Great video. Everyone thinks they know what flanking is - but most don't really know how to DO it in practice. This short and to the point video shows you how. Its a shame you didn't get further in the competition Wrel. You deserve it.
I do like the one point you make about threat assessment at the end there. I can’t stress that shit enough. When you are on a good flank you should always be thinking about two things, 1.)who has the highest chance of noticing me, 2.) who has the highest chance of killing me when they notice me. If you can always pick “that guy” out of a crowd one after another you will have a MUCH longer flank. Also make sure that when you do go for a kill that it’s absolutely one you can secure and secure quickly. The less time you spend in a gun fight with someone(ideally no time at all) the less chance you are to be noticed by someone else. At all costs you want to avoid grabbing multiple people’s attention without killing them. Mistakes like that will be the end of the strong majority of your runs.
Hey, thanks for the heads up. Didn't notice that they shared it on their Facebook, though I did see it on their Twitter. The PlanetSide 2 team is always looking to promote content from the community, that's why SOE stands above many other companies, imo. Also, thank you for the thoughtful words :')
As a note: Flanking also works in the vertical. This is most useful for Light Assault but others can use it as well. Towers, large rocks, hills (be careful with hills, you will become a profile against the sky) and the like represent ways to get to your opponent unexpectedly. Getting up on these places can be hard but getting down is not. Mid level flanks is also a thing. By taking a small group into a crossfire position you can push back an enemy fast. These positions are often vulnerable.
Great video as usual Wrel, I would personally love to see some tutorials on overall tactics as a platoon/squad leader, or perhaps some insightful tips.
Hadn't thought about it like that. "Thoughts" videos are my favorite to do, so I'm trying to keep one in the mix every two weeks or so. Difficult to do at times. I've never heard of Adam Sessler, I'll look him up!
A community is something you temper over time, like a blacksmith turns a lump of iron into a keen blade. Your "75%" will eventually dwindle as the rough parts are pounded into shape.
Wrel, I think you should do another video that expands on this one :D. give some more "advanced" flanking tactics or something, I would love to see something like that. Keep up the good work!
I've been trying to participate in squads and outfits lately, to try and gain that experience. It's definitely something I need to learn more about myself.
What, this very is very informative, like sato said, the rest are probably dubstep montages :(. Oh and thanks for helping me out choosing a shotgun, I'm shredding in close quarters with the nova :) Thank for making great videos and interacting with your subs, it's very rare now a days. Most people do it foe the views and couldn't care less
A lot of people prefer the Hailstorm, but honestly... I didn't start having success with it until I had it fully certed out. Armistice, on the other hand, I've been doing well with right out of the box.
Hope you have fun. It essentially just feels like a European server to me. Having started out with Counterstrike 5.1 when I was around 12 years old and pushed through most of the major competitive FPS games over the years, it's the atlantic split in psychology that leaps out at me - in short, Brits and Europeans in general feel sharper and more paranoid - way more antisocial, far worse at working as a team, but much better at keeping themselves alive, much more aware of their surroundings.
Appreciate the reply on my previous comment and just wanted to point out that only the character limit prevented me from thanking you for an intelligently made video with some excellent footage. The map-work is obvious, needless to say, but the examples of solo flanking maneuvers in the videos and your commentary upon them were thought-provoking even for a 150 hour Light Assault. If you'd like a fine group to play with on Miller, and don't mind Vanu, try Rock Paper Shotgun/RPS.
Too many people think the lattice removed flanking, it actually encouraged more flanking. As it focuses forces meaning head on assaults are suicide now - meaning you have to flank or use vastly overwhelming numbers.
Flanking is good, but it works great in something like a tank. Usually I'm trying to work out in my mind where I can get my prowler around drawn lines if I'm in a big battle so I can hopefully pick off a few tanks or critical units so my team can push forward or get some relief. That being said, I would've liked to see more flanking and other examples with other things.
