Planetside 2: State of the Division

Greetings and Welcome to Planetside 2,

PlanetSide 2 is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on November 20, 2012. It is the remake to PlanetSide which originally released in 2003. Officially announced on July 7, 2011 at the Sony Fan Fair, the second installment uses a new game engine and supports hundreds of players in continuous large scale conflict. As in the first PlanetSide, PlanetSide 2 chronicles the efforts of three factions as they fight for territorial control of the planet Auraxis. PlanetSide 2 is a re-imagining of Planetside, featuring the same world, factions and taking place at roughly the same time period. As in the previous game, it features territory control in an open-world, large battles featuring up to 2000 players per continent on foot or in land/air vehicles. The territory system differs greatly from that of the original, being more free-form and based on a hexagonal territory control system. SOE has been taking into account balance issues from the first game. As stated by creative director Matthew Higby, they reward combatants on lower population empires through mechanics such as proportionally increased advancement rates and resources to aid the balance of overall empire saturation on each server as much as possible without force-restricting players from being able to play with their friends.

It is a faster paced game than the original PlanetSide and holds the ability to feature potentially thousands of players. It also features familiar first person shooter elements such as sprinting, iron sights, and regenerating shields. An important aspect is that player skill and teamwork are major determiners when it comes to being able to kill other players and overcome opposing teams. Unlock able skills are available and are stated to only make between a 15-20% difference between any player. The game also features a day and night cycle, meaning that battles happen in different times of day, affecting the general methods for warfare.

Combat takes place on the continents of Auraxis which are broken up into many territories. Territories are then split into sectors which can be captured by the various empires. Influence from captured sectors can provide bonuses to a faction in adjacent sectors. The mission system is partly automated and partly controlled by commanders and outfits. It provides focal points for players to attack and defend and helps players get into the action quickly.

As a player participates in completing objectives they will earn experience which will increase their character's Battle Rank and reward them with certification points. As the player's Battle Rank increases he will unlock improved certifications, granting the player new abilities or items. These will allow the player to specialize in certain roles by allowing them to improve the weapons, vehicles or tools they use. Many certifications require the player to invest in multiple upgrade tiers of the certification, which will increase how effective the certification is. For example, players can purchase five ranks of Nanoweave Armor, which when equipped will increase the amount of damage they can sustain. Some certifications require the player to purchase prerequisite certifications, meaning a squad leader who wishes to unlock the ability to communicate using voice chat with an entire platoon will first need to unlock a certification to allow them to set squad waypoints. Using the certification system, players will be able to customize how they play using different classes or vehicles. For example, a player can purchase certifications to alter the main function of the Sunderer vehicle, meaning they can unlock the ability to have fellow squad members spawn from the vehicle, or as an alternative, give the vehicle the ability to repair and restock the ammunition of nearby allied vehicles.  These are just a few items that Planetside 2 brings to the table.

Now Planetside 2 has been a pretty widely acclaimed game within the community of TAW with four different battalions having a member base of 167 members. We have grown in many areas within each battalion and we expect to see many great things from everyone for the future of Planetside 2 within TAW. Our four battalions have a very interesting approve to how they operate. I have asked each battalion to type up a sort description of what they do in there battalions and this is what they came up with.

Our North American Battalion has been the first group to start up the PlanetSide division. They have had many ups and downs but have the promise to become a front running battalion once again. They are lead by our Commanding Officer Symetric. He has recently stepped up to the role and has completed the role with great ease. They play on the Waterson server with the Terran Republic outfit.  Op night times are Thursday and Sunday at 21:00 EST with Training nights on Wednesday at 21:00 EST. Here are some words from Symetric and his Staff.

OORAH TAW!  Synmetric [PS 1CO] checking in.

