PlanetSide 2/Classes

There are six classes in PlanetSide 2. Each class has a specific role and progression tree. All six can make use of the Squad Leader certification tree, which is discussed below.

All classes except the MAX have access to a melee attack with a dedicated close-quarters weapon (the TR Chain-blade, the NC Mag-Cutter, and the VS Force Blade; all appear to be identical) and that faction's pistol. The MAX only has two weapons, controlled with left and right click respectively, and uses the "MAX Punch" (a simple arm-swinging attack) in a melee.

Certification-wise, the following are certification items that may be shared amongst all classes. Purchase them for one class, and all others will be upgraded along with them.

Infiltrator
The Infiltrator class emphasizes sabotage, stealth, and precision shooting. Equipped with a sniper rifle to use at long distances, the Infiltrator is great for picking off stationary or distracted targets.

Players who choose the Infiltrator class also have access to a cloaking device which allows them to move semi-unseen across a battlefield. The cloak drains faster when moving, and leaves behind a distinct shimmer, which attentive players can shoot for an easy kill. Weapons are disabled while cloaked, and it takes a few seconds to activate and deactivate it.

The other tool Infiltrators use to aid their team is use of a motion tracking dart. Using this device, enemies around the dart can be tracked. It is not commonly used due to its rather short detection range, but it can still help when securing a point. The dart itself appears as a small orange dot, usually stuck to a wall and emitting a rather shrill noise.

Finally, Infiltrators can hack terminals and turrets. This causes them to flip sides and become usable by your team. Since a destroyed terminal or turret is of use to no one, it is obviously a better idea to hack them rather than destroy them. If necessary, Infiltrators can re-hack formerly friendly terminals and turrets, switching their sides yet again.

Light Assault
Light Assault players utilize a Carbine as their primary weapon, though the primary calling of the Light Assault class is the jetpack. The jetpack enables players to fly for a time, allowing for attacks from a perch. Light Assault players are encouraged to strike rapidly and from an unexpected position, such as from the top of a tower, and harass the opposing team.

Many Light Assault players also save the certification points up for remote explosives, which help considerably. Light Assaults often use their jetpack to attack a tank from above, slap a few remote explosives on it, and then jetpack away before blowing the tank up.

It is also possible to use the jump jets to survive otherwise lethal falls, such as from bailing out of an aircraft. The Light Assault may also use the jets to confuse and disorient opponents in a melee.

Combat Medic
The Combat Medic is the only class to use assault rifles so far. They appear to be very similar to Carbines in many respects as well. True to their name, Combat Medics are tasked with keeping a front alive and in good health. Using their trusty healing tool, Combat Medics can heal and revive downed players.

Combat Medics also have an area-of-effect healing aura that they can activate with the F key. This ability can also be used as a self-heal.

Although Combat Medics can revive any class, they are less efficient at resurrecting MAX players, who will come back with a fraction of the health other classes would. Combat Medics also cannot heal MAX players.

Engineer
The other side of the coin to Combat Medics, Engineers are tasked with keeping vehicles, terminals, and turrets in working order for their team. The repair tool (known in-game as the Nano-Armour Kit) can be used to repair such items if they are destroyed. They also are the only class to be able to heal MAX players.

Engineer players may also deploy their very own machine gun turret, called the MANA Turret. Only one can be out at a time, but MANA turrets can be quite powerful at stopping an enemy advance. The chief problem with turrets is that they only provide protection from one direction: the direction the turret is facing. Turrets also have a problem with rockets, and their height sometimes make setting them up at a window a problem.

Another impressive use for MANA turrets, besides their offensive power, is their distraction abilities. Most players will focus their attacks on a turret when they see one. This can let an Engineer know an enemy is approaching, or draw some heat away from actual players in a firefight.

Finally, Engineers utilize ammo crates that automatically refill a friendly players' ammunition. This makes them great pals for Heavy Assaults, who utilize their rocket launchers often.

Heavy Assault
Heavy Assault players are the tip of the spear for any assault. Armed with both a high-capacity light machine gun and a rocket launcher for eliminating vehicles, Heavy Assaults are powerful jack-of-all-trades combat classes. Heavy Assault players are tasked with general purpose fighting, and can deploy a powerful "overshield" with the F key to further enhance their survivability. This overshield can be modified using certifications to have different effects.

MAX
The Mechanized Assault Exosuit, or MAX, costs infantry resources to equip. Having very reduced speed and versatility, MAX players are essentially walking tanks. Though they cannot stand up to a concerted assault, especially from range, MAXes sport two arm-mounted weapons that greatly modify its abilities.

Most MAXes have an anti-infantry weapon on their left and an anti-vehicle grenade launcher on their right, but an anti-aircraft weapon on the right is possible as well. It is possible to, if you're willing to spend money on the game, purchase a second of each type to further specialize in anti-infantry, anti-armour, or anti-air combat.

The MAX's special ability is a charge which grants them a powerful speed boost. This enables them to charge right into a firefight, where the close quarters MAX weapons can punish enemies swiftly, or most commonly as a retreat tool.

If you're killed as a MAX, a cooldown timer ticks down to the time when you can use the MAX again. Dead MAX players, therefore, should be primary targets for Medics, as without them they will be forced to switch classes. That said, however, only Engineer players can heal a MAX to normal health once a Medic resurrects them.