Sessler does more in-depth reviews and crap, but sometimes he'll have an essay worth hearing. You don't do the same things, but you have the same adult gamer demographic. Your video on skill was fantastic. I hope you do more of that stuff.
As much as I'd like to take this with a grain of salt, and tell you that "it doesn't matter which server you're on, you're still going to have pub players who do this..." a lot of people have referenced Miller, specifically, as being some sort of haven for pro players. So I'm now very interested in seeing differences between Miller and its American counterparts. I think I'll create a character there and run around a bit, latency permitting. Cheers.
People usually blame it on one server or another, but in actuality... it's the situation, not the server. They all have oblivious players, they all have skilled players, the difference is how many of those moments get put on UA-cam.
Infiltrators rock at flanking. I once found a battle similar to the one on Esamir, went Infil., pulled out a revolver and got maybe 20 kills before some guy in a Prowler got a direct hit on me (at the last second before I'd be behind cover, after a good 10 shots)
This is actually the reason why I can't decide between playing the Infil or LA. They both can do the same job, but they do it differently. As in Infil that hasn't gotten a scout rifle/SMG yet, I'm frequently droppodding or sneaking in to pick off infantry one by one in a concealed position. As an LA, i prefer to fly up over obstacles that other infantry can't, and letting me throw grenades and cut down opponenets from behind or to the side.
Yes, I too am a tribes vet, played competitively in Tribes and Tribes 2. Such a fun and addictive game.. Although, I have to admit, Tribes Ascend didnt hold me as long as I would have liked.. and don't even get me started on T:V
You sure that the enemy can actually flank you at 0:59 ? I usually play as lone wolf and I have a feeling that someone alone won't be able to flank very easily in that kind of situation as you would have to go extremely far west or far south and then go around. Organised groups can possibly do that, but like what you mentioned, people don't do that enough.
Bit late to the party I know, but it would be cool to see some thoughts on the opposite (counter flanking), since I feel like it's even rarer than people actually using flanking. Likely mostly a symptom of the general lack of awareness amongst Planetside 2 players. I've managed to take advantage of this in some way and carve myself out a little niche as a flank watcher/ambush stopper, but it would be nice if more people paid attention to the flanks.
Man I wish you would post your rig information somewhere. The reason I keep asking is because it really runs PS2 smoothly and it doesn't appear as though you have to compromise a lot of stuff in Planetside. Because I wanted to pool it in my list of references when I'm going to buy the parts to my own P.C.
It all depends what kind of gunplay you like. Cyclone does more damage than any other SMG with lower firerate and small mag, Blitz has high firerate, large magazine and good with adv. laser with low damage, then again NS PDW is kinda meh weapon since it has slow firerate and low damage, but then again you unlock it to all your characters if bought with SC, also with adv. laser it is very accurate from the hip to longer ranges than others if you burst fire it
There is a setting in game for it. Central Hud or something. I am not at my home computer so I cannot confirm at the moment sorry. I can confirm there is a check box you can tick in the settings menu somewhere that does this.
What server do you play on... I want to come there as it seems that almost everyone you verse is either blind or actually too focused on their targets to check their surroundings... Briggs doesn't allow me that, it seems that the four main outfits, SOCA/7OXS (TR) and TROL/GAB (VS) actually talk to one another making any Flanks I try and squad flanks we try shut down quickly. That or there is something fishy going on, (Sadly more often then not)...
You should make more strategy videos. Im scared to lead honestly, but thats because i want to do it right using strategy. Not strategy with single weapons, but like, map strategies. This game might as well be a RTS game, such as starcraft, civ, or age of empires, but where each player is an individual unit. At least, thats how i see it.
well i probably would not call this flanking or tactics... but i was on esamir and was amazed by the new trees so i was hell bent on running to the middle of the map to take a screen shot with a whole bunch of the trees... so i ran 3000 meters on foot through five battles and got tons of kills because no one looking for a vanu. (i got the picture to)
I think it was important to solve a lot of problems. Before the lattice, zergs would just run circles around big fights. There was no point in defending when you could just go somewhere else and capture unoccupied territory. This system forces big fights (which is what PlanetSide 2 is about,) but still leaves options open for smaller squads to capture lesser populated areas. So the strategy element is still there, and I think this was a good change overall.
