Almost got 250 certs to spend on weapon/attachments... what do?

Discussion in 'Light Assault' started by Xien, Jan 31, 2014.

  1. Xien

    Hey everyone,

    I just started this game and I play Terran Light Assault. I have to say I'm getting really frustrated. I want to like this game, but I'm having a hard time. I keep repeating this same experience when it comes to combat (which is like... the point of a shooter game for me - not farming certs as medic/engineer). The experience is this: I see someone who doesn't notice I'm there. I run up to them to get in good firing range. I look down my sights and begin shooting them, aiming for torso/head... I get several hit indicators... then they turn around and ping-ping I'm dead. This happens repeatedly. The only people I've managed to kill as LA with noob gun are either assists, or when I come up on an unwary Infiltrator who's sniping or something (and even then, sometimes they turn around and ping-ping I'm dead.)

    I spent 2 bucks to get the starter pack. I got the NS-7-PDW and it's so much better than the noob weapon - minimal recoil, decent damage... I actually started getting my own kills. So I can say life is being breathed into the game for me.

    I'm coming up on 250 certs (mostly due to farming as a medic in big battles...) and I want to start upgrading my stuff and getting better weapons. But I want some input on what to spend the certs on because I don't want to waste them. Basically what I want is a weapon that will actually KILL people when I shoot them, and doesn't have a huge amount of recoil. So what's a good weapon for LA that actually deals some damage so that for once **I** get to ping-ping-dead some people?
  2. ikillyou1990

    Get the blackjack. It is 1000 certs. Pump action shotgun. Works very well on light assault. I also use the Trac-5 S.
  3. cruczi

    It sounds like your aiming ability isn't quite up there with the average player, which is not unusual for someone who's just started. Have you played FPS games like this before? Because it's not the weapon that counts as much as your ability to aim - differences between weapons are surprisingly small in this game. Don't go full auto unless you're close up, you should be shooting in bursts to maintain accuracy and recoil at medium distances. Aim for the head and control the recoil by pulling down a bit (and to the left with most weapons).

    You should make sure your mouse sensitivity is low enough that you can reliably and smoothly control your crosshair, without it being too slow to hinder movement and 180 degree turns.

    Light Assault is a class that requires a skillful and experienced player to get good results with (as in, an above average K/D ratio and a decent score per minute). I would suggest starting from Heavy Assault - the availability of LMG's and the Heavy Shield are a huge help for beating your opponent in 1v1 situations like the one you described, at the sacrifice of being able to use a jet pack.

    As for what you should spend your certs on... in the beginning, I would suggest focusing on upgrading the main abilities and tools of one class to a respectable level, and only after that focus on weaponry. Even the default weapons in their stock configuration are competitive. And whether or not you use a particular scope or attachment is also not very important. What you want is one medkit for quick patching up, a few levels of your main ability (Assault Jets or Nanite Mesh Generator), and also a few levels of a suit slot item that helps you survive such as Nano Weave (Advanced Shield Capacitor and Flak Armor also good but a bit more situational).

    Also, soloing it is difficult unless you're very good at the game. Keep to your team and follow someone who looks like he knows what he's doing... that way you always have at least a few people ready to fire on enemies, and enemies won't always fire on you.
    • Up x 1
  4. cruczi


    You don't want to make any 1000 cert investments early on in the game, you can get by with default weapons just fine until you've unlocked some of the important abilities and utilities to a respectable level. Grinding out 1000 certs takes a LONG time for a beginner.
    • Up x 2
  5. Xien

    I used to be really badass in the days of Half-Life and Halo.

    IDK I think a weapon that takes a full clip to kill someone vs a 2 shotter is a pretty big difference to me.

    Yeah tried that. While I'm thinking of that, ping ping I'm dead.

    Well the problem is, if it's too high I can't get my crosshair on anyone, but if it's too low - people just jump and run around me.

    I hate the heavy. Although the rocket launcher has been my main way of killing infantry...

    Ha. Ha? Full clips vs ping ping dead?

