NS Operatives

[Wywern]

Hey, player who played PS2 waaay back when, got some questions about the NS Ops, because I think they're pretty interesting.

So basically, it seems like it's the lone wolf experience where you always get thrown on the "weakest" side, but as someone who never got into the grind, the NSO gear seems reasonably powerful, and you can play with just one character regardless of the player amounts on servers. So how do NS Ops really work? Is their gear good? Do they still need to grind a lot of certs for almost everything? And most importantly: do you get to keep playing NSO after your subscription ends? I've seen a couple of people say you can, but I really want to know for sure, as that's the biggest blocker for me to try it. I don't want to ever lose track of how much money I've spent on a single game.

So basically, just basically anything you can say about the NSO besides their basic faction mechanics. Anything about their gear, progression and such.

Also I gotta say, when you're used to the other faction's open faced default skins, these robots do look kickass.

[Twoflower]

Originally posted by Wywern:

do you get to keep playing NSO after your subscription ends?

No, you must be currently subscribed to play the character, but your progress is not lost if you stop subscribing. It will still be there when you get back.

Originally posted by Wywern:

how do NS Ops really work?

They're a character that is technically part of a 4th faction. You can only join outfits containing other NSOs. Whenever you log in with the character it places you in the faction with the lowest population across all continents. The faction you are fighting for will not change until you log out and log back in again. You earn certs and nanites for your NSO character regardless of faction, so you could earn 100 certs and spend 450 nanites on Vanu, then re-log and get put in NC and still have those 100 certs and be down 450 nanites.

Originally posted by Wywern:

Is their gear good?

They have access to all equipment which all factions have access to (NS weapons and NSX weapons) and also a bolt-action sniper-rifle with no bullet drop. They also have a special NSO MAX unit called the Defector which costs 350 nanites to spawn as and only has one choice of primary weapon called the Grenade Printer (which basically works exactly like a Terran HEG) and a choice of two active abilities: 1. A suicide bomb. 2. A big shield that protects allies but uses up your own health when it gets shot, albeit at a lower rate.
NSOs can *NOT* spawn ESFs (Scythe, Reaver, Mosquito) or MBTs (Magrider, Vanguard, Prowler). However, you have access to a hoverbike which has tons of maneuverability and a magrider-style boost active (be careful, you can get shot off it like on a flash and it's also as paper thin as a flash). It also has an antivehicle weapon for a 1000 cert upgrade that automatically locks on to enemy vehicles (but not infantry): its alpha damage is good but its damage per minute is worse than a fury flash.

Originally posted by Wywern:

these robots do look kickass

There are currently a limited selection of head cosmetics for NSOs. That's all there is for visual customization though so far (plus camos of course).


If you don't already like NS and NSX weapons, you won't enjoy the normal infantry experience of the NSO. Do remember that NS and NSX weapons by design trade away DPS for other things. If you are not familiar with how to use NS and NSX weapons correctly then they feel like pea shooters. You must exploit their other strengths besides damage to do well with them. Be careful.

[Wywern]

Originally posted by Iatohihakitar:

Originally posted by Wywern:

do you get to keep playing NSO after your subscription ends?

No, you must be currently subscribed to play the character, but your progress is not lost if you stop subscribing. It will still be there when you get back.

Originally posted by Wywern:

how do NS Ops really work?

They're a character that is technically part of a 4th faction. You can only join outfits containing other NSOs. Whenever you log in with the character it places you in the faction with the lowest population across all continents. The faction you are fighting for will not change until you log out and log back in again. You earn certs and nanites for your NSO character regardless of faction, so you could earn 100 certs and spend 450 nanites on Vanu, then re-log and get put in NC and still have those 100 certs and be down 450 nanites.

Originally posted by Wywern:

Is their gear good?

They have access to all equipment which all factions have access to (NS weapons and NSX weapons) and also a bolt-action sniper-rifle with no bullet drop. They also have a special NSO MAX unit called the Defector which costs 350 nanites to spawn as and only has one choice of primary weapon called the Grenade Printer (which basically works exactly like a Terran HEG) and a choice of two active abilities: 1. A suicide bomb. 2. A big shield that protects allies but uses up your own health when it gets shot, albeit at a lower rate.
NSOs can *NOT* spawn ESFs (Scythe, Reaver, Mosquito) or MBTs (Magrider, Vanguard, Prowler). However, you have access to a hoverbike which has tons of maneuverability and a magrider-style boost active (be careful, you can get shot off it like on a flash and it's also as paper thin as a flash). It also has an antivehicle weapon for a 1000 cert upgrade that automatically locks on to enemy vehicles (but not infantry): its alpha damage is good but its damage per minute is worse than a fury flash.

Originally posted by Wywern:

these robots do look kickass

There are currently a limited selection of head cosmetics for NSOs. That's all there is for visual customization though (plus camos of course).


If you don't already like NS and NSX weapons, you won't enjoy the normal infantry experience of the NSO. Do remember that NS and NSX weapons by design trade away DPS for other things. If you are not familiar with how to use NS and NSX weapons correctly then they feel like pea shooters. You must exploit their other strengths besides damage to do well with them. Be careful.

Thanks for the great answer. So, on the subject of the subscription, I saw some talk back when NSO released that they were considering making them playable through other means than the subscription once the thrill of the newness subsided so not everyone would just be playing them. I take it they've yet to implement any other purchase option, but has there been any word on one in the future? With a quick google search I could only find the discussions from when they were released.

[Twoflower]

I've not heard any mention of another way to do it. The devs are pretty starved for cash anyway so I think NSO and ASP are very respectful ways to encourage subscriptions without disturbing the game balance or making the game pay to win.

[Twoflower]

I've played up to level 30 roughly on my NSO and I've enjoyed it more as a fun gimmick without the pressure of tryharding than anything I'd want to seriously put time into. However, that said I've enjoyed the Defector MAX so much that playing it is some of the most fun I've had in ages. Since you already have a subscription if you're playing NSO, the added nanite recharge rate you get from sub and the Defector being 100 nanites cheaper than other MAXes means as long as I'm careful I can be in a Defector all the time while I'm playing NSO.

[Kanjejou]

NSO guns usuallly have above average accuracy relatively low recoil fast reload longer minimun and maximum range but suffer in the dps domaine because of lower RoF or lower damage per bullet

for exemple the NSO smg lose ot every SMG in pure CQC (slightly lower rof and damages per bullet) but is more accurate and can be used in the 15-20 meter at full damages, making it a mod med range oriented smg that can CqC vs non CqC guns.

the Tanto has perfect accuracy on its first bullet in aimed and hip fire but its spread very fast but recover also very fast, its a full auto weapon better used as a burst fire gun. its also one of the more accurate light infantery gun around if you shoot when flying. very good gun if you like to shot when you fly

as said above every NSO gun have a gimmick you HAVE to use, or they end up just as inferior guns

[Wywern]

Thanks a lot for the answers, NSO sounds like a great faction, especially since I tend to prefer accuracy, handling and range in most games anyways. Sadly, I guess any plans about changing the NSO purchase methods have been put on hold.

Honestly, I'll probably end up trying it out for at least 1 or 2 months when I don't have so many new games after holiday sales.