PlanetSide, a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) computer game published by Sony Online Entertainment, currently contains 35 different ground and air vehicles, each with radically different attributes. Almost every vehicle has at least one type of onboard weapons system (the exceptions are the AMS, ANT, Lodestar, Router, and Wraith, though all have important capabilities). Some vehicles are only available to members of a particular Empire, while others are available to all. All vehicles, however, may be hacked into by a sufficiently advanced hacker and jacked.
Ground Vehicles[ | ]
Common Pool[ | ]
Common Pool vehicles are available to soldiers from any Empire.
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| AMS | |
| The Advanced Mobile Station is the linchpin in many attack strategies. Once driven to a location and deployed, friendly soldiers can "spawn" (enter) and "deconstruct" (exit) at the AMS, just like at spawn tubes in friendly bases and towers. Soldiers can "bind" to the AMS (store their patterns at its respawn) for quick redeployment after death. It also carries a two full Equipment Terminals, allowing soldiers to re-equip in the field. When deployed, the AMS automatically cloaks beyond a short distance in order to better shield it from enemy troops. However, anyone inside the cloaking bubble cannot see units/vehicles outside it either. | |
| ANT | |
| The Advanced Nanite Transport is the backbone of the power system, which draws energy from the ancient Vanu warp bubbles. Usable by any soldier with any other vehicle certification, the ANT is driven to warp gate bubbles where it deploys its charging vanes. Once the capacitors onboard are filled, the ANT is driven to a facility and deployed near a Silo. The energy is then transferred to the Silo and the facility gains enough energy to be fully powered for a time. | |
| Basilisk | |
| The four-wheeled Basilisk is the most agile land attack vehicle, combining reasonably potent offensive capabilities and speed. The primary weakness of the Basilisk is its light armor that allows the vehicle its superior handling. The Basilisk has twin Light Rotary Chainguns mounted side-by-side in front of the rider. | |
| Deliverer | |
| The Deliverer is a medium transport capable of carrying up to five occupants (one driver, two gunners, and two passengers). While less maneuverable than assault buggies, the Deliverer has two gunners, one next to the driver, facing forward, and the other in the rear, covering the back. A reasonable trunk provides adequate space to carry supplies as well. The Deliverer also has the distinct advantage of being able to cross calm rivers and waterways, unlike most other vehicles. When entering water, the Deliverer will float at the surface, but is only capable of 70% of its maximum speed when crossing water. It is also slightly faster than its variant designs. | |
| Fury | |
| The Fury is an ATV, similar to the Basilisk, except armed with a rocket launcher with a 2-round magazine. The rockets have roughly the same power as a Decimator dumb-fire bazooka, which, when combined with the Fury's speed and agility, make it an effective hit-and-run ATV. | |
| Harasser | |
| The Harasser buggy has room for a driver and a gunner. Both people sit in an open-air compartment that affords little protection, but lightens the vehicle to increase its speed. The passenger position has an overhead mounted 12 mm Rotary Chaingun that can be used to "ride shotgun" in an anti-infantry role. | |
| Lightning | |
| The Lightning is a single seated mini tank. Fairly fast, but only lightly armored, Lightnings are suited to running escort or in packs. It is outfitted with a 75 mm cannon as its primary weapon, and is also equipped with a secondary light rotary chaingun. Both weapons are mounted on a fully traversable turret that also includes the driver's gunsight camera, making it a difficult vehicle to drive and fight simultaneously. | |
| Skyguard | |
| The Skyguard is a Technology Plant-dependent buggy, designed for anti-aircraft work. It is a two-soldier vehicle, with a driver and a gunner. The gunner has access to both a 12 mm machine-gun and an anti-aircraft flak cannon, making it an effective vehicle for air defense. | |
| Wraith | |
| The fastest and most agile of all land-based vehicles, the Wraith ATV trades armor and all offensive capabilities for sheer speed, maneuverability, and stealth. Designed as a reconnaissance vehicle, the Wraith has a unique light refraction system that effectively cloaks it visually at long range, though only if the rider is wearing an Infiltration Suit. The integrated stealth system complements the light refraction, removing the Wraith from most radar systems. In addition, a white noise generator helps to dampen the Wraith's engine noise. As onboard weapon ammunition is not needed, the Wraith has a generous available trunk space, making it a favorite of cloakers and Combat Engineers alike for transporting ACE units. Infantry soldiers also use the Wraith to get to key tactical positions or the main battle front quickly. | |
New Conglomerate[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Enforcer | |
| The Enforcer is the New Conglomerate's Version of a heavy buggy. It sports an Advanced Rocket Launcher mounted on an open 360 degree turret located above and behind the driver. The ARL is a single barreled rocket launcher with a heavy punch and a hefty clip, suitable for taking out larger vehicles. | |
