PTS Update - 1/11

Discussion in 'Test Server: Announcements' started by ps_nicto, Jan 11, 2018.

  1. ps_nicto Developer

    The PlanetSide 2 Public Test Server will come down this evening for an update.

    Vehicle Bases and Lattice Adjustments

    Three new vehicle-capturable bases have been added to Esamir and Indar, and two additional vehicle-capturable bases have been added to Amerish. These open-areas contain a single capture point, and can be fortified with construction objects to create a fortress of your own design. In addition to the new base areas, we’ve made adjustments to some base capture points and lattice connections to reduce map stagnation and increase lane flexibility.

    Indar

    (New) Sunken Relay Station has lattice links to Howling Pass and Mao Watchtower.
    Removed the lattice link from Howling Pass to Mao Watchtower.

    (New) Berjess Checkpoint has lattice links to Regent Rock Garrison and Scarred Mesa Skydock.
    Removed the lattice link from Regent Rock Garrison to Scarred Mesa Skydock.

    (New) Lowlands Trading Post has lattice links to Indar Excavation and Quartz Ridge Camp.
    Removed the lattice link from Indar Excavation to Quartz Ridge Camp.

    Other Adjustments
    Removed the construction no-deploy zone from where the Abandoned NS Offices used to be.

    Amerish

    (New) Solus Nature Annex has lattice links to Xelas North Gate and Silver Valley Arsenal.
    Removed the lattice link from Xelas North Gate and Silver Valley Arsenal.

    (New) Cobalt Geological Outpost has links to Cobalt Communications, West Pass Watchtower, and The Scarfield Reliquary.
    Removed the lattice link from Cobalt Communications and West Pass Watchtower.

    Other Adjustments
    Lith Corps. Central, expanded Sunderer and Construction no-deploy zones.
    Adjusted some BioLab capture point building geometry.
    Sungrey West Gate received more spawn room cover.

    Esamir

    (New) Tapp Waystation has lattice links to Andvari Frozen Reservoir and Pale Canyon Chemical.
    Removed a lattice link from Andvari Frozen Reservoir and Pale Canyon Chemical.

    (New) BL-4 Recovery Point has lattice links to East River Sky Station and Terran BL-4 Crash Site.
    Removed the lattice link between East River Sky Station and Terran BL-4 Crash Site.

    (New) Untapped Reservoir has lattice links to Rime Analytics and Mattherson’s Triumph.
    Removed the lattice link between Mattherson’s Triumph and Untapped Reservoir.

    Mani Biolab
    Added a lattice link from Mani Fortress to Mani Tower.
    Added a lattice link from Mani Tower to Mani Lake Satellite.

    Andvari Biolab
    Added a lattice link from Andvari Barracks to Andvari Frozen Reservoir.
    Added a lattice link from Andvari Frozen Reservoir to Andvari South Bank.

    Ymir Biolab
    Added a lattice link from Ymir Southern Reach to Ymir Mine Watch.
    Added a lattice link from Ymir Mine Watch to Ymir Eastern Way Station.

    Other Adjustments
    Echo Valley Substation now has a lattice link to Nott Communications.
    Apex Genetics now has a lattice link to Rime Analytics.
    Removed a lattice link between Rime Analytics and Saerro Listening Post.
    East River Sky Station, expanded Sunderer No-Deploy Zone.
    Saerro Listening Post, [A] point has been moved out of the tower and converted into a vehicle capture point east of the base.
    The Traverse, [A] point is now a vehicle capturable point.

    Construction Refresh

    We’ve started adjusting construction with the goal of improving the combat dynamic, lowering the barrier to entry, and integrating the system in a way that aligns more with the spirit of the game (which means that the most useful bases are not the ones in a hole at the corner of the map.) We would like to see construction bases require more teamwork to endure attacks, instead of having an individual create something that takes a platoon to clean up without being defended. If you want your structures defended, you’ll need allies to do that. Beyond what is listed below, expect additional changes to hit PTS in later updates.

    Cortium Costs have been heavily reduced for placing construction objects. Most of these cost reductions range from 50% to 75%. We are discussing future reductions to certification prices as well.

    Repair Modules will no longer cast invulnerability on construction objects. They will instead repair nearby constructs based on their type. Fortified constructs, turrets, and modules all repair at different rates. These rates are not yet final.

    Skywall Shield Emitter now EMPs enemy infantry who fall through it (instead of setting them on fire,) and damage to vehicles has been increased.

