[Guide] My road to black camo x2

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Mianera, Nov 6, 2017.

  1. Mianera

    I just unlocked black camo for my second toon TR, the first was my VS.
    (because in case you are wondering, this camo isn't account wide)

    I would like to share this experience with you, what it was like and how it was getting there.


    First step was acquiring 5 exceptional weapons. These never come free, they are typically found in the anniversary bundle around the 11th of november or other special occasions. This wasn't easy and frankly, never knowing when they might show up, meant saving up DBC, trust me I have really put a lot of money into this game over the years.

    I actually managed to collect 8 exceptional weapons, simply because 2 of them, were so terrible (one was a secondary, the other a knife) that I simply could not see myself grinding 1160 kills with them.

    Then the grind began. Dear bloody lord and what a grind that was. Let me give you an example. You are basically going up against people with anchors, orions, msw-r, lynx, gd-7f etc with these crappy exceptional guns and it really starts to gnaw at your self-esteem.

    Example, I held a steady 2.6 K/D on my VS toon before I started going for black camo and it is now at 1,5. When I started auraxing the Orion after I got black camo, recursion stat tracker told me I held a stable 3,4 K/D. Point being, these aren't very good guns. They can kill, but honestly, they are outperformed by nearly every other gun in the game.

    As such you can probably imagine, this wasn't a very pleasant experience at all.

    Another thing, and very important thing was time versus grind. In order to get the kills, I had to adapt to different playstyles and completely ignore some, just to get to my goal as fast as possible. That meant that:
    - no time spent in vehicles
    - no time spent playing objectives
    - no time spent playing with friends/outfit
    It was all about the grind, with a growing frustration and little fun.

    I need to be honest, going for black camo sucked the fun out of the game for me. So much frustration playing with guns and classes that I did not want to, simply to unlock that shiny reward. It forced me to take long breaks from the game, months where I wouldn't play it.

    In the end, black camo is not a show of skill or leadership.... yet I still get invites to run in platoons or squads simply because of that.

    People see you in black camo and go "Oh, this dude must be good" and want to play with you, but the fact is that its got nothing to do with it. Black camo isn't a show of skill, or anything like that.

    Black camo is a show of incredible pain. Oh for the- ... I'm starting to sound goth or emo now... see what black camo has done to me?

    And I meant, I can't really complain, 2 of the guns were NS-15M variants for me along with a NS-11C, so it wasn't as bad as it could be, but still... I prefer not to use those weapons as faction specific weapons are just better.

    When I bump into someone, friendly or otherwise, that also has black camo... there is that shared thought of "Yeah, we look good brah" then followed by a moment of silence with another shared thought "Oh man, I know your pain". You know?

    There is also the feeling when you get killed by by a HA with aurax armor, crappy camo and aurax Orion/MSW-R/Anchor... that feels okay(since you know you are outgunned) but at the same time your ego takes a hit, you know? That there is some guy hiding under the safety net of the overshield and never playing anything else, along with his noob outfit... but to me, I really enjoy killing those types and it was wrecking me on a mental level that I simply couldn't because of the directive I was trying to unlock. I mean, typically those types aren't actually that good, but having my butt handed to them over and over again and again, simply because I was forced to use a exceptional gun was annoying. I often switched to their setup, and annihilated them just for the sake of showing them. that if I switch to the god-mode setup, they don't stand a chance.... but shortly after it would hit me "STOP IT, you are having fun, return to the grind already! Want black camo or not?" Redeploy/instant action here we go.... again..... again........... and again.

    Once you actually get the thing, you really do scream "I DID IT" like Jeremy Clarkson when he get a diesel around the Nurburgring in under 10min, it this overwhelming feeling... kinda like at the end of that WoW South Park episode where they say "Now we can finally play the game".

    I do regret getting it, but yes, I absolutely do love wearing the camo on my toons, and hell no I ain't ever gonna get it for my last toon on NC. Black looks best on TR and VS anyway. As a Planetside 2 veteran that has played since launch I advise everyone to play with friends and have a ton of fun, rather than waste money and time like I did going after this damn thing. But in the end, you decide.

    Why did I do it twice then? I'm starting to think I might be a masochist.... anyways, share your experience or leave a comment.

