New player would like to use You more experienced players! I know this game is pretty balanced and very little difference between factions. But i want to know which faction has more pros than cons. Infantry? Like which faction has better gear for DPS. Vehicle? Like control, functionality, gear, upgrades etc. Planes? Same as for vehicle. Outfits?
Everyone is going to give you a tl;dr of: NC: high damage VS: utility TR: RoF If I were you I would look at how to read weapon stats and compare to one another; saying that there are several stats that aren't listed. Vertical recoil Horizontal recoil Recoil tolerance So remember to always check how the guns kick in VR before writing them off as good or bad. For the most part, a lot of weapons are near balanced with a few select supposedly OP weapons. The ES or Empire Specific, tools you should look at are your MBTs, ESFs, harasser topguns, MAX weaponry and faction specific rocket launchers. These tools, along with individual player skills and loadouts determine a fight. This game will kick your bloody teeth in, often called the fps darksouls due to the lack of control on who you fight. If you die to a low level combatant do not be discouraged, the main thing that kills the fun in this game is thinking you won't improve, you will improve. It is also important to try all aspects of the game so you have something to try if X isn't going your way. If you feel like you could help your team more by removing vehicles then try heavy or tanking. However that being said, trying all factions is part of the fun in this game. Remember to try boths sides of the engagement. Lastly: have fun in your own way, a lot of people will give hatetells for stupid stupid reasons. The stupidest I've heard so far is teamwork, when working together exponentially increases odds of successful events and more interesting dynamics of the game. Even "leetist" players succumb to being stupid and instead of being a rolemodel just spread the hate. Good luck, have fun.
Regardless of which faction you choose (and you can have at least one of each at the same time to try them all out) I would recommend: Learn quickly to manage recoil and firing in short bursts with auto weapons. Use VR training to get the hang of effective range for different weapons on each class. focus on a support class like medic or engineer as you will build up certs quickly to max out your tools and armour etc. You will also start with carbines or assault rifles, both of which are really good weapons to use from scratch. If you are going to go the popular route instead and choose HA, know that the NC LMG you start with is probably the hardest gun in the game to master. The TR and VS starter LMGs are both very effective and easier to use from the outset. As to factions: TR tends to start with high rate of fire weapons and with burst control/recoil management they are good at close and medium range. NC goes the other way - their starter weapons are slower firing, harder hitting and optimised for medium range. But inaccuracy punishes misses because of that. VS tend to be in between the other two factions so far as rate of fire is concerned but are easier to use due to better handling characteristics. Join an outfit and join squads when invited. There is some security in numbers including more chance of someone reviving you but you will still get killed a lot (we all do). Be prepared to switch class according to what is the best fit for each battle scenario. Default shotguns, grenades, knives and rocket launchers are all clones of each other, so no faction differences. NC starts with a solid bolt action sniper rifle. the others get less powerful auto snipers. Welcome Planetman!
NC excel at running over teammates. Other than that I think the other guys did a pretty god job of getting the bulk of the differences.
TR Stats: - Pros: faster fire rate, extended magazines, faster vehicles. - Cons: Low damage-per-shot, vehicles have lower max health compared to other empires. VS Stats: - Pros: high accuracy, low recoil, no bullet drop, highly maneuverable vehicles. - Cons: some weapons can be blinding due to laser/plasma technology.(however this can work like a pro sometimes) NC Stats: - Pros: high damage-per-shot, higher health vehicles. - Cons: high recoil weapons, slow fire rate, slower moving vehicles compared to other empires. All references to "vehicles" of course only pertain to empire specific vehicles(MBT and ESF). As for opinions on weapons, I'd say VS are probably the well-rounded empire, TR excels more in close-medium range, and NC excels in medium-long range. Gunner turrets are fairly important since the Harrasser uses them, I'd say the TR have the best gunner turrets, followed by VS, then NC. A few notable things in some empires are items such as the Gauss SAW from the NC, this LMG is extremely potent in medium-long range but due to its high recoil it must be mastered before you can utilize its power. Another noteworthy weapon is the Orion by the VS, this LMG is an extremely potent close range weapon that is relatively easy to use. When comparing empire specific vehicles I'd say out of the ESFs, the Mosquito is the best for dogfights. When it comes to the MBT, the Magrider is the best for tank battles. However, keep in mind all empire specific vehicles are a close match when its between two experienced players. Please remember that this little essay I wrote is all in opinion, I try to not be biased but I'm primarily an NC player.