The average players on miller have become rather terrible on miller too after we became recommended. It is kinda getting better but you can still run in the middle of a group of enemies and just knife them. Luckly we (TR) still have DWG and WASP to fight :)
Man, not that my aim will ever match up to yours, but how do you do what you do? If I ran around like that cloaked I'd get picked off. I will say, I have been struggling with whether to play VS Heavy or VS Infiltrator mostly, and this video makes the decision harder, haha. Even if it is an old one.
Every video I watch of your gameplay, I can't help to notice the absolutely terrible situational awareness of the enemy players. Such a difference with the server I am playing on (Miller)
just a quick question, i noticed by the end of the video (the nc infiltrator) that you drained your blitz almost dry and then BAM, 200 ammo again. Call me a dirtbag or simply distracted but, as far as i tought this video was very good, it would be very disapointing to me if you`re a cheater. Please tell me I`m wrong.
These kinds of videos turns a normal player into better ones since they know what to do now. Great video Wrel and i friended you on my NC on connery server and you accepted even though your a different faction and on a different server... xD ( user name is aldenisawsome0123 )
Yeah. It allows for more focuses tactics. Instead of having to account for every random wanker coming in from random sides because they failed a cap elsewhere or just got lost.
Great video. Everyone thinks they know what flanking is - but most don't really know how to DO it in practice. This short and to the point video shows you how. Its a shame you didn't get further in the competition Wrel. You deserve it.
I do like the one point you make about threat assessment at the end there. I can’t stress that shit enough. When you are on a good flank you should always be thinking about two things, 1.)who has the highest chance of noticing me, 2.) who has the highest chance of killing me when they notice me. If you can always pick “that guy” out of a crowd one after another you will have a MUCH longer flank.
Also make sure that when you do go for a kill that it’s absolutely one you can secure and secure quickly. The less time you spend in a gun fight with someone(ideally no time at all) the less chance you are to be noticed by someone else. At all costs you want to avoid grabbing multiple people’s attention without killing them. Mistakes like that will be the end of the strong majority of your runs.
Your content is always exceptional Wrel, I wish you well in this round of clash of the comentators.
Wrel, I would love to see some long gameplay videos with live commentary from you.
Hey, thanks for the heads up. Didn't notice that they shared it on their Facebook, though I did see it on their Twitter.
The PlanetSide 2 team is always looking to promote content from the community, that's why SOE stands above many other companies, imo.
Also, thank you for the thoughtful words :')
As a note: Flanking also works in the vertical. This is most useful for Light Assault but others can use it as well.
Towers, large rocks, hills (be careful with hills, you will become a profile against the sky) and the like represent ways to get to your opponent unexpectedly. Getting up on these places can be hard but getting down is not.
Mid level flanks is also a thing. By taking a small group into a crossfire position you can push back an enemy fast. These positions are often vulnerable.
Great video as usual Wrel, I would personally love to see some tutorials on overall tactics as a platoon/squad leader, or perhaps some insightful tips.
Hadn't thought about it like that. "Thoughts" videos are my favorite to do, so I'm trying to keep one in the mix every two weeks or so. Difficult to do at times.
I've never heard of Adam Sessler, I'll look him up!
A community is something you temper over time, like a blacksmith turns a lump of iron into a keen blade. Your "75%" will eventually dwindle as the rough parts are pounded into shape.
Wrel, I think you should do another video that expands on this one :D. give some more "advanced" flanking tactics or something, I would love to see something like that. Keep up the good work!
