PlanetSide 2 Will Let Players Be Robotic Mercenary Soldiers To Fill Underpopulated Factions

Daybreak Game Company isn't just offering sales this week. It's also celebrating PlanetSide 2's sixth anniversary by dropping news about a new system coming to the game: playable multi-faction robotic infantry, officially dubbed Nanite Systems Operatives.

When you choose to play as an NSO, you'll be assigned to the whichever faction has the fewest soldiers on the battlefield, which can change if you move continents. You'll be able to equip basic weaponry but otherwise be able to act and interact with vehicles and weapons in a normal manner. Only PS2 members will be able to use NSOs.

The livestream reveal mentions a subtle benefit of the NSOs -- that you'll never have to wait in a queue while playing one and, since you're not trying to get into a continent on a faction that's already full, that will reduce other players' queue times as well.

That said, it's a little unfortunate that, even after six years and lots of "underdog" incentives, Daybreak couldn't find a way to convince players to play underpopulated factions. It's something that pretty much every multiplayer, faction-based PvP game struggles with, and usually has to "break" faction lines to make fights more fair.