For those who've never heard of Planetside, it's likely the most ambitious shooter available.  I grew up with Counter-Strike as the premier multiplayer FPS.  I watched that formula evolve with Call of Duty, and then expand in Battlefield 3.  I had never heard of Planetside, but I caught wind of Planetside 2 and knew I had to participate in a game that promised:

+ 2000 players per map

+ Maps are nearly 8 KM x 8 KM (about 16x the size of BF3)

+ Combined air, armor, and infantry strikes

+ FREE to play (cash required for cosmetics only)

As SOE says:  size matters.

We've had a bit of turnover in our ranks recently, but that's nearly settled and has permitted us to do some great things:

Moriim [PS 1TS] is revamping our training program.  Previously, trainer's orated important information regarding their topic and occasionally included some sort of in game activity.  Today's trainings are less "blah blah" and more "daka daka."  Whale wrestling and harasser tag were my favorites so far, but every unit, vehicle, and objective are being worked to make training nights fun for all.

Verdanii [PS 1FS] has been reorganizing squad play to improve player choice while retaining organized fire teams.  Verdanii's real life has been demanding recently, but everyone is looking forward to his return.

Lonjonsilver [PS 1SO] has kicked recruitment into high gear.  Each school-related transition (Christmas, Spring Break, and summer) has reduced our numbers.  Lonjonsilver has dedicated his personal time to ally with new Planetside 2 players and introduce them to TAW.  His time is reaping benefits with a noticeable increase in on boarding activity.

Otter [PS 1XO] was not satisfied just making our battalion look good to TAW's brass, but took it upon himself to reach out to fellow Elmos (faction slang for Terran Republic), allying TAW with Waterson's largest and most famous outfits:  ODAM, Crimson Dawn, Devil Dogs, Imperial Reach, Dragon Wolves, etc.

[PS 1] is doing great things.   We love to have visitors and I welcome you to join us in TS3 and Planetside 2 (remember, it's FREE)!

Some great words here from Symetric and Staff. Here is also a video they have created. http://youtu.be/GPFmVWx3GAg

With our European divisions we have two completely different battalions as they are different outfits on different servers. 

We will start off with our PS 4 battalion. They are leading my MaverickSabre and play with the Terran Republic on the Miller server. Op nights are Tuesday and Sunday at 20:30 GMT +1 and trainings at Thursday at 21:00 GMT +1. This division has been hit with some hard times as of late but in currently in the process of rebuilding. MaverickSabre has written a few words and here there are:

PS 4 is the smallest battalion in the Planetside family. Having been riddled with teething problems in the earlier days, we are now a team of only 15 men.

That said our twice weekly, 1.5 hour meetings have long since stopped being referred to as "Mandatory Trainings", often a dull and disorganized affair, and with a hit and miss member satisfaction rating that was difficult to control. Now these "Ops" are well organized, well orchestrated and well balanced games where team play is at the very height of everything we do. 

We have managed to exploit all of the goodness that Planetside 2 offers and ploughed it into everything we do. We are frequently found joining larger ops with our "TRAM Alliance" brothers, or taking on some of the Miller Servers largest outfits, sometimes even four times our size, and winning off the back of our amazing teamwork. 

PS 4 always plays an active role within the Division, allying with other battalions to do joint missions on each other's servers. The primary focus is on TAW values, and members of PS 4 will continue to be members of the TAW community long after Planetside 2 has stopped being the popular MMO that it is today!

MaverickSabre [PS 4CO]

Now on to our PS 5 Battalion, this is lead by their Commanding Officer Monsta. They have broken the mold with starting a Vanu Sovereignty battalion. PS 5 has set a remarkable presidencies' by have a member base of 59 active members. With their recruitment strategies in place you will see much more of them in the future of Planetside 2. With their many documents and set ups we have seen here it is quite amazing to witness.

They have a tumblr account that stays pretty active http://taw5.tumblr.com/ with video's and update reports.

They work in many avenues for recruitment through several forums. Here is just a few links https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/the-art-of-warfare-taw5.63893/  http://www.planetside-universe.com/showthread.php?p=829756 and http://www.planetside2forum.com/threads/890-VS-The-Art-of-Warfare-EU?p=8732. This has created quite a flow of new recruits into their battalion and we are proud to see such improvement and growth out of this division.

