Planetside 2 to receive deployable automated turrets; “the lethality of these turrets is still being discussed”

Planetside 2 Turrets

Systems and UI design lead, Jon Weathers, has revealed plans to add an automated deployable sentry turret for the Engineer class in Planetside 2. The addition could come as soon as next month, but not until extensive playtesting has been held on the PTS server.

“If our tests go well, we are aiming for auto-turrets to go live late November/early December.” said Weathers.

Currently in the game, Engineers have access to two types of manned turrets in both anti-infantry and anti-vehicle form. But to those who played the original Planetside game, you’ll remember there was an automated variety too for each empire.

The design concept is still in-progress, but Jon Weathers took to the forum to announce their plans, and also receive feedback from the community. “We’re planning to add auto-turrets within the next couple months.” announced Weathers. “These turrets will likely be stationary and only available to the Engineer class. The lethality of these turrets (ex: are they just early warning detectors or are they area denial killing machines?), along with many other details, is still being discussed. As we solidify the design, we’ll update this post with the progress.”

As with any new update, it will first have to go through the process of being tested in a live environment: the PTS server. “The current plan is to have a stress test on the Public Test Server with prototype turrets in late October/early November to evaluate server performance.” said Weathers. “We’ll need a sizable population on PTS to get useful data so we’ll organize a time, date and testing instructions when we’re ready. If our tests go well, we are aiming for auto-turrets to go live late November/early December.”

I think it should replace the primary weapon slot on the Engineer class entirely, but still leave them with their pistol for close combat self defence. In what way do you think automated turrets should be added to the game?