Dev Diary: The Combined Arms Initiative

Combined Arms Initiative

As we move through the new year, we wanted to share our vision of the combined arms experience in PlanetSide 2, and outline some of the elements we'll be focusing on to get there. This post covers the broad strokes, and will (hopefully!) help create a clear dialog surrounding the combined arms experience.

What is Combined Arms?

In PlanetSide 2, we view combined arms as the way in which vehicles, infantry, and territory interact with one another. Ideally, that relationship should be a fun and engaging experience for all parties. Whether you're in a vehicle or on foot, we want you to enjoy fighting one another. We also want you to feel integrated into the territory, as well as the Meta components of the game.

How do we get there?

In order to achieve that vision, we'll be refining the game's design in key areas listed below:

1. More territory goals for vehicles. Vehicles should feel like they have a stake in territory capture, which means adding lattice-based goals that can come in the form of vehicle-capturable control points and hard spawns.
2. Vehicles that are more fun to use. We'd like to see vehicles that handle better before you cert into them, as well as alleviate some of common frustrations with handling, like the lack of traction while maneuvering on hills.
3. Meaningful vehicle/infantry interactions. We want vehicle encounters (vehicle vs vehicle and vehicle vs infantry) to last longer and not feel like either side gets destroyed too quickly. This will include changes to weapon damage potential and effective ranges.
4. Remove Continent and Facility vehicle benefits and restrictions. More consistent resource flow should reduce force multiplier advantages for singular factions, while encouraging players to pull the vehicles that will have the most impact on the given situation.
5. Incentivize coordination and transportation. We want to increase rewards on transportation objectives, as well as allow squad and platoon leaders to help direct vehicles to areas that need their support.

In the coming months, you’ll see iterative changes that move us closer to these goals. Some of those changes will seem more docile, while laying the groundwork for larger changes later on, while others will be substantial revisions that have rippling impacts. It's important to us that any adjustments we make are done in a way that meshes naturally with the game in every step of the process. We will continue to monitor and adjust our approach based on community feedback as we march down this road, and we invite you to partake in that process.