First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

[TheCanOpener]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

1. When a squad captures a flag after a fire fight resupply them.
2. Let squads know about unprotected flags so they can attack/defend them.
3. Resupply Special Forces units, away from Sat/Arty/UAV. I have seen too many commanders drop the crate near the enemy asset and end up repairing the asset.
4. Warn squads when firing artillary.
5. Sometimes it is good to lead the fight to win the battle. It lets your troops know you want to win. Spawn in as resupply or medic and help out the fellas.
6. Scan Scan Scan.
7. Keep moving around, too many commanders stay in one spot, and become a target.


Have Fun

[Jlspence]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

To the original poster, read through Bird Killer's CO Guide...definitely worthwhile. Here's the link to it here in the Total BF2 Forums:

http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6553

[Jlspence]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

So it's okay to use your sattelite view to give heads up on troop movement?

That's the primary purpose of the satellite scan. It gives the commander a full battlefield view of enemy troop/asset locations. Once you scan, your first order of business should be to use that data to determine where you need to put your UAV scan. Don't wait for a SL to request it. Often when they do request it they don't know what's around them. If the CO is constantly scanning he can tell them there's nothing around them (It really helps if COs have a headset and use it) and then put the UAV where it's really needed the most. This could be around enemy trying to infiltrate your main base or on a base one of your squads is trying to cap/defend. Whatever you think is the most important. Generally, I use the UAV for squad battles and zoom in and spot the one/two infiltrators and tell nearby SL's over VOIP to go kill them.

Your second order of business should be to decide where you want to place an arty strike (if at all). Look for larger clusters of enemy with no/few friendlies around. I enjoy dropping arty on airplane/attack chopper spawns myself. It's one of the few opportunities I have to get back at them for all the times they rape me. :laugh: ALWAYS announce where the artillery strike is going to be. Yes, your team SHOULD see the arty symbol on their mini-maps but you know how that goes. Also take into account the 15 second lag from when you place the arty strike to when it will actually hit. Try to anticipate where the enemy will be in 15 seconds, not where they currently are.

Your third order of business on the satellite scan should be to spot enemies red dots before they fade away on your command screen. Do this by right clicking on the red dot and selecting "Spotted" from the drop down menu. ONLY spot those targets that are near your own forces. Spotting enemy targets across the map does nothing but add useless voice calls, which can be very annoying.

[JarEme]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

Tell them to follow orders; rebuke them when they ignore you

This is a great way to insure non-stop mutiny attempts for the rest of the round. If a squad ignores you, leave them be. They don't want to listen so don't bother them. Nothing you can do will make them and a rebuke certainly won't.

[Jlspence]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

This is a great way to insure non-stop mutiny attempts for the rest of the round. If a squad ignores you, leave them be. They don't want to listen so don't bother them. Nothing you can do will make them and a rebuke certainly won't.

The mutiny attempts are meaningless so I wouldn't worry about those. However, I do agree the rebuke will get you nothing but PO'd squad leaders. Many times the SL will reply with "negative" because they're doing something else right at the moment. If they are on VOIP, they can tell you what (which I alway appreciate). Often, if you wait a little while and repeat your "order" they'll comply, assuming it make sense. Also, it helps if you give a brief explanation of why you need them to do what you're asking. "Squad 3, move to Market base to support Squad 2, who's under heavy attack. There's no one in your area."

When I'm SL and I'm defending a key base and my CO tells me to go across the map to attack a meaningless base I'll always deny their request. If they rebuke me, it confirms they don't have a clue what they're doing. From then on, I deny or ignore every request.

[Wurum]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

5. Supplies: Save these for repairing your assets (since no one play engineer) or to fix the occasional tank or apc.
As of today my cmd score is 9066 my total time as a cmdr is 74+hrs, so I have a little command experience under my belt.

Oh and just want to emphasie your other point. I know this sounds like a no brainer but a surprising # of commnder don't seem to know this. (or else choose not to do it) dropping supplies on your UAV, arty, scanner will repair it.

Opposing SpecOps love it when commanders do this. As SpecOps, I could spend all day harrassing the enemy assets with out ever asking my commander for a supply drop. SpecOps come with 5 C4s, enough to take out 2.5 assets. When the opposing commader drops supplies on his assets to repair them, I just resupply my C4, put 2 down on the repaired asset, pick up another 2 from the supply crate, blow the asset and the supply crate and I'm ready to go take out another 2.5 assets.

If you don't have an engineer on your team willing to help out with asset repair, then I would advise using the engineer kit while commanding, and riding around in a jeep or humvee so you can use the gun to defend the assets and the wrench for repairing. Just hang out near your assets the whole time, and only come out of the commander screen to defend and repair assets.

[Wurum]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

I applied as Commander on the Wake map last night after a long, like 12+ hour, night of gaming.

12 hours!?

Dude, that's not healthy. Just don't end up like this guy.

http://news.com.com/2061-10797_3-5825938.html

[Jlspence]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

You don't even need the wrench. As an engineer in a vehicle, all you have to do is drive up near the asset and it'll repair. Stay on the machine gun and look for any enemy in the area.

[Jofaba]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

Another 12 hours today. I only have a part time job...

Plus I'm making up for lost time heh.

I commanded again today. Did much better as a Commander, but lost both times unfortunately. I did some practice in single player before I logged on though, so I discovered more about the position. Like, when I was saying "is it alright to tell them...", I was typing it out. "Look out, there's an enemy sniper on the other side of the building, your end". Took a while and who knows if he's reading it? But discovered how to spot enemies with the command center. The only time I left was when I had to defend my equipment.

Thanks a lot for all the tips guys. I think I'm going to be commanding quite a bit because I really enjoy it. I definately put teamwork above everything else.

If you're curious:

http://bf2s.com/player/Jofaba/

but that's not updated at all... currently Corporal, 2 unlocks, 3 medals, 6 badges, 1 ribbon, 909 global, 209 tamwork, 634 combat, 170 commander, 17 hours (guess when I say 12 hours I include load time, bathroom breaks etc cause otherwise it'd say around 20-30 by now), 48 wins, 43 losses.

[Jofaba]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

I read that story and find it very unbelievable. I've stayed up for 6 days straight before (wasn't gaming though...) and although I was delusional, I was nowhere near DYING. I've easily spent 30 hours straight at the computer though. No strokes yet =P

[Wurum]

Re: First time as Commander; now I've got some questions!

You don't even need the wrench. As an engineer in a vehicle, all you have to do is drive up near the asset and it'll repair. Stay on the machine gun and look for any enemy in the area.

Ah, you're right, good point.