Hello, very new player here. I come to PS2 from World of Tanks and Eve Online, where things are just a lot slower. My god this game is hard. Main issues I have are being killed over and over and over again by enemies I never/cannot see. I'm also finding it very difficult to tell friend from foe. Hopefully I'll improve, I'm having an an ablsolute blast regardless. On to my question. I am enjoying playing the light assault role the most as TR. So what do I spend my first certs on to improve my combat effectiveness? I am guessing upgrading my gun to start? Sights? Any advise abour this would be welcome, as well as other tips.
High framerate will help you more than anything. If you go to one of your warpgates, if you access the terminal with the globe on it, you can select "VR Training." There you can test out any weapon you want. Go there to find a scope that you want, don't just buy one and hope you'll like it . You can test out weapons on hologram targets, infantry, aircraft, and tanks. You can try all the weapon attachments to see which benefits your playstyle the most. For certs to spend, I'd get a suit slot first. The first couple levels are cheap and will help a lot. It's personal preference which you pick, but I like Flak armor. Getting in a vehicle will really change everything. For starters I would cert into zoom for weapons, the first level(1.25x) is only 1 cert! The viper is currently the best option for the lightning, no reason to upgrade just yet(it may be nerfed in the near future). For your light assault, cert into your jump jets. Higher levels of jetpack will make it last longer and recharge faster. C4 is the ultimate vehicle destroyer, you should get it if you can save enough certs, it's pretty expensive for new players. Do you use a shotgun or a carbine? Use carbine for distance(though some are good up-close) and a shotgun for close quarters. If you didn't select the free shotgun than you can get one for 250 certs(definitely worth it, more expensive doesn't always mean better)
If you're dead set on starting as LA: Important: a IR/NV and 2x scope for the default gun Jump Jets ACS suit slot medkits Very useful: 2 C4 bricks (save certs and get both at once, one is not much of a boon) Fully kitted long range carbine SMG Good sidearm/s (most go with commissioner and/or underboss) Maxed out spawnbecon. One of the best uses for LA, outside combat abilities, is to play it when leading a squad and place the SB in a safe place Full auto shotgun /w ext mag. Tower/biolab stomp all day. If you want to be useful to your faction/s (not saying you can be that as LA, but the skill floor for being so is a lot higher) and make good certs while you learn i would suggest you main as combat medic for a while instead. Just dump certs in medic tool, aura and revive nades (in that order) and you're golden. You get a very nice default gun too!
Very first certs spent should probably be upgrading your TRAC-5, yes, as that shouldn't take too long and should improve your gameplay quite a bit. Most take 1x, 2x, or IR/NV weapon sights on their carbines when playing the LA class. For the TRAC-5 in particular I'd recommend a forward grip, and the barrel attachment is optional and mostly up to preference for that weapon. Jump Jets should be your first priority after weapon upgrades if you intend to main the LA class, default jets are quite simply pitiful, and as LA's strength lies in it's agility, it is important to upgrade Jump Jets as soon as possible.
As far as telling the difference between friend and foe the TR have the hardest time if your settings are on default. When on default the game puts a blue triangle marker (sometimes called a "dorito" by the PS2 community) over your allies heads, and red triangles over your enemies. As TR that means that your team is red and black but have blue markers over their heads, and when you're fighting against the NC your enemies are blue but the markers over their heads are red. This serves to mess new players up a lot, I think. (Note: this is how it was by default when I started playing over a year ago might have changed since.) After playing for a short time I switched to playing as NC main. That made things a lot easier to tell friend from foe, but when I started to play all 3 factions evenly, I went into the settings and changed the friend/foe colours to always match the faction colours. So now on my computer the TR always have red markers, the NC always have blue markers and the VS always have purple markers, regardless of what faction I'm currently playing as. For the first couple of days after I did this I committed a lot more team-kills then normal (because I had become somewhat adjusted to the confusing default colours, and when surprised my reflexes kicked in) but I readjusted to my new colour scheme within a week and have never looked back. It works a lot better for me, but I know it's not for everyone. Just something I thought you might want to look into.
I'd go for jetpack and advanced shield first, don't need to max them but get at least level 3, and throw a few upgrades into the TRAC-5. After that comes C4, both sticks so you can take out tanks when you see an opportunity. After that you'll probably want a different gun just to change things up a bit, I'd recommend the T5 AMC for medium-long range or an SMG for up close. Whenever you get the opportunity go ahead and max out jetpack and adv. shield, they're both very useful. As for playing light assault, always use cover. Always go for high ground like a roof and use the edge of the roof for cover when shooting down at people. If you get shot at you should immediately put something between you and whatever's shooting, this is where high ground is useful because usually you can just run away from the edge to break their LOS. Try not to use the same paths that regular infantry take, always look for an alternate route that includes jetting up something. The best way to do well in this class is to avoid head to head fighting whenever possible. Lastly, don't waste any certs on the flash grenade because it's useless. Have fun!
One little suggestion: as LA I often find myself running out of ammo very fast. That's because I mainly move on rooftops, rocks, walls and trees, meaning that I don't have many ammo boxes around. Some certs in the ammo belt definitely made my game experience much better.
Basics: Buy a better sight. This way you can see moer while ADS. Nanoweave armor lv2. This helps you to take my damarge. Upgrade your jumpjets. This jelps you to reach high grounds and gives you a higher adventage over your enemies. Buy a med-kit/restoration kit. For when you get in those ''oooh shiiiiit'' situations and there's no medic nearby. Rest Upgrade your jumpjets more. More = better. Buy a new attachment. If you are going to use the Trac-5, get the laser sight. Buy a second med-kit/restoration pack, or 1 brick of C4. This helps you fight vehicles better. If you're going to fight a lot in-doors, use your shotgun. You get a very neat shotgun for free, it's always a good idea to get the extended magazines for the shotguns. Other than that, just put certs in things you think you need, like better attachments, guns or other stuff.
