Originally Posted by 2coolforu
Sanctuaries
Before we had Brodcast Warpgates you had to take the direct route via normal continent-continent Warpgates, what this meant is that you had to attack with overwhelming force and organization otherwise you would be kicked right back to sanctuary, or to a tower with zero vehicle support. This effectively forced people to create huge raids in which all the vehicles and support you needed were there. My greatest memories of Planetside are the the huge raids, 50 Prowlers driving out or OsteKake's pop-lock's worth of galaxies are my favourites. The raids were awesome because they gave that feeling of being an Empire and having all these other humans here fighting with you, in current battles people can just warp to the continent and make their own way to the battle very easily without the need for overwhelming force. The faster you can get into the battle the lower the stakes are, with low stakes killwhoring benefits as your life is worth less to you. In Planetside death is inconsequential and the only cost is to the personal time you have to enjoy yourself, if dying means that you have to go all the way back to sanctuary then you try to maximize the odds of survival by using overwhelming main-force attack.
The Sanctuary was therefore a vital part of the game, it was a safe hub that allowed empires to create that main-force attack and organize effectively. In the early days of Planetside the hub was always bustling, it is empty in the current era because it has been obsoleted by broadcast warpgates and low populations, main-force attack is no longer needed and teamwork is less valuable. I think in Planetside 2 something similar to a Sanctuary is needed, perhaps the unconquerable 'foothold' will fill the role but I think it's important that we remember that Sanctuaries were once a highly important tactical area.
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THHHHIISS, no ant races in PS2? NO THANK YOU
But seriously, the arguement against Sancs was that it took too long to get to battle. I really don't remember it being a huge hassle to get from sanc to the battle? Not so much as to completely remove them from the game.