    Elysium Spawn Tube received some resistance adjustments to make it more susceptible to certain types of attacks that could be out-repaired from engineers sitting inside of the spawn tube.
    • Small Arms resist (type 2) from 92 to 90.
    • Infantry Rocket Launcher resist (while building) from -10 to -100
    • Infantry Rocket Launcher resist from 37 to -50
    • Anti-Materiel Rifle resist from -5 to -50
    • Tank Shell resistance from -25 to -50
    • Light Anti-Vehicle resistance from -60 to -50
    • A2G Warhead resistance from -25 to -100

    A Welding Device is now accessible from ANTs and Silos in the Field Tools category. This tool allows players of any class to repair construction objects (and not vehicles) at a reduced rate.

    Yellowjacket and Howler mining lasers are now effective as siege weaponry, and deal damage over time to constructed objects. Currently this action provides no experience, and is still a work in progress.

    Construction Categories have been reorganized to be more conducive to the flow of base building… and make more sense.

    In the future, we may be removing or repurposing HIVEs so that alerts do not require cortium refinement to trigger, but before we do that, we would like to get a better account of how these construction revisions play out to ensure construction still feels like a valuable service to each faction’s war effort.

    New Empire Specific LMGs

    You can find three new empire specific light machine guns on test server. These are still a work in progress, and will be receiving art and audio passes in a later update.

    VE-H Maw (Vanu Sovereignty)
    The newly developed Maw LMG provides Vanu soldiers with a decisive mix of reload speed and stopping power, thanks to advances in cooling techniques. It’s equipped with a 60 round magazine that fires 167 damage projectiles at 600 rounds per minute.

    MGR-L1 Ballast (New Conglomerate)
    Built with sustained fire in mind, the Ballast LMG is an accurate, high rate of fire weapon without a harsh penalty for laying on the trigger. It’s equipped with a 100 round magazine that fires 143 damage projectiles at 698 rounds per minute.

    MG-H1 Watchman (Terran Republic)
    With the highest rate of fire of any light machine gun, the Watchman excels in sending metal down range, and its large magazine size ensures you have enough lead to share. It’s equipped with a 125 round magazine that fires 125 damage projectiles at 857 rounds per minute.

    Infantry Adjustments

    VE-S Canis (VS SMG)
    • Unstable Ammunition no longer penalizes cone of fire.
    • Base rate of fire from 500rpm to 550rpm

    MG-S1 Jackal (TR SMG)
    • Base projectile velocity from 350 to 400.
    • BX Adapter will likely receive some adjustments in the future.

    MGR-S1 Gladius (NC SMG)
    • Default magazine size from 28 to 26.
    • Ammo capacity from 168 to 182.


    Vehicle Adjustments

    Saron LRB (Scythe Nosegun)
    Magazine from 65 to 60
    Dev Note: Adjustment based on player feedback to help reel in some of the Scythe's strength against other ESF.

    Galaxy
    Lockon Jamming Field
    • Added the Lockon Jamming Field defensive slot.
    • While equipped, the Lockon Jamming Field will passively protect allied vehicles from lockon attempts and proximity-based lockons, but not the galaxy itself.
    • Operates within 100/125/140/150m.
    Dev Note: The addition of this defense slot opens a new route for support capabilities when accompanied by allied vehicles faced with the specific threat of lock-on or proximity-lock projectiles from ground or air. Vehicles are still susceptible to flak while this affect is active. This ability is a work in progress.

    Nanite Proximity Repair System
    Increased the maximum range of the Galaxy’s proximity repair for air vehicles from 50m to 75m.
    Redid the tooltips to better describe the repair rate and distances.

    Vehicle Ammo Dispenser
    The Galaxy’s vehicle ammo dispenser no longer has different resupply ranges for air and ground vehicles. The ranges have received a slight increase, and now affect all vehicle types equally.
    Ranges have been changed as follows…
    • Rank 1: 50/40m for air/ground to 50m for all vehicles.
    • Rank 2: 65/55m for air/ground to 75m for all vehicles
    • Rank 3: 80/70m for air/ground to 90m for all vehicles.
    • Rank 4: 95/85m for air/ground to 100m for all vehicles.
    Dev Note: Increasing the range of Proximity Repair and Ammo Dispenser is intended to promote the support capabilities of the Galaxy, and reduce mid-air collisions from friendly vehicles…

    Liberator
    LF-100 Afterburner (Utility Slot)
    • No longer takes up the utility slot, and has been integrated into the vehicle.
    • This skill line can now be upgraded from the Passive Certs area of the vehicle.
    • The regeneration rate of the default afterburner is 40 seconds.
    • The first rank of the passive cert line now reduces the regeneration rate to 30 seconds.
    • Corrected an incorrect tooltip in rank 4.
    • Certification cost from 250/375/550/750/1000 to 100/150/200/400/1000.
    Dev Note: Afterburner has been best-in-slot on the Liberator for as long as it has existed. With the recent pivot to a more sustained fire role, the value of fire suppression and flares has been increased, but the trade for afterburner remained too high. A default afterburner should make the vehicle more enjoyable to fly, add more flexibility for which engagements it can participate in, and lower the cert investment for players looking to make use of the Liberator.