PS 5 battalion has even taken a different approach to Training nights with have two instead of one. There Training and OP nights are run as such:

■ Weekly roster: (times are GMT=0)

TUE:   Kickoff: 19:00 // Operation: 20:00 // Platoon debrief: 21:30

THU:  Briefing: 20:00 // Training: 20:30 // Debrief: 21:30

SAT:  Briefing: 20:00 // Training: 20:30 // Debrief: 21:30

SUN:  Kickoff: 19:00 // Operation: 20:00 // Platoon debrief: 21:30

And a few word from our PS 5 battalion:

The Art of Warfare's 5th Battalion has an outstanding name on the Woodman Planetside 2 server. During our Operation nights we play in an organized military structure. Our greatest focus points are Fire teams, which can be started with a minimum of 3 players up till 6. During a draft 2 or more Fire teams form squads, each in a separated squad in game, but in the same channel on Team speak. Our current structure carries 8 fire teams, with 6 fire teams formed into 3 squads. Each squad has a couple resident squad members for those with a different role or different position. During an operation our Platoon leader communicates to all, individual squads and individual squad leaders. While Squad leaders have their own Fire team members and an extra Fire team to take care of. 

Formations

During our Operations on Tuesday and Sunday we show what we are made of by actually doing what we are training for: Fire team formations. Our Fire team formations have 3 levels, each formation is designed and tested but allow some flexibility for the Fire team leader to shuffle a little bit with classes. The highest level of formations requires highly certified suites and is mostly needed for specific situations to proof their deathly effectiveness. When we start our operation we all maintain the cheapest but often the most effective formation: The Swat formation, with has the purpose to stay alive and have the weapons operational at all times. 

Training

Each Thursday and (often) Saturday we train of Fire team formations, but Squad formations as well. During the trainings we have half an hour for everybody to ask questions about the game. During the practice things our Training Specialist and Training Instructor we are mainly testing in actual practice area; Planet Auraxis. It's normal to redeploy back to the Warp gate, even while some members actually have some enemies they can kill in front of them. The great thing about our formations is because all classes are involved, and most of the classes sometimes have more than just one role. It is no secret that TAW5 avoids playing with vehicles as a primary role. But then again our formations do allow our members to spawn their favorite vehicles when the need for it actually occurs.   

What's it like being a The Art of Warfare member?

When you run with TAW5 you will most of the time find yourself helping out other TAW5 buddies and you feel like you are really needed. This sometimes can be very frustrating, because on the big Planet Auraxis your life is very vulnerable, meaning, it takes often a couple minutes to regroup with your team. Don't even think about standing still for just a couple seconds, the chance a random enemy sniper miles away is aware of your attendance is very high. Often TAW5 is finding its highest success during really hard to defend locations and is never scared to fly out with multiple Galaxies into highly populated enemy territory. Communication is most of time our key element of surprise and success. Many enemy outfits can confirm when they meet TAW5 in any situation they better prepare to show great resistance otherwise we're winning against an enemy that's double or triple our size. We are fully aware our line of defense breaks at some point, and most of the times that's not really a loss but an accomplishment for the enemy. 

Greets Monsta [PS 5CO]

And finally to our biggest battalion and a TAW first as it has sustained a working cohesive unit. PS 8 is our AU/OC division that has shown great promise and workings to become the biggest on their selected server. This division is unique in every way possible, with how Op nights are run with survey's to analyze the overall member feedback.  They have implemented many great ideas under the leadership of their Commanding Officer Wolve. He has sent me a few words on what they are about and here they are:

Welcome to PS8

A Tour into PS2 OC Division

Welcome to PS8 OC Division, we are a community based in the Asia Pacific consisting of members from multiple countries and time zones. Generally members start to login to the game and Teamspeak about midday and onwards.

