Humanity struggled out of its birth cradle, painfully growing away from Earth, before finally establishing colonies elsewhere in its solar system. Some ultimately doomed attempts at limited long-range exploration via generation ships occurred, but contact was lost long-ago with these ships and no sign of their continued existence has ever been discovered, even from the most powerful telescopes. The stars seemed to be denied to mankind.

But then the first transitory "wormsigns" were discovered. These quantum fluctuations seemed to always precede a momentary flaw or hole in the regular material of space-time. These intermittent fluctuations turned out to be fairly common (as space phenomena go) but existed only a few milliseconds before collapsing again of their own accord, as if the universe was quick to erase them as soon as they popped up.

Eventually, enterprising scientists (under the constant scrutiny of Republican Guardians) unlocked the secret of predicting when wormsigns would occur. They set about trying to stabilize one of the "holes" and discovered the means of pouring huge amounts of energy into the rift to stabilize the hole and see what was beyond. What they found was that the "holes" were actually the long-theorized wormholes and that an object inserted into the rift would emerge safely on the other side, as if stepping through a door. It was only a matter of time thereafter before wormhole travel was possible.

The Aukland Fluxfields were developed to stabilize the tunnel and keep it from scrambling the minds of those that passed through. Humanity could finally reach to the stars!

However, the situation wasn't ideal. Wormholes can't be created...only found. So countless wormholes are stabilized for every one that leads to somewhere interesting or useful. Still...it was infinitely better than the failed generation ships, and there were no other choices, so the wormhole network was created, one stabilized rift at a time.

The Republic dreaded unregulated expansion. A rush to the siren call of Frontier would destabilize the millennium-long reign of the Republic, and worse, give rise to the birth of governments that might one day struggle against the Republic.

So, they trickled colonies out and established them slowly, one per decade or so, working to achieve a "perfect" expansion plan that resulted in little or no potential for unrest.

Over time, the colonies grew and so did the Republic. Until the fateful day they opened the wormhole to Auraxis.

At first, everything seemed exceptional. There was actually a star system at the other end of the wormhole, and better yet, there appeared to be at least one habitable planet in the system. This was a spectacular find. At the best, wormholes generally tend to just get you "in the neighborhood" of where you'd want to go. Since space is so incredibly vast, getting a wormhole exit so near a star system was definitely in the realm of "needle in a haystack" and the scientists were overjoyed.

When the first probes were sent, they found a completely habitable planet with a vast ecosphere, but no life forms other than plant. No mammals, reptiles, or insects...nothing. No strange new sentient life-forms. Not even substantially-different microbes. Just plants.

But that particular mystery was nothing compared to the gargantuan alien structures on each of the planet's continents.

The structures stood almost a half-kilometer in diameter and hundreds of meters in height. Three titanic legs stretched up toward the sky, equidistant around a giant platform in the center. A vast energy bubble stretched over it all as if to protect the platform. And there were dozens of them spread throughout the world.

But aside from its scale and scope of the objects was the fact that they were ALIEN.

Humankind had never met anything but themselves in all of their travels. A few hints of some possible civilization were found here and there on other planets, but nothing substantial or accepted as proof. But here were structures that definitely were not built by us.

The Republic had all probes retracted immediately. Humanity was not prepared for an encounter with an alien civilization and neither was their society braced for the shock of Contact. But the Republic's leaders realized that ignorance of a threat doesn't make it vanish. So they began sending in long-range probes.

And found nothing.

The alien structures were still there and clearly powered...but they didn't seem to do anything. The plants were there, and seemed to thrive and grow...but that's all they did...and without any apparent ecosystem to keep them alive.

So, after a cautious period of time passed with nothing happening, the Republic began sending probes closer toward the planet's magnetosphere. Then into orbit. And finally, to the surface to take samples.

And still...nothing happened.

So, after determining there was nothing else on the planet even vaguely threatening, they finally sent an automated probe through the force field of one of those vast alien artifacts. It passed through intact, although it reported that the energy screen was of an unknown type. It investigated the giant stanchions around the platform and found them to be massive conduits for some kind of energy. Since no visible energy sources were available, they assumed the energy was generated on the site, or came from an underground facility. Regardless, they eventually steered the probe up onto the central platform.

It approached a central beam of energy. It entered the beam.

And disappeared.

But a mere split-second later, it began broadcasting again...from a different platform halfway around the world.
It had moved across the world with no perceptible effects.

No inertia, no heat, nothing.

They began calling the devices Warpgates at that moment. They crowed to themselves about how this technology would provide ways to fold space. How the Warpgates must be able to create singularity wormholes where the entire travel distance is one point, resulting in seeming teleportation.

Their military minds fretted, meanwhile, about how badly outclassed they would be if the missing aliens showed up in a fighting mood. If space cruisers could be equipped with similar technology, they could be anywhere at any time. There would be no defense against them. Humanity needed that technology or any encounter with Others would result in Humanity's destruction or subjugation.

Of course, they were wrong about everything concerning Auraxis (the name they gave the planet), but they wouldn't know that for quite some time.

Nothing from Auraxis was ever allowed to come through the wormhole. That included personnel sent to Auraxis for observation. Every single one of them knew it was a one-way trip and that they'd live there forever. This wasn't just paranoia they would bring something dangerous back, it also prevented the knowledge gained there from entering society before the Republic had prepared society to receive that knowledge.

This was The Law.

To enable that Quarantine to be airtight, a livable situation had to be created around Auraxis. The Orbital Stations were set up at that time and quarters were created for the scientists and military personnel there.

Eventually, even an Expeditionary Force was assembled and sent down the wormhole to occupy the Stations.

While the Expeditionary Force continued to examine Auraxis, the wormhole was intentionally collapsed to a micro-hole, set up so it could be collapsed instantly if the panic button was pushed at any orbital station around Auraxis.

If scientists there started something horrible (like triggering some long-automated defensive device or making contact with hostile aliens), then they would be sealed away from Republic space. Microburst communication was maintained through the reduced wormhole so the Republic could keep tabs on its Expeditionary Force.

Occasionally, the wormhole would be powered up to allow new supplies or personnel to pass through to Auraxis after an "all clear" signal was given from the Stations. It was exorbitantly expensive to operate this way, but considering the consequences, the paranoia was considered justified.

So a single continent was chosen as the first colonization target.

The continent was christened Forseral, in part because of the abundance of forests that grew there. Amazingly Earth-like, the continent was lush and attractive to the colonists. The military began building several stronghold buildings in case of any Contact, but the colonists stayed localized to a small area at that time, since the majority of them were still up on the orbital stations.

The examination of the Warpgates was extremely slow. No further objects were sent onto the platform for months as they tried to decipher the power sources, to interpret the exposed technology, and to try to determine more about the "warping" effect itself.

Eventually, they finally started sending inert objects through the gates. That's how they found out about the global lattice that connects the Warpgate endpoints into a predicable pattern. Certain platforms were linked to other platforms on different continents and islands and the Warpgate lattice seemed to be a transportation device for moving around the world.

Scientists debated endlessly about whether or not to send living creatures through the Gates, but the subject became moot when a Drop Pilot took it upon himself to see what would happen, grabbed a fast air fighter, and flew into a Warpgate.

Almost immediately, he came out at the regular end destination point. His craft was completely intact, and he appeared to be also.

His incredibly irrational and irresponsible act was punished severely, of course. Despite the scientists' pleading to keep him alive so they could examine him, the military courts were swift. For endangering all of Humanity by potentially activating an alien device before Humanity was prepared for the consequences, his sentence was death.

They executed him that same day.

It wasn't until a day later that an automated orbital satellite found a lifesign in the center of a desert continent where no patrols or expeditions were planned. An aircraft was sent to investigate and found the executed man sitting beneath a palm tree waiting patiently to be rescued.

"First Contact" and "Immortality". See how simple they are to say? Eight simple syllables...and yet they changed everything.