I always say: Planetside2 is an acronym for: "Flank or be flanked." Makes perfectly sense, doesn't it?
or flank the flankers
Flankception
Tek Funk flank the flankers flank the flank flankers
+Cybraxas you don't know what acronyms are do you?
mhaas871 You didnt get the joke. Try again.
Yes, and I like it. Hipfires like a beast from a good distance away.
I've been trying to participate in squads and outfits lately, to try and gain that experience. It's definitely something I need to learn more about myself.
More classes on flanking, please. I don't see enough of this going on in Planetside 2.
Hey, glad I could help. And thanks for the kind words :')
What, this very is very informative, like sato said, the rest are probably dubstep montages :(. Oh and thanks for helping me out choosing a shotgun, I'm shredding in close quarters with the nova :) Thank for making great videos and interacting with your subs, it's very rare now a days. Most people do it foe the views and couldn't care less
A lot of people prefer the Hailstorm, but honestly... I didn't start having success with it until I had it fully certed out. Armistice, on the other hand, I've been doing well with right out of the box.
It's funny the things we "know," but rarely practice. We all can use reminders from time to time!
Hope you have fun.
It essentially just feels like a European server to me. Having started out with Counterstrike 5.1 when I was around 12 years old and pushed through most of the major competitive FPS games over the years, it's the atlantic split in psychology that leaps out at me - in short, Brits and Europeans in general feel sharper and more paranoid - way more antisocial, far worse at working as a team, but much better at keeping themselves alive, much more aware of their surroundings.
Appreciate the reply on my previous comment and just wanted to point out that only the character limit prevented me from thanking you for an intelligently made video with some excellent footage. The map-work is obvious, needless to say, but the examples of solo flanking maneuvers in the videos and your commentary upon them were thought-provoking even for a 150 hour Light Assault.
If you'd like a fine group to play with on Miller, and don't mind Vanu, try Rock Paper Shotgun/RPS.
Too many people think the lattice removed flanking, it actually encouraged more flanking. As it focuses forces meaning head on assaults are suicide now - meaning you have to flank or use vastly overwhelming numbers.
Flanking is good, but it works great in something like a tank. Usually I'm trying to work out in my mind where I can get my prowler around drawn lines if I'm in a big battle so I can hopefully pick off a few tanks or critical units so my team can push forward or get some relief.
That being said, I would've liked to see more flanking and other examples with other things.
Sessler does more in-depth reviews and crap, but sometimes he'll have an essay worth hearing. You don't do the same things, but you have the same adult gamer demographic.
Your video on skill was fantastic. I hope you do more of that stuff.
I agree. I like the Lattice System in its current state, I think they found a good balance.
As much as I'd like to take this with a grain of salt, and tell you that "it doesn't matter which server you're on, you're still going to have pub players who do this..." a lot of people have referenced Miller, specifically, as being some sort of haven for pro players.
So I'm now very interested in seeing differences between Miller and its American counterparts. I think I'll create a character there and run around a bit, latency permitting.
Cheers.
People usually blame it on one server or another, but in actuality... it's the situation, not the server. They all have oblivious players, they all have skilled players, the difference is how many of those moments get put on UA-cam.
Infiltrators rock at flanking. I once found a battle similar to the one on Esamir, went Infil., pulled out a revolver and got maybe 20 kills before some guy in a Prowler got a direct hit on me (at the last second before I'd be behind cover, after a good 10 shots)
This is actually the reason why I can't decide between playing the Infil or LA. They both can do the same job, but they do it differently. As in Infil that hasn't gotten a scout rifle/SMG yet, I'm frequently droppodding or sneaking in to pick off infantry one by one in a concealed position. As an LA, i prefer to fly up over obstacles that other infantry can't, and letting me throw grenades and cut down opponenets from behind or to the side.
Wednesday, usually 5 or 6pm EST on Twitch.