    See you on the battlefield.
    • Up x 6
  2. CMDante

    TR MAX look ****** scary with black. Buuuuut I sympathize, I have it and usually use continent specific camo anyway.
  3. Campagne

    Exactly which weapons did you end up using?

    I feel your pain, at least a little bit. Never should have unlocked so many terrible guns as an ignorant nub four years ago. Just finished the NS-11C, and as much as I hated it I'm sure it's better than the crap you had to use.
  4. Jac70

    Black camo is like the Holy Grail of 'prestige' cosmetics that you can get in the game. I'd like to achieve it but I am completely against spending actual money on weapons. Spending actual real world money on a gold Commissioner for example - just no. I am basically a FTP player but I have spent money on Planetside 2, in fact probably more than I have spent on any other single game but I ain't spending it on reskins.

    So I have a limited option, it's The Slasher and the various joke sidearms which are all basically the same gun - pretty sure there ain't that much Planetside 2 left in me!
  5. Mianera

    NS-15MP, NS15MAE, NS-11CP, H-V45 AE and NS Baron AE for my VS.

    For my TR I went with last years SMG AE since I was so fed up with the Baron and ended up hating it more than the baron.


    So does the VS MAX :D

    That it sure is. But I wanted to share this post, so that people can really determine for themselves if it is worth going for. I really wanted it so bad, which is why I got it.... but frankly, I don't think it worth it. But that has always been my weak side in games, I'm a sucker for character appearances.
    • Up x 1
  6. CMDante

    I got mine with NS-15AE, SMG-46G Armistice, NS-11P, NS Baron G5AEA and NS-11CP.

    Wasn't really all that difficult, Baron was annoying but even that only took like a week and some change.
  7. JobiWan

    I'm working my way towards it but I'm in no rush. I already aurax'ed the Gold Armistice. Slasher shouldn't be problem, NS11P shouldn't be a problem (got that free with Summerrewards code).

    I also have the Candy Cannon, I got it last week and already have about 29 kills but not sure I want to go down that path. I might buy one of the crossbow variants or black commissioner or something.

    I want the black camo but I'll just wait until it comes more or less organically.
  8. TerminalT6

    I did it on my main with the Blackheart, the Slasher, SMG-46G Armistice, NS-11P, and NS-15MAE.

    Honestly though I did it so long ago I don't really remember how it went.
  9. Droid15.24.3

    It is my weakness as well. That and a friend of mine hasn't been able to find a screenshot or video of a BR120, auraxium armored VS infiltrator, with black camo (those AE bundles, digging a grave for my wallet ahead of time), the NS Commander helmet, the Skorpios, auraxium force-blade, and The Immortal. Shortly after I started playing (4 months ago) I was asked if I would unlock them. I said "Sure, why not!" Looked at the directive lists and my jaw dropped.

    The helmet imo might be the hardest to get, as it relies on getting others to be a cohesive group. Luckily some of these overlap (I wish I already had the AE weapons, as 2 of the guns can be used on the Infiltrator class. Oh well.) Anyway, I decided to just let it be a slow burn, I want to see this through not just for my friend, but because I want to be a better player at this game and I feel that by playing with these weapons that I normally wouldn't, I would be forced to adapt and pick up new strategies, make new friends (and rivals), and learn the more intricate strategies involved with the game.

    I only have a few hours to play a day if I'm lucky, so I expect this to take quite some time. I will complete this challenge. At the very least my character will look pretty sweet by the end of it!


    P.S. If there is in fact a screenshot or video, may I have a link? I'd still do the challenge regardless, but I would like to see how it all looks together.
  10. JobiWan

    Well poop. I bought some DB cash last night and was about to buy the black comish, then I realised it's not classed as exceptional. Looks like I'll either have to get the Campion or grind the Candy Cannon. No way I'm buying an anniversary bundle.

