Seeing how PlanetSide Arena is shutting down, we can perhaps expect some more attention paid to PlanetSide 2 from both Daybreak Games and the fans (though fans were looking at PS2 more than PSA anyway). Case in point, a recent developer livestream which offered a closer look at some new toys for the NSO faction and an updated look at the Sanctuary social hub.
The new NSO goodies include the bolt-action SR-200 sniper rifle, a two-seater Javelin hoverbike which has slow-moving dumbfire homing rockets, and an NSO “Defector” MAX unit, which essentially is a robot with a bunch of bombs strapped to it that it can either throw endlessly so long as it stays below a heat threshold. The Defector can also deploy a shield for a few moments that friendly units can gather inside of, and it can even cause its own PBAoE explosion after a long charging time. All of these NSO items are subject to changes and adjustments, so make sure to hop in to the PTS and try these new things out, which is online now.
The stream also granted an update regarding the Sanctuary social space and its related new player experience. The first iteration of Sanctuary is likely to arrive in the first quarter of 2020, with additional features to follow. The Sanctuary will eventually feature vendor NPCs, will include cross-faction chat and voice chat, and will also be the central location for an improved new player tutorial.
On the subject of new players, the devs admitted that new player experience features “didn’t cross the finish line” and that PlanetSide 2 needs to work on new player retention. It should be noted that most of the Sanctuary features are incomplete and vague on purpose, mostly because a lot of them were not ready to be showcased in the livestream yet.
You can get the complete livestream in the embed below which we’ve set to play when the devs appear on screen, or check out this summary if you don’t have about 40 minutes to yourself, or get a briefing from the official site.
Bundle up, soldiers, the winter update is up now on PTS! ❄️
Highlights include the new Sniper Rifle, Javelin hovercycle, NSO Defector, and a Bio Lab makeover 🤖
Are YOU ready to frag a snowman!?
✒️: https://t.co/ylykAZgQZQ pic.twitter.com/MvmOHElyoj
— PlanetSide 2 (@planetside2) December 13, 2019