Yes, I too am a tribes vet, played competitively in Tribes and Tribes 2. Such a fun and addictive game.. Although, I have to admit, Tribes Ascend didnt hold me as long as I would have liked.. and don't even get me started on T:V
hey men. looks amaizing. gj with all ur videos. tell me one thing only, what rig u have? looks great,
Nice flank at last clip xD
Which SMG do you recommend for TR infiltrator?
Should be out on the test server as of today, I think?
I feel I can group myself with the 'more advanced' players ;)
Light assault and infiltrator is my life. :D
Quality video Wrel
Just something I made up a long time ago. I like the letters "R" and "W."
Nice video Wrel! Find it funny that we released a video on the same topic on the same day :D
You sure that the enemy can actually flank you at 0:59 ? I usually play as lone wolf and I have a feeling that someone alone won't be able to flank very easily in that kind of situation as you would have to go extremely far west or far south and then go around. Organised groups can possibly do that, but like what you mentioned, people don't do that enough.
Wrel- have you had a chanc to try the new NS smg yet? And if so.. would you recomend it?
keep up the good work dude
You're the kind of person that successfully gets flanked.
Honestly, I don't think theres ever been a time when I HAVEN'T tried flanking.
Hey Wrel,
I have to ask you.
You mentioned the lattice-system.
Do you like it, hate it, or think that it was unevitable? :)
Bit late to the party I know, but it would be cool to see some thoughts on the opposite (counter flanking), since I feel like it's even rarer than people actually using flanking. Likely mostly a symptom of the general lack of awareness amongst Planetside 2 players. I've managed to take advantage of this in some way and carve myself out a little niche as a flank watcher/ambush stopper, but it would be nice if more people paid attention to the flanks.
I can't stress enough about flanking maneuvers, some people in the NC just stick along the same tactics and it drives me nutts XD
HOssin is coming out this week on the test server right wrel?
Could have done a few more tips, light jet pack hovering and using the lifts to get you to flank able spots
woo! two videos at once!!
Wrel was Buzzcut At SOE live i dint see hem anywhere?
Man I wish you would post your rig information somewhere. The reason I keep asking is because it really runs PS2 smoothly and it doesn't appear as though you have to compromise a lot of stuff in Planetside. Because I wanted to pool it in my list of references when I'm going to buy the parts to my own P.C.
Could you please do a MAX cert guide? i really want to know your opinion about which weapons and suit slot are best
is there a vid for the new pistols coming soon?
It all depends what kind of gunplay you like. Cyclone does more damage than any other SMG with lower firerate and small mag, Blitz has high firerate, large magazine and good with adv. laser with low damage, then again NS PDW is kinda meh weapon since it has slow firerate and low damage, but then again you unlock it to all your characters if bought with SC, also with adv. laser it is very accurate from the hip to longer ranges than others if you burst fire it
There is a setting in game for it. Central Hud or something. I am not at my home computer so I cannot confirm at the moment sorry. I can confirm there is a check box you can tick in the settings menu somewhere that does this.
I'm thinking of buy a SMG on my NC character, Which one do you prefer? The Cyclone, Blitz, or the NS PDW?
Used to. Tribes was more up my alley though.
How do you get your health,shiel,ammo and jetpack fuel aso, in the middle of your screen?
I'll keep that in mind, thanks for sharing :')
more feeling wrel. I wanna know how you FEEL
Oh and Wrel... I heard you say Quake in the video.. Do you play Quake or was that just for the C.O.C XD
Ever tried a sniper rifle to flank, works great.
Light assault's my favorite class because you can flank in 3 dimensions
@Wrel, what are you pc specs, please answer :3?
What server do you play on... I want to come there as it seems that almost everyone you verse is either blind or actually too focused on their targets to check their surroundings... Briggs doesn't allow me that, it seems that the four main outfits, SOCA/7OXS (TR) and TROL/GAB (VS) actually talk to one another making any Flanks I try and squad flanks we try shut down quickly. That or there is something fishy going on, (Sadly more often then not)...
