The Adventures of a (Sorta) New Player

SOE.

Find yourself a Outfit.
Play as a Engineer.
Be a gunner.
This are the best advice we can give. Sadly there is nothing more. You will die a lot. And sadly some people here are damage. It's like this "I was having a hell in the beginning, other should have hell as well." This is reason why we have servers merge. People are living and there are not enough masoshist.

You also quite lucky. Brigs have big problems with login in to the game. It take more than 20 minutes for month adleast. Now this problem is solve I think.

VR does nothing for a new player and will do nothing for a new player until the targets actually move and duck and teleport across the map and you blow you away when you run around a corner blind.

The only thing VR is good for is getting a feel for the weapons and a feel for the weapons has never helped anybody kill anybody who knew what they were doing.

It helped me to familiarize myself with the weapons and vehicles. Which is everything it is supposed to do.

This couldn't be more true.

Outfits WANT new members, especially new players. New players don't have any bad habits and have no delusions about their own ability which means they usually can mesh right on in with how the outfit runs. If you can move a mouse, odds are you can click it and kill something, which is the only skill you need to start out.

For playing on foot, learn recoil compensation. Your weapons are going to ride up and to a direction depending on the weapon. Once you control that and get used to it. You'll drop more players than you die. Really thats the key to having a 1.0+ KDR as most players don't actually do this. And once you're there, you're not a noob anymore.

In ground vehicles, just need practice. Your problem with tanks is probably because you're in a MBT vs MBT environment. If you're using a Vanguard (NC), Prowler (TR), or Magrider (VS) and you fight another. Make sure you have a second person in the tank. That weapon up top that isn't the main cannon is quite effective. Even if its a basilisk.

Air is trickier. If you pilot a Lib or Gal, that takes teamwork with your gunners. You really want to play the game a bit more to use on of those. Watch how friendlies and enemies use them. They're pretty easy to learn to fly if you know when and where to fly them. The other aircraft ESF (Empire Specific Fighters), Reavers (NC), Mosquito (TR), and Scythe (VS) take quite a bit of work to fly properly. My advice with those is to actually fly in the VR for a bit to get the hang of them.

One thing I would note. Alot of people are going to tell you NOT to use Lockons. This is a trap. Those players have not yet mastered dealing with them, or just simply do not wish to adapt to them. Thats a weakness on their part. Exploit that weakness and take them down. ESFs are the only vehicle in the game with the option to have more than one weapon equipped at the same time. These players can't wrap that around their heads and HATE to fight those who can manage them. But its as simple as using the mouse scroll wheel to switch them. You won't have a second weapon to start, just so you know, those wing mounted weapons have to be purchased with certs or SC.

But for now, recoil compensation will make life easier as being on foot will comprise most of your gameplay. So focus on that first. The rest will come to you with practice.

It's rough but not that rough tbh. For starters, your default weapons are amongst the best in the game. Just learn to stick with others, check every angle before peeking, always keep an eye on the mini map and you should get killed considerably less often.

Be sure to join an outfit again, it's a life saver for newbies.

Please don't trash talk other people's outfits on the forums. I've played all day today (with my outfit) and went through three different platoon leaders who each had unique play styles and several tactics to deal with whatever we happened to come across. Can we field multiple platoons (unlike almost EVERY other outfit on Briggs)? Yes. But each one is tightly controlled, and can respond instantly to whatever situation arises. And rarely will we all be in the same location, unless needed. I have been in zergfits before, and R18 is not one of them.


Anyway,

For the OP: Unfortunately, TeamSpeak 3 is mandatory to join R18. You CAN however, join one of our public platoons, which we usually run at least once a day. A lot of other NC outfits do this as well. Cycle through them until you find one that you like, and doesn't mind your lack of voicecoms (they don't ALL require it). I also recommend playing medic or engineer until you figure out what the hell is going on, and feel confident enough to take on the enemy without getting wrecked. Positioning is key, as well as counters. You'll learn both from just playing the game. Pick at least one class to cert up to the point of being effective, before you start spreading around your certs. Watch videos from Wrel, DrankTheKoolaid, or CAMIKAZE78 (who also plays NC on Briggs) for helpful tips on several subjects. If you catch me when I'm online, I'd be happy to help you out as well.

To me the most important thing a new player can do is learn to use the map and the map tools. What I do is first look for a fight where the pops are even or I am slightly outnumbered. I will then use my own waypoint to mark where the enemy is coming from, which is pretty easy to do since we have lattice lines. When I deploy to that base I will then again look at the map again because it will most likely show some enemy activity which I will mentally take a note of. With this information I can make a really good guess about how the fighting will flow, where the front line is at, and it all helps me make more of an impact on the fight.

