40 Fun Facts About PlanetSide 2

In PlanetSide 2, three factions fight over which alien world, first named New Earth by its colonists?

Auraxis is really the habitable moon of a gas giant, found by a stranded fleet that then terraformed and colonised it.

Which PlanetSide 2 faction, founded by scientists, fights with reverse-engineered alien technology?

The Vanu Sovereignty believe alien artifacts will lift humanity to a higher stage, so they fight mainly to guard their research sites.

PlanetSide 2 set which Guinness World Record at a sponsored event in January 2015?

Most players in an FPS battle was the record, set when 1,158 people fought in a single clash. Players have unofficially beaten that count since.

Which console received a PlanetSide 2 port in June 2015, more than two years after the PC launch?

PlayStation 4 owners could play without a PlayStation Plus subscription, and reworking the engine for the console sped up the PC version too.

Which PlanetSide 2 infantry class pairs sniper rifles with a cloaking device for stealth and recon?

Infiltrator is one of six infantry classes, at the opposite extreme from the MAX, an armoured suit that carries a heavy weapon on each arm.

Which arid continent, centred on a dried-up seabed, was the first introduced to PlanetSide 2?

Indar splits into desert, canyon and greenery, and the lines where those biomes meet form a front that players call the Indar T.

In PlanetSide 2's backstory, what collapsed mid-crossing and stranded 40,000 colonists far from Earth?

A wormhole had first opened over a war-torn Earth in 2444, and fear of what might come through it pushed the world's nations to unite.

Which PlanetSide 2 troop transport can deploy as a mobile respawn station near the front line?

Sunderer crews can carry 12 soldiers, and the same truck can be fitted to repair or rearm friendly vehicles.

PlanetSide 2's original developer, the Sony subsidiary SOE, took which new name after its 2015 sale?

Daybreak Game Company was the name adopted when Sony sold the studio to an investment firm, a split that freed it to develop for Xbox as well.

Which two colours identify the Terran Republic, PlanetSide 2's authoritarian faction of rapid-fire weapons?

Red and black mark a faction that claims to govern for the original Terran Republic back on Earth and prizes law and order above all.

Which PlanetSide 2 main battle tank hovers above the ground, letting it strafe sideways and climb steep terrain?

Magrider crews aim the main cannon by turning the whole tank, because it is fixed to the hull instead of sitting in a turret.

Which PlanetSide 2 dropship, the slowest aircraft in the sky, hot-drops whole squads onto enemy bases?

Galaxy dropships seat twelve, four of them gunners, and are among the most durable vehicles in the game.

Which one-seat fighter is flown only by the Terran Republic in PlanetSide 2?

Mosquito pilots cruise faster than the other factions' fighters, although the edge disappears once everyone lights the afterburners.

What equipment lets PlanetSide 2's Light Assault class fly over walls and onto rooftops?

Jump jets come in several configurations, including Drifter jets that trade lift for a long hover across chasms.

Which type of PlanetSide 2 facility is recognised from afar by a domed shield raised high on legs?

Bio Lab fights move inside the dome, out of reach of tanks and aircraft, so they turn into close-quarters infantry brawls.

Which famously defensible base sits at the very centre of PlanetSide 2's first continent?

The Crown is officially marked as an extremely valuable facility, thanks to the web of territory links that opens up around it.

Which archipelago continent brought patrol boats and underwater combat to PlanetSide 2?

Oshur has no warpgates, so each faction operates from a stationary fleet carrier, and its seas are home to the Corsair patrol boat.

What is the name of the neutral space station where PlanetSide 2 players appear when they log in?

Sanctuary bans all fighting on board, and many of the game's shops and characters can be reached nowhere else.

Which mineral do PlanetSide 2 players harvest with ANT mining vehicles to build their own bases?

Cortium sprouts as crackling orange crystals in open fields, and an ANT unloads it into silos that power player-built structures.

What do PlanetSide 2 players call the earned currency that unlocks weapons, upgrades and other non-cosmetic items?

Certs is short for Certification Points, and one arrives for every 250 experience points a player earns.

