[Update #2]: Planetside 2's The Shattered Warpgate update has brought in a giant chunk of new content.

[Update]: The Colossus tank has now arrived, and it's deadly against both air and ground opponents!

With work on Planetside 2 now finally picking up steam again, the developers have just unleashed the first major update in quite a while. The definite highlight of this newly released Escalation patch are the massive, player-controller Bastion Fleet Carriers which serve as floating battle-stations.

Only one Fleet Carrier can be active per faction, and as you might imagine, building it will require a considerable amount of resources. What you'll get in return is a massive ship lined with controllable cannons, respawn points for players, as well as the ability to spawn air vehicles in order to help with its defense.

That last part will be particularly important as while the Fleet Carriers are powerful, they are also absolutely massive and thus vulnerable to concentrated fire. However, simply blasting them with anti-air weaponry will not be enough. Instead, you will need to take down all eight of its weak points, which will then result in a rather spectacular self-destruction!

Besides the ships themselves, the Escalation update is also bringing in a variety of powerful deployables for Outfit leaders, one of which is Steel Rain which launches vast amounts of drop pods at one location. There will also be monthly competitions for Outfits, new loyalty rewards to help convince people to join and stay faithful to their Outfits, as well as a brand new neutral hub called Sanctuary where you can buy items, chat with other players, and look for potential outfits to join.

You can read more about the Escalation update, as well learn about Planetside 2 in general, over at the official website. Have fun, and I'll leave you with the brief teaser trailer: