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Hi all. Haven't posted here in awhile, but have been playing BF2 since it came out. Lately I've become pretty good as a squad leader (I'm sure there are better out there however) so I thought I'd post some tips here, for those of you who regularly are squad leaders or perhaps would like to become better.
A couple of must have's before starting.
- Buy a microphone / headphone combination to play with. I use the free one that came with BF2. I have a sweet Klipch 400 Watt speaker system but found the game sounds interfered with me trying to communicate with my squadies.
- *Recommendation* Once you have a microphone working, play on only VOIP enabled servers. There's an a filter for this called 'Battle Comm' you can select in your browswer thus only showing you servers with VOIP enabled. You don't have to do this, but using the Microphone greatly enhances your abilities to lead / manage a squad. Even if people on your squad don't have a microphone themselves they can hear you and thus respond more quickly.
As a new round / map begins:
-When round begins, immediately create a 'custom squad.' This way you can name it something different, so it will stand out. I usually name mine 'GunFightrs.'
- Once this is done, click on 'Manage Squad' and randomly invite people to join by clicking on their names. Folks are much more likely to join your squad when a new round starts.
- Continue doing this for until you have a full squad. Usually takes me about a minute. If you don't invite people to join your squad there is a good chance you'll never have a full squad regardless of your leadership abilities. It may take you longer, just keep on selecting new players until you'll all full.
- Once full, introduce yourself to your squad via microphone let them know you're competent, don't yell, treat them as adults. (Most are anyway)
In Game Squad Leadership
- OK you're a squad *leader* peeps, so lead. Think about the best flags to attack first, or defend first depending on your team. Once you've decided this, select the flag on your minmap and create an action. This could be 'defend' or 'attack' etc. This will let your entire squad (and only your squad) know the plan. I also then communicate with them over the microphone, letting them know the plan.
Expample: Me talking to my squad via microphone. "OK guys I just highlighted the village flag on your minmaps. I'm going to flank right advancing along the beach and we will then come up parallel to it. Appreciate your help if you could follow me. I'll get us a UAV and Arty ahead of us to help us take it."
- Talk to your commander. As a squad leader you can verbally comminucate with the commander even if he or she doen't have a mic. (They can still hear you.). The default key for this is either 'c' or 'v'. Let the commander know what you're doing and identify yourself by your squad number. Commanders can't easily see the squad name in the command map.
- Ask for supplies, arty, and UAV from the commander using the ingame selectables. My key for this is 'T' but yours may be different. As squad leader you can ask for all of these either via the map or by simply pointing at where you want them, select 'T' by holding it down, then pick, 'Need UAV, Need Arty, Need Supplies." These will fall where your crossharis are pointed.
If I'm close, like needing supplies after just taken a flag, I point to the ground select 't' and ask for a supply drop. This makes it very easy for a commander to simply see this request and fulfill it. The easier you can make it for your commander to give you stuff, the more likely it will happen and the more appreicate your squad will be.
- Try to stay moving, although if you're defending this isn't always possible. Opposing commanders love putting arty on a bunched up squad. Try to avoid this.
- As the game progresses just continue this process. If you've just take a flag, highlight the next one to take, or mark on your map to defend this one for a counter attack. Continue to ask the commander for UAV, Supplies and Arty. Your goal should be to make the commander your personal assistant, by continually demanding arty, supplies and uav.
Squad Tactics
- OK you're a small team of 6 people out of a team of 30 on a large map. You cannot single handedly take on the entire enemy team, so hit them where they ain't. (MacArther coined this phrase in Korea when he flanked the N. Koreans.)
Think about it. On most maps, fighting tends to get bottlenecked and people assault head on. Why be a lemming? Always flank! On Stike at Karkland, always stay to the sides of the maps, then come in paralell to the flag (when possible.) Advance where there is little resistance, flank when there's a lot. Flank left, flank, right, never head one (unless flag is totally undefended and the uav confirms this).
- Kits. OK this is more of a personal preference, but as a squad leader I prefer playing as anti-tank. Intially it might strike you as an odd selection, but I've found most of my squad mates play either SF, or Medic or machine gunner. As an anti-tank kit I can take out most armor while freeing up my squad to flank it, and with my unlocked shotty, defend myself at close range against infantry. Try and get a blanaced squad such as one medic, one support, and a mix of everything else.
- Spawning. Remember as a squad leader your entire squad can spawn on you if they die. So stay out of tanks, or atv's or vehciles that only hold 3 people. If the vehicle is full and you're in it, nobody can spawn on you. I usually stay on foot as a matter of habbit. It's funny when I join another sqad just to see how it's run, and I see the Squad leader driving a tank, when he's got 5 other peeps on his team. Also generally speaking, try to stay alive, even if your team is getting shot up, so when they respawn it can be on you.
- Call out all threats and encourage your team to. 'Armor coming in front,' Contact left, contact right, two coming in behind you,' etc. Communication keeps people alive, again hence the importance of a microphone.
Final Thoughts
- When done right, running a squad is an amazing, rewarding thing. I take personal pride when even though we may lose the game, my squad gets 'Best Squad' at the end of the score. Or when toward the end of the map, a guy on my squad thanks me for being some organized and communicative. It's immensely rewarding.
- Most of this here is common sense, but you'd be *amazed* of how many squad leaders simply create a squad and never say a single word (either spoken or typed) to their squad mates. They just run around and kill things. I've joined other squads just to see how they're run and this is quite common. Or when I'm commander and I offer arty, uav and supplies to all squad leaders, not a single one takes me up on it.