In PlanetSide 2, up to four 12-player squads can link up to form which larger unit?

Platoon leaders can direct 48 players at once, while each squad inside keeps a voice channel of its own.

PlanetSide 2 squad members can spawn straight onto each other by arriving in what?

Orbital drop pods let a scattered squad regroup in seconds, a feature added to keep teammates fighting side by side.

In PlanetSide 2 lore, which technology makes the soldiers of all three empires effectively immortal?

Rebirthing arrived soon after the war began, and with nanites rebuilding soldiers and vehicles alike, the fighting has no way to end.

In PlanetSide 2 lore, which xenobiologist touched an alien figurine and came away with a one-word revelation?

Henry Briggs went on to lead the stranded fleet's scientists away from both warring sides, and his vision inspired the third faction.

Which in-house engine, also used for H1Z1 and Landmark, powers PlanetSide 2's huge seamless battles?

ForgeLight can hold 2,000 players on one server, and it drops loading zones in favour of a single continuous world.

Which president of developer SOE revealed PlanetSide 2's working title on his LiveJournal in 2009?

John Smedley stayed the public face of the project, announcing its beta dates himself and promising a Mac version in a Reddit Q&A.

Which word followed the series name in PlanetSide 2's working title, as it did for a sister EverQuest project?

Next was the tag on both projects, and the PlanetSide one began as a graphical refresh of the first game before growing into a full sequel.

Which spaceship MMO, played by SOE's own president, was named as a major influence on PlanetSide 2?

Eve Online inspired the sandbox freedom, the resource management and the goal of fitting huge numbers of players on one server.

PlanetSide 2's developers said they admired the freemium business model of which hit PC game?

League of Legends had shown that cosmetics and convenience could pay the bills, and SOE promised never to sell a more powerful gun or vehicle.

Which British YouTube critic, a long-time fan of the series, hosted PlanetSide 2's live showcase at E3 2012?

TotalBiscuit livestreamed early builds alongside the developers before launch and later represented a faction in a YouTuber showdown.

What is PlanetSide 2's character levelling system called, running from level 1 up to 120?

Battle Rank 100 opens the Advanced Specialization Program, which swaps a player's usual levelling rewards for new perks.

The Nanite Systems Operatives, PlanetSide 2's freelance fourth faction, are what kind of soldier?

Remotely piloted robots suit a force for hire: a freelancing operative is placed with whichever empire has the fewest players on its continent.

Which outfit-built PlanetSide 2 war asset is a giant airship with fighter launch pads and its own cannons?

Bastion carriers are capped at one per faction on a continent, and members of the owning outfit can launch interceptors from them for free.

What one-word subtitle did PlanetSide 2's battle royale spin-off carry before closing under four months after launch?

Arena needed big crowds to fill its large-scale matches, so when too few players turned up the servers closed and every purchase was refunded.

Which comic book writer behind Crisis on Infinite Earths was hired to write PlanetSide 2's backstory?

Marv Wolfman, who also co-created the vampire hunter Blade, wrote episodic stories that expanded the first game's lore.

PlanetSide 2's creative director named which shooter's vehicle combat as the standard he wanted to match?

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 had, in Matt Higby's view, handled vehicles better than any rival, and he wanted his own game at least that good.

Which visual effects company, also behind the Batman: Arkham trailers, made PlanetSide 2's cinematic trailer?

Blur Studio's short film for the shooter was unveiled at the ChinaJoy expo in the run-up to the 2012 launch.

Which anti-cheat service's support let PlanetSide 2 run on Linux through Valve's Proton in 2021?

BattlEye support was the missing piece: back in 2012 the studio's president had flatly ruled out a native Linux version.

Which Swedish holding company agreed in December 2020 to buy PlanetSide 2's parent company for $300 million?

Enad Global 7 began as Toadman Interactive, a small work-for-hire studio, and had taken its new name only that January.

Which New Conglomerate rocket launcher in PlanetSide 2 fires a missile the player steers by nose camera?

Phoenix missiles can be flown around cover, so a hidden squad can destroy parked spawn vehicles without ever being seen.