12th Anniversary and beyond! - Nov. Dev Letter

Welcome back Auraxians!

This year marks the 12th Anniversary of PlanetSide 2 and 2024 has brought unique experiences to the game along with some new learnings.

As we close in on the end of the year and lead into the next, we will continue to strive to be as transparent as possible with our updates, features, and communications. Much of our progress could not have been made possible without your support, so thank you for your feedback and love for the game!

Your feedback during and after each update this year has been tremendously important to us. We continue to work on addressing critical issues, and we’re excited to hear your reactions. We are on track to continue our quest to improve your gaming experience through bug fixes, more anti-cheat measures, more soldiers to fight in game, and, of course, more content to explore!

Below is a list of a few of the exciting features that have been added to PlanetSide 2 over the year and a little look into what’s to come for 2025!

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Sunderer Rework

We significantly reworked the Sunderer to address key issues, such as its vulnerability to destruction, limited versatility, and overly simplistic utility options. The goal was to make the Sunderer a more dynamic and survivable vehicle while improving its role as a spawn point and support vehicle.

Although we have made some additional tweaks to the Sunderer rework, we are excited to see players using the new features in the game!

Learn more about the Sunderer rework update here.

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Directives

We have made some additions to Directives along with some adjustments. Here are some of the highlights.

• Several Long-Term Directives were added to the game expanding on the initial Oshur conquest objectives.
• Seasonal Event Directives saw a reward structure overhaul aimed at providing players with a more rewarding experience.

Throughout the new year we will be adding a few more long-term directives and rewards. These new Long-Term Directives will follow a similar reward structure to the Seasonal Directives.

Older Longer-Term Directives will not be updated for the time being in regard to rewards retroactively rewarding players, however it is something we will investigate as we feel all directives could use a bit of a glow up.

Some Long-Term Directives players can expect to see next year are:

Collection:

• Dog Tags
  • Hossin
  • Indar
  • Amerish
  • Esamir

 

• Fishing

Specialty:

• Exceptional IX

Weapons:

• Melee Weapons

Vehicles:

• Stryder

What’s a Stryder? Keep reading on, Auraxian!

So far, the rewards are still being planned for these directives, but we will be sure to announce them when they are ready!

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Memberships

We are always looking to increase the value of membership for players. One of the ways we did this was by bringing former Prime Gaming bundles to the Depot as Member Only purchases.

Players can buy these bundles every month with Certs for their character.

Another addition we have made to the Membership is that members can now purchase Directive Bundles, featuring rewards from previous years. These will come about during their respective event months. Players will be able to obtain these for their character with A7 currency or for their account with Daybreak Cash.

Learn about Daybreak All-Access membership here.

We will add more previous Directive Rewards to the Members Only section over time.

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Cheaters and Server Improvements

We know that dealing with cheaters can be frustrating, and we want to thank you for your patience as we work to address this issue. While we do not have an army of developers to tackle everything at once, we have made significant strides in improving the game experience.

You have probably noticed our efforts in limiting air time for harassers and sunderers, and we are constantly exploring new ways to protect the game from cheating threats. Your feedback has been invaluable in helping us make these changes, and we will continue to prioritize both game content and keeping things fair.

We are committed to making the game as fun and secure as possible, and we are grateful for the ongoing support from our community. Together, we will keep pushing forward, creating new content, and ensuring that everyone can enjoy the game as it is meant to be played.

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Server Merges

One of the most common requests we have received from the community has been to merge servers, and we know how much this change means to the community. The idea of merging two servers that have been running for many years, each with its own database, is both exciting and challenging. It is a massive change, and we wanted to ensure that it would go smoothly without any negative consequences to your experience.

For the past few updates, we have been carefully testing the merge, running test simulations, and combining different account scenarios to make sure everything works as it should. After this extensive testing, we decided to start with the European server merge. It was incredible to see how much the dynamics of the game changed as players from the Cobalt and Miller servers returned. The increased activity and larger battles brought new life to the game, and we are thrilled with the results.

