---What Kind of Game is Planetside 2?---
Planetside 2 is a Massively Multiplayer Online First-Person Shooter (MMOFPS). The gameplay itself is quite similar to the newer Battlefield games, but the scale of the battles is much larger, and the outcome of battles has more impact on a continental scale. 
The game is also free-to-play. Downloading and playing the game is 100% free. You can pay real-world money for optional things, like unlocking things faster or changing your appearance. 

---Time to Get Started---
Alright, boys and girls. Fire up Planetside 2, let it patch, and start the game. The first thing you'll be doing is creating a character. 

---Choose an Empire---
The first thing you'll do is choose the empire you want to play as. You can create multiple characters in different empires, but you can't bring the items and certifications you unlock from one character to another. Choose based on what YOU like, not what /vg/ happens to hate least at the moment.
 The New Conglomerate 
  - Blue and Gold. Weapons have high damage per shot. Vehicles are heavily-armored. 
  - An army of corporate-funded rebels, seeking freedom and self-rule on the new planet. 
 The Terran Republic
  - Red and Black. Weapons have high fire rates. Vehicles have high top speeds. 
  - The remnants of the Earth government army, cut off from reinforcements and trying to maintain order. 
 The Vanu Sovreignty 
  - Purple and Cyan. Weapons have high accuracy. Vehicles are extremely maneuverable. 
  - Scientists who believe that ancient Vanu technology is the key to humanity's evolution. 

---Choose a Server---
This one should be fairly self-explanatory. If you have friends who play Planetside 2, make sure you pick the same server as them. Otherwise just pick a server that's close to you and/or has a decent population. 

---Choose Name/Appearance---
Just pick a name that doesn't suck, what skin color you want, and how big of an ass you want to have. 

---The Menu Screen---
You will spawn in a big confusing room full of people and computers. But before doing ANYTHING, The first thing you should do is figure out your menus. Hit escape to access your menu screen. Here's a rundown of what you'll find in this screen. 
 - Profile: An overview of your stats and progression. 
 - Map: A view of the the continent. Note the continent name at the top of the screen. 
 - Classes: Change your class loadouts here. (Note that you can't change class via this screen.)
 - Vehicles: Change your vehicle loadouts here. (Note that you can't spawn vehicles via this screen.)
 - Social: Contains your friends list, as well as your squad, outfit, and video streams. 
 - Certifications: View your spent certification points and unlock new certifications here. 
 - Depot: The cash shop. Buy and spend Station Cash (aka Smedleybux) here. 
Also, now would be a good time to click on "Settings" in the bottom-right corner and tweak your video options and read through your key bindings. 

---The Warpgate---
Now that that's over, it's time to get your bearings. 
As stated before, you're in a big confusing room. This room is at your faction's warpgate - a big base that can't be captured or attacked by enemies. You're safe from attack here. 
The Warpgate serves as a starting point and sanctuary - you can always return here to grab a vehicle, find a squad, or regroup for an attack. 

---Terminals---
In addition to all the people and vehicles at the warpgate, you've probably noticed the computers scattered around the building. These are Terminals, and they're very important. You'll find some of them at just about every base. Here's a list of the terminals you'll find. 
 - Equipment Terminal (gun icon): Lets you switch class, change your loadout, and resupply ammo. 
 - Vehicle Terminal (tank icon): Lets you spawn ground vehicles. 
 - Aircraft Terminal (jet icon): Lets you spawn aircraft. 
 - Warpgate Map (globe icon): Lets you switch continents for a change of scenery. 
Note that not every terminal is going to be available at every base you go to. Equipment terminals, for example, are extremely common, while aircraft terminals are only available in a few places. 

---Heading To Battle---
Now that you're educated, you're probably eager to go blast some space nazis/murricans/fairies. Getting to a decent battle is probably one of the most frustrating experiences for a new Planetside 2 player, so here's a rundown of the best ways to get to the fight: 

---Ride to Battle!---
The best way to get to an infantry battle is to hop in someone's Galaxy dropship or Sunderer APC. There's usually at least one parked at the warpgate waiting for passengers. Just hop in, and the pilot/driver will take care of the rest. You can also try using the turret of a tank, but they'll probably be annoyed if you abandon them as soon as you get to the battle. 