    M60-A Bulldog (Liberator Tailgun)
    Direct damage from 250 to 400
    Dev Note: This change is primarily intended to reward aim against light-armored targets, like ESF and Harasser, moving the shots to burn/kill from 5/6 to 3/4 for ESF and from 7/8 to 4/5 for Harasser.

    Harasser
    Tank Cannon (type 7) resistance from -20 to -50
    Dev Note: In most cases, this reduces the number of main cannon shots to kill a Harasser by one.

    Bug Fixes and Misc.

    • Fixed a bug with horizontal recoil tolerance introduced in the last update.
    • The /squad promoteme command should now show a name and description for the person making the request.
    • Added various messaging for squad actions when promoting or petitioning players.
    • Implants on the death screen now show their proper rank.
    • A Join Combat prompt will appear for idle players below BR20, encouraging them to join the fight.
    • Bounties have been disabled in VR training zones.
    • Friendly fire has been disabled on Koltyr.
    • Fixed a bug with players being ejected from squad-spawned vehicles whose pilot is not the owner of the vehicle.
    • Submitted a new fix for the Phoenix’ screen effect that has more extensibility in the future, let us know if you run into any issues with the Phoenix’ overlay beyond this update.


    Known Issues

    • The new Instant Action button appaears sometimes when it should not.
    • The button on the Instant Action Button doesn't currently do anything.
    • Solus Nature Annex (on Amerish) does not have lattice links
  2. NikolaiLev

    Lookin' sweet! Excellent changes here, though I was hoping for a Ranger nerf.

    One possibility to lower barrier of entry for construction is to make construction items upgradeable; your AI module only costs 30 certs, but its accuracy, lock-on range, lock on speed and/or rate of construction are reduced, and/or cortium cost could be increased until you upgrade it, like other things. This retains the value of previous purchases and the construction packs while allowing new players to contribute more.

    So, instead of a thing being 1000 certs, it'd be 30/50/100/250/500.
  3. Alilua

    The reload time on the new NC lmg is a little short considering it's advantages compared with the EM1
    The new TR lmg seems to have a rather long reload for it's damage and ammo count.


    Lock on jamming field is a good idea, but making already situational weapons useless is a bad effect. Both tomcats and coyotes are less ideal than using the nose gun on an esf, hyenas are garbage and man portable air defense launchers are greatly hindered by their limited lock on range, time it takes to lock which increases since many esfs run stealth, and low damage to air that mostly auto repairs. Lock-ons don't need another nerf and air doesn't need another buff.
  4. dirtYbird

    • Bounties have been disabled in VR training zones.
    Does that mean when I log in and get forced into the VR I will no longer miss out on the Payback XP from Bounties purchased in a previous session of play?
    Currently it issues zero XP if collected while you are offline and put into the VR when logging back in.
  5. Uziriel

    Phoenix do not shows rocket distance
  6. Uziriel

    And ground players want Jamming Field on Sundy too ;)
  7. OldMaster80

    The problem is not tank cannons, it's Harassers are too tanky against everything. Guys I appreciate the changes but could you at least fix AV mines?

    Today during a 48 vs 48 fights a Harasser managed to tank all firearms and enter on point I dropped 3 sets of 5 mines inside a base because a Harasser entered INSIDE the building in Mekala Auxiliary Compound
    and people could not get rid of it. Because in case you didn't notice Harassers manage to arrive in places like this, and it's not like you can bring tanks:
    [IMG]

    In total the HArasser made all my 15 landmines explode and it didn't die. That's ridicuolus for a vehicle that has such speed, acceleration, and can get in places where other vehicles cannot.
    • Up x 1
  8. Liewec123

    awesome changes, but until you revert the sunderer nerf from the 5th anniversary patch you're putting hard work into a game that has devolved into unstoppable zergs and uncappable biolabs.

    the official note was that you were trying it to "see how it impacted the game"
    well since then primetime has been a graveyard,
    we didn't even have enough players to open a 2nd map yesterday during primetime on Cobalt...
    i think that should be a clear indication of how it has impacted the game, everyone i talk to about it hates the change.

    so since it has clearly been a negative change,
    can we expect a switch back to allowing sunderers to be deployed at your own base?
    so we can once again repel zergs and once again deploy at biolab jumppads and teleport rooms?

    i unsubbed over this bad move and i'm looking forward to once again providing support!
    • Up x 2
  9. Drsexxytime