| Thunderer | |
| The Thunderer is the Deliverer variant available to the New Conglomerate. It is identical to the Deliverer with regards to handling, armor, and the ability to cross water. What sets the Thunderer apart is its weapon system. The mounted weapons have both a fairly long range and a very small cone of fire, making it highly accurate at close to medium ranges. It also carries with it the New Conglomerate's signature high damage per shot, the one drawback being its low rate of fire. | |
| Vanguard | |
| The Vanguard is the main battle tank of the New Conglomerate. Generally well balanced, the Vanguard brings decent speed, solid armor, and hefty firepower to the field. The main turret, which houses both a dual 20 mm chaingun and 150 mm cannon, can rotate 360 degrees, giving the gunner complete attack coverage for the driver. | |
| The Vindicator is the new empire-specific Sunderer available to the New Conglomerate. It includes two 75mm cannons, two empire-specific turrets(most likely a straight-shot AA), and two close-range side turrets. Also, if the gunners in the side turrets have Darklight, the range of the implant is increased. The Vindicator also has an EMP capacitor and a horn! Can penetrate shield module fortification. | |
Terran Republic[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Marauder | |
| The Marauder heavy buggy sports more armor, fire power, and passenger space than the buggies of other Empires. The primary weapon system consists of a 360-degree capable heavy automatic mortar (Ground Pounder) mounted in the rear. The mortar is a relatively short barreled weapon that can fire off several rounds before needing to reload. The secondary weapon system is a 12 mm Rotary Chaingun mounted to the right of the driver. | |
| Prowler | |
| The Prowler is the largest Main Battle Tank. Having mid-range armor for a Tank and a 360-degree capable dual 100 mm heavy tank turret, the Prowler is certainly able to devastate many targets in short order. A secondary gunner is able to control a dual Rotary Chaingun, which is affixed to a secondary turret mounted on the primary turret. The sheer size, weight, and firepower of this tank makes it slower than either of the other Main Battle tanks. | |
| Raider | |
| The Raider is a Deliverer variant available to the Terran Republic. Like the Thunderer, it is identical to the Deliverer with regards to handling, armor, and the ability to cross water. The Raider's strength lies in its 4 gunner positions; a fully maned Raider with gunners working together can bring down even the biggest foes quickly and efficiently. | |
| The Juggernaut is the new empire-specific Sunderer for the Terran Republic. It includes two 75mm cannons, two empire-specific turrets(most likely a fast-firing AA), and two close-range side turrets. The gunners of the side turret will have their Darklight implant range increased. Also has an EMP capacitor and a horn. Able to penetrate shield module fortification. | |
Vanu Sovereignty[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Aurora | |
| The Aurora is the Deliverer variant available to the Vanu Sovereignty. Like the Thunderer, it is identical to the Deliverer with regards to handling, armor, and the ability to cross water. The Aurora's weapon system consists of 2 energy cannons. The cannons can fire single shots, but also have a secondary mode capable of spraying a bombardment of 6 rounds quickly. The cannons' shots can cause devastating results when used either in close range or for raining down damage on a large area. | |
| Magrider | |
| The Magrider is the Vanu Sovereignty's Main Battle Tank. Built upon Alien technology, it has the ability to hover across both ground and water. This propulsion system also gives the Magrider the ability to strafe left or right. Since the Sovereignty has not yet perfected the anti-gravitic drive, however, weight is still a critical issue. Because of this, the Magrider's primary weapon, a heavy energy rail beam, is the lightest of the tank main cannons, though the most accurate. The secondary weapon system, which the pilot controls, is a light Pulsed Particle Accelerator, and is mounted on the front of the vehicle. | |
| Thresher | |
| The Vanu Sovereignty's version of a Heavy Buggy is built upon a gravitic drive system that replaces the usual wheels with 4 anti grav pods that propel the buggy. It sports a turret-mounted Flux Cannon that serves as the primary weapon. Though the Vanu Sovereignty's version of an Assault Buggy may not have the thick armor that other Empires have, its hover capabilities allow it to effectively strafe left or right thus offsetting some of its other disadvantages with increased maneuverability. In addition, this hover capability allows the Vanu Sovereignty hover buggy to sustain travel over water, allowing it to easily cross rivers and ponds. | |
| The Leviathan is the Vanu Sovereignty's version of the empire-specific Sunderer. It includes two 75mm cannons, two flux turrets(AA), and two close-range side turrets(increased Darklight implant vision). Also has an EMP capacitor and a horn. Able to penetrate shield module fortification. | |
Ancient Tech[ | ]
"Ancient Tech" vehicles are available with the Core Combat expansion. All are hovercraft that use anti-grav technology similar to the Magrider and Thresher, and thus can travel over water as well as land. These vehicles have no doors per se; the driver is teleported in and out of the vehicle.
