Why Planetside 2 is failing

Posted by on January 17, 2013 - 6 Comments »

I’m a big fan of Planetside 2, but two months after release it’s clear the game is not the blockbuster hit many thought it would be. FPSers are arguably the biggest selling games out there, so you would think a MMOFPS would do pretty well, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead of growing, Planetside 2 has been losing players almost immediately after launching.

At the very top of the list of why PS2 is failing remains frame-rate, although an upcoming update on January 30th will be addressing this issue making the game run better for those on mid to low-end PCs.

Number two remains the fact there are absolutely no tutorials explaining anything and considering the amount of info displayed on the interface, it can be very overwhelming for new players, causing many to quit without giving the game a real chance.

For those able to get past the first two issues, they are then confronted with the fact that there are more players piloting vehicles than there are running around. Over the last few weeks it’s not been unusual for me to go over an hour without seeing more than a handful of players as opposed to dozens and dozens of tanks and air ships. It seems 3 out of 4 base take-overs involve only tanks and airships with just enough infantry units to stand at the hold points. The fact the I play the sniper class most of the time further compounds this issue for me as I’m unable to do anything in a battle, unless I can get into a turret.

Everything from the damage output to cost to defense on just about every vehicle, especially air is completely out of whack. I was in a light tank (Lightning) and it took about 15-20 hits to take out a turret, where in comparison a Heavy infantry unit with a rocket launcher can destroy not only the turret, but the Lightning tank in 4-5 hits. Is Sony trying to tell me that a guy holding a rocket launcher is more than twice as powerful as a Tank’s cannon? When balance doesn’t make common sense it pushes me away from the entire game as I’m sure it does to others. I don’t care that the rocket can take out the Tank in 4-5 hits, but why would anyone build a tank that’s so weak it can’t destroy anything unless it hits it 15 times? Imagine if a firetruck was designed that used a garden hose. That’s the type of stupidity we’re dealing with in PS2. The Lighting should be able to take out any vehicle in 4-5 hits and the heavy tank in 2-3. To make up for the big increase in firepower you would simply double or triple the cost of tanks and adjust reload speeds. Common sense would be restored and balance added.

How about the Liberator air ship, which might as well be a god damn Star Destroyer, as I can hit it for a minute straight with a turret and still not destroy it, but that same ship can take out the turret in 3 or 4 hits. Give me a break, at least add a energy shield or something to explain it’s godly armor plating that seems to make it near invisible. Does Sony not realize air ships are a LOT more susceptible to damage then just about anything else? Why is the strongest vehicle in the game an airship, shouldn’t the heavy tank have better armor?

Up next is the Longshot sniper which is advertised that “only a Heavy with his shields turned on has a chance to survive a hit to the face” which is complete and utter bullsh*t. I’ve hit just about every unit type in the head and have not gotten kills (although 95% of the time I do get the kill). In fact yesterday I not only got a headshot on a Heavy with no shield, but a follow up leg shot still didn’t get the kill, not until I hit him with a second body shot did he go down. Either it’s a bug or helmets are insanely strong. Either way the Longshot should be renamed to Mediumshot because it can’t kill for sh*t at range. Once at long range, I can only get kills on Light and Infantry units consistently in one hit, every other class is 2-3 shots. To happen once in a while, I’d say maybe I was hitting the shoulders, but it’s not once in a while, its almost every shot. The fact is the Longshot does not kill in 1 hit at long range, period.

Planetside 2 needs an enormous and complete balance update of its vehicles with emphasis on them making common sense.  If Sony plans on keeping vehicles prices as cheap as they are, then they have to introduce new anti-vehicle weapons for all classes because right now infantry players are fodder to vehicle players. As a sniper I spend the majority of my time trying to find battles where there are players I can actually shoot and not 15 planes flying overhead killing me, but my patience is wearing thin.