The Republic had been around for more than a thousand years. It was the single most durable government Humanity had ever known and looked to last at least another thousand years. A representative government providing a stable standard of living for all its people, stabilized by a ruthless control of science and communication. Education was granted to all, but subjects furthering science were only taught by the Republic behind closed doors to students that passed specific aptitude tests. They were an elite caste that could not, upon penalty of death, fraternize with non-scientists.

Eventually, the Republic stabilized into continued, controlled growth without the masses having the knowledge or desire to forment revolution...ever.

The Military existed to control the Scientists, and theoretically to quell the masses of Humanity should they ever revolt...although that was unlikely.

But then came Auraxis.

The moment the Warpgate was found, all information about the Contact was sealed away and became "eyes only" information. The masses never found out that Auraxis had even been discovered.

But on Auraxis, there were no masses. Just Military and Scientists. And they talked...a lot.

First Contact could mean so many things. It could be a wonderful time of opportunity as we meet technologically superior beings that raise us up to their level so they can have comrades in the universe. It could also result in us being squashed like cockroaches for having the temerity of touching the toys they left behind on Auraxis. Either result was just as likely as the other.

The trouble was...no one really agreed on what the correct approach was in dealing with this threat.

But also, no one was naove enough to ignore the fact that these aliens might very well be "bug eyed monsters that eat children" who would come back one day and destroy us. Therefore, Humanity must be prepared...even if it was just so they could be embarrassed at assuming danger when there was none later on. But no one agreed on the Solutions and the arguments were moving scientists and soldiers into different camps of thought.

And now, after all that...we had discovered Immortality?

The Republic killed that pilot six more times before they gave up and realized he wasn't going to stay dead. Everytime they destroyed him (and the last time, they blew him to pieces to ensure there wasn't enough left to scoop together into a pile), he would just reappear on a Warpgate platform a few seconds later, stressed that he had been killed again, but none the worse for wear.

They examined him with every instrument they had. They psychoanalyzed him, made him take IQ tests, checked his DNA structure, watched his bio systems carefully, even put him through emotional and physical stress tests to see how he did. He did no better, and no worse, than he had done before being repeatedly killed.

For all intents and purposes, it was exactly as if he had never died.

He seemed to even be aging normally. He didn't revive at some pre-saved state of being. He revived each time exactly as he had been just before he was killed, but completely healthy, rested, and without aches, pains or hungers. He remembered every thing that happened to him, except for a small period of time just before his death, when it seemed that the trauma of dying blocked memory.

Why did he come back? Careful measurements at the base of the platform when he revived revealed that a small amount of energy was used at that time, but it was similar to the amount of energy used when an object was Gated through from one continent to the other.

So what was going on?

Experiments with all sorts of domesticated and undomesticated animals never resulted in a "revival". Non-sentient life forms seemed to just stay dead. So eventually, a thought-crimer was selected and killed. And he stayed dead.

The obvious assumption was that the pilot's passage through the warpgate had somehow attuned him to some planetary immortality scheme. So once again, they shoved all sorts of animals through the gates, killing them on the other side. They all died and stayed dead.

Finally, they picked another thought-crimer (there seemed to be more of them every day as the alien Contact discussions caused tempers to flare), and made him step through the gate. Then they executed him on the other platform. Moments later, he broadcast to them that he found himself in the center of a swampish area. He had been revived and "warped" to another location.

Eventually, the Warpgates were just too attractive of an option. Even the Republic sanctioned their use, since none of those people were ever coming back through the wormhole anyway.

They considered it a "test on a massive scale".

The test was successful. The gates became highways for travel around the world, and all those that went through them became free of the worry of death. The military minds dreamed of unbeatable armies and scientists began to realize that a "life's work" might be only one of many projects and their minds soared. Pre-fab facilities sprang up around the globe as Humanity devised ways of "shunting" the warpgate energy to directed nodes at those facilities, allowing "revivals" to occur at the facilities.

The Getting Started section covers PlanetSide installation, account creation and Launchpad options.

• Place CD in CD-Rom. The PlanetSide installation menu should automatically launch. Select INSTALL and follow the onscreen instructions.
• If the installation menu does not appear, double click on the My Computer icon to browse to your CD-Rom drive and double-click on Setup.exe.
• Windows 2000/XP users must be logged in as the system administrator to install the software.
• PlanetSide requires DirectX 8.0. If the installer detects that you don't have DirectX 8.0 installed on your computer, it can automatically install the update for you.
• Before running the game, you may need to update your video card and sound card drivers to the most recently released versions. Visit the manufacturers' Web sites to find the proper downloads.
• There is a readme file in the PlanetSide directory (default C:\Program Files\Sony\PlanetSide) that contains updated information about the game. You are highly encouraged to read this file as it contains any changes to PlanetSide after the manual was written.

System requirements may change over time, and you may need to upgrade your current system (or obtain a new system) to play the Game.

Double-click on the PlanetSide icon or select PlanetSide Launcher from Start ->Programs ->PlanetSide.

You will be presented with the license agreement for PlanetSide. Please read it to understand the terms of use and click "I agree." Following this you will be presented with the Login Screen. See the section below for more information about the Login Screen.

Your Station Username is used to manage any subscriptions to the various products that Sony Online Entertainment offers, such as PlanetSide or EverQuest. If you already have a Station Username, click Continue. If you don't, you must click Register at this time to create one. Your account may be accessed at any time by visiting the web at http://www.station.sony.com and clicking the My Account link in the upper right.

• Register 
• For new Station members who need to create a Station Username
• Continue
• For those that already have a Station Username

Enter your information in the appropriate fields. Note that your Station Username has nothing to do with the name that you wish to give to your character in PlanetSide. The Station Username is only used to manage your Station Account.

When creating a new account, choose a password that NO ONE will know. Account security is the responsibility of the account holder.

Please note that PlanetSide accounts are not to be shared. Each family member is to have their own account. The exception to this is that a parent may purchase an account for a child's use (age 13 or older), in which case the parent may not use that account.

Please refer to the End User License Agreement (EULA)  for a detailed description of policies regarding account sharing. Please be sure to let us know if your email address changes in the future by changing your account information at http://www.station.sony.com.

When you log into PlanetSide for the very first time, you will be prompted to enter the Account Key that is printed on the CD sleeve.

After successfully entering the Account Key, you will then be presented with the various subscription methods that you may use to play PlanetSide.

PlanetSide requires a monthly fee to play, so you will need to enter a valid credit card number or use a prepaid Game Card to play PlanetSide. After any initial subscription period included with the game, your credit card will be charged or your Game Card debited following the end of this period.

*Screenshots depicted in this manual may vary from the actual in-game screens. Please review the readme file in the PlanetSide directory for updated information.

Station Username: Enter your Station Username. Station Usernames are used to manage your subscriptions to the other various products Sony Online Entertainment offers, such as PlanetSide or EverQuest. If you do not yet have a UserName, see the New Account button below.

Station Password: Enter your Station Password here.

News: You can find the latest news about PlanetSide by clicking this button.

My Account: This is where you can manage your Station Username account.

New Account: Used to create a new Station Username and register your PlanetSide if you have not already done so.

Sign-in: Click this or hit Enter after entering your Station UserName and Password to continue the login process.

This screen will contain many of the same options as the Login Screen, with extra options available only after you have signed in.

News: You can find the latest news about PlanetSide by clicking this button.

Chat: Chat with other players in the Official PlanetSide IRC channel.

My Account: This is where you can manage your Station Username account.

Edit Subscription: Used to manage your Subscription and payment methods for PlanetSide.

Quick Planet(Server)Select pulldown: Use this to quickly access any server (World) that you may already have characters on. Then use the Quick Character select pull-down menu (described below) to quickly access a particular character from the selected server*.

Quick Character Select pulldown*: Use this to quick-launch the game with the selected character.

Play button: Click this after auto patch procedure finishes to launch the game.

Training button: Clicking this will start the offline training portions of PlanetSide. These modules will teach you much of the knowledge you'll need in order to be successful in the game.

Note that that the first time you connect to the game, you will not be able to use either of the Quick Launch Pull Down menus because you haven't created a character yet. 