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Flail | |
| The Flail is a massive artillery piece that cannot fire at all unless deployed. However, once deployed, its massive Dispersion Cannon can fling devastating energy projectiles long distances with indirect fire. Because it can shoot farther than it can see (obstacles often intervene to prevent direct line of sight), soldiers can access a terminal on the back of the Flail to get a Laser Pointer. This item is equipped like a pistol and can be used to provide forward observation information to the Flail gunner. This helps point out targets for annihilation from a remote location. | |
| Router | |
| This ponderous vehicle can be deployed in the same manner as an AMS. Once deployed, a station becomes operational on the back allowing access to a deployable Telepad. A soldier can take the Telepad to a location (inside or outside), within a limited distance, and deploy it to create a connection which then exists between the Router and the Telepad, thus creating a point-to-point teleportation system. This can be an advantage, obviously, in quickly moving soldiers to a key location. It is not an IFF system, however; enemies can also use a Router system. Thus, it is important to be wise in Router and Telepad placement, and usually desirable to set up defenses (mines or Spitfire turrets) at one or both ends. | |
| Switchblade | |
| The Switchblade has a forward-firing Scythe Cannon that fires "V"-shaped wedges of energy at a rapid speed. The wedges' damage is also calculated in the fourth dimension, and does damage to a target relative to the amount of time it has been there (stationary objects take more damage than moving ones). The vehicle can be deployed, however, in much the same manner as a Terran Republic MAX, vastly increasing the rate of fire of the Scythe cannon and allowing this light vehicle to pour forth destructive power. The Switchblade does not carry any spare ammo, though it can recharge its battery at friendly bases. | |
Air Vehicles[ | ]
All air vehicles in PlanetSide are Common Pool, meaning they are available to all Empires, and are all VTOL aircraft.
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Galaxy | |
| The Galaxy is a gigantic aircraft capable of carrying a pilot, three gunners, two MAXs, six other passengers, as well as a light vehicle in the back (with passengers). Fully loaded, with passengers in the vehicle stowed in back, the Galaxy can easily carry a full Squad of soldiers, plus a pilot and gun crew to bring them to the battle intact and alive. The gunner positions have 20 mm Chainguns to use in defense against airborne targets, or they can be alternately used to pound ground targets from above. Passengers are able to bail out of the Galaxy while it is in the air, leading to the common tactic of flying over a base or tower and bailing out to attack from above, known as a "galaxy drop" or "gal drop". Vehicles can also "bail out"; the most common use of this feature is in delivering an ANT to an underpowered base in the heat of battle. Strategic use of one or more Galaxies can often swing a battle in favour of the attackers. | |
| Liberator | |
| The Liberator bomber is crewed by three soldiers. One is the pilot, with a fixed forward 35 mm cannon, one as a tailgunner, with a pivotable 25 mm machinegun, and the last as a bombardier. The bombardier is capable of dropping either anti-infantry cluster bombs or heavy 'tankbuster' bombs. | |
| Lodestar | |
| The Lodestar is a single-crew vehicle that can lift and carry any ground vehicle, including main battle tanks and the enormous Battleframes, quickly and smoothly to a desired location. Vehicles mounted in the Lodestar can be ejected in order to "hot drop" to an overflown location. When landed, the Lodestar can also be used by ground and air vehicles as a repair/rearm terminal. | |
| Mosquito | |
| The Mosquito is fast, agile, and lightly armored. It carries only a Light Rotary Chaingun (12 mm), but it can easily slip past most sensory defenses, as it is not visible on radar. Though designed primarily as a scout craft, it serves many roles in practice: infantry support, tower and base infiltration, fast interceptor, etc. While cruising at slower speeds, its overflight radar allows enemy units within a certain radius to be seen on friendly mini-maps. The Mosquito only carries a single pilot. | |
| Reaver | |
| The Reaver carries much more armor and ordnance than the lighter Mosquito. Of course, this makes it less maneuverable, but the Reaver is easily the king of the skies with its forward-firing 20 mm Recoilless Cannon and secondary firing Rocket Launchers. The Reaver, like the Mosquito, carries only a single pilot. "Reaver spammers" commonly use the powerful rockets to "spam" an area with explosions for anti infantry strafing runs or simply hover over an enemy position and wait for a target to show itself. | |
| Vulture | |
| A low-level intrusion bomber variant of the Liberator, the Vulture sports a modified 35 mm cannon, capable of significantly increased rate of fire, at the expense of a long cooldown period after each clip. The bombardier has larger, heavier anti-tank bombs, and the tailgunner retains the 25 mm ball-turret, but the clip size for the turret is reduced by one-third. The inclusion of an afterburner and increased speed and maneuverability required the aircraft armor to be lightened noticeably. | |
| Wasp | |
| An anti-air interceptor variant of the Mosquito, the Wasp carries two air-to-air missile launchers as well as a modified 12 mm rotary chaingun with vastly increased rate of fire but smaller clip size than the Mosquito's. It trades a significant amount of armor and its overflight radar for more powerful engines and increased afterburner capacity. Like the Mosquito, the Wasp only carries a single pilot. | |
Battleframe Robotics[ | ]
Introduced with the "Aftershock" event, Battleframe Robotics (BFRs) are the most powerful vehicles available to players in PlanetSide. Each one features a shield generator that can absorb large amounts of damage. The shields will also regenerate as they are taking damage. While they require the Core Combat expansion to access, they are not considered "Ancient Tech" (although the backstory indicates that some ancient technology is needed to pilot them).