    I understand a lot of FPS players want to believe the game is all skill... it helps them feel badass. But come on... gear matters otherwise we'd all just have 1 gun.
  6. M2_Bradley

    As far as I remember,the Jaguar is 250 certs(or 1000).Also,there is that T5 AMC which takes literally no skill to use.1.Point at enemy.2.Slightly compensate for recoil while letting it rip on full auto.3.kill
  7. cruczi

    There are no weapons that take a full clip to kill someone. The maximum is 8 bullets on the torso, using a 125 damage per bullet weapon. Of course if you're Heavy Assault with the shield on, it'll take more than that, but still not a full clip. If you need a full clip of a 143 damage per bullet, 40 bullet per clip TR carbine to kill someone, you're missing a lot.

    I'm not saying there aren't differences between weapons of different categories. Of course a shotgun is going to be completely different to use from an LMG which is completely different from a bolt action sniper rifle. But a Carbine (LA's main weapon type) versus another Carbine... not a lot of difference.

    I highly doubt you're constantly being killed by literally two shots by people who turn around after you started shooting at them.

    Why is this a problem? Don't put it too high or too low. Problem solved.

    Why do you hate the heavy?

    You're making no sense. Three headshots plus one on the torso from a default TR carbine will kill (143 * 2 * 3 + 143 = 1001 > 1000).


    The game is about skill, and gear matters. Both matter. But another reason for having a large selection of weapons to choose from is that you can pick one that fits your playstyle and preference. A weapon can be better for one player but not worse for another.

    But skill will always trump gear in any game that's even remotely balanced.
    • Up x 1
  8. Kayth

    You'd actually be surprised how good some of the starter weapons are. I started an NC character primarily playing CM. Never bought a weapon because the Gauss Rifle is just that good. For TR the Trac-5 was so good to me that I Arauxiumed it before I bought another weapon. No weapon in this game takes a full clip to kill a normal infantry target.

    If you are absolutely dying to try a new weapon I would recommend anything that isn't a burst variant for less than 500 certs, and then attach a scope. Anything more expensive will be such a sink of your certs it'll be slow getting other stuff. Make sure you upgrade your suit slots and jets though.

    Also remember there is a trial option. Test out a weapon for 30 mins before unlocking it.
  9. Laxlu

    There is no such thing as "noob gun" in this game. All default weapons are beastly and i consider them as the best choice for each class. Better weapon for you in this situation can be T5-AMC because of his laser beam accuracy. All the caribines actually deal a lot more damage than the smg, all you need is a patience and some practice. I strongly recommend you do not spend any cert on guns, before you get used to your default. You can trial all the guns in the game.
    You dont need to get in point blank range to kill a target. 100m is enough for a fast kill with TRAC-5. Go visit VR traning room and play around with different guns for some time.
  10. Xien

    Well then the game is giving me false hit indicators.

    Yeah. Actually. I am dude.

    It's either that or they're using the same weapon as me, from extreme long range and I don't understand it. Like just now I was on a tower and I got killed by someone using the NS-WHATEVER-KDP thing that I mentioned. I was on the top of a tower and the enemy force was on the ground by a hill. I started taking hits and before I could even press any keys to get away, pffft dead - and it was only 1 person on the kill screen using the same weapon as me.

    Cuz their gun SUCKS. You can literally unload 100 bullets into a crowd of enemies and get 2 hit indicators. They aren't that much more armored than light. And you only get 5 rockets but it takes like 8 to kill a tank.

    Well explain to me how I get 5-7 hit indicators on these people and when it shows the mail they have 50% shield?

    Right and while I work on my skill I want a good weapon. I want to log in and have fun, not spend a hundred hours repairing turrets for certs or spend 10 bucks for a gun that might suck.

    If you don't have a suggestion on a good loadout and want to instead just criticize me ("lolumadcuzubadbro") then kindly see yourself out.
  11. cruczi

    We are then playing a different game. What game are you playing? I'm playing Planetside 2, you should try it out.

    As I said, try burst firing. Once you go full auto, it only takes a moment for bullet spread to become unmanageable at any range that isn't point blank.

    You're not supposed to be able to solo a tank with rockets. A tank costs hundreds of vehicle resources to obtain and has a long respawn timer, while your rocket launching heavy assault is infinitely spammable and costs nothing.

    That's not possible.