When you first create a character in PlanetSide, you will need to select a server to play on. Each server holds its own copy of the PlanetSide gameworld. When you create a character, it will only be playable on the server it was created.

The Server List will contain information to help you select the best server for you to play on.

Server List: Displays the names of the PlanetSide servers.

Location: Lists the general geographic location of each server. Currently, there are servers in the East and West of the United States and in Europe.

Status: Occasionally, Servers may be unavailable, due to patching or other maintenance. Status will tell you if it is available.

Ping: Displays the time it takes for a packet of information to travel from the server to you and back again.  A lower number is better.  This is influenced by many factors including your connection to the Internet, your ISP, etc.

Empire Needed: If a certain Empire could use your help on this server, their logo will be here.

Below the Server List, is a news pane that is updated periodically with information on new features and happenings in PlanetSide.

After you've selected a server to play on, click the Play Button on the bottom right of the screen to continue. If you do not already have a character on the selected server, you will be taken to the Character Creation process. Otherwise, you will be taken to your Character Select screen.

You may create up to eight characters on each PlanetSide server.

You will first need to choose the Empire that your character serves. You may have characters from two of the three available Empires on each server. Choose your Empire by clicking on its logo.

The New Conglomerate's equipment generally delivers the most punch, in a single but slower firing shot.  For example, the Vanguard assault tank packs the largest cannon available but has the slowest rate of fire.  Further illustrating the NC's focus on pure punch is their Jackhammer, a Tri-Barreled Auto shotgun that can tear up enemy soldiers and vehicles at short range but quickly loses effectiveness over greater distances.

• Colors: Blue and Gold
• Medium Assault: Gauss
• Heavy Assault: Jackhammer
• Anti-Vehicular Assault: Phoenix
• Anti-Infantry MAX: Scattercannon
• Anti-Vehicular MAX: Falcon
• Anti-Aircraft MAX: Sparrow
• Heavy Assault Buggy: Enforcer
• Heavy Assault Tank: Vanguard

Click here to learn more about the New Conglomerate

Though usually not as powerful as NC equipment in a shot-for-shot basis, the Terran Republic's equipment exemplifies the "more is better" attitude, specifically more lead. Their weapons generally have the fastes Rate of Fire, is demonstrated in their Medium Assault weapon, the Cycler, and their Heavy Assault Weapon, the Chaingun. Furthermore, their vehicles, the Marauder (Heavy Assault Buggy) and the Prowler (Heavy Assault Tank) can carry two independent gunners, as opposed to the equivalent Vanu Sovereignty or New Conglomerate vehicles that only have one gunner.

• Colors: Black and Red
• Medium Assault: Cycler
• Heavy Assault: Mini-Chaingun
• Anti-Vehicular Assault: Striker
• Anti-Infantry MAX: Pounder
• Anti-Vehicular MAX: Dual Cycler
• Anti-Aircraft MAX: Burster
• Heavy Assault Buggy: Marauder
• Heavy Assault Tank: Prowler

Click here to learn more about the Terran Republic.

Flexibility and mobility define the Vanu Sovereignty. While their equipment lacks the sheer power or rate of fire that their enemies enjoy, their weapons' built-in Armor Piercing mode gives them combat versatility that can't be matched. Likewise, though their vehicles may not have quite the top speed of other vehicles, the ability to hover across water allows them to strike from unexpected angles and thus shift the tide of battle easier than a conventional attack upon an entrenched opponent.

• Colors: Purple and Teal
• Medium Assault: Pulsar
• Heavy Assault: Lasher
• Anti-Vehicular Assault: Lancer
• Anti-Infantry MAX: Quasar
• Anti-Vehicular MAX: Comet
• Anti-Aircraft MAX: Starfire
• Heavy Assault Buggy: Thresher
• Heavy Assault Tank: Magrider

Click here to learn more about the Vanu Sovereignty.

After you have selected your Empire, you may begin creating your character. Each character has several options for customization.

You will first want to choose a name for your character. Names may be any combination of letters or numbers up to 31 characters long. Each character's name must be unique on that server. No spaces or extended ASCII characters are permitted, however.

Next, select your character's gender and face. The faces shown are only a small sample of the many faces and variants available in PlanetSide.

Finally, select your characters voice. This is what your character will sound like when sending Voice Macros. Clicking on each button will play a sample of that voice scheme.

After you have created your character, the character selection screen will show. Select your character and click "Play." You will be given your choice of where you first want to appear in the world. Sanctuary is your Empire's home continent, where you will be safe from the enemy while you select your certifications and gather your equipment. Choosing Instant Action will take you to a randomly selected region where your Empire is involved in heavy combat. New players are best off selecting Sanctuary, so they can select their Certifications and try out various weapons in the Virtual Reality Training Room.

Name: Names may be any combination of Letters & Numbers up to 31 characters long.  No spaces or extended ASCII characters are permitted, however.

Male/Female: Sets the gender of your character. This option only affects face and voice selection. There are no gameplay differences between male and female characters.

Character Face Selection: Choose from the pool of available faces for your character.

Character Voice Selection: Choose the voice your character will use when using Voice Macros.  See the Voice Macro Appendix for more information about this.

Options Button: Click this button to access Game Options.

Back Button: Goes to Empire Select screen (if no characters have been created) or Character Select screen (if one or more characters already exist)

Next Button: After you're satisfied with the choices for your character, hit this button to register your character with the server.

After your character is registered with the server, you will have the choice to either enter the game at your Sanctuary, a safe haven for your empire, or you can choose to enter the game via the Instant Action mode.  For all but the most experienced First Person Shooter fans, it is recommended that they choose to start at the Sanctuary.  Though PlanetSide may share many similarities with other action games, there are just as many dissimilar traits that should be learned before attempting to conquer the planet of Auraxis.

Choosing to start at the Sanctuary will give you the chance to familiarize yourself with some basic yet critical information such as movement controls and recognition of friendly forces.  In addition you will be able to enter the Virtual Training Zones to learn about the many types of equipment such as the different weapons, support equipment, armor, and vehicles that can be acquired in the game.  Additionally you'll be able to choose some of your starting Certifications to help begin your career as a soldier for your Empire.

By choosing Instant Action, however, you'll start at a location near a Hotspot.  Hotspots are locations where your empire has detected combat to have occurred very recently.  Depending on the location of the Hotspot, you may spawn at a friendly Tower or Facility.  Note that you will not be able to choose which Hotspot you wish to be near as your empire will have prioritized this already.  Additionally if you spawn at a tower you will likely not have the chance to equip yourself to your satisfaction and nor will you have the chance to spend any certification points unless you are near a friendly controlled Bio Lab.  That said, choosing Instant Action is a quick and easy way to get into the thick of battle.

If you do find the action too intense, you can always choose to go back to your Sanctuary by either choosing to respawn at it when you die, or by hitting ESC and choosing the Recall to Sanctuary option.  See the next section for more information regarding this menu.

ESC Menu Options
Hitting the ESC key brings up this menu.  Below are the options available from it.

• Recall to Sanctuary: Choosing this option will take your character back to the Sanctuary.  This is useful if you find yourself far from friendly forces or just wish for a quick trip back home.
• Video Options: Allows you to adjust your Video settings.  These changes will be reflected the next time you start PlanetSide
• Audio Options: Allows you to adjust your Audio settings.
• KeyMappings: Allows you to change your control scheme.
• Instant Action: When selecting this item, your character will be deployed to a location near a Hotspot. 

Mouse Mode via Tab Key (default)
Many times in PlanetSide your Mouse Pointer will become activated automatically when necessary (e.g. accessing a terminal) so that you can easily select and move items.  You can, however, manually toggle Mouse Mode by hitting the Tab key on your Keyboard.  Note that while in Mouse Mode, moving your Mouse will move your Mouse Pointer, not your character's view.

Mouse Rollover Tips
By briefly hovering your Mouse Pointer over interface buttons you'll receive Mouse Rollover Tips that describe the button's function.