BFRs come in two types: Standard or Gunner variant and the Flight variant. The Standard variant has a pilot and a gunner and weapons for each. Flight variants give up the gunner in exchange for "jumpjets" that allow the BFR short flight abilities. The Flight variant is only available to soldiers that have achieved the Advanced BFR Merit Commendation.
New Conglomerate[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Battle Frame Robotics | |
| The Peregrine is the ground variant of the New Conglomerate's Battle Frame and features two pilot controlled weapons and a gunner turret. The pilot mans an Anti-Tank Machine Gun (anti vehicle), the Hammer (anti infantry) and the Sparrow (anti aircraft). The gunner weapons include the Particle Cannon (anti vehicle) and the Rocket Pod (anti infantry). These weapons are the most powerful of the three battleframes, however, they are only effective at close range since the Hammer is essentially a large shotgun, and the Anti-Tank Machine Gun's depleted uranium bullets quickly lose effectiveness over increased range. With the exception of the Anti-Tank Machine Gun, these weapons are also the slowest firing, but overall, their firepower can be devastating.
The Eagle is the flight variant. It is not as heavily armoured and has a weaker, slower charging shield, but it has the ability to jump into the air and it has twice the speed of the Peregrine. The shield goes offline while in the air and slowly drains until the BFR has landed. While in the air, the BFR can be tracked by Anti Aircraft weaponry, and flak projectiles will detonate when close to a BFR that is in flight. The Eagle also lacks a gunner turret. | |
Terran Republic[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Battle Frame Robotics | |
| The Colossus is the ground variant of the Terran Republic's Battle Frame and features two pilot controlled weapons and a gunner turret. The pilot's weapons include the Tank Defense Cannon (anti vehicle), the 30mm Chaingun (anti infantry) and the Burster Flak Cannon (anti aircraft). The gunner turret weapons include the dual 100 mm cannon (anti vehicle) and the mortar launcher (anti infantry). These weapons are very powerful, but are the least accurate, because the 75 mm shells used by the Tank defense cannon have a significant arc once fired, which forces the pilot to lead the weapon to make a proper hit.
The Invader is the flight variant of the Colossus. It is not as heavily armoured and has a weaker, slower charging shield, but it has the ability to jump into the air and has twice the speed of the Colossus. The shield goes offline while in the air and slowly drains until the BFR has landed. While in the air, the BFR can be tracked by Anti Aircraft weaponry, and flak projectiles will detonate when close to a BFR that is in flight. The Invader also lacks a gunner turret. | |
Vanu Sovereignty[ | ]
| Picture | Vehicle Description |
|---|---|
| Battle Frame Robotics | |
| The Aphelion is the ground variant of the Vanu Sovereignty Battle Frame and features two weapons which the pilot controls, as well as a top mounted gunner turret which is controlled by a separate gunner. The pilot weapons include the Pulsed Particle Accelerator (anti vehicle), the Continuous Laser (anti infantry) and the Starfire (anti aircraft) weapons. The gunner turret's weapons include the Immolation Cannon (Anti Vehicle) and the Plasma Mortar (Anti Infantry). Though the Vanu Sovereignty BFR's weapons are not as powerful as those of the Terran Republic or the New Conglomerate, but they are extremely accurate with consistent damage.
The Eclipse is the flight variant of the Aphelion. It is not as heavily armoured and has a weaker, slower charging shield, but it has the ability to jump into the air and has twice the speed of the Aphelion. The shield goes offline while in the air, and slowly drains until the BFR has landed. While in the air, the BFR can be tracked by Anti Aircraft weaponry, and flak projectiles will detonate when close to a BFR that is in flight. The Eclipse also lacks a gunner turret. | |