Yeah. That's how it is for newbs these days. I started playing about 3 months ago. My experience was similar. Some things I've learned:

If your PC lags at all, you will not be able to compete. Everything you see happened about .2 seconds ago. If you lag at all as soon as you see that you are taking fire, you are already dead, and you are way to slow to fire back. I don't have the best PC but it does run the game well in most situations. I just need to avoid very large battles with lots of vehicles. It took me a while to stop going all Rambo style and become choosy about the size of fight, what base it is, what class/vehicle to use, etc. This alone made a huge difference. At first I recommend running with a zerg. Pick fights where your side has the pop advantage so you can get a feel for base design without being constantly killed.

Use the VR and try out weapons. Just getting a good feel for a weapon can help tremendously.

You must check the skies every time before leaving a spawn room, and constantly while exposed. The mini map is your best friend. You will soon learn what enemy aircraft sound like, and be able to tell the sound difference between friendly air and foe. If you are out in the open and enemy air flies over head, it is ridiculously easy for them to kill you. You are just too slow. If enemy air controls the skies, your life will be miserable until you deal with them. Make them your #1 priority. Get the lock on AA RL for you HA. Get the 2nd burster for your Max. Spawn at a nearby base and get a skyguard. Ignore air at your peril. Also, your skygaurd is ez pickins for air. If you use one, find some cover you can duck under. Otherwise a lib or gal will just cruise right up over top of you, ignoring the clip your are dumping into them, and destroy you in about 5 seconds.

Instant action, while a cool idea, basically will just get you killed repeatedly. The trick to this game is picking your fights, and picking a good class/weapon/vehicle for that fight. With IA you don't do any of this. You don't know exactly where you will end up and how many friendlies/enemies are there so you can't choose what toys to bring to the party. By the time you orient yourself, figure out what base you are at and where the enemy/cover is, you are already dead. Also when using AI you will often be placed into an untenable situation that you would have never chosen for yourself. If you are out-popped 3 or 4 to 1 there is not a whole lot you can do and no point in being there. Pick battles you can win, or at least be effective in. If you don't you will just get farmed.

Get out in front of an enemy zerg and mine the roads and cap points at their next obvious target. Sometimes where they will go next is easy to figure out. Don't wait until the cap timer is down to 10 seconds to decide to move to the next base, give yourself at least a couple of minutes buffer. After laying mines, man a turret. These are ways you can at least contribute without constantly being in a giant fire fight or trapped in a spawn room.

You are actually never trapped in a spawn room. If you can't leave a spawn, you are being farmed and its time to redeploy.

I came from some ArmA experience which is decidedly harder on a new player than anything PS2 can throw at us gamers, so take this advice for what you will:

Even as a new player this game was easy to get a hang of even when going solo for two KISS approaches:

Flank - don't take the enemy head on, take the time to traverse around the obvious direction of attack that they will be defending/approaching from.

Shoot, Break Line Of Sight, Move While Out of Sight - this is the more detailed break down of "Don't sit still". Mind you though, sitting still is different than being in an entrenched defensive position but entrenchment isn't done by oneself.

If you want to do anything more than that as a Infantry or Vehicle player though and actually have an impact on the chances your faction is winning, DON'T GO ALONE.

SOE should just give new players a buff...okay...that was a joke. I know this would result in all the tank- and air-spammers just making one new account after the other(since nothing is too lame for them to not try it if it gives them an unfair advantage).

Fact is that if you are a new player you get slaugthered in ALL Egoshooters. The enemy knows where you are comming from, they identify you earlier, they know all the tricks....it's always the same. I actually think there are shooters out there where noobs get beaten much harder than in PS2 cause PS2 is quite slow compared to those.

Probably was being spawn camped. Next time avoid places where the enemy has complete control.

Oh, and in one of your other posts you said you couldn't hit anyone at range and the sniper rifle sucked.

Actually, once you learn to control NC guns, they're the best in the game at range. As far as sniper rifles go, aim for headshots, it's a one shot kill.

Talking about hard games. I tried Arma 3 lately, multiplayer, not PvP, with friends against PC.

First session I couldn't see anybody. I got killed before I could see the enemy. I couldn't spot them, I had hard time understanding how to scope or how inventory works, but the worst part - i could not see the enemy because of long range engagement all the way.

Second session I could see some of the enemies, and maybe killed 1 guy. I am not sure, there is no kill feed there. Or maybe it wasn't me, but he stopped shooting.

