At any one time, each of the three PlanetSide servers hosts potentially hundreds of players in a variety of landscapes, from the war on foot to the air, across desert, mountains, forests and swamps. The goal is simple: each faction must attempt to capture as many facilities as possible on the surface of the planet while denying them to their enemies. There are many strategies and opportunities that skilled players can utilize in order to direct combat operations. The player controls his or her chosen character from a first-person perspective gives combat a more direct role and emphasizes skill.

Leveling and Experience

While a first person shooter at heart, PlanetSide does have an experience/leveling system. Earned experience is divided into three categories: Battle Experience, Support Experience, and Command Experience. Battle Experience is gained from elimination of enemy soldiers, the capture of base facilities, and exploring and interacting with the game world. Support Experience is earned through "Assist" kills: after aiding another player, the first player gains a percentage of experience the other player gains through kills. Command Experience is gained from leading a squad or platoon in a successful base capture. Functionally, Battle Experience and Support Experience are identical, both contributing towards Battle Rank, which leads to benefits such as the ability to use different equipment, implants, or appearance upgrades. Accumulated Command Experience lets the player use several team-oriented abilities.

Vehicles

PlanetSide contains 35 vehicles, ranging from interceptor aircraft to battle tanks to Battle Frames (introduced with PlanetSide: Aftershock). It is extremely rare for any one player to be able to access all 35 vehicles, as most of them are empire-specific, meaning that only members of a certain empire can normally acquire them. Some staple and basic vehicles are available as Common Pool vehicles, meaning that any soldier can acquire them, assuming they have the proper certification to do so. Vehicles play a vital role in PlanetSide, and an experienced pilot or gunner of even one strategic vehicle can often turn the tide of a battle.

Organization

While a player can experience the game solo, the best way to succeed in PlanetSide is to join a squad. A squad is an ad hoc group of up to ten players led by a squad leader. Two or three squads can form a platoon, for a maximum group of thirty players. Benefits of being in a squad include the sharing of experience (resulting in a speedy rise in Battle Rank) and the results gained from working as a team.

Like most online games, a player can create or join an Outfit, PlanetSide's implementation of a clan. Whereas a squad is a temporary group, an outfit persists even if all members are off-line. Outfits are managed through a panel in-game, allowing players to be promoted/demoted. Outfits have eight possible ranks, with the top four being officer ranks, allowing members to invite and kick players to and from the outfit. Outfits can range in membership from two (the minimum number required to form an outfit is ten players) to an infinite number, with the largest outfits having over 100 members. In 2006 an 'Outfit Wars' event was launched for competition solely between outfits on each server.