    The other option is to wait until February and see if the Heartsting becomes available.
  11. T.A.94

    I am currently close to aurax the first Exceptional weapon. Just because I just don't want to use them all the time.
    The path I am traking looks like this

    1st Hardlightdagger
    2nd Baron AE
    3rd NS11CP
    4th NS11P
    5th NS15M AE

    These are the weapons I use most and more likely to hit auraxium during the upcoming time.
  12. Jac70

    What would be useful to me is a guide on doing this directive without buying weapon reskins and without Auxin' joke weapons like the Candy Cannon. The Slasher should be relatively painless albeit time consuming but if you equip that knife on all you classes then eventually you'll get 1160 kills with it. The Heartstring should also be much less tedious than the Flare gun or similar. WHat about that weapon that was free with the welcome back code - does that count?
  13. Mianera


    You can see the weapons listed in the directive itself, that count towards completing it. Some, if not most of these weapons were only out for a limited time and are unobtainable at the moment. Some reappear during holiday events, but granted some truly are joke weapons like the candy canon.

    So that makes it really hard to get proper weapons, and frankly barely any of them are competitive, ergo just as hard to make a guide. The only tips I can really give are:

    - Log into the game regularly and keep an eye on the news.
    - Be sure to check what is available and be ready to pay when seasons and the anniversary comes. (there is usually 1 or 2 weapons u can get)
    - Check all three factions, some of these are faction specific weapons (and remember, the camo itself isn't account wide)

    I mean, I have played since launch, but back then we didn't have directives. So even though a lot of these weapons appeared in the store during the early days, there was no reason to buy them, after all they were just reskins of the worst guns in the game. It wasn't till years later when directives appeared and those would reward you with titles and cosmetics.
    It took me 2 years to gather 5 decent weapons to get the camo and months of gameplay to unlock it on my toons because of the long breaks I had to take from the game. No one knew their importantance or what they would give.

    But I guess that's the whole point of the directive, it really is meant to be exceptional.

    Anyways like I said to begin with, that's the easy part. Once you have 5 weapons, that's when the awful grind begins. Which is why I HIGHLY recommend that once you get one, aurax it right away, and play the game the way you want to play it while waiting for the next one to become available in the store.

    Doing all 5 exceptional weapons in a row nearly made me hate the game.
  14. MurgNC

    Wow that's pretty impressive that you got it not once but twice.

    And yes, I sympathize with the grind. I haven't tried to get black camo yet but I have tried for some other directives and I feel your pain. It does give a nice feeling of accomplishment when you succeed though...
  15. HAXTIME

    To be honest, I think the Heavy Assault Auraxium directive is worse, especially now that launchers usually don't kill in one shot. Exceptional has a really good selection of infantry weapons, but they are mostly all-arounders or support weapons (e.g. the NS11-A is good, but I wouldn't necessarily go 1-on-1 with it).

    Just pick the next convenient and reliable weapon from the list on your next opportunity and play as usual, or perhaps in a support role. The Black camo will come eventually (although I prefer the White camo). I think the forced grind was a bad idea.
  16. RockPlanetSide2

    If it was jet black and not matte black it would have been worth it, like the color of the Corvus Rifle.
  17. CaptCran

    So I've started down the road....

    The Slasher 1165 Done.
    Icikill 1119 Almost.
    NS CandyCannon 159 FML....
    NS Deep Freeze 111 FML.....
    NS Patriot Flare Gun 15 FML.......

    The NS Fujin is going to be the "helper" weapon to make it a little easier with the FML side arms.

    It will be an interesting time from here on out with this directive tree...:confused:
  18. Mianera


    Don't do it with those man, get at least a decent damage dealing weapon :p The candycanon? Ooooh dear...
  19. ParakeetLord88

    Icikill (done)
    Slasher (nearly halfway done)
    Heartstring (2/3 done)
    Blackheart (starting)
    Hunter QCX-P (starting)

    See a pattern here? I do love my crossbows and knives, and yes, I main stalker. Sure it's kind of slow, but it's what I'd be using anyway (other than the Blackhand, sometimes).

    So I can't say for me it is a problem, but I can't imagine how it would be for any other class... pretty bad indeed.
  20. ParakeetLord88

    Flare guns are not weapons. The Candy Cannon is, but you'd need to be a stalker to have any hope and at the ranges it works, it's not at all ideal. That being said it can kill stationary targets at 10m or less really easily but you must get a headshot as a part of the three shots to kill non-infs. Flanking can also be productive, but again, you'd better be a stalker.