Third session I killed maybe 5 guys, died 25 times at least. It was "recruit difficulty"

What i mean is, Planetside is not a harder than normal game. It is different, unique, and it takes getting used to. But it is not "the hardest game out there", or even one of the hardest.

Unlike other games there is no new player starting area. Everyone is thrown into the same meat grinder. It is in many ways very unfortunate

As a new player you need to be very persistent to not give up straight away.

That said I think it is easier as a new player now than when I started and you had HE tanks shelling every base through spawn room shields and rocket pods made all bad pilots look like MLG standard.

Not sure what SOE could do to make it easier. Having a mini battle island for newer players lower than BR 15? Maybe that would work? These players will still need to get used to the real game though so how much would it really prepare them

What I did when I first started and I sucked **** btw was focused on being an engineer, I repaired everything and dropped ammo for everyone and maybe got a kill every 30 minutes and I did this till I got comfortable enough with the weapons and with my own self awareness to feel I could focus on a role other than pure support.

I know it is hard at the beginning I have experienced it as has every other player but try to stick in there a little longer it does get better, you will start beating these people who at the moment are beating you

CL makes it hard for new players. One map is full and the other is empty, so they spawn on a empty map and think "What to do?"

On Ceres it was alot of new players in Amerish warpgate but it was nothing for them to do else than wait for joining the fight on Hossin. SOE should first have released Hossin and after 1 month maybe CL. That way new players should have got two big fights one on Indar and one on Hossin.

R18 is to a hammer as IB/RSNC/AG7/AUNC/TOG1(amongst many) is to a scalpel.
You're invaluable when it comes to ensuring victory goes though, but the more detailed/skilled work is better done by the others.
When it comes to being confident that each player is a veteran with a very wide skillset and equipment access, R18 falls way short.

Neither is R18 able to be on par with the other more elite outfits when it comes to the individual resourcefulness and experience of each player. You can't assign just anybody in the squad with a task and be sure that he will be able to see it though.

@OP, i suggest you try to find a large group of players coordinated on the rough level like R18, but who talk on ingame voice comms (which suck). Otherwise you'll just be lost in the mix having no clue as to how the pieces of the puzzle are falling in place.
You can try 70XS from TR, as far as i know, they're another "blunt weapon" outfit (versus the smaller, precision strike outfits like BOH/BOTM/RDBK/IIW amongst others). The upside is that 70XS pub platoons use ingame voice comms.

Definitely. I'd strongly suggest gunning the secondary for a member of the outfit with good MBT skills. You'll slowly internalise the "ideal" movements, tactics, and trends utilized by his playstyle. Also, his skills can make up for your poorer performance in terms of gunning ability.

I find that new players who are persistent with flying the fighters only start getting into the "average pilot" classification after around 50BRs of crashing and dying in an ESF. It's a very, very hard airgame and the finesse involved in (nosegun) a2a combat is.. extraordinary.

Lockons are easy to dodge and not die to. However, most of the negative sentiments towards lockons is that they put too much power into unskilled personnel, too easily. Notice how most of planetside 2 takes a LOT of learning and time to become effective with? (See: ESFs, MBTs, lightnings, even libs - you try flying one into battle and getting more than 2 kills) Lockons break this theme, same for coyotes.

I strongly suggest not getting the coyotes/tomcats until you have nearly mastered flying (in other words, you'll beat any pilot you see except the top 3 or so) because once you rely on them as crutches, you'll never learn the fine details of positioning and dodging that will allow you to make insane a2g runs. I regularly kill maxes with my nosegun while dancing around rockets.

Play HA until you're comfortable with aiming. Then play medic in an outfit and learn teamplay. After that feel free to play the class required for your role in the squad.

As for the sniper, it's one of the harder things to be effective at in the game. Only headshots kill in one hit and scoring those is a matter of luck or skill. Learning the bullet drop and travel time of a rifle well enough to predict the future position of a moving target's head and hit that target is HARD. Also, playing a sniper probably won't help your infantry game too much. You won't learn recoil compensation or movement required to consistently win duels. Also, being helpful as a sniper means you have to be able to kill any target (target medics). It takes a lot of practice and most people will discourage you because bad snipers are the most worthless thing in the game since they don't even stand on the point. If you really want to learn, come on over to the infiltrator forums, there are some pretty helpful folk there. Infiltrator is a very rewarding class and very effective, but it requires some special time set aside to learn the class, and you are a mostly useless unit if you can't play effectively. Alternatively, buy an SMG and run around flanking people.