---Drive to Battle!---
If you're feeling adventurous, you can try spawning a vehicle and driving yourself. Use your map screen to find where you want to go, and set a waypoint so that you don't get disoriented. If you just want a quick transport, use the Flash ATV. If you'd like to try some vehicle combat, try a Lightning tank. Don't try aircraft or multi-crewed vehicles until you're a bit more experienced. 

---Instant Action---
If you REALLY want to get into the thick of things, you can try the "Instant Action" feature. From your map screen, find the "Hotspots" feature in the lower-left corner of the screen. It should list all the major battles happening on your server, including ones on other continents. By clicking one, the "Instant Action" button pops up, and you can hot-drop to the location right into the thick of battle. Note that you can only do this once every thirty minutes. 

---Babby's First Battle---
As stated before, the combat itself is a lot like Battlefield. Just play Battlefield and you'll be fine. Use your class's weapons and abilities (which you read about in the Classes Menu and changed at the Equipment Terminal, RIGHT?) to shoot the bad guys and capture the control points and stuff. 

---Capturing and Defending Territory---
Each region consists of a number of control points. You capture points - you guessed it - by standing near them. However, there is a twist. Capturing all of a region's points doesn't mean you've won. Instead, owning points causes your overall region capture meter to fill up faster. You don't own the region until the meter fills up. 
In addition to capturing points, many bases have a couple of other strategic targets that you can destroy to piss off the defending team/repair to help your team hold the fort. 
 - Spawn Generator: Powers the owning team's respawn room. No generator, no respawns. 
 - Shield Generator: Powers the base's anti-vehicle shield barriers. 
 - Terminals: Gives the defenders access to weapons and vehicles. Can be destroyed. 
It's also important to note that the speed the region capture meter fills up is affected by adjacency. The more hexes you own that border the territory, the quicker it gets captured. If a territory's capture is going slow, try capping some adjacent territories to speed things up. 

---Death and Respawning---
Dying isn't a huge deal. Luckily, you won't have to walk/drive from the warpgate every time you die. You can respawn at a nearby base, deployed Sunderer, squad beacon, or back at the warpgate. You can also change your loadout and class between spawns. 
Medics can also revive people by using their medgun on their corpse. If a medic tries to revive you, you will be notified, and given the option to accept the revival or just respawn somewhere else. 

---Experience Points---
As you do things like fight enemies, repair things, heal people, and capture enemy bases, you gain XP and level up. Note that leveling up does not do jack shit. 

---Certification Points---
Cert points are the gameplay-earned currency of Planetside 2. You can use them to unlock new weapons and upgrades for your classes and vehicles. You earn in cert points in two different ways.
 - Passively: Roughly 1 per hour. Occurs whether or not you're online, so idling isn't worth it. 
 - Actively: 1 per 250 XP earned. Everything that earns XP also earns cert points. 
Cert Points cannot be reset, so choose what you buy wisely. It's always a good idea to ask around to see what's worth it and what isn't. 

---Joining a Squad---
Planetside 2 is a thousand times more fun with a squad. There are a handful of publicly-available squads in the Squads Menu, but they're usually pretty uncoordinated. Your best bet is to squad up with people you meet in battle. If you ride in on a Galaxy, invite the others on board to join your squad so that you can be more coordinated when you land. Who knows, maybe you'll make a friend or two? 

---Joining an Outfit---
If you've ever played an MMO, you know how much fun a guild can be. Outfits in Planetside 2 are the same way. Outfits come in all flavors - whether you want a super-serious military RP team or a handful of bros to goof around with, there's probably an outfit out there for you. 

---Thanks, and Have Fun™---
I hope you found this guide helpful and easy to understand. You should now know the basics of the game - the rest is up to you to learn. Thanks for reading, and best of luck on the battlefield, soldier! 

Last Updated: Nov. 16, 2012