'?', 'X'
Oftentimes the title bar of pop-up windows will have a '?' and an 'X' in the upper left and right corners.  Clicking on the '?' with the Left Mouse button will bring up text help about the window (as well as granting you access to the Overview Help feature) and left clicking on the 'X' will close the window.

PlanetSide Logo
There are many objects of interest that your character may interact with.  To help acquaint you with objects that are new to your character, you will see the PlanetSide logo floating above it.  By approaching the object you will receive a pop-up text box informing you of the object and its function in PlanetSide.

Action Key
You may access objects in PlanetSide by hitting the Action Key which is the 'G' key by default.  This will allow your character to access terminals, board vehicles, and perform other important tasks.

Chat
By default, the Enter key will open up the Chat bar and enable you to compose a message.  Hitting Enter once more will send the message out on the particular Chat Channel you've selected.

Soldier Management Bar

• Inventory Button ('I' by default)
• Used to access your current inventory
• Character Button ('O' by default)
• Used to View your current statistics or Implants
• Squad Button ('P' by default)
• Provides Squad Information and other group functions such as Friends List or Player Finding
• Map ('M' by default)
• Accessed via the Map Button or 'M' key (default) to open or close the Map Screen.  An incredibly useful reference tool.  See the Map Appendix for more information about the Map Screen and its functions.
• Vehicle Pane ('Y' by default)  
• Used to Control Access Settings or manage who is allowed in your vehicle
• Outfit Pane ('U' by default)  
• Used to form an outfit or perform management functions

Grief System Feedback 
From time to time you may see your Empire's logo with a number next to it pop up.  This is to inform you that you've just caused damage to a friendly soldier or object.  As you accumulate points you will receive progressively harsher punishments from simple warnings to equipment failure or worse.  Grief points will automatically dissipate over time though.  See the Grief System section for more information.

PlanetSide is a first person action game in which three empires are fighting for control over 10 Battle Continents. These continents range in climate from lush temperate to arid desert and from frigid arctic to blazing volcanic. In addition, each empire has its own Sanctuary and Main Base where their soldiers can plan, regroup and reequip if necessary. Your goal as a soldier is to help conquer and control the Battle Continents for your empire.

Each Battle Continent has several facilities that can be captured and controlled. Capturing a base requires hacking into the Control Console with a Remote Electronics Kit (REK). This initiates a countdown sequence that if successfully completed, aligns the base to the empire the hacker belongs to. 

After a Control Console has been hacked, but before it transfers control over to the new Empire, the Empire that used to control the facility loses all of the above abilities as the facility becomes inactive during that time.

Note that if someone from the facility's controlling Empire manages to hack into the Control Console before the countdown sequence has finished, that Empire will immediately resecure their control of the facility.

For a facility to be successfully captured, the Facility's Silo must NOT be devoid of NTU's at the end of the 15-minute Hack period, otherwise the capture process will fail.  See the sub-section on Resources for more information about this.

Once the base successfully transfers allegiance, the base is now controlled by that empire and all benefits it provides are now available to the controlling empire. See the sub-section on Facility Features for more information about these benefits.

Facilities must be captured in the order mandated by the Continental Lattice. The Lattice is a network of interconnections between bases, linking their benefits to each other and dictating the facilities that are available for capture by each Empire.

• In order to capture a facility, an Empire must control a base that is directly linked to it.
• If an Empire does not control any facilities on a continent, and thus has no links, it must control a facility linked to one of the warpgates that connects from another continent.
• The first base linked to an Empire's Sanctuary warpgate may always be hacked and captured by that Empire.
• For facilities to share benefits, they must be linked on the Lattice. If a facility's links to the rest of those on the Lattice is severed, they will not share benefits.
• If a facility is hacked, the controlling Empire may not hack enemy bases linked to it until they have secured their own facility.

Successfully capturing a facility will give you access to its equipment and the benefits that those offer. Certain doors will now remain locked to opponents unless they manage to unlock it with a REK. In addition, friendly soldiers may:

• Use the facility's Respawn Tubes to reappear there if they are killed.
• Access Equipment Terminals for Weapons, Armor, & other miscellaneous equipment.
• Utilize Vehicle Terminals to create ground or air vehicles if available.
• Heal themselves at Medical Terminals.

• Hop into a Wall Turret and blast away at opponents or let it defend your facility in automated mode.

Extending beyond the defensive walls of each facility is an invisible Sphere of Influence (SOI).  This SOI powers certain types of deployable objects that defenders may place to aid them against enemies.  The SOI also prevents the High Altitude Rapid Transport (HART) Shuttle from deploying drop pods within it. (SOI's are visible on the map interface for ease of reference.)

Each facility provides its own unique set of benefits to the side that can maintain control over it. These benefits are shared among facilities on the same continent when connected to each other through the Continental Lattice. Facilities do not need to be directly linked in order to shared benefits, so benefits will be shared as long as there is an unbroken chain of Lattice Links between the facilities. On the continental map, icons over each facility will represent the benefits that it can access.

• AMP Station (Shielded Vehicle icon): Charges the shield generators of vehicles while they are in a friendly Sphere of Influence.
• Bio-Lab (Respawn Tube icon): Reduces respawn times at friendly linked facilities.
• Dropship Center (Wrench Icon): Enables Vehicle Repair and Rearm Stations.
• Interlink Facility (RADAR Display icon): Enhanced RADAR abilities.
• Technology Plant (Tank icon): Provides Access to Advanced Assault vehicles - Reaver, Medium Assault Buggy, Medium Tank and Sunderer.

BENEFIT DESCRIPTIONS

Shield Generators: Each vehicle has a shield generator installed in it. When they enter an Amp Station's SOI or the SOI of a facility linked to an Amp Station, the shield will begin charging to its maximum strength, which is a percentage of the vehicle's base armor. After the shield takes damage, it can recharge again if it is within a friendly SOI though any armor damage done to the vehicle will remain until it is repaired by an Engineer or at a Repair Panel. If a driver takes a shielded vehicle outside of the friendly SOI, the shield will remain, though it will not recharge if it takes any damage until the driver returned to an Amp Station's SOI or any SOI linked to an Amp Station.

Vehicle Repair and Rearm Stations: Rearm and Repair pads provide a quick and easy way for vehicles to repair damage and to replenish their ammunition supplies. Each facility is equipped with a several aircraft landing pads and ground panels that will perform these functions. When a player is in control of a vehicle, they can approach either the pad or panel, depending on whether they are controlling an aircraft or a ground vehicle, and remain stationary to begin the repair process. Aircraft do not need to land on the pad, but they must remain near the pad to be repaired. Similarly, ground vehicles will be repaired automatically if they remain stationary near the Repair and Rearm Panel. Multiple vehicles can be use the pads or panels at once.

To replenish a vehicle's ammunition, the player in control of the vehicle must be stationary near the repair pad or panel and will get a message that they may hit the "G" key to access the vehicle inventory menu. Players may store inventory loadouts in a favorites menu for quick access, similar to the Favorites Menu of an Equipment Terminal.

Enhanced RADAR Abilities: Facilities linked to an Interlink Facility will gain certain enhancements to their RADAR systems. All enemy vehicles will appear on RADAR, except for cloaked vehicles moving at 50% throttle or less and deployed Advanced Mobile Stations. All running enemy infantry, including cloaked Infiltrators, will appear on the RADAR. Enemy infantry, including cloaked Infiltrators, will appear on RADAR if they are within a Spitfire Turret or Motion Sensor's detection radius, regardless of whether they are moving or not.

The Facility's Power Generator is the heart of any facility's operations. In order for any Facility Features to function, the Power Generator must be fully functional. Since it is a common tactic for enemies to try and destroy the Generator when they are invading a base, all friendly soldiers inside of the facility's SOI will receive a warning whenever the generator is under attack. When a generator is first destroyed, players would be wise to exit the generator room quickly, as it will explode. The generator will begin to automatically repair itself, but this is a slow process that consumes base resources.

Operational Facilities will consume resources known as Nanite Technology Units (NTU's). Facilities will consume NTU's whenever they are required to automatically repair damaged to damaged equipment, such as Vehicle Terminals, Phalanx Wall Turrets and the Facility Power Generator.

