PlanetSide 2's fourth major update to enable account-wide unlocks, cloaked ATVs

It's been a while since SOE provided a big update for PlanetSide 2's ongoing war for Auraxis' precious resources, so it's filling the fourth major patch with an extra armory's worth of re-balances and additions for release on Wednesday.

It's been a while since SOE provided a big update for PlanetSide 2's ongoing war for Auraxis' precious resources, so it's filling the fourth major patch with an extra armory's worth of re-balances and additions for release on Wednesday. Creative Director Matt Higby outlines the patch's contents in a, and some interesting features are set to arrive after the base-tweaking focus of the last update.

Infiltrators are now able to slot a cloaking device on the zippy Flash ATV, which will probably result in a lot of startled yelps over voice chat whenever someone gets run over by a cheeky invisible driver. Other significant changes include expanding the availability of StationCash-bought items to all characters who can use them and a VR practice arena for testing out tactics and equipment loadouts.

Heavy Assault players will enjoy a new rocket launcher specific to their chosen Empire: the railgun-like Lancer for the Vanu, the cluster-launching Striker for the Terran Republic, and the Phoenix for the New Conglomerate which fires a steerable guided missile.

Over on the nerfing front, explosion radius from vehicle-mounted weapons are shrinking to hopefully mitigate spam issues against infantry. The Terran Republic's Prowler tank will need to fire both its barrels to kill a soldier when loaded with High Explosive or anti-tank rounds—a nice change for balance, but hilariously illogical considering a small, hand-thrown cylinder now packs more explosive punch than a rolling, metallic behemoth.

The rest of Update 4's planned contents can be found in Higby's post.