Put certs into things that are going to get you more certs....passively...while you learn how to kill. A couple days ago I parked a repair bus in the same spot for 2 hours and did...nothing. I could have gone off and tried killing or actively earning but I didn't feel like it. So I got over 150 certs doing...nothing. I'm not suggesting you do nothing but make this screwed up system work for you while you are off learning how not to die.
I'd buy everything you can that comes for less than 50 certs; Nanoweave (as a LA you're more likely to get shot at imo) A grip or laser for your gun (laser = hip fire, grip for aim-down-sight) A night vision or reflex scope Jump jets. Don't get drifter jets as they are fairly useless nowadays. C4 is the mainstay of light assault, however you can often need 2 bricks to blow a vehicle up, so you'd be best waiting until you can handle fire-fights, then save up and buy a brick, then two. With just one brick, aim for maxes.
The light assault class is probably the weakest in the game, for the most part it doesn't offer anything any other class can't do better. The jump jets are alright, but you'll soon find that they're really of limited utility. Once you get some practice you can walk up almost vertical slopes in planetside anyways, faster than the jumpjets can take you. There's still fun to be had as a light assault troop, but fair warning for what you're getting into. It's essentially hard mode. The real defining trait of the class, which almost every other class has anyways, is C4. That costs 700 certs, so you won't be buying it for a good long time. For now I would try everything and see if something clicks with you. In particular you can have a lot of fun in a lightning without spending too much. You'll waste certs if you spend any more than 10 on something that you're not sure you want, but the first levels of most utilities in a class are usually 1-10 so you can be safe buying those because it's a fair improvement in your effectiveness for very little cost. Nanoweave is the go-to purchase for most infantry, but if you're good at getting out of a fight with health intact then the shield recharge delay could be a good choice too. Don't buy anything with station cash yet. Almost everything is very overpriced in this game, but there are occasional sales. I would wait until something you want comes up and get it then. Otherwise you're looking at $7 for a single gun, where that $7 could get you an entire game on steam.
1.Optics:IRNV,x1 reflex,x2 reflex.That's all you should use with an LA. 2.Upgrade jump jets. 3.medkits cuz they are cheap and useful if you got beaten pretty bad(but not dead). 4.C4.Two bricks. 5.Although completely unrelated to LA,pick up the AMS for your Sundy(sunderer). 6.If you find yourself leading squads alot,pick up a spawn beacon. 7.Put a flashlight on whatever side arm you have.If you think there is a stalker infiltrator(can cloak FOREVER at the cost of losing the primary weapon) in a room,just check every nook and cranny with the flashlight.It reveals cloaked infiltrators in their faction colors. 8.Join an outfit.Although make sure it's not a "ghost town" where you're almost always the only one online. 9.Join squads/platoons.It always works better in this game.Plus you can listen in on or join some very interesting conversations...
Light assault is a very difficult class to start with. If you are set on that then there are already some good suggestions for it. Below though is my general advice to new players. My suggested certing priority is more oriented towards players looking for tactical squad play, not solo stompers (in general people that play mostly solo don't tend to play this game very long anyway). Step 1: For maximum early certage potential I usually suggest starting with: 1) medic or 2) engineer along with your vehicle of choice, either MBT or liberator (liberator is a bit more tricky). (this is a bit of a longer initial grind but will help you blaze through your 'middle BRs' more quickly) Stock weapons are strong, just equip with preferred attachments. Work on upping your tool slots and nanoweave armor (to start with, eventually you will need to cert flak armor for more advanced tactics for point lockdowns and AV work). Step 2: Once you have the basics for either of those options work on certing the Sunderer and the first 2 levels of spawn beacon. Step 3: If you have an AMS sundy with some other upgrades, the first couple levels of spawn beacon, and can demonstrate some competency at least a mid-level outfit should be willing to accept you (aka, not necessarily elite, but not a drag-net recruiting outfit with no standards either). Step 4: Your outfit will be your chance to really grow into a solid player. Go back and finish certing up either your medic or your engi/vehicle combo. Kit it out with all the nades and fancy gizmos you can get for them. Step 5: For maximum help to your team, finish decking out your sunder with whatever you may be lacking, then kit out a galaxy. Step 6: You got the important stuff for squad play and a good foundation to gain certs with. Step up your game and Cert into MAX to really get some serious grind-out farming potential! Get a dual AI, dual AV, and dual burster (AA) loadout. Step 7: You now have a MAX farm. Now kit out your heavy. Remember you are going to want an air lock-on capable weapon ASAP. Step 8: Pick another vehicle to cert out that you haven't already (Lighting, MBT, or Liberator, something you can still get serious certage with) Step 9: Do what you want now, Cert into an 'advanced class' meaning your infiltrator or light assault, or your ESF if that is your thing. Buy alternative weapons, you will almost certainly have auraxiumed your default primary weapons on your medic and engineer by now.
For new players you still need to buy it.It is auto-equipped and does not hog up any slots,but you still need to buy it.
For a light assault. Jump jets level 2. HSNV scope. Adv shield Capacitor 1,2,3. C4 block 1. C4 block 2. Adv shield Capacitor 4. Jump jets 3,4,5,6.