Not quite true. The TR ESF has the exact same health and armour as any other ESF. Some would say that the slimmer shape makes it "stronger" than the NC ESF. The TR MBT has the exact same health and armour as the VS MBT. Actually they both have the same health as the NC MBT as well... the only advantage that the NC MBT has is an extra 5% armour to the front and 7% armour to the sides, plus the Shield.
I've played all 3 factions though these days I'm only on the NC and TR. As a general rule, I personally find the TR and VS to be a little more new player friendly than the NC. Recoil management is a HUGE part of the gunplay in this game, and the NC have the most severe recoil of the 3 empires. Coupled with their design philosophy that others have already pointed out, means that NC infantry weapons can be pretty unforgiving. That said, if you're confident that you've got what it takes to excel at gunplay, I'd also say that NC probably shines the brightest when played to their full potential. Others have already covered the generalities of the empires in greater detail so I won't waste time repeating them here.
Here are some of the differences i can think of, in no particular order and as quickly explained as possible: -VS has faster reloads but smaller mags. Recoil is (generally) more managable than TR and NC. -TR has larger mags but slower reloads. Recoil is (generally) worse than VS but better than NC. -TR has an air deterrent launcher. VS has a good anti-max sniper launcher and NC has a camera guided missile launcher. -NC has more weapons with 167 damage and the only faction with 200 damage weapons, but tend to have more recoil. -NC has decent medium-long range weapons. -VS weapons dont have bulletdrop. -NC has a unique MAX that uses shotguns, which is pretty good indoors. -All the empires has fast ROF weapons, but the TR has a few more than the other two. -TR has the "best" overall Assault Rifles and pistols, VS are considered to have the "worst". -VS has the unique "heat mechanic" on their auraxium weapons. Which means they use a overheat mechanic instead of ammo -VS has the most agile tank, and it can strafe because it hovers and has afterburners. NC has the most resilient tank because you have shields and TR has the best long range "siege" sniper-tank that can "lock down" for faster reload speed and faster velocity. -Each faction has a unique HA weapon. NC has a burst fire shotgun, TR has a minigun with fast rate of fire and a large mag, and VS has a fast firing plasma-orb gun that deals splash damage. -VS has a unique sniper rifle that doesent use ammo and doesent have bullet drop. TR has a burst fire medium-range sniper rifle and NC has a sniper rifle with the fastest velocity and the most damage. -As NC you need to compensate for more recoil in order to do well, which isnt easy/fun when you are just starting out. -Each empire has its own MAX ability. TR makes you unable to move but fire faster and reload faster. NC has a shield that stops damage and VS has an ability to take more damage but deal more damage. If you dont really care about min/max and just want to have unique and fun stuff, then i would go with VS. But i strongly suggest making one character per faction and just playing around with stuff in VR training. You can try everything there for free and get a feel for the faction. Or just play each faction for a day, and see what you like the most.
This. You'll probably find there is a faction you prefer but you can't really tell until you have some experience - outfits seem to be important to you so join a few public squads and see how it goes. Everyone is different and only you can decide what suits you best. Although most things are kinda balanced overall there are some pretty radical differences in the Empire Specific stuff - MBT is a good example - but the situation will determine the outcome more than anything so you have to learn to play to strengths (and this takes time). You also seem to be interested in air but air in PS2 is very different to most games you've played before so don't expect to be a sky knight from the off. You'll probably get to a point where you want to play multiple or all factions, I honestly enjoy them all. (Oh - final point - best stick to support type roles at first to build certs quickly, the front line can be extremely hazardous for the new player)
Thanks you all for respond, this good information to start with, as some of u told above now ill just go check all factions and weapons by myself. The problem is im kind of perfectionist so i want to find faction or class that suits in all aspects. And this is why hard to decide on faction, cuz each has pros and cons. And as someone mentioned i rly enjoy to play all 3 factions. But i dont have much time to play everyday so i must stick with only 1 or else i wont get high on BR.