    The default weapon is a good weapon, don't give up on it.

    Then don't spend hours repairing turrets, do something that's fun. Don't play just to get certs, certs will come to you over time if you just focus on having fun in the game, trying out different things, going to different places. Maybe drive vehicles for a change. Just don't let dying to more experienced players get to your head, respawning is free, and moving in a group that has a medic in it is even better.

    I'm not criticizing you. For the issues you have described, there is no loadout that will suddenly make you able to transform from a crap aimer to a pro. That's a fact you need to accept - I know what I'm talking about. All you need is patience and practice.
    • Up x 3
  12. Xien

    OKAY DUDE, whatever you say. :D
  13. Metallic123

    Sounds like a latency issue. See PS2 is a client side game. Aim down sights if you are not. If you have the jump on someone and you aren't forced to run and gun then crouch and shoot. TR weapons aren't the best for head shots since our high RoF and uncompensated recoil screws us. If they are within 20m aim for the neck, outside that firing zone aim for the chest. If he's a moving target just aim for the chest. Carbines (LA weapons) are only beat in terms of damage drop off by SMG's and pistols so the further away you are the less damage you deal, not to mention nanoweave will let them eat 20% more non head shot bullets.

    The power of light assault is flanking, if you are not then play heavy or engineer. This game isn't like most other shooters but it can be really fun if you let it. If you lone wolf and play for the awesome kill streaks then find what weapon is good for you. Test them out in the VR training.
  14. Xien

    I just don't see myself having the time commitment to join an Outfit. I'm a full time student and I work 20-30 hours a week. I literally just want to log in and blow people up. I don't care about dying... but dying 20 times within 5 seconds of spawning to eventually only almost score a kill - yeah I don't see myself INVESTING in this game (you reading this EA? :) ).

    I'm a casual gamer... whatever happened to those casual FPS games? Everything is like a grind fest... FPS + MMO is not a good combination and it's pretty sad that a good genre has turned to trash.
  15. Freedym Fry

    There's a lot of good advice given for you here, and I would add a few things, but no point.

    For your original question, if you don't right click to aim down the sights much, and just aim at what you see on the screen, seriously consider a laser sight. It will help you hit more often. Sounds like most of your engagements are within short range. If soft point ammo is an option, get that too, it will boost the damage. Go for the laser sight first, cause landing more of your shots will do much more than increasing bullet damage.

    If you mostly right click to aim down sights, use the forward grip instead for less horizontal recoil.

    You can get a compensator to reduce vertical recoil, though its effect is far less than just practicing control with your weapons. If you just hold down the trigger and go full auto, you're not going to hit much of anything and just waste the clip. This is called bloom. The longer you shoot, the larger your bullet spread will be. You might have your crosshairs on a target dead center, but if the bloom is large enough, they'll just randomly spray and miss. Notice that the longer you hold down the trigger, the wider your crosshairs become. Your bullets will land "somewhere" within those crosshairs.

    Best thing is to take even twenty minutes in vr and just experiment. I think you may need to adjust the way you're shooting. The mechanics might be different from what you're used to. Plus you'll get to see all the different weapon loadouts in action for yourself.

    Scopes are a matter of preference and range. I actually like no sights (iron sights) some of the time too. The nightvision can be useful. You should try them in the vr.

    For guns, the trac is a good gun, though personally i hate the recoil pattern of all tr guns. One very nice thing about the trac is that it is relatively versatile. The amc mentioned is probably the most accurate at longer ranges, but I find it weak in close range scenarios. The jaguar is really nice I think, but honestly, go with the pdw, I think it probably fits your playstyle well. It's very good at close to even medium ranges, and very accurate even at medium. I think it's an "easy" gun to use, which is good. Maybe one of the easiest really, which makes it good for new players. I don't have one but I've tried it out.

    My best guess: PDW with laser sights, soft point ammo, and maybe a 2x reflex scope for "longer" ranges. Forget what iron sights are like. Consider nightvision as a possibility. I wouldn't worry about suppressor/flash muzzle/compensator at this point.