- And lastly of course, have fun, it's just a game afterall. And if you every see a squad called 'GunFightrs' I'll be running it so feel free to join!
Thanks for listening.
A couple of must have's before starting.
- Buy a microphone / headphone combination to play with. I use the free one that came with BF2. I have a sweet Klipch 400 Watt speaker system but found the game sounds interfered with me trying to communicate with my squadies.
- *Recommendation* Once you have a microphone working, play on only VOIP enabled servers. There's an a filter for this called 'Battle Comm' you can select in your browswer thus only showing you servers with VOIP enabled. You don't have to do this, but using the Microphone greatly enhances your abilities to lead / manage a squad. Even if people on your squad don't have a microphone themselves they can hear you and thus respond more quickly.
As a new round / map begins:
-When round begins, immediately create a 'custom squad.' This way you can name it something different, so it will stand out. I usually name mine 'GunFightrs.'
- Once this is done, click on 'Manage Squad' and randomly invite people to join by clicking on their names. Folks are much more likely to join your squad when a new round starts.
- Continue doing this for until you have a full squad. Usually takes me about a minute. If you don't invite people to join your squad there is a good chance you'll never have a full squad regardless of your leadership abilities. It may take you longer, just keep on selecting new players until you'll all full.
- Once full, introduce yourself to your squad via microphone let them know you're competent, don't yell, treat them as adults. (Most are anyway)
In Game Squad Leadership
- OK you're a squad *leader* peeps, so lead. Think about the best flags to attack first, or defend first depending on your team. Once you've decided this, select the flag on your minmap and create an action. This could be 'defend' or 'attack' etc. This will let your entire squad (and only your squad) know the plan. I also then communicate with them over the microphone, letting them know the plan.
Expample: Me talking to my squad via microphone. "OK guys I just highlighted the village flag on your minmaps. I'm going to flank right advancing along the beach and we will then come up parallel to it. Appreciate your help if you could follow me. I'll get us a UAV and Arty ahead of us to help us take it."
- Talk to your commander. As a squad leader you can verbally comminucate with the commander even if he or she doen't have a mic. (They can still hear you.). The default key for this is either 'c' or 'v'. Let the commander know what you're doing and identify yourself by your squad number. Commanders can't easily see the squad name in the command map.
- Ask for supplies, arty, and UAV from the commander using the ingame selectables. My key for this is 'T' but yours may be different. As squad leader you can ask for all of these either via the map or by simply pointing at where you want them, select 'T' by holding it down, then pick, 'Need UAV, Need Arty, Need Supplies." These will fall where your crossharis are pointed.
If I'm close, like needing supplies after just taken a flag, I point to the ground select 't' and ask for a supply drop. This makes it very easy for a commander to simply see this request and fulfill it. The easier you can make it for your commander to give you stuff, the more likely it will happen and the more appreicate your squad will be.
- Try to stay moving, although if you're defending this isn't always possible. Opposing commanders love putting arty on a bunched up squad. Try to avoid this.
- As the game progresses just continue this process. If you've just take a flag, highlight the next one to take, or mark on your map to defend this one for a counter attack. Continue to ask the commander for UAV, Supplies and Arty. Your goal should be to make the commander your personal assistant, by continually demanding arty, supplies and uav.
Squad Tactics
- OK you're a small team of 6 people out of a team of 30 on a large map. You cannot single handedly take on the entire enemy team, so hit them where they ain't. (MacArther coined this phrase in Korea when he flanked the N. Koreans.)
Think about it. On most maps, fighting tends to get bottlenecked and people assault head on. Why be a lemming? Always flank! On Stike at Karkland, always stay to the sides of the maps, then come in paralell to the flag (when possible.) Advance where there is little resistance, flank when there's a lot. Flank left, flank, right, never head one (unless flag is totally undefended and the uav confirms this).
- Kits. OK this is more of a personal preference, but as a squad leader I prefer playing as anti-tank. Intially it might strike you as an odd selection, but I've found most of my squad mates play either SF, or Medic or machine gunner. As an anti-tank kit I can take out most armor while freeing up my squad to flank it, and with my unlocked shotty, defend myself at close range against infantry. Try and get a blanaced squad such as one medic, one support, and a mix of everything else.
- Spawning. Remember as a squad leader your entire squad can spawn on you if they die. So stay out of tanks, or atv's or vehciles that only hold 3 people. If the vehicle is full and you're in it, nobody can spawn on you. I usually stay on foot as a matter of habbit. It's funny when I join another sqad just to see how it's run, and I see the Squad leader driving a tank, when he's got 5 other peeps on his team. Also generally speaking, try to stay alive, even if your team is getting shot up, so when they respawn it can be on you.
- Call out all threats and encourage your team to. 'Armor coming in front,' Contact left, contact right, two coming in behind you,' etc. Communication keeps people alive, again hence the importance of a microphone.
Final Thoughts
- When done right, running a squad is an amazing, rewarding thing. I take personal pride when even though we may lose the game, my squad gets 'Best Squad' at the end of the score. Or when toward the end of the map, a guy on my squad thanks me for being some organized and communicative. It's immensely rewarding.
- Most of this here is common sense, but you'd be *amazed* of how many squad leaders simply create a squad and never say a single word (either spoken or typed) to their squad mates. They just run around and kill things. I've joined other squads just to see how they're run and this is quite common. Or when I'm commander and I offer arty, uav and supplies to all squad leaders, not a single one takes me up on it.
- And lastly of course, have fun, it's just a game afterall.
And if you every see a squad called 'GunFightrs' I'll be running it so feel free to join!Thanks for listening.
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