Why I don't bother with vehicles much

I remember when I first played....Gods those were glorious times. Vehicles were new, there were real dogfights, and massive tank battles across open planes. Those still exist now but not as much as it used to be. Back then we didn't realize that as fun as vehicles were and still can be for some of us, they are only as important as acting as a block to infantry getting out of a spawning area once one faction has it overrun. Essentially once the vehicle battle ends in the open field which is pretty quick if you ask me, all that vehicles can do now is just sit and wait for the infantry to cap and mop up. This means for my vehicle specialist friends they have to wait for the infantry often for half an hour or even hours waiting for the infantry to do their job and cap.

Of course we who play infantry alot knows how that turns out. In massive fights those zerg battles can go on for a long time, especially at Biolabs and towers. So what do the vehicle specialists do? Pretty much just roam around the base and kill anything that tries to come out. I did that for a while before I realized that I am wasting time sitting in this vehicle. So now I just let my vehicle die and swap to my infantry gear and get stuck in for the certs. Being BR100 and a jack of all trades I have the gear to be able to do that. But I know not everyone does, especially those who put their certs heavily into their vehicles and specialize in them.

Unfortunately for those specialists they don't realize that this game isn't about their short lived tank fights or dogfights in the sky. Its about the infantry, because its the infantry that make the caps, its the infantry that push territory in the end, its the infantry that pretty much defines Planetside 2 at the moment. So if you want to specialize in a vehicle, in my opinion you're better off specializing in a MAX. Cause Lord knows the NC don't pull enough of theirs when they need them and they are the only things that can get inside a base and help the infantry cap.

TL;DR

Vehicles can't cap bases and only act as spawn deterrents and guards at a base. Other than winning the fights in the field they are not as important to win the fight as the infantry. If you want to win, cert into the infantry. If you want to cert into a vehicle, well you're either going to be infantry farming or stuck waiting for fights at a base to end more than fighting other vehicles. If you want to win and cert into a vehicle, cert into a MAX.

I find lots of vehicle fights.

Its not about the vehicle fights, its about THE FIGHT. The objective, I probably didn't make that clear enough and I apologize. Essentially as fun as those fights are they won't last as long as an infantry fight and those fights are the fights that determine whether a faction wins or loses.

Just our daily vehicle hater thread.

Specialization without an offhand job isn't a good idea unless you're a Heavy Assault, the class SOE created for the Modern Gamer. I main infiltrator, but I have engineer certed out for the times when a fight turns into a siege because engineer works so much better in drawn out fights thanks to turrets/supply/mines/repair tool.

Vehicle hater? I enjoyed my tank and my other vehicles I don't hate the pilots doing what they do and blow us infantry up (Hey its our role to die and respawn again over and over ). I'm pointing out how in the end it doesn't fulfill the objective the faction needs us to be in at a base. If you have too many guys sitting in vehicles camping and not being infantry your faction isn't going to cap the point and the enemy just pulls HAs and murders your vehicles. Seen this in tech plants and what have you. I'm just saying as fun as a vehicle is, they are just add-ons. They aren't what will win the day. So until a time comes when level design incorporates say, field cap points that only vehicles can cap or objectives that only vehicles can destroy that are crucial to winning, all vehicles can do in the end is win their fight, camp, wait for infantry fight to finish, move on.

Blame the fact that SOE insist on having bases every 100 meters.

Wallamir didn't help either, it killed large vehicle operations on the continent that used to be the best for tank battles.

I do agree there, the fights in the field were crazy. I remember when me and my outfit in Vanguards flanked a massive Magrider column and decimated a number of them while our main forces pressed their front. We won that vehicle battle thanks to that but our infantry couldn't cap the point so we still lost it in the end.

I specialize in tanks.
When the situation happens where we're starting to camp a base, I move on.
I dont sit there like the rest of the idiots staring at the base, I go either to the next base, where the semi smart enemy may be trying to pull armor/sunderers into defensive positions.
OR
I simply go to a different fight, usually the nearest same-faction defensive fight, where I know enemy armor will be sitting there, just like my teams idiots, staring at the base, giving me perfect up-the-kilt shots on them.

My SPM speaks for itself I think (compared to most)

Then that's the AI vehicles not doing their job to suppress defending infantry from reaching the capture point... You don't have to shell the spawn to achieve this, but the more you segregate the combined arms, the easier you make it for defenders to defend.

I think that infantry should be not more important but the role that caps the base etc. I wouldn't want to see field vehicle only cap points.

Tanking is like playing medic or engi. It's primarily a support role. I personally don't usually stay and wait for a base to be capped. I'll drive the open fields sometimes deep into enemy territory hunting for that tank or sundie on its way to the front and not expecting me to be there.

That said tank battles could be improved. Maybe in the way that hossin is designed for infantry play. The next continent will have fewer bases, open planes and be a more vehicle centric map.

I'm just pointing out that right now thats the more important aspect of the combined arms. Infantry, infantry, infantry. And I am sure AI vehicles are just going to keep getting nerfed since well, infantry don't like getting farmed by AI vehicles like Bulldog sunderers or Gals. So they'll call for those to get nerfed and make it more about infantry. Basically I am pointing out to a new person who just gets into the game what the most important thing to play is and that is the infantry if you want the consistent action and feeling like you're helping your faction.

I know theres more to it than that but at the core of the debate enough infantry can overwhelm anything. Even their supposed counters like AI vehicles. Just start pulling maxes with flak armor and support supplemented with tons of HAs and those AI vehicles will go running.

I dunno, those "HA specialized" players are probably the same ones waiting for rides between bases: players who have a net-negative impact on your empire's performance, basically.

Really I'm not sold on specializing in PS2 much at all, apart from very early BRs. Switching roles (be they class or vehicle) is simply too valuable to pigeonhole yourself.

Tanking correctly definitely isn't "support". On defense, tanking is what lets me kill the enemy sunderers and win the battle. On offense it's a little less cut and dry, but you basically need to tank to advance and get your friendly sunderers into position so you can potentially switch to infantry (depending on the threat of enemy vehicles against that sundy.)

At present the only reason to use most vehicles is if you enjoy using them.

Yes your supporting your empire by taking out the enemy sunderer which helps your empire win the battle.

Your supporting your empire by clearing the way, taking out enemy armour, destroying enemy base defences. This support allowd your allies to advance and take the objective. See it is a support role.

Ultimately because your tank can not capture a base. Your forced into a supporting role. Assisting the units that can do the actual capturing.

It's not a bad thing. Support isn't a dirty word. It is just the correct term for the role of armour, both ground and air, in this game.

Well if support is "anything that isn't the act of standing on the point flipping the objective" then there's not really any non-support roles in the game.

Well no because any infantry unit can physically assault a base and capture it. In a way that you or I in a tank can not. It's not black and white. Infantry also perform support roles. I would even consider infiltrators as a supporting class.

long vid but we all know what happens when the air support goes away... lol

To little space between bases and has turned combined arms into " spam the spawn " rather than " Support and protect the infantry as they travel to the base " ..

Ofc being able to bypass the space totally doesn't help .. One Infi hacking a vehicle terminal can totally remove the need to even travel from base to base ..