The NTU Silo, located within the courtyard of the facility shows how much NTU's are left.

If a facility ever runs out of NTU's, the facility will turn neutral. As mentioned previously above, if the Silo within a Facility is empty, any Capture Process WILL fail unless the Silo is resupplied before the 15-minute Capture Process is complete.

You can resupply Facilities by using an Advanced Nanite Transport (ANT) to gather some of the energy at Warp Gates.  The ANT can then haul the harnessed energy to Facilities where it will be can be reprocessed into NTU's for the Facility to use.

Once you purchase ANY vehicle Certification, you will then also be certified to purchase and drive the ANT. You can obtain ANTs at any Ground Vehicle Terminal, including those at your Sanctuary.

Filling up an ANT with Warp energy requires you to drive to a Warp Gate and deploy the ANT within the Warp Gate bubble. Once the ANT is filled, it will automatically undeploy.

Simply drive the ANT near a Silo and deploy it.  The Warp energy will then be transferred into the Silo for the Facility to process into NTU's. Note that you can resupply Friendly or Neutral Facilities but not Enemy controlled ones.

• The objective of your empire is to capture and control as many facilities as it can across the ten Battle Continents.
• Hacking into the Control Console is how a facility changes hands from one empire to another.
• Hacking into a Control Console begins the transference process of the facility.
• Hacking requires a Remote Electronics Kit (REK).
• Facilities impart a variety of benefits to the side that control them.
• Each empire has a Sanctuary that is a safe haven from enemies.
• As facilities operate, they consume resources in the form of Nanite Technology Units (NTUs).
• The NTU silo next to the building shows the current amount of NTUs the facility has at its disposal.
• If the NTU level at a facility drops to zero, the facility will turn neutral, negating any ownership aspect.
• Advanced Nanite Transport (ANT)vehicles can be used to resupply facilities.
• Certification for ANTs is automatically granted once any other vehicle certification is chosen.
• ANTs harness the energy of Warp Gates once they are deployed within the dome of a Warp Gate.
• To resupply a facility NTU Silo, deploy a charged ANT nearby in the courtyard.

Capturing bases, killing enemies, & destroying their equipment will give your character Battle Experience Points (BEP).  As you accumulate these BEPs your character will go up in Battle Rank.  As your character goes up in Battle Rank, you will earn Certification Points and Implant Slots.

• Certification points can be spent at Certification Terminals at the Sanctuary or at friendly Bio Labs to unlock access to various types of equipment, such as the Medical Applicator which allows you to heal injuries you or your friends may have suffered.  Certifications also unlock access to vehicles such as the Basilisk or AMS (Advanced Mobile Station).

• By spending your Certification points, this is how you will begin to specialize your character.  You could choose to go Heavy Assault and grab the tougher armors and bigger guns but then you might be dependent upon getting transported to the battle by others that have chosen to specialize in Piloting Vehicles.  Or you could choose to be an Advanced Combat Medic with the ability to revive fallen comrades on the field or an Advanced Hacker with the ability to quickly hack your way into an enemy base.  Or perhaps a smattering of all of the above?  In any case, the choices you make are not permanent as you may unlearn certifications and choose others in their place via the "Unlearn" feature in the certification terminal.
• Implant Slots are where cybernetic devices known as Implants are surgically implanted within your character.  These devices can endow you with super human abilities such as Surge, which allows for a brief but explosive burst of running speed or the Personal Shield implant, which when activated gives your character a temporary force field to protect them from damage.  Your character can earn up to a maximum amount of three Implant Slots but beware, Implants when activated, can quickly use up your stamina leaving you drained and unable to run.  Implants may be installed via Implant Terminals at the Sanctuary or friendly Bio Labs on any of the Battle Continents.

PlanetSide uses a Cone of Fire (COF) system where a cone is projected out of your view with the 'tip' of the cone facing you.  Thus from your perspective, the Cone resembles a Circle because you're seeing it from that tapered end-point of the cone.  This circle is where your shots will fall.  Thus the bigger the cone, the bigger the circle and the more weapon divergence there will be. 

Factors that affect the size of the Cone (and thus accuracy), include:

• Mobility (as moving faster makes you more inaccurate)
• Being hit or taking damage (also decreases accuracy)
• Weapon recoil and base weapon accuracy (COF is affected as some weapons are inherently more accurate or inaccurate than others)

To Pilot a Vehicle, you first must have the required Certification for it. Without the proper Certification you may only be a passenger if an open spot exists. Sprinkled around friendly vehicles will be Boarding circles that designate the position in the Vehicle.

	Pilot positions use a circle that resembles a steering wheel.
	Passenger positions use a circle that resembles a Seat.
	Gunner positions use a circle that resembles a Gun.

You can board a Vehicle by approaching the Boarding Circle and hitting your Action Key ("G" by default).

Note that certain positions have restrictions on the types of Armor that may board it. MAX armors most notably are restricted to particular spots on the Galaxy (DropShip) & Sunder (APC) and that players in Reinforced Armor can not pilot Vehicles that have enclosed Cockpits such as Tanks or the more heavily armored Aircraft.

As a defensive measure, enemy bases will have many of their doors locked to prevent intruders from casually strolling in and shooting up the place.  You can tell which doors have Friend or Foe identification on them if you see a Door Terminal on the door frame.

To bypass locked doors they must be hacked via a Remote Electronics Kit (REK), the same item that is used to hack a Control Console.  Equip a REK then aim at the Door Terminal and click the left mouse button until the hacking process begins. You do not need to keep the mouse button held down, but if you perform any other activity, you will break the hack and need to start over. The door will no longer distinguish between Friend or Foe and will now open for anyone for a period of time.

PlanetSide allows for friendly fire. However, to prevent players from abusing their teammates with friendly fire, there is a Grief System in place that tracks the amount of damage inflicted on a friendly player or object.

As Grief Points are accumulated a range of warnings and penalties will be issues. Players who accumulate too much grief will lose the ability to fire weapons or drive vehicles at top speeds. Grief points dissipate over time, to allow for the inevitability of some friendly fire on the battlefield.

• Squads in PlanetSide are groups of up to 10 players working as a unit toward a common goal such as capturing a facility, defending a facility, or perhaps just doing general harassment to the enemy. Some of the benefits of being in a Squad are that not only do you have more firepower on your side and better communication but most importantly you have teammates who are specialized in their abilities and are thus able to perform critical tasks far more efficiently than a jack-of-all-trades player would.
• Additionally when a member of a Squad earns experience, other members nearby also earn the same amount. A 20% bonus is also added to each share of the experience by being part of a Squad.
• Squads are formed by opening up the chat bar and hitting Enter (default) then typing, /invite NAME, then hitting Enter once again. This will send an invitation to the player to join your squad if they aren't part of one already.
• Another method of inviting people into your squad is by approaching and targeting the player and then hitting your Action Key (G by default). Then follow the on screen prompt to send an invitation to them.
  

• Players can accept an invitation to join a squad by using the mouse and clicking on the pop-up window or by typing /yes.

