User blog:Bloodhit111/The Shattered Warpgate Unveiled

Get ready for the catastrophe ahead, soldier - The Shattered Warpgate is scheduled to hit the Public Test Server (PTS) next week!

If you missed today's record-breaking Dev Livestream reveal of this massive update (the most-watched Livestream in PlanetSide 2 history!), we've recapped all the highlights below. We're thrilled to finally be showing off all the work that went into this - one of our foundational promises as a studio was to deliver big, impactful updates like Escalation or The Shattered Warpgate roughly every 6 months, and we can't wait for all of you to get your hands on it!

The Shattered Warpgate will release first on PTS (the Public Test Server), and will only hit PC Live servers once we've had enough time to playtest and iterate off of your feedback. After PC launch, we're anticipating a much shorter turnaround time to have it ready for PS4 (weeks not months), after the recent Escalation console update caught us up.

Watch and read on for all the highlights!



THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS
The northeast Warpgate on Esamir has shattered, and a mysterious, alien energy emanates throughout the land - a harbinger of strife ahead. Welcome to the first Campaign in PlanetSide 2, soldier!



Campaigns are new open-world storytelling experiences drawn from Auraxian lore, designed to deliver major environmental and gameplay changes that permanently evolve the world and story of PlanetSide. They take place entirely through normal gameplay, through a series of events and missions that tie the story together. The first Campaign, The Shattered Warpgate, introduces significant world changes to the continent of Esamir, as players are asked to investigate the cataclysmic event behind the Warpgate's destruction, and discover new revelations and dangers along the way.

Campaigns will be free for members, and can be unlocked by other players using Certs. The first Campaign will run for 3 months (1 month per Chapter), with each Chapter offering unique, thematic rewards at completion. The Campaign will remain locked when this update first goes to PTS, so the mystery behind The Shattered Warpgate will have to wait until it hits Live servers!

NEW MISSION SYSTEM
Underpinning the Campaign system is a dynamic new Mission system, introducing daily quests and challenges to PlanetSide 2. Players will have access to a Mission board that resets daily, offering a diverse collection of new missions with differing rarities, difficulties, and rewards. This will include faction-specific Missions, community Missions, solo Missions, and Missions that cater to the deep variety of playstyles within PlanetSide 2.



Players will always have a choice of which missions to pursue on any given day, regardless of whether they've unlocked the current Campaign. Members will be allotted additional daily Missions on top of what every player will get for free, while rewards like ISO, Certs, Experience, and even New Weapons can be acquired at completion. Rewards will generally be proportionate to the difficulty and time requirement of the Missions you choose to undertake.

ESAMIR REVAMPED
Following hints of instability within the power grid beneath the Northeastern Warpgate, the resulting explosion has left the entire region drastically altered in its wake! Tech failures, destroyed bases, melted glaciers, sudden temperature drops, sporadic energy geysers, glowing auroras and strange new alien plant life are only a few of the changes that now mark the land.



But the War still rages.

In the aftermath of this cataclysmic event, Nanite Systems have rolled out The Haven, the first mobile Warpgate, replacing the now-destroyed Warpgate in a new location to the East. The environmental effects that rocked the continent are more than just visual - the Lattice itself has been remade, with base locations altered or abandoned. Some intrepid investigators have even figured out how to recommission some of the many derelict vehicles strewn across the battlefield, including those left by other Factions...



A STORM GATHERS
Perhaps the most profound change to the Continent is the sudden appearance of a powerful new energy storm, the first environmental hazard introduced in PlanetSide 2. Attracted by mechanical signatures, the storm targets areas on the map where the action is heaviest, putting players - particularly players in vehicles - at risk of being struck by powerful lightning bolts. The surrounding energy can also have an impact on vehicle handling, and while it moves slowly, its pull is inexorable. Players can escape the storm entirely within buildings or by leaving the area, and will gain new items and abilities to negate and even harness the storm's energy over the course of the first Campaign, including Insulated Vehicle Armor, Lightning Grenades, and a new Lightning Arrester deployable.



These are just a few of the highlights from The Shattered Warpgate - this massive game update will come with a wealth of additional features and new content, including geographic improvements made to Indar, Sanctuary improvements, War Asset rebalancing, the ability to craft Exceptional Implants using ISO, and much more. Full patch notes will be available once its ready for PTS.

Ready for The Shattered Warpgate to hit the Test Server? Let us know what you're looking forward to most on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, or the official forums!Original post