[Guide] Rabid Construction: Episode7, Routers (the first building you buy)

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by RabidIBM, Aug 12, 2020.

  1. RabidIBM

    Yes, I probably should have done this episode first, and if I ever do a summary post with all the episodes, I'll probably re-organize them based on number of unlocks required, and put this one at the top.

    So, from the top, what are routers and the routing spire?
    Routers are a spawn point for players which can be deployed in many places other spawn points cannot. They have a longer spawn timer than sunderers, do not provide an equipment console, and are quite fragile. So all up they are quite a niche, but used correctly they are a fantastic niche.
    The routing spire is the building which routers are drawn from. To get the router, you have to draw it from the spire, then deliver it to the location. If you die or redeploy you will lose the router. It is possible to use them without owning access to any other buildings.

    To get started, if the routing spire is the only building you have unlocked, then you will have to add it to someone else's base. You'll generally need the continent to have been open for at least 10 minutes, but 20 is more likely. At this point, redeploy and look for extra spawn points around the map labeled "elysium spawn tube". These are the spawn points for a player made base, spawn in and have a look to see if the base is a good candidate.
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    Here's what to look for when adding a routing spire:
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    To get the routers to location in anything like a reasonable time, you need to fly. Ensure the base has a light air terminal. If it does not, redeploy and try somewhere else. Second thing to check for is the amount of cortium in the silo. Generally, if the lights are green, you're good to go. Third point, I've sometimes had builders get grumpy and delete my routing spire when I add to their base without asking. If you see someone in the base, be polite, ask. I've never had anyone refuse to let me add to their base when I ask. Whenever you get a quiet moment such as massive overpopulation during a base capture, be courteous and replenish the silo.

    To draw the routing spire, go the the console on the silo

    Here's where to find it, it's under the tactical tab.
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    To deliver the router, I will play as light assault with safe fall. Once I have the router deployed, I will redeploy and spawn as an engineer. For small scale fights I bring a hard light barrier and an spitfire auto turret. For large battles I swap out the spit fire for a second hard light. Primary weapon is your favorite infantry splutcher with a dark light flashlight. The flashlight is important because the router shows up on the minimap as soon as it is deployed, and people trying to kill it will try to slip through the battle with cloaking. For secondary weapon I use the crossbow with the motion detecting ammunition. This build is not about participation in the battle, this is about supporting the platoon and protecting the router. Remember when you feel tempted to advance to get the next kill, you're not playing that roll anymore. Leave that to the ground pounders, you are here to keep the spawn point alive.

    Now for some examples of good places to deploy a router.
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    In this example, I have the router deployed on the control point at Roothouse distillery. This became important because the TR decisively won the vehicle battle and destroyed all of our sunderers. Without this router, we would have had no spawn points at all. However, we clamped down the infantry battle and took the base. Many experienced platoon leaders can tell you how hard it is to convince your tankers to get out of their tanks and help with the infantry fight.

    There is a common building in game, which many players refer to as a "triple stack"
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    They tend to have either a control point in them, or critical sight lines in the base they are in. These buildings usually have alcoves in them that are good for routers.

    Another type of base where routers are great are the tech plants. Once infantry are inside a tech plant, it is an exclusively infantry fight. You are on an elevated catwalk to keep you safe from armour, and the roof overhead keeps you safe from air. You do not want to fight on the control point itself, but on the balcony overlooking the control point. When flying the router in, approach from this direction:
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    I should mention that in addition to safe fall on the light assault, I also have safe ejection on the ESF. The redundancy helps. Safe eject will allow you to come in at full speed and still guide yourself to a safe landing with light assault jets. In this case, you want to aim to land on the raised balcony above the vehicle shield. After touching down, proceed inside and place the router here:
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    It takes some wiggling to get it to place here. Once this is in place, your team should control the balcony and dominate the tech plant.

    Another common base routers help with are amp stations.
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    In this case I am taking screen shots at Zurvan Amp Station, which is a triple point amp station, but many have a single control point between the two vehicle spawners. Placing a router at the end of this balcony allows your platoon to skip the shield generator phase of the battle, and even use the enemy's own shields to protect you from their vehicles. You'll need a team mate with a GSD sunderer to get you in here. There are a couple reasons not to place the router on the control point itself. For one, enemies will go to the control point and find your router. Second is that due to the 50 meter minimum spacing between routers, if one is placed on the control point, no other router can be placed in this building. If a router is placed at the end of this balcony however, 2 more routers may be placed by other players in the corners by the vehicle spawners. Hacking through an infantry fight to kill one router is much more manageable than having to kill 3 routers.

    In amp stations with 3 control points routers matter a lot less, as sunderers can deploy quite close to the control points, and each of the control points activates a spawn point in the base. However, if you have the router you might as well bring it. I'll generally put it on this tower overlooking A point.
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    The Palisade is another common battleground.
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    From here, players spawn with elevated firing lines over the control point, giving the a strong advantage.

    And I'll finish off with one more cheeky spot to put a router. This mountain overlooks both Crossroads Watchtower and XenoTech Labs. From this mountain, lock-on heavy assaults can clean up much of the vehicle and air activity. The enemy pilots won't be happy about you being here, so make sure to bring the umbrellas.
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    There are many other good places to put a router, but I figure this should be enough to get people started. When people ask me what the benefits of playing construction are, I say logistics, firepower and fortification, in that order. The most basic of logistics in this game is spawn points, so make the routing spire your first building unlock.
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