    The new weapons are meh outside of the TR LMG. No proper balancing of harassers still. No talk of merging NA East/West to "central" and giving Asians their own server, or putting a limit on latency, fixing the lag wizard issue plaguing the game. Game is over.
  10. Longasc

    The SMG changes seem good to me, the little extra the Canis can use after the UA nerf. Looking forward to test the LMGs, don't really have time and experience to comment on the new bases though.
  11. elkikko92

    anyone could post a video of new bases? Thanks
  12. Sarmane

  13. Blam320

    My initial reactions to the patchnotes were "Sweet, New LMGs," which is a big bonus as a Heavy main, "Thank goodness the Harasser got nerfed," if only a little, and "@#$% YES QUARTZ RIDGE TO INDAR EX IS GETTING FIXED!!"
    • Up x 1
  14. Silkensmooth

    I really wish less time was spent on player made bases. The whole thing is incongruous with the game.

    It would make FAR more sense to have a system which allows players to create bases just like those in the game.

    Instead we have silly skyshields which are abused constantly. Like putting skyguards in them or allowing Air to fly through them.

    It just promotes cheese that causes people not to want to play, and worst of all are the automated turrets. Its bad enough that flak is EVERYWHERE, now it is automated?

    Also fix the harasser. Harasser should be weak. As it is harassers drive up and face-tank mbts.
    • Up x 1
  15. elkikko92

    I'd like to see more bases with spread veichles control points
  16. frozen north

    I don't really get why the harasser is getting nerfed here. In my experience it is really easy to take down a harasser with a tank, since all you need to do is maneuver to protect the rear of the tank, and a harasser is an easy XP pinata.
  17. Blam320



    Clearly you haven't played against Harasser wolfpacks or solo harassers with really good gunners and drivers.

    Harassers can drive over Tank mines and not get hit by the blast, not to mention with the right top gun, driver and gunner a fully crewed Harasser can 1v1 a fully crewed MBT and get away with it easily.

    Their speed and maneuverability means you can barely keep your main gun on them, all the while they can stay on your critical rear regardless of how you try to protect it.
  18. frozen north


    Actually, I have played against them, and I have plenty of experience playing as them.

    I am very aware of the tank mine ignoring. However, its also not perfectly reliable. Depending on terrain and speed, a harasser can either set them off without taking damage, or get blown to smithereens in an instant. It's inconsistent enough to ensure a constant element of risk is in trying to do it. Plus, if mines are set up so the harasser has to drive alone the line, it will always get hit by any mines placed after the first one.

    As for MBT's... Again, I have been on both ends of this plenty of times. In every match up I have faced of MBT versus harasser, the MBT will always win as long as they stick to long range. Given that range is the natural ally of an MBT, this is really easy. As long as you stick to terrain with only sparce cover (which is typical MBT country), an MBT will always dominate a Harasser.

    On top of this, a harasser top gun is always a weakened version of the same top gun for an MBT. Additionally, MBT's have 5k health or 6k for the vanguard, and receive double damage from the rear. So from the rear, an MBT has effectively the same HP as a harasser, unless you in a vanguard which still has more. While the HP may be similar, the resistances are definitely not. When comparing resistances of all damage types that both MBT's and Harassers are vulnerable to, the MBT always fairs better. So even if it cant hit with its main gun, it still has a damage and health advantage, even from the rear.

    True a Harasser is mobile, but against a seasoned tank crew, that mobility usually means next to nothing. Plus, to put shots into the rear of an MBT consistently, a harasser needs to stay in a very narrow movement range to maintain shots, which would mean sacrificing that mobility in the first place.

    Plus, all tanks except the magrider have excellent stationary hull rotation speed. It makes it really easy to keep you rear away from your opponents. And what the magrider lacks in turning, it gains back in smooth handling. Normally to shoot accurately, a tank needs to stop moving, but this doesn't matter to the magrider. So despite it having that rotation weakness, it can still force harassers onto the defensive by moving smartly.
  19. Blam320

    That doesn't change the fact that tank mines are an inconsistent deterrent, and that Harasser mobility combined with their relatively high HP, resistance and damage makes them far from the glass cannon flankers they should be.
    • Up x 1
  20. frozen north


    With regards to mines though, tank mines are basically never a strong deterrent. They are rendered completely meaningless by sweeper hud, particularly when driving tanks. The Harassers speed actually makes sweeper hud less effective, which therefore makes mines more effective.

    Also, Harassers are not cannons. Their top guns are always weaker versions of the same top weapon for an MBT, and since the top gun of the MBT usually accounts for less then half the MBT's total damage potential, that means Harassers sit well behind MBT's and even lightnings for damage output.

    They also have the second lowest HP of any vehicle in game, and the second lowest resistances of any ground vehicle.