


 * Always try and flank and hit the rear of tanks as the damage is almost doubled there.


 * Wait for the tank to fire and then move as most tanks have long reload time (except prowler that have two shots before reload), when facing heavy tanks with several players inside be extra careful as their damage output is almost doubled in some cases, same goes for liberators.


 * <span style="color:rgb(204,204,204);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:15.983333587646484px;">Engineers should drop ammo at all times (if you see a room empty of ammopack drop one asap), one can have both ammopack and spawnbeacon equipped at the same time (equip spawnbeacon as utility and then press 5 B to access the ammopack).


 * <span style="color:rgb(204,204,204);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:15.983333587646484px;">As soon as there is a firefight activate the medic's special ability, especially in big crowds as the heal is greater in numbers.


 * <span style="color:rgb(204,204,204);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:15.983333587646484px;">The nanite-mesh shield for the HA takes about half a second to activate, so plan ahead.
 * <span style="color:rgb(204,204,204);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:15.983333587646484px;">Grenades are always thrown from your character's right hand. Keep this in mind when throwing through a door-way, as it might be better to stand on the left side to make sure the grenade doesn't bounce back.
 * <span style="color:rgb(204,204,204);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:15.983333587646484px;">Remember to switch to your secondary weapon when you are out of ammo in your clip. They are very powerful and enough if you need to finish off one or two enemies.