• A Platoon is the union of three different Squads that join together for more extensive team operations.
• Platoons are formed by opening up the chat bar and hitting Enter (default) then typing, /pinvite <Squad Leader's name>, then hitting Enter once again. This will send an invitation to the player to join your Platoon if they aren't part of one already.
• Another method of inviting people into your Squad is by approaching and targeting the Squad Leader and then hitting your Action Key (G by default). Then follow the on screen prompt to send an invitation to them.
• A Squad Leader can accept or decline an invitation to join a Squad by using the mouse and clicking on "Yes" or "No" the pop-up window or by typing /paccept to accept the invitation or /pdecline to decline it.
• Once a Platoon has been formed, the Squad Leader who invited the other into the Platoon becomes the Platoon Leader. The Platoon Leader may invite one more Squad Leader to join.
• Platoon members will join a new chat channel called Platoon chat. They can chat on this channel by starting their messages with the /p command.
• The Platoon Squad Leaders also get a chat channel and may chat among themselves by starting their messages with /pl command. 
• Squads within the Platoon will be designated as the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Squad. Each wing will be marked with a different color for names and map positions. Chat colors will also be color-coded to indicate which wing a speaker is in.
• Primary Squad: Gold
• Secondary Squad: Indigo
• Tertiary Squad: Orange
• Secondary and Tertiary Squads are designated as such for organizational purposes. Aside from the Promotion rules listed below, there is no difference in ability between them.
• A Squad Leader may leave a Platoon by typing /pleave. All Platoon members will receive a message to alert them that the Squad has left.
• A Platoon Leader may remove a Squad from the Platoon by typing /pkick <Squad Leader's name>, All members of the Platoon will be notified that the Squad has been removed.
• A Platoon Leader may disband their Platoon by typing /pdisband.
• Only the Platoon Leader may draw battle plans, assuming the Platoon Leader is of a high enough Command Rank to use this ability.
• All Squad Leaders within the Platoon may place Waypoints if they are Command Rank 1 or higher.
• Waypoints will be color-coded to indicated which Squad placed which.
• Experience will continue to be divided between members of each Squad, but not across the Platoon.
• If a Platoon Leader leaves, the next person in their Squad will assume Leadership. If there is only one person in the Primary Squad when the Platoon Leader leaves, that Squad will be disbanded and the Secondary Squad will assume the Primary slot (see below for more details).
• If the Leader of any other Squad leaves, standard Squad Promotion will be in effect.
• If the Platoon Leader's Squad leaves the Platoon, the Secondary Squad will be promoted to the Primary slot and that Squad's Leader will become the Platoon Leader. If there is only one Squad left after the Primary Squad leaves, the Platoon will be disbanded.
• If the Secondary Squad leaves the Platoon, the Tertiary Squad will not be promoted. Any Squad invited to the Platoon after the Secondary has left will become the Secondary Squad.
• All members of the Platoon will be notified that the Platoon has been disbanded under any circumstance. The individual Squads that make up the Platoon will remain intact as long as they have two or more members.

• An Outfit in PlanetSide is a collection of players that exists even after the players have logged out of the game.  Forming an Outfit requires the formation of a 10-player Squad where each player does not already belong to an Outfit.  The Squad Leader clicks on the Outfit Button   and everyone else is then presented with a dialog box asking them if they want to join the Outfit.  If they all say yes, then the Outfit is formed and the Squad Leader, who is now also the Outfit leader may choose an Outfit Logo that will now appear on the armor and vehicles of members in the Outfit.
• Joining an Outfit is advantageous because it will make finding and forming Squads easier and additionally add organization to multi-Squad strikes against facilities or even against entire continents!

Each continent has a Capitol base. Each Capitol has four Sub-Capitols. The Sub-Capitols are connected to the Capitol via special lattice links. (Those links show up on the overhead map in green.)

Solsar: Thoth (Hapi, Mont, Sobek, Amun)
Hossin: Voltan (Acan, Ixtab, Bitol, Naum)
Cyssor: Gunuku (Faro, Honsi, Kaang, Itan)
Ishundar: Enkidu (Akkan, Hanish, Irkalla, Neti)
Forseral: Neit (Ogma, Pwyll, Gwydion, Caer)
Ceryshen: Anguta (Sedna, Nerrivik, Akna, Tootega)
Esamir: Eisa (Jarl, Ymir, Freyr, Mani)
Oshur: Hvar (Rashnu, Atar, Yazata, Izha)
Searhus: Oro (Ngaru, Pele, Akua, Matagi)
Amerish: Verica (Cetan, Mekala, Sungrey, Qumu)

Each Capitol has a Force Dome over it that protects it from all enemy intrusion. The Force Dome can only be taken down by ensuring that current Capitol owners own less than two of the Sub-Capitols. Once that occurs, the Dome goes down and your attack can begin. (When the Dome goes down, all the Sub-Capitol to Capitol lattice links (on the overhead map) will begin strobing to alert you to that fact.)

Warning! If the Dome goes back up (in other words, if the Defenders recapture at least two Sub-Capitols), then the Force Dome goes back up again also...and any attackers caught inside are instantly destroyed! So, attackers...you'll need to defend the Sub-Caps as well as attack the Capitol.

The Capitol's generator and hack status have NOTHING to do with whether the Force Dome stays up or down. Only the ownership status of the Sub-Capitols counts in that respect. (Capitol generators affect facility equipment, as normal. The Capitols' control console affects only the hack status of the Capitol...which is independent of the Force Dome status.)

The Capitol's Control Console cannot be hacked UNLESS an opposing Empire owns two of the Sub-Capitols for that Capitol and the Dome is down.

Details and Examples:

a) It is possible for two Empires to be attacking the same Capitol at the same time. For example: The TR are defending. The NC capture two Sub-Caps. The VS capture the other two. Now the Force Dome is down (because the defenders don't own at least two of the Sub-Caps) and both the NC and VS have "rights" to hack the Capitol's Control Console because they both own two Sub-Caps.

b) The Force Dome doesn't let ANYTHING through it...except friendly vehicles and troops. No projectiles pass through it and enemies may not pass through it either.

c) You can't deploy CE items within 5 meters of the outside perimeter of the Force Dome. (NOTE: You can deploy them on the inside of the bubble.)

d) You can't fire a weapon for approximately half a second after passing through a Force Dome perimeter. (This minimizes the potential for "popping out, shooting and popping back in".)

e) The Force Dome stops all projectiles...including Orbital Strikes.

f) The Router can teleport successfully through the Dome when it is active. Even for non-defenders. Use it judiciously.

g) Orbital Strikes cannot be targeted into the courtyard of a Capitol Building, even if the Dome is down.

Continental Dominion vs. Continental Locks

Capturing a Capitol means your Empire now "Dominates" this continent. Continental Domination is *not* the same thing as a Continental Lock. A Continental Lock is when you own ALL the facilities on the continent...including the Capitol.

Continental Dominion allows your Sanctuary Broadcast Warpgates to connect to this continent. It also turns the warpgates on this Dominated continent into Broadcast Warpgates themselves, allowing you to warp from this continent to any other continent your Empire has Dominated. (For more about Broadcast Warpgates, see that detailed section, below.)

A Continental Lock prevents drop pods from landing on your continent. Also, when you first get the Lock, all the Tower ownership on the continent flips to your control also. (Although subsequent hacks can wrest it away from your Empire again, of course.)

Details and Examples:

a) If you are part of the Empire that Dominates the continent you're on, then the warpgates act like Broadcast Warpgates for you. (Your enemies can use them also, but they act like normal warpgates to your enemies.)

b) If your Empire gets a complete Lock on the continent, then all the Towers immediately flip to your side. Also, your enemies can't drop pod here any longer, so you can move the bulk of your defenses toward the Warpgates.

c) If you're attacking a Dominated continent, you'll see significant changes. The only Domination change benefits the defender and doesn't directly affect the attacker.

d) If you're attacking a Locked continent, you won't be able to drop pod there. You'll have to attack through the Warpgates.

Certain facilities on each continent will require that an object called the Lattice Logic Unit (LLU) be retrieved and delivered to a nearby friendly facility. In these facilities, attackers will hack the Control Console and the Lattice Logic Unit will appear randomly in one of the Lattice Logic Unit sockets that are spread out within the facility. An icon will appear on the overhead proximity map, indicating the general location of the LLU. The carrier will have fifteen minutes to deliver the LLU to a randomly determined friendly facility that is only one lattice link away.

Once the LLU appears, an attacker retrieves the LLU from the socket by being the first to approach and touch it. The player will then be marked as the LLU carrier - the LLU does not take up inventory space. MAXes may not pick up the LLU. Likewise a player carrying the LLU may not switch to MAX armor from an order terminal. Though a cloaked soldier may pick up and carry the LLU, his cloaking with not work while it is in his inventory. If the LLU carrier is killed, the LLU will drop to the ground and another friendly character may pick it up by running over it. Note that defenders may not pick up the LLU once it is in the field. However, they can defend it from the attackers, thereby expiring its fifteen minute timer.