    Note if you do: compensator increases the range you appear on enemy radar from increased sound (but lowers vertical recoil, which should NOT be an issue with the PDW). Suppressor makes you not show up from shooting on enemy radar, but in short, will usually require more bullets to kill the enemy, unless it's really close range. Consider a suppressor maybe, but first work on getting the kills. If you don't live, a suppressor doesn't matter.

    Oh, last thing, when you fight against heavies and they have their shields up, it is not unusual for them to kill you with 50% shield still up. This is why they are relatively more easy to play and learn on. Also, you obviously like running solo which is fine but always much more dangerous no matter who you are. Just a friendly suggestion, consider putting a few inexpensive points into engineer ammo packs and stick with other people. You don't even need to join a squad. There's safety in numbers and it's a good way to see a lot of action, get revived, and improve your skills. There will be plenty action, and the ammo packs will give you a lot of certs to spend.

    You must realize, it is unrealistic for a "casual gamer" to just blatantly solo other players behind enemy lines and expect to win. Actually, by casual I mean new player. Casual players with experience do this all the time. And when someone said skill>gear, he means certs too. Tactics and gun control win everytime. You can tear stuff up at rank one if you know what you're doing. Most definitely.
    • Up x 1
  16. Iridar51

    For once I agree with cruczi.

    Noob gun? I guess it's understandable that you would expect starter weapons to be inferior, but it's not the case in PlanetSide 2. TRAC 5 is an awesome gun, and it's definitely one of the stronger weapons for Light Assault. I've got over a thousand kills with it, so believe me when I say it's not the gun - it's you.
    Nothing to be ashamed of, PS2 is a complex game, with huge map + situation awareness thing slapped on top of generic TDM shooter. It took me almost half a year and $1000 of computer hardware upgrades to get any good at it even with extensive experience in other shooters.

    Feel free to buy a new gun, but at this point - it will not help you at all. Instead, you should focus on analyzing your mistakes, and doing best effort to not repeat them. In case of "enemies turn around and kill me" sounds like you're not hitting them enough. So make the best effort to control the recoil. Go to VR training, and shoot for half an hour. Go to the shooting range, put your sights on a dot somewhere, and (in case of TRAC 5) pull your mouse down and to the left while shooting, so that sights stay on target at all times.
    Put your sights lower and to the left of the actual target before the first shot, because first shot has higher recoil than others.

    Attachment side, get 1x reflex red dot sights and laser sights. This combination works great on ranges TRAC 5 is effective - 5-35 meters.

    Alternatively, you can get the LC-3 Jaguar for 250 certs. It's very similar to TRAC 5, but got better attachment options for close combat quarters at the cost of being less effective at range.

    Consult my LA guide for more, there are sections for beginner players too.
  17. Bortasz


    Haymaker. It is you answer.
    I experience what you have when I was using T5-AMC, and than I but Haymaker. And that problem diaper.
    New problem reaper. This weapon is viable in very close range like less than 10 meters range.
  18. cruczi

    Honestly... Maybe PS2 is a game that requires a bit more commitment than you can afford. Try Quake Live. It's free and you should be able to find a populated server at almost any time (at least here in Europe, not sure about NA). Plenty of casuals play the game (either Free For All or another game mode called Clan Arena) just for that half an hour of intense fast paced action per day. The game is approachable due to simple deathmatch-type gameplay objectives, but mastering it has a long learning curve and practically lacks a skill ceiling completely.
    • Up x 1
  19. Xien

    So I was reading a few articles about how hacking is rampant in this game. That really explains my performance drop against other players. =\ Guess Sony doesn't care as long as people are coughing up the dough huh.
  20. Iridar51

    Look, there are three ways you can proceed with this game:
    1) Admit that you have a long way to go and try to get better.
    2) Quit the game because you honestly don't want to expend time and effort on getting better
    3) Lie to yourself that you would've been good if not for hackers, because obviously everyone who killed you is a hacker. Proceed on finding reasons why you don't like this game and why you're quitting it. Feel free to blame the "noob gun" for your failures.

    FYI, iI've seen 2 or 3 obvious hackers in the year I've played.

    As LA community, we're willing to help you with option (1), but if you're going to post here for reason (2) or (3) - we couldn't care less.
    What'll it be?
    • Up x 1