Consider unlocking your SILO when the heat comes

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by DeadAlive99, Mar 16, 2017.

  1. DeadAlive99

    It happened again today. I spawn in at a base that is under heavy fire and will almost certainly lose without maximum support. I see that there's plenty of space to build, and I have 99% of the stuff unlocked, so I run to the SILO which has a full green stripe down the side.

    Only....it's locked.

    So I join the fight instead, but we eventually lose it. If it had been unlocked, we potentially could have built up quite a bit, and maybe bought us more time for reinforcements too. Also consider that other players may have construction items unlocked that you or your squad do not.

    Locking a SILO is fine some of the time, but when you get in trouble, I recommend unlocking it so everyone can help replace what is lost and build new assets as well.
    • Up x 3
  2. PlanetBound

    May as well unlock it if it's going down anyway.
  3. Obzidious

    Most people that keep them locked even when they're full do so because 4th factioners show up and start deconstructing defenses.
    • Up x 1
  4. Kaizure

    I was with a group of friends the other day building a base and we allowed people to use the Silo... at first.

    The reason we locked it is: the people who were setting things down weren't contributing cortium to keep it supplied. By the time we returned with cortium to put it into the silo, it was already exhausted because of how many randoms were taking from it, but not giving anything back.

    If you want permission to use the silo, consider gathering cortium. If you're not invited to their squad after the first deposit, just use your ant's cortium supplies to set things down.
  5. LaughingDead

    Frankly, I never unlock the silo, igits from other factions either come over and decon it, or randoms that are too stupid or want to troll take stupid crap.
  6. JohnGalt36

    I personally have never participated in base-building because I could just play Minecraft of I wanted to do that, HOWEVER...

    I have seen, while attacking and harassing bases, people on the same faction as the builders use cortium to build stuff, deconstruct it, and repeat to run the silo out of cortium so they can have the core. At least, I assume that's what they were doing.

    I would never leave it unlocked if I were into base-building.
  7. DeadAlive99

    Hmm, that's interesting. The system automatically moves cores to better HIVE's, though, so the only reason for the same faction to do that would be if the other HIVE is in a worse location, which would just mean they're.....self'ish (big shocker there, I guess). But even then, as far as I can tell, you do not get personal xp from owning a HIVE or having an active core. The entire faction gets a refining reward for every 10K mined. You get cortium mining and depositing rewards, but you don't need a HIVE for that.

    So if someone is doing that, either they don't know that there's no personal bonus for it, or they're just selfish and want their own core, or it's 4th faction.

    In any case, there are a number of improvements that I hope we will see some day, such as:

    * Allowing SILO owner to set a custom reserve below which no more assets can be pulled by players. This would mainly be for the purpose of making sure the HIVE doesn't deactivate, which I've had happen a couple of times when I didn't get back in time with more cortium. Whenever that happens, you lose the dynamic percentage you've gained and have to start over.

    For example, for a startup base, a 2K reserve gives one ANT plenty of time to mine and get back. For a larger base with one ANT, 5K would be safer.

    * Allow SILO owner to set spending caps per player, e.g., 5K per player, ensuring that any one player can't drain the whole SILO.

    * Allow SILO owner to set spending caps over time, e.g., 5K per player every 15 minutes, or 30 minutes.

    * Allow SILO owner to restrict objects, e.g., squad members have full access, while others can only deploy modules, or turrets. This would help prevent the frequent problem of bad wall placement, such as players walling off the base so ANT's can't get in., etc.

    * Allow SILO owner to restrict new builds to replacements only, i.e., if a module gets destroyed, any player could pull a replacement and build it, but nothing else.

    * Allow SILO owners to specifically restrict deconstruction to specific players, or other options such as everyone can build, but no one can deconstruct, etc. This would help prevent the problem you were talking about of build and decon over and over to bleed the SILO.
    • Up x 1
  8. Dirtyworks

    I don't like other people building at my bases. For the most part, anything anyone adds makes it harder to defend.. Or they add a vehicle pad, and all that does is waste cortium or allows it to be hacked.
  9. Nepau

    Personaly I want just 1 simple control for a Silo, Let me Set Permissions based on % filled. What I want is the ability to set my Silo so that If it's say over 20% filled, then it is Unlocked, otherwise it is Locked to prevent some random person from Draining it when I don't want them to.
    • Up x 2
  10. DeadAlive99

    I agree, that's really the most important one, and that's what I was referring to with the 'reserve' option. I'm really surprised after being away for about 7 months that they haven't added some of these options, especially that one. It's not like it would require any serious coding. It's just a switch triggered at a set value.
  11. Rydenan

    Silly question, but can you put two silos in a base?
    Leave one unlocked for randos, and the other locked for 'reserve' power if the unlocked one gets emptied.
  12. DemonicTreerat

    Ah no.

    Unlocked silo means idiots like yourself just burn up the fuel faster putting down stuff that will get blown up even faster due to not being fully constructed when it comes under attack. Bad enough random "saviors" with ANTs do things like build around the silo so that the ANT's actually helping can't get to the silo or even enter or leave the base. I'm sure as Hades not going to enable your stupidity by giving you access to the silo.
  13. BrbImAFK


    Not unless it's a f'n MASSIVE base... I think there's a 200m exclusion zone between silos.
    • Up x 1
  14. DeadAlive99

    That's an extremely broad brush you're painting with, because every battle is a little different, with a zillion variables involved.

    I have built new items successfully countless times while under assault . Why would you assume that 100% of new items would be destroyed? I guess if you don't have any skyshields, or walls, or bunkers, and you're totally exposed and taking fire from 360 degrees from high ground, then yeah, it's going to be impossible. But as a rule of thumb, yes, you can build under fire, and yes, you will lose some of the new items as they are still forming.

    I also do not wall off SILOs, so that's another bad assumption. One of the locked SILO bases I was at the other day had the only viable ANT path walled off with 3 walls. I chatted a request for them to unlock the SILO and decon the walls because the ANT's couldn't get through, but got no response. I wasn't able to finish the round so I don't know how it ended, but a base with a locked SILO, no builders and blocked ANT paths is not what I would call a serious base, rather, a loss waiting to happen.

    I played at an unlocked SILO yesterday with lots of ANTs and builders. Tons of fun. We built as fast as we could and repelled the first Gal drop. We succumbed to the second assault because most of the defenders left the base, but it sure was fun.
  15. Rydenan

    Ah, okay, wasn't sure. I don't really do the base-building thing.
    But if that's the case, wouldn't removing the exclusion zone be a super easy fix? Why is there an exclusion zone in the first place?
  16. BrbImAFK


    Be honest... does ANYone, including the devs, know what goes on inside a dev's mind? Do the devs HAVE minds? :p

    Anyway, if I had to guess it was a balancing decision for PMB's. The larger the base, the more defences you build, the more cortium it takes to run. If you put a base under siege, even if you can't break it, eventually you'll win if you can keep ANT's from getting in to resupply it. If you could stack multiple silos you could potentially build a base that would outlast any siege all the way until continent lock.