The Saboteurs Handbook

Combat Engineering
CE provides a big threat to Infiltrators, not just because of the direct damage it deals, but because it often gives away your location. Although I do not like to sacrifice graphics for gameplay - or gameplay for graphics - the grass in Planetside is not very nice anyway, so turn it off. This will allow you to see mines and spitfires far better in the open. Some information about CE:

Spitfires - Turrets deployable at 30 meter intervals, Spitfires will have a firing range of 50 meters, but only tend to activate when you move within about 30-40 meters, depending on how fully they can see you. Interlink benefits make Spitfires more dangerous - they always activate at 50 meters, and will shoot at you even if you are not moving. Remember, it is the Spitfires location that influences Interlink benefits, not yours - If a Spitfire is not inside the SOI of a base with Interlink benefits, you can crouch and move past it into the near-by Interlink SOI without the Spitfires activating. If they are in an SOI with Interlink radar, they will shoot you even if you are crouched and not moving - you need Sensor Shield to move safely. With Sensor Shield active, you can move as fast as you like as close as you need to Spitfires and they will not activate - just make sure you dont shoot off a cliff with Surge on and take 1 point of health damage as you land. You will be noticed.

Jamming Spitfires can be risky if you dont do it right, since they will shoot the second the grenade leaves you hand, and you only need to not notice one turret to get killed - some Combat Engineers place Spitfires in locations you are unlikely to notice. If you need to jam a spitfire, move into a position where it cannot see you, and then throw the Jammer, using 3 second fuse if a direct throw is unlikely. If you have angled it right, the Jammer will deactivate the Spitfire without making too much noise. If it cannot see you when it is jammed, a Spitfire will not activate, and it wont look at you and start screaming, but you cant do anything about the buzzing noise. A CUD is a far safer, if noisier option for jamming Spitfires, which will not trigger them when you use it.

Another way to remove the threat is with Combat Engineering. ACE's can be used without triggering Spitfires, even if the Spitfire has Interlink radar. Construct a boomer near the turret and detonate it when you think no one is looking. Never sit within about 4 meters of spitfires - friendly or enemy - since they explode when they die, killing things close to them.

If all you have on you is a pistol weapon, dont take on a Spitfire unless your pistol is a Spiker. This can kill the Spitfire in a couple of shots. The rest cant. Frag grenades are fairly effective, taking just 2 direct hits to kill the turret.

Spitfires can only be placed outside.

Mines - If you do not have flora deactivated, mines are very difficult to detect outside a base courtyard without Dark Light. Stepping on one will not kill you unless have taken a little damage already, but they remove some stamina and make a lot of noise. With flora off, mines are fairly easy to avoid, even when they are packed together as close as the engineer can lay them. Getting a feel for how close you can get to mines without detonating them is something that takes experience. Even if you are a fair distance above mines, its best not to try and jump over them, they are called high explosives for a reason.

Often, mines will be placed in doorways, preventing you from gaining entry without making a noise. There is no silent way of neutralising mines, so you will have to either make a noise or find another way in. A Jammer will usually detonate a mine that it hits, though a bug sometimes allows the mine to survive. Large minefields should be cleared with an EMP activated from a CUD - make sure that you are clear of the mines when you do this, as the mines will damage everything in their blast radius. If you have no EM weaponry, and Orbital Strike works well, despite bringing to mind phrases containing flies and cannonballs. It has been suggested that through the use of voice communications, a sniper with a Bolt Driver, and a fair bit of time, you can get mines cleared without causing any trouble. I have never heard of this being attempted, or if it is even possible because of the client side hit detection.

Other places mines are commonly found are around the back door of bases, bridges, the base of towers, on roads between bases, and the entrances to courtyards. If there has been prolonged fighting over a stretch of terrain, there are often mines in the area. Some engineers place mines just around corners of walls or in places infantry tend to dive for cover, making it hard to spot the mines if you dont slow down or take the turn wide, and mines have been encountered on the ridges that run along the inner walls of Techplants. Infiltrators sometimes run along on these to escape enemies, since few opponents can get over the railings on the air pad.

Friendly mines can also be dangerous, as they have a habit of exploding. Dont sit on them. All it takes is a low flying mosquito and you take the damage as well. Mines also attract EM weaponry, which is nasty for infiltrators. Your implants are reset, and you buzz loud enough for the enemy to hear you for 1 minute. If you get jammed, try and find a backpack or a dead spitfire and sit on it - these will buzz if they had been jammed when alive, so enemies will often mistake where the noise is coming from. Although vehicle wrecks dont buzz, some people dont know this, so they also make good cover.

Mines can only be placed outside.

Motion Sensors - Surprisingly, these are sensors that detect motion. They are not very good at it though. If you dont have Sensor Shield available, crouching can get you past these without setting them off. There is a belief that Motion Sensors enhance spitfires, similar to Interlink benefits, but I have found no evidence to support this.

If you do not have Sensor Shield active, you will be detected when you walk or run within visual range of a Motion Sensor. This puts a red name above your head for all enemies that can see you and puts you on radar. The sensor will emmit an alarm, and a 'radar' symbol appears on the bottom right of your screen. You will also be detected if you are in range of a Motion Sensor and fire a weapon or use any equipment other than an ACE or a CUD.

