Why is it so hard to hit anything?

Planetside has an unique, high density, 360 degree threat environment. Meaning at any moment, from any direction, somebody can come in and gib you. At first, concentrate on learning to survive and adapting to the threat environment. A lot of FPS skills you may have acquired in other FPS games do not necessarily carry over well into Planetside due to Planetside's threat environment and you may need to retool a bit. I consider myself a pretty good FPS player and I was having a lot of trouble in Planetside when I began. It's very easy to overextend or to get blindsided, even when you think you're safe, and it's very easy blunder into disadvantageous engagements. This is further complicated by Planetside's longer TTKs. In CoD or BF3, if you turn a corner and see three, four guys, chances are decent you can still take down one guy because TTKs are so low, and you'll think you did alright. Planetside will gleefully murder the **** out of you.

As others have mentioned, you could have a framerate issue. And practice a bit in VR training ( access the center terminals in the warpgate, the place you spawn in when you begin a session, and select 'VR training in the bottom left ). Also, try different factions. VS and TR are both easy to start with. NC is significantly more difficult due to starting weapons having substantially higher recoil than their VS and TR counterparts. Not to say NC is worse, just harder to get the hang of.

And btw, watch some streams ( which you are doing ) and perhaps learn the names of some of the more feared players on your server. Getting killed endlessly by a pro is very discouraging. Some people say trial by fire. I say get the hell out of dodge and find another battle. At least until you're out of that initial phase where you feel like the world is out to get you.

And to the guy who said you can't use ironsights... I use them all the time. Up to 50 m and pull off headshots. The starting equipment, is for the most part, adequate ( Gauss SAW is a terrible piece of junk for a new player ).

Eh, the probability to get killed twice by the same guy in a row is pretty slim. PS2 is more about the moment than overall execution.

The 2 biggest things that helped me achieve kills after starting out were:
1. Turning my fov all the way up. it really tightens your cof and makes things more like a traditional fps
2. Unlock a sight or two, and use the right guns for the right situations

A carv and a car with forward grip and has nv are night and day.
Hip fire with smgs and carbines and upgrade the laser sights

Good luck buddy! Once you get it you'll get it.

It sounds like my first 20 levels of PS2

Im level 70 and my KDR has never recovered from learning the ropes. But thats fine; I dont care about KDR as much as doing something ridiculous and pulling it off after 30 tries. Ive been playing FPS games since 1995 and still had the hardest time getting accustomed to PS2's gameplay. I still win most of my fights by getting the drop on opponents or just having a batter position. I'll pwn noobs all day long in most other FPS games; its just not like that in PS2. (I hadnt played TF2 in months and I jumped right back in and easily topped the scoreboards last week.)

There isnt much I can put in here that hasnt already been said. If you are playing NC, our weapons are hard to use but hit hard when they do hit. TR weapons fire faster, have more bullets, and despite what a few TR say, are easier to use than NC weapons. VS weapons are the best for new players as they are easiest to use, but pack less punch per round. Your performance is a major factor; I find I even reload slower when Im chugging along at 19fps. Its hard to land shots at those low framerates. Its hard to develop battlefield awareness at first, but once you learn the lay of the land as said above, you'll know where to expect enemies from most of the time.

Be an engineer till you get 250certs > buy a shotgun > aim? wut dat.

If your goal is shooting only, you'll want a class with a strong base weapon. Generally speaking; that's either the medic or heavy. ARs(medic) and LMGs(heavy) are some of the best (statistically) weapons you can get your hands on.

If you're ok with slightly worse weapons; engineer / light assault is your home. Light assault is all about getting a superior angle on your targets, come from above as often as you can. Engineers can gear toward being in the back; (get a slower firing carbine for ease of aim) toss down an ammo pack and help your side pick off targets or offer suppressive fire. Or get your hands on a faster firing carbine and run-and-gun it, cert toward your mines if you're taking this approach.

Optionally; Infiltrator can be used toward two ends as well. TR have the benefit of a sidearm that may as well be an SMG. Your rifle can carry you at range; and once the distance is closed the repeater is a makeshift bullet hose. Once again; tossing mines into enemies at close range (your cloak allows you to get close) can yield very fast cert gain.

My advice: know your play style; and use the VR to find "your gun." You'll know when you pick it up.

STRAFE IN FIREFIGHT,

CONFUSE SERVER LATENCY

Reply made by mistake, this post can be deleted.

Team of pros or organized outfit.

This happens a lot -^. Many people use all types of cheese to win in this game. Strafing, strafing then crouching for no good reason up close and lots of other things. You will get used to these things and be able to track them. The crappy net code takes more getting used to than anything in my opinion. I would try to get behind cover too late. Like I would wait until I was really low but in reality I was already dead so when I did get behind a wall or w/e I would just drop.

Check your frames per second and take cover at least a second before you would normally. Bullet velocities are pretty low so you need to lead your targets a bit more then most other games and remember to get your bearings EVERYTIME you spawn because the majority of the people you will follow will end up getting you both killed. Just take it nice and slow, spawn look around and at the minimap and locate hostiles then go in to engage once you feel somewhat comfortable with understanding how the flow of that battle will be.

Well there's definitely something weird in the netcode making people who strafe sometimes impossible to hit (like you shoot them at close range with a PA and do no damage occasionally) so that's something to keep in mind.

I've been playing FPS games for about 15 years, on the PC for about 10. I have to agree with the OP that the controls in this game suck, when it comes to aiming. The movement also feels like you're underwater or moving through Jell-O.

It's one of the reasons why I've stopped playing so much since GU11. If it sucks as an FPS(go play CSS, TF2 or any other REAL FPS game, and you'll see that it does) and they make vehicles nearly impossible to get, what's the point?

I play this game with a guy who is a former competitive CS player(as in he made his living off it), and several other really good players, who have basically given up after GU11. I used to always have a platoon up, and since GU11, I can barely get a squad going. The game is going down the toilet.

This seems to be the truth, actually. I find it hilarious how people spray at me and miss, then suddenly get 2-3 headshots when their CoF gets huge.

Lol yea^ that too.

But You need to learn the weapons, the recoil and how to control it. I didn't get good at them till BR40 or so, how to burst ect. Also if you arent getting 60 fps you will be disadvantaged. If you are at or below 40 you are not going to do well.

I had the exact same problem as OP. I even made a thread too, I went like 10/112 myself that day.

Try 15-25.

Although, it's kind of like hardcore training for when you upgrade your PC.

@OP: This game is more like Battlefield meets Halo. Not because sci-fi, but the actual FPS mechanics.

why, are, there, so, many, commas?

Dramatic effect probably?

But, I'm BR47 on my main, and I've done 50 levels on other characters total, and I still think the aiming sucks.

That's odd, this is actually my first FPS (I'm not counting CS 1.6 because I only played 30 minutes of it) and my aim got good at BR 20. As of now I'm BR 50 and I'd say my aim is really great now. Of course it doesn't matter all that much if your aim is bad, the only thing that matters is having fun (and teamwork if you want to)