Some of our operations and activities are as follows:

Fire Team Competitive Ops

This operations splits all Ps8 members in to 4 man fire teams, the fire teams are then to go out into a the map chosen by the operator to rack in as many kills as possible within the 90 minute training session. All teams work independent of each other and command, and they have the options of either:

• Join the zerg
• Defend Major Facilities
• Deploy to hot zones and move from there
• Open their platoons to public and become a zerg

The above are some strategies taken by some of the fire team leaders in order to generate kills; however besides cheating and un-sportsman like conduct, anything goes... It's a competition.

Mobile Home Base

These operations consist of a large number of ground, air vehicles and infantry.

Document links:

• Mobile Home Base Intro
  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B51TEQRJTOqEZXEyY1R0WmhSNUU/edit?usp=sharing
• MHB Central Command Schematic
  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B51TEQRJTOqEOFdXLUEwWTREZG8/edit?usp=sharing
• MHB Central Defense Anti Air Schematic
  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B51TEQRJTOqEd1FjQWN2U3U3Vjg/edit?usp=sharing
• MHB Central Defense Anti Ground
  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B51TEQRJTOqEMEhxNjdtY2tULVk/edit?usp=sharing

Some of our Training as follows:

Spec Ops Training / Communications

RND Sundays

We also receive these weekly reports:

TAW PS8 OC Weekly Report

Date: 13th of June, 2013

Tasks:

• Assign More DI Roles
• So far from 2 DI's moving to 5 hopefully by end of week
• Meet with XO, SO, FS, TS
• Operations & Training
• Wednesday Magrider / Harasser Ops -This night was all about Public Platoons, magriders and harassers.
  Infantry PL attacked enemy bases while harasser team eliminated or maimed enemy anti infantry threats, while the magrider team was there to assist in suppressing heavy armor forces. I liked this, it worked well the harassers were a perfect heavy tank assistant, with speed and agility on its side they ran loops around the enemy "literally"
• Attendance & General Activity Report
• Attendance has been addressed over the last few days and inactive members are either making contact or returning to semi active status.
• Recruitment/Leave/Discharges & Player Retention
• 3 new recruits
• Concerns, Appraisals & Commendations/Promotions
• Loki & Mecha have been officially assigned their roles and rank
• The Think Tank (TTT)
• Current Progress (Structure, Activities & Morale)
• Structure almost there, just need to find SO
• Vision Check - Are our Ideas Working
• Attendance is now more consistent in numbers; I credit this to assigning leaders such as Loki and mecha their current roles. This resulting in organized activities and trainings, with announcing ideas at end of training for next week, these ideas are then bounced around and perfected to an op or training session.
• The Future - Ideas Session
• Hosting a Council Channel =)
• Building my Battle Engine =)
• In Game Presence
• I think we're getting back to content status, the members know that at most given times of any day a ranking officer will be online in Teamspeak. I've seen this happen over the last week with members regularly having chats with either TS/FS/XO or me regarding TAW career paths and other things.

Challenges: If Any

So far some of the challenges I have had have been the following:

• You now what? I think things are returning to normal, maybe it's the temp ban =)
• While things are where they are at the moment and people are doing what they are choosen to do, I've got time to think and it's not the challenges behind me I'm concerned about its the one before me. With proposals like the Council Channel 'I've got a lot to do.

 Kind Regards,

Ŵolvë
Commanding Officer
First Lieutenant
PS 8 AU/OC Battalion

Here is a video link to a night in PS 8: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/37312672/SeRo_TAW/Galaxy%20Drop%20Youtube.avi

 As you can see this battalion has stepped up to a role of what we expect from each and every one Planetside member. We are very proud of our AU/OC battalion and you will see much from them in the future. 

Well as we take this letter to a close, we would just like to thank TAW for the time to lead these amazing individuals to a success of greatness within TAW. OOOORAAAH and expect greatness from the Planetside division.

Sincerely,

sage and SeRoMcArthur

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