The LLU carrier will glow and will be marked on the proximity map. Since the LLU is not a physical inventory item, it may not be stored in lockers or vehicle trunks. The carrier cannot drive any vehicle, but can ride as a passenger or gunner in any land vehicle (but not aircraft). A dropped LLU will be marked by a pulsating sphere on the continental map.

ATTACKERS

The carrier has to take the LLU back to a friendly facility that one lattice link away and secure at the time. All players will be notified of the destination facility through messages on the HUD and chat window. If there is no valid destination facility at the time of the hack (i.e. there are no linked friendly facilities - for example, a facility that is only linked through a warpgate), then the facility will use the original Hack and Hold gameplay mode. Once the carrier has reached the destination they will approach its Control Console and hit the action key. If the destination facility is valid, then the hacked facility is immediately captured. Those who are in the Sphere of Influence (SOI) of either the facility that spawned the LLU or the destination facility will receive capture experience. There is also a mobile SOI surrounding the LLU that counts toward capture experience.

DEFENDERS

The defenders will have two options for resecuring the facility. Either stop the carrier from reaching the destination Control Console or make their way into their own CC room to resecure, just like the current model.

The facilities that will use the LLU capture model will be:

Solsar: Bastet, Mont, Thoth
Hossin: Acan, Chac, Voltan, Zotz
Cyssor: Aja, Chuku, Gunuku, Pamba, Tore
Ishundar: Enkidu, Irkalla, Neti
Forseral: Caer, Neit, Ogma
Ceryshen: Nerrivik, Sedna, Tootega
Esamir: Mani, Vidar, Ymir
Oshur: Rashnu, Yazata, Zal
Searhus: Laka, Ngaru, Sina
Amerish: Cetan, Mekala, Sungrey

Locations of LLU Sockets

Amp Station: On the catwalk that crosses over the main room.
Bio-Lab: In the blue room beneath the barracks.
Dropship Center: Inside the air vehicle creation terminal room.
Interlink Facility: Beneath the rooftop Radar Dish in the room that houses equipment terminals.
Tech Plant: Below the stairs near the front door.

• Battle Experience Points (BEPs) are earned by killing enemies, destroying their equipment, and capturing their facilities.
•  
• As you gain BEPs, you will go up in Battle Rank.
• As you go up in Battle Rank, you will earn Certification Points and Implant Slots.
• Certification Points can be spent to gain access to weapons, armor, support equipment, and vehicles.
• You can also unlearn Certifications to free up Certification points that you may wish to spend on other equipment.
• Command Experience Points (CEPs) instead of Battle Experience Points are earned by Squad Leaders when their squad successfully captures a facility.
• As you gain CEPs, you will go up in Command Rank.
• As you go up in Command Rank you will earn Command Abilities.
• Squads are temporary groups of up to 10 players.
• /invite will invite that player into your squad.
• Using the Action Key while looking at a player is another method to invite them into your squad.
• You can accept or decline an invitation to join a squad by clicking on the pop-up window or by entering /yes or /no in your chat bar.
• Outfits are akin to clans or guilds, groups of players that persist outside of the game.
• An outfit can be created by the squad leader when he has 10 players in his squad.
• To begin the outfit creation process, the squad leader hits the outfit button.

If you choose the 'Go to the Sanctuary' option after creating your character, you will appear in one of the respawning facilities at your Empire's Sanctuary.  Here at the Sanctuary you may regroup, reequip, plan your attacks, and get extra comrades to join you.  In addition, just around the corner from the Respawning facilities are entrances to the Virtual Training Centers, where you can learn all about the equipment you'll be earning certifications for.

Within the Virtual Training Center are two programs, a Virtual Shooting Range and a Virtual Driving Zone.  At the Virtual Shooting Range, you may test out any weapon and armor free from the restrictions of having to certify in them.  This way, before you spend your hard earned Certification Points, you can test out what you're considering to learn.

The Virtual Driving Range is where you'll be able to test out any of the various vehicles that your empire offers in PlanetSide.  Once again, you may freely pilot a vehicle to see how it performs before spending your Certification points on it.

See the Appendix on Certifications for more information regarding Certifications and their corresponding equipment.

When you're ready to head off to war, one of the first things you should do is figure out where you want to go.  Pull up your Map Screen by hitting the 'M' key or by using the Mouse Pointer and clicking on the Map Button.  You'll first be presented with a Global View of the planet Auraxis where you can see all of the continents that form the planet.  Left clicking once on a Battle Continent will show you how many facilities each Empire currently controls on it.  Also notice the Warp Gate connections that connect the Continent to other Continents.  This is important if you're planning on bringing vehicles over from one continent to the other.  See the section on Leaving the Sanctuary for more information about this. 

By either double-clicking on a continent or by using the Tactical View button   in the Map Toolbar, you can get a more detailed view of the selected continent.  Here you can pan the map around to see the layout of the terrain as well as the facilities and their color-coded Spheres of Influence designating ownership.  New players to PlanetSide may want to concentrate their efforts on helping to defend a facility on one of three continents that are connected to their Sanctuary.  You can easily see which three Battle Continents are attached to your Sanctuary via Warp Gates by selecting your own Sanctuary in the Global View of the Map.

After you've selected one of these connecting Battle Continents, either Double-Click on it or Click on the Tactical Button in the Map Toolbar.  Then look for a Friendly colored Sphere of Influence.  Terran Republic SOIs are colored red, New Conglomerate SOIs are Blue, and Vanu Sovereignty SOIs are Purple.

As you look around the map you may notice Enemy SOIs for facilities that are near your Friendly facilities.  This is not good as it is likely that there are enemies there and they may be attacking your friendly facility even as you are reading this!  You should help defend it once you decide how you want to get there.

It is HIGHLY recommended that you first join or form a Squad before heading off to do battle against the enemy though.  Your chances for survival will increase dramatically and you will actually gain experience points much faster!  See the section on Squads & Outfits for more information about them.

After you've equipped yourself at one of the nearby Equipment Terminals and have picked out your intended objective you need to think about how to get there. One way to leave the Sanctuary is via a Warp Gate, a massive structure that can transport you to other continents instantly.

There are two types of Warp Gates, those on Battle Continents and those on Sanctuaries.  The Warp Gates on Battle Continents operate in pairs.  Enter a Warp Gate on a Battle continent and you'll appear at the other linked Warp Gate on another Battle Continent.  The Warp Gates on Sanctuaries, however, allow you to travel to any Warp Gate on any Battle Continent thus making the Warp Gates on Sanctuaries much more flexible.

Use the Map to find nearby Warp Gates and notice which continents they connect.

The other method to get to a Battle Continent is by taking the High Altitude Rapid Transport (HART) shuttle.

This shuttle flies into orbit and allows you to take a Drop Pod down to the surface.  As Drop Pods from the HART shuttle allow you to touch down on any Battle Continent outside of a Sphere of Influence (SOI), insertions via this manner are extremely quick and flexible as you needn't bother with Warp Gate connections.  Note that Drop Pods can only accommodate soldiers in Armor, including MAX armor, but vehicles can only travel to and from the Sanctuary via Warp Gates.

If you're taking a Vehicle and leaving the Sanctuary via the Warp Gate, be sure to use the Map in conjunction with the Compass periodically to help you find your way.

If you've decided to leave the Sanctuary via the HART, then head over to one of the HART buildings.  Inside are doorways that gain you access to the HART Shuttle.

The next shuttle has arrived when the timer above the door reaches zero and the green light begins to flash. Board the shuttle by simply walking through the door and continuing down the hallway.  After the HART lifts off you will be presented with the Drop Pod Menu that is very similar to the Map Menu.  Here you'll initially see the Global view of the Planet Auraxis, the Warp Gate connections that connect the continents, and the status of each empire on those continents.  Choose the Battle Continent you wish to take a Drop Pod to by double clicking on it or by selecting it and then selecting the Tactical View tab at the top of the screen  .  Now choose your destination where you want the drop pod to land.  Note that SOIs interfere with Drop Pods so you must choose a location outside of one.  Click on an area just outside of the SOI of a friendly facility.  Then click on the Drop button to the lower right   and hang on for the ride of your life!