The quick and easy guide is Infantry - NC (most variety; easiest recoil), vehicles - TR (Best choice of weapons), newbie friendly - VS (good set of starter weapons in general) Long term NC or TR simply due to VS having the worst set of weapons to auraxium (to similar and bland; least best in class choices) and then depending on style preference (i.e. weapon style, vehicle weapons etc.).
I've been playing this game for quite a long time, with experiences on all 3 factions, so I'll give you the "kinda specific, but not TL;DR" version In the realms of small arms, referring to rifles and such, the TR are my personal favorites. They just have the right combination of rate of fire, accuracy, recoil and sound that makes them very pleasing to use. As others have stated, the damage per bullet is SLIGHTLY below the other two factions, but the time it takes to kill is so small a difference, I don't think the human mind can react that quickly, so it's really a moot point. In regards to tanks and armored support, the NC's Vanguard can endure an additional shell's worth of armor piercing damage from its frontal armor before it explodes, so if someone gets the drop on it, and the Vanguard can react immediately, it might still win. However, it is SLOOOOOOOOW, and it's invincibility shield behaves a bit spotty at times. The VS' Magrider is, by far, the most agile tank in the game and often requires lock on rocket launchers in order to hit, provided it is able to move freely. It's magburn ability allows it a quick retreat when things start to go south as well, but given it's fixed gun turret, lack of peripheral vision and the way that collisions work in this game, it's earned the ignoble title of "Magmower", accidentally killing large numbers of allies. The TR's Prowler is able to fire 2 shells instead of 1 before reloading, so it's more forgiving for the inaccurate. It has the highest top speed and it's ability, lock down, gives it the longest range of any tank as lock down enhances it's reload time and muzzle velocity. In a game where he who shoots first and more accurately wins, I would say the Prowler wins hands down, and the fact that you don't even need to leave the company of your fellows to do so means your deaths will be few, so long as you act wisely. MAX suits are the next point of analysis. NC got the short end of the stick on this, receiving shotguns of questionable usefulness instead of the 70 round clips of the other factions. To that end, most NC use their AV weapons instead, except when anticipating CQC. If an NC MAX rounds a corner and surprises you at a distance of less than 20 meters, you're probably already dead. The VS have a nice middle of the road MAX that is capable of doing everything a MAX is supposed to do with little that really stands out to me. The TR share their tank's lock down ability, though doing this presents you as a vulnerable target. However, when equipped with AA guns, they can tear down aircraft faster than even the lightning's sky guard, yielding some really nifty utility.
There is functionally little difference. There used to be serious differences but most of the secondary problems(like flinch) have been normalized between factions. Some VS weapons have no drop and instead have a lower velocity. You might notice that. Otherwise the differences dont effect much especially since you have so many options to choose from in in class. Now back at release - things were different and it mattered a great deal. Especially because flinch washighly disruptive tied to the weapon you held. And NC back then had a notable disadvantage. Thankfully this issue is gone.
All of these arguments don't really matter with the new continent lock system. TR has every continent for 12 hours, then they swap positions with VS. Figure out which one always wins during your time of day to get half off all of your favorite toys. Sometimes TR and VS fight eachother and let NC have a continent, but normally not.
In terms of infantry weapons: TR + high rate of fire and DPS - high horizontal recoil NC + low horizontal recoil - low rate of fire and DPS VS = mixture of the above Another point is that VS have excellent camo by default. NC camo is awful, TR is intermediate. On the other hand, VS tend to be outpopped, which is nice for vets that need a constant supply of prey, but might be unwelcome for a new player.