Now we turn our focus to the North American (NA) servers. While we hear your requests loud and clear, this one is a bit more complex. We need to account for the challenges of ping and geographical differences since the NA servers serve players from many regions. That said, we are planning the NA server merge in the coming months, and we will keep you updated on the timeline.

North America Server Merge

We’ve taken into account your feedback about how previous server merge events were held to earn new server names, and we are happy to announce that we are planning for a Title War, the official North America and Europe server merge, live server event for the Cobalt+Miller, and Connery+Emerald merge!

Title War will pit all three factions into an all-out war for the title of the new merged servers for both EU and NA. Each faction will represent a new lore specific server name that you can help earn the final title for.

We will post a specific Title War article soon with all the details including the new unannounced selection of server names. You will be able to fight for your desired server name by simply conquering Auraxis with your faction of choice for Miller and the new Connery+Emerald server.

We are grateful for your patience and your enthusiasm as we continue to improve the game, and we are committed to making sure that every change brings more fun, more players, and better battles for everyone.

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New Content For 2025

Assault Facility/Mode

A new Assault Facility type is being developed, offering a fresh approach to combat compared to existing facility types. The goal is to create a more structured and dynamic battle flow with clear phases (beginning, middle, and end) that require different strategies and tactics. Additionally, the design will better integrate vehicles, ensuring they play an important role without overpowering infantry.

Key Features and Rules:

• Assault Mode Basics
  In this mode, the attackers start by capturing an unlocked capture point, triggering the activation of the facility's Energy Pool and unlocking the attackers’ hard spawn in the hex.

 

• Capture Points
  Attackers must capture a series of points in order, with each point being locked after it is captured, preventing defenders from recapturing them. Attackers win by capturing the final point.

 

• Energy Pool 
  The defenders’ energy pool is the key to successfully defending the facility. It depletes in two ways:

1. 1. Each capture point held by the defenders drains energy at regular intervals.
   2. Spawning or deploying within the facility (via hard spawns, Sunderers, Squad Beacons, etc.) also consumes energy.

Energy does not drain from reviving with Nanite Revive Grenades or Medic tools, although the power of these grenades will be adjusted in the future.

• **Attacker Energy Pool
  **Attackers gain energy by capturing points or completing secondary objectives.

 

• **Cooldown Period
  **Once the battle ends—either with a victory for attackers or a successful defense—the facility enters a cooldown period, during which no new battles can begin until the first point is unlocked again.

This new system aims to provide a more structured and strategic experience for players, balancing infantry, and vehicle roles more effectively.

Infiltrator Rework

A lot of players will be happy to know we are addressing the Infiltrator class, and it will go through a re-balance and re-work with new features.

They will still have cloaks and won't appear permanently invisible. As well as the rebalancing of existing features, we will also be upgrading and adding a couple more features to the class.

At this time, we unfortunately cannot say much, just that a long-awaited rebalancing at the very least is going to happen!

Stryder

The Stryder's design is a work in progress and may be subject to change.

Later in the year we will launch the Stryder, a faction agnostic, hexapodal bio-tech vehicle that is obtained by capturing Assault Facilities.

The winning faction of the facility will be able to spawn and pilot these machines in most places on the continent (similar to ANVIL) through an item granted at specific terminals.

However, there are a limited amount of the spawn items available from the terminal, so once they have been depleted, no more Stryders can be spawned.

The Stryder will also feature its own Long-Term Directives and Rewards which will be released alongside it.

**Fishing **

The fishing feature is designed around off-peak hours in PlanetSide 2. Continents will be updated to have fishing spots where players can scan fish and add them to their collection.

Some fish will be available to scan all year, but some will only be available throughout specific seasons and events.

Fishing Directives

To accompany the fishing feature there will be a new Collection Directive added where players can log their scanned fish.

This Directive Tree looks a lot different to what you might be used to, but it is designed to showcase the fish players have scanned, their stats, and lore.

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The war for Auraxis rages on and we are excited to see you on the battlefield, soldier!

Happy 12th Anniversary, PlanetSide 2!

The PlanetSide 2 Team