For more information about the other Buildings at the Sanctuary see the appropriate Appendix.

Scattered within Facilities are Matrixing Terminals.

Hitting the Action Key when facing one will embed your DNA within the Matrix Storage of the Facility. That way, if you do fall in battle, you have the chance to reappear there rather then traveling all the way from the Sanctuary.  An Advanced Mobile Station (AMS) is a vehicle that allows players to respawn out in

the field rather than only being able to respawn from facilities.  These too have Matrixing Terminals to bind at so you can respawn from that specific AMS.

To bind yourself to a Facility or AMS find a Matrixing Terminal, approach it until you receive a pop-up message inviting you to Bind there and then hit the Action Key.  Once successfully bound, you will have the chance to respawn there if your character dies.  Note that you can only Bind to a Friendly Facility that is completely under your Empire's control (e.g., it has an operational Generator and has not been Hacked by the enemy).  In addition you can only Bind at one Facility at a time and one AMS at a time.  Therefore you can choose to Bind yourself to both a Facility and an AMS at the same time to maximize your Respawning choices.

If you do fall in battle, you will be presented with a choice to begin the respawning process immediately or you can choose to wait until the timer has counted down.  Keep in mind that once the respawn process starts you may no longer be Revived by a friendly, thus when operating in a Squad with capable Medics you may wish to postpone the respawning process to allow your medics time to revive you.

You can choose to begin the Respawning process immediately by selecting on any of your valid Respawning locales.  These may include:

• The Facility at which you are manually bound to.  The facility must be completely under your Empire's control with both the Generator and Respawn tubes operational. Additionally, the Control Console must not be hacked.
• The Advanced Mobile Station (AMS) at which you are manually bound to.  The AMS at the time must be operational and deployed. 
• As a contingency plan, your Empire also allows you to respawn at the nearest Friendly facility, AMS, or Tower for the continent you are on, as long as they meet the above criteria as well.
• Finally your Sanctuary is always available as a Respawn point.

Thus it is possible to have up to six respawn choices:  1) A facility to which you manually bound yourself to;  2) An AMS to which you manually bound yourself to;  3) A backup respawn point at the nearest friendly facility on your continent;  4) Another backup Respawn point at the nearest deployed and friendly AMS on your continent, 5) The third backup Respawn point at the nearest Tower on your continent, and;  6) Your Sanctuary.

Choose carefully as you may end up in a location you weren't expecting and thus inconvenience yourself needlessly.

If you've selected the 'Go to the Sanctuary' option, then your character will appear at one of the Respawning Facilities on your empire's Sanctuary.

• Near the exit of the Respawning Facility are entrances to the Virtual Training Centers where you can test out equipment free from the restrictions of Certifications.
• Pull up the map via the 'M' Key or by hitting the map button on your HUD.
• Global view shows all of the continents and their Warp Gate connections.
• Tactical view shows a more detailed view of a particular continent.
• Find a friendly SOI on one of the three continents attached to your Sanctuary via Warp Gates.
• Equip yourself at an Equipment Terminal.
• Use the map to figure out where you want to go to.
• Decide whether you will take Warp Gate or HART Shuttle.
• If leaving the Sanctuary via a Warp Gate, use the map and compass periodically to stay on course.
• If taking the HART, board the Shuttle at one of the HART Buildings.
• Choose the continent you wish to Drop Pod down upon.
• Left-click on the area you want to land near as long as it is outside of a Sphere of Influence (SOI).
• Click on the Drop button to launch your Drop Pod after designating a legal drop zone.

Manually binding at a facility or AMS will allow you to respawn there if you die.

• Use the Action Key when targeting a Matrix Terminal to manually bind there.
• You can manually bind yourself to one facility and one AMS at any given time.
• You may also have additional fallback respawn points at the nearest AMS, friendly facility, or tower.

After you die, you may begin the respawn process immediately or choose to wait for a medic to revive you.

• Try to plan a few ranks ahead on what you want your character to spend his Certification Points on so you don't end up lacking a Certification you really wanted.  Fortunately you can always unlearn your certifications but preparing ahead of time prevents you from having to wait for the cert points to be released after "Unlearning".
• If you're unsure as to what to spend your Certification Points on, give the VR Training centers a whirl where you'll be able to try everything before actually committing Certification Points to it.
• You want to consider spending some Certification Points on multi-personal vehicles.  This is extremely helpful in a Squad situation.
• Take a few moments to plan out your play session.  Even if you're just jumping in for a few minutes, figure out where you will respawn. Better yet bind yourself at your desired Respawn point just in case.
• The Map and compass can prevent you from getting lost; it's an awfully big world out there. Take a moment to understand them and reference the overhead map option often so you can quickly orient yourself.
• Learn from your losses, what went wrong, what could have prevented it, etc.
• Discover what you are best at...it may not be frontline combat.  Success of the Empires in PlanetSide will depend upon the strength of their side as a whole, not just who can fire the most accurately.
• It may not be to your advantage to open up upon an enemy at the first opportunity as you might be able to stack the odds further in your favor by waiting for a better prospect or firing opportunity.
• Learn when to run and hide instead of just firing back.
• Use both the Global and Tactical Views of the Map to plan out where you want to go.  This planning should include a quick trip to the friendly facility that is closest to your objective so you can manually Bind yourself to it.
• Double-check to see that you're properly equipped. Make sure you have all the equipment necessary to use with your certifications, including the REK, if desired.
• Maximum efficiency with most weapons requires firing in short, controlled bursts to reduce the recoil penalty.
• Crouching makes you a smaller target and increases your overall accuracy.

• Whenever possible, try to form or join a squad, you'll learn to appreciate the extra help when you need it.
• Make sure that your Squad is balanced in terms of capabilities.  If everyone is a weapons expert, who is going to transport your group or revive fallen comrades?
• Switch to Squad Chat immediately because the communication range is unlimited.
• As a squad leader, or even if you just want to join a Squad, take time to become familiar with the "Looking for Squad" option.  Using this feature makes it easy to find people with Certs. you need for your squad, or makes it easy to advertise that you have the Certs. needed for other squads, thus making it more probably you will receive an invitation.
• Use the Map often as it will show the position of your Squadmates.
• Facilities are fairly large; therefore diversions are wonderful tools of war.
• Squadmates in Infiltration Suits make great Medics, Hackers, or Recon units.
• Plan for a fallback point for your squad to regroup if necessary.
• Learn to use the Chat Macros (See the Appendix on Chat Macros for more information) as they are great ways of communicating with just a few keystrokes. Also create your own text macros in order to have quick, customized macros available for specialty commands.
• Spend a bit of time gathering intelligence about the target, it may pay off later.
• If defending a facility, make sure a few of you are carrying REKs just in case you need to re-hack the Control Console.
• Having someone defending a facility with the Repair Certification and a Nano Dispenser could prove to be the difference between successfully warding off an attack or finding yourself forcibly evicted from a Facility.
• An Advanced Mobile Station (AMS) is probably the most important vehicle you could bring to a siege.
• Capturing a Facility via Hacking a Control Console outright can be a very daunting task.  Sometimes you need to soften up the defense by disabling their Generator or their Respawn Tubes.  Either of these will slow the defense down because they will not be able to Respawn there until they are repaired.
• Before you decide to destroy an enemy ANT, consider letting the Enemy refill the Silo before you try to capture it.  That way if you are successful in your capture attempt, you won't need to worry about resupplying your facility for sometime.
• If you spot an enemy driving around in an AMS and you don't have the means to quickly kill it off, consider following it to see where the driver will try to hide it.  Then try to kill the driver as he steps out but before he can deploy it.  That way you will have completely stopped the AMS from being used against you.

• Promote players in your Outfit that have proven to be leaders in both Tactics and Morale.
• Use the Alliance Chat Channel to set up Alliances with other Outfits in your Empire.