You should make more strategy videos. Im scared to lead honestly, but thats because i want to do it right using strategy. Not strategy with single weapons, but like, map strategies. This game might as well be a RTS game, such as starcraft, civ, or age of empires, but where each player is an individual unit. At least, thats how i see it.
No ads on the video?
lol. Look on the ground, mate. I walked across two ammo packs.
Great LA and infil skills! I'm content if i can get more than 3 kills without dying as inf (and it rarely happens).
Wrel, pourrais-tu faire une revue d'arme sur le Rhino T16 ? Je veux voir si je ne l'ai pas acheté pour rien ... :D
well i probably would not call this flanking or tactics... but i was on esamir and was amazed by the new trees so i was hell bent on running to the middle of the map to take a screen shot with a whole bunch of the trees... so i ran 3000 meters on foot through five battles and got tons of kills because no one looking for a vanu. (i got the picture to)
what server does wrel play on i think ive been killed by him
Wrel is flanking limited to infiltrators only?
Nope :'( They haven't posted the "winning" submissions yet, so I'd be interested in seeing who came out on top.
You look like that guy from STAR WARS: The Force Unleashed with a nurse hat :D
I think it was important to solve a lot of problems. Before the lattice, zergs would just run circles around big fights. There was no point in defending when you could just go somewhere else and capture unoccupied territory.
This system forces big fights (which is what PlanetSide 2 is about,) but still leaves options open for smaller squads to capture lesser populated areas.
So the strategy element is still there, and I think this was a good change overall.
sorry, saw the enemy ammo suply, sorry for the insinuation. Great vid.
Awesome like always :)
Don't worry. This channel is a small life-boat in a sea of stupidity. Plenty more cannon fodder out there for you to farm, always will be :D
So you didn't get to the second round? :/
The average players on miller have become rather terrible on miller too after we became recommended. It is kinda getting better but you can still run in the middle of a group of enemies and just knife them. Luckly we (TR) still have DWG and WASP to fight :)
Man, not that my aim will ever match up to yours, but how do you do what you do? If I ran around like that cloaked I'd get picked off. I will say, I have been struggling with whether to play VS Heavy or VS Infiltrator mostly, and this video makes the decision harder, haha. Even if it is an old one.
I appreciate that, thanks much :')
can you do a max cert guide ?
Every video I watch of your gameplay, I can't help to notice the absolutely terrible situational awareness of the enemy players. Such a difference with the server I am playing on (Miller)
I always get to a flanking position and then panic and blow my chance!
I don't think it's fair to play against the blind. :/
just a quick question, i noticed by the end of the video (the nc infiltrator) that you drained your blitz almost dry and then BAM, 200 ammo again. Call me a dirtbag or simply distracted but, as far as i tought this video was very good, it would be very disapointing to me if you`re a cheater. Please tell me I`m wrong.
The links at the end don't go anywhere.
are they TR? lol damn fractures, i thought they are suppose to be AV?
Now the enemy will look for me flanking more often Q.Q you are a traitor to the NC! great video, now i will have to be more careful when flanking lol
no matter how many flanking vids are posted on youtube.... most people.... will end up as a bullet sink
This is a common sense guide, but sometimes it needs a kick by someone else that you start to think about something.
cheers
Maybe they can smell an easy target.
These kinds of videos turns a normal player into better ones since they know what to do now. Great video Wrel and i friended you on my NC on connery server and you accepted even though your a different faction and on a different server... xD ( user name is aldenisawsome0123 )
Flanking is fun in an infiltrator get behind a ways and unload on em with the auto scout rifle
That, I agree with.
you got that right....
Yeah. It allows for more focuses tactics. Instead of having to account for every random wanker coming in from random sides because they failed a cap elsewhere or just got lost.
Waterson is one i believe. i think he is NC on that. I know he killed me once. In fact i think a lot of youtubers that show PS2 are on Waterson.