Engineers count on this functionality to catch unexperienced Infiltrators who try and hack Control Consoles - by constructing a motion sensor in visual range of the CC, anyone who tries to hack it will be revealed on radar, even with Sensor Shield active. Some engineers place their sensors inside walls, but these have no effect, since they detect based on what the glowing node can see.

The biggest threat to Infiltrators from Motion Sensors come in the form of door blocks. Engineers place sensors in doorways, making it difficult to get past without destroying them or tripping the sensor. This is most often done in the doorway to the generator. If the sensor is destroyed, it will disappear from both the radar and a 'zoomed in' continental map, as well as detracting from the engineers 'Active Motion Sensors' panel. This can be turned to your advantage, since it is possible to jump over Motion Sensors in doorways, depending on how well the engineer has placed them - crouching while you jump, and bouncing off the sides of the door seem to help. Some cannot be jumped without a little persuasion. Depending on the placement, you may be able to jump on top of the sensor but not over it - sit on top and watch the base of the sensor move into the floor. The best placed sensors, you can only move by constantly pushing against them. It is slow, taking up to a minute to move them, but it can be done. Here is a video showing how to move the most difficult sensors. So long as no one sees you attempting to move the sensor, or sees the bent sensor, you can get past without detection. The enemy sees the live sensor on radar and assumes everything is fine. Remember, you need Sensor Shield active the whole time you are attempting this if the base has Interlink benefits, so keep an eye on your stamina - you cannot jump with less than 10.

Motion Sensors can be placed inside buildings as well as outside.

Boomers are rarely encountered outside, and they tend to go off the second they are created. If you see one - friendly or enemy - stay away from it . If it belongs to the enemy and you have a Jammer, consider waiting for an enemy to run near the boomer, then detonate it. Since only Infiltrators tend to lay boomers outside, make sure no one is following you if you move around one.

Inside, boomers are more common and are more dangerous,

Boomers can be placed inside buildings as well as outside

Interlink Benefits Interlink Facilities are dangerous for 3 reasons: If you move inside the SOI of an enemy base with Interlink benefits, you will show up as a red blip on every enemy soldiers radar. Spitfires become more sensitive with Interlink. Without Sensor Shield, a Spitfire will shoot you even if you are crouched and not moving. People love defending Interlinks. Of all the bases in Planetside, Interlinks are defended the hardest. Big fights might be what you are after, but they are far more dangers to Infiltrators. Sensor Shield will protect you from Interlink radar, but you must not forget that even if you have Sensor Shield active, if you use any equipment other than a CUD or ACE, or take any damage at all, you will be visible on radar. Many unexperienced Infiltrators have thrown a Jammer to clear mines and activated every Spitfire within 50 meters.
Third Person Pressing 'T' will put you in third person view mode, allowing you to see round corners and over obstacles without exposing yourself. This is fairly harmless when Infiltrating, mostly used to check for mines or to see if enemies are coming. Whether or not you use this feature is up to you. Personally I never use it unless I am in a vehicle. I view it as a cheap tactic, and no strategies involving third person will be listed here. It is not needed. That is my choice. If you make the same choice, power to you, but dont hold it against other players for not playing by your rules. Some players feel Infiltrating is a cheap tactic used by weak players who are not good enough to fight fair, and will never Infiltrate out of principle. Places where third person is commonly used is in any stairwell, by vehicles, and by snipers and some AV users. I recommend you never go inside an occupied enemy tower unless you have friendly cover. Surge can provide some defence, but should not be relied on. Sometimes players who look like they are sniping are in fact sitting in third person waiting for you to make a move. If you are going near snipers, dont bumble about. Dark Light cannot be used in third person.
Plamsa If there is a lot of plasma exploding in the area, dont go near it. Even the smallest amount of plasma damage will make you glow green, so dont take the risk. If you get burned, its best to run away, unless you think you will not be noticed where you are.
Backpacks, Bodies, and Equipment Normally used for restocking ammo and supplies, some Infiltrators place boomers next to backpacks, or under equipment or ammo on the battlefield. This behavior is rare these days, as objects deconstruct very quickly, in some fights the second they are dropped or created, and soldiers rarely loot packs until after the fight is over. Bodies of friendly soldiers are more deadly. An Infiltrator can kill and AFK troop then place a boomer next to the body. When a medic comes along to help, they get turned into a fine red mist. Tasty.
Any Other Infiltrator Infiltrators are bad news for you - whether they are enemy or friendly. Few things are more annoying than having spent a minute working your way into a courtyard undetected...only to have some nutter EMP the mines you are too close to, dealing you damage, and bringing every enemy with Dark Light in that half of the courtyard down on you. The enemies kill you, thinking you let off the EMP, then the 'friendly' infil runs 20 meters into the base and gets run over... However it happens, friendly Infiltrators tend to give each other away. If you are working together, particularly with voice communications, it can work very well, but unless you have an arrangement its best to just stay away. If you are the kind of Infiltrator that cant move into a hostile base or kill someone without getting killed, do your empire a favour and stay away from other Infiltrators.

The Saboteurs Handbook

Strategies for the Infiltrator

Not Getting Killed

Summary