To defend or roam - squad leaders...

[jkat]

So, I played on the TG server last night (yet again, its quickly becoming the ONLY server I will play on) and it was the greatest session of gaming I can honestly say Ive ever played!

The most memorable was the Strike at Kurkland map, where me and my squad held the MEC point nearest the USMC arrty guns for about 95% of the maps duration (while only losing it 1 and quickly takign it back, then losing again right near the end of the maps time limit).

It was insane, the most fun, and my squad ROCKED!! (Shoutout to TGNemesis!) - Which brings me to my point:

As a Squad leader - TO Defend or Roam?

I felt comfortable defending that position all night and my team seemed fine with that decision, but at times (mostly public servers) I feel like my team might be pissed if I decide to defend since its not as "fun" as roaming (or rewarding, in a sense of points). I thought it was a blast, and it gave us a real sense of accomplishment to know that we defended that position with such authority and that the USMC couldnt do jack about it.

So, what do you guys think, is a Defensive role as important as an Offensive one (where you roam from flag to flag). I know theres a good mix of both needed, but I couldnt help thinking that if our Commander would just assign a Squad to each of the points, and tell them to defend, we would have won that map. As it were, the MEC did wind up losing, but it definitely wasnt because of us!

Thanks guys for running such a kick ass server!

[MileHighAko]

Defense of critical points on the map, be it artillery, a control point, or even some bridge, can be much more important than offense. I've played a few games where I was bored out of my mind gaurding a control point for 12 minutes (on the demo) because we were ordered to keep a certain point. And we did it. And at the end I was satisfied that we did our job. That is what TG is all about. Teamplay. Not every assignment is "the bomb".

Anyway, the point is, if you have a good commander, then never think twice about an order to stay in one place the entire round. Do your best to do it, because the commander wouldn't have ordered you there if it wasn't completely necesary.

[Dirt013]

It all comes down to the commander imo....if you have one, defending a certain objective can be VERY effective, but without the overall picture of what is going on...it can also be quite useless. i was on your squad for the map you mentioned....and the team play was top notch! we did our job and held our ground, but still lost the map. why? because for most of the game we were without a CO. how many times did we knock out the arty? how many times did we completely eliminate the squads and armor sent against us? unfortunately, we lost the eastern shore, and didn't retake even half of it until the end of the map. under those conditions a team can't win. my point: as a squad we played our part exceptionally well....as a team.....well, you saw the results. i'm coming to the opinion that it's better to have ANYONE in charge, as opposed to no one. that's why i never vote for a mutiny unless the CO is flying around or in a tank somewhere....

Dirt013

[Mateo]

If the CO tells you to defend, you should defend. The only proviso I can think of is:

"Commander, are you aware we are a group of snipers and there are three tanks advancing on our position?"

If the right tools are in the location to defend, then DEFENSE it shall be. If you teammates don't agree, well, they shouldn't be here, frankly.

Yes, we know, defense can be boring, but it can be vital to the CO's strategy. You may be protecting a choke point, or covering an advancing squads flank, or whatever. The CO thinks it's important, and that should be enough.

[asch]

One thing we learned from our previous BF1942-DC server is that to win a map you do not need to have all of the flags. It's usually 50%+1 flag and you count down their tickets. Defense is critical to retaining the flags you have and it also helps the whack-a-mole problem where once you leave a flag to capture an open flag, you lose the one you just left. It's no fun just running around capping flags. The action WILL come to you if you defend.

[Phelan Ward]

During the Demo when I played as USMC I was never on an organized server. It almost without fail came down to one of those costline bases as our last foothold on the shoreline, usually the middle one. Those "Alamo" fights were always the most fun for me. I would run around the base as an engineer fixing stuff and sniping with my pistol. (The pistols are not bad weapons at all.) When we finally started to get over run I would whip out my shotty and got to work.

@ jkat - I was on one of the squads that kept throwing themselves against you. One squad leader kept leading the charge and getting killed. It was kinda annoying.

[Mister_Penguin]

Asch and Ward are right. You're most likely defendeing because someone wants to attack that position. The Capture Points are made for fun defense, I mean buildings, rootops, walls, emplaced guns, how can that not be fun?

[Tempus]

I have more fun playing defense than I do assaulting. It's satisfying to hold onto something that someone else wants badly.

[Mister_Penguin]

Defense is a rush as medic. Jumping over stuff in a valiant attempt to revive your leader. It's so disorenting in a meatgrinder, like Strike at Karkand

[Wulfyn]

It has to be a mixture of both but I understand your thinking. I have asked my guys to do defence often, and I always worry about if they are going to get annoyed because they are bored. But then there is nothing more frustrating for me than to capture a flag, then head off to the next one only to see the one you just left fall into enemy hnds. Usually this is because of 1 guy roaming in a jeep, and is such a soft loss.

I was playing in that Kurkland map, so my congratulations for holding that objective in the face of such strong opposition. I tried to get my squad wide to start, but so many people were so happy to spawn on the furthest southern objective that we got flanked to both sides right away. In fact an APC went right through the middle and captured our flag. I realised our position was lost, and so headed back to retake the flag. The rest of the game we were defending or running a combat patrol on the eastern island.


There are times when you do have to defend, and this can be more fun. If you have just taken a flag you can almost guarantee that there are others on their way to take it back...


Also don't concern yourself with individual points. You get more points for 40 kills and 40 deaths than you do for 20 kills and 5 deaths, even though the latter is far more effective in terms of winning the game. Add to that defending a flag and your side could win because of it. My team regularly have a low points total, but then we still tend to acheive our objectives, and are often complemented by the CO. No point having 'teamplay' if that team doesn't exist outside of your own squad.

[delanvital]

It always depends on the situation (does another squad need the support more urgently etc.) and whether the commander wants me elsewhere.

However, defense is a lot of fun, for instance when the enemy moves into the base with an APC, and you take it apart as a team. It can also be a great challenge, when the APC moves in using for instance assault and sniper support...

[=Sarc=]

I definitely don't mind defending and prefer it to attacking. It's not so hectic and feels more rewarding even if the points don't reflect it.

[Mateo]

As a Sniper, it's easier to defend: pick a spot in the high ground, try to mitigate the rush on the flag so that the rest of the squad can dispatch the remaining attackers with relative ease.

Then you can reposition so you don't become a victim of Tempus' inevitable artillery barrage.

Attacking is more complicated. You have to jump out of the APC or jeep early, make sure you can find a spot with some overwatch to provide intel/watch their backs, and pick off a few targets. And you have to stick and move.

Scores are low, but I'm worthless in all the other classes, so a job well done is good enough.

[SmokingTarpan]

Personally, I excel at defense; I'm only average on attack. Usually what happens is that the CO gives me a flag to capture right off the bat, then I get to stay there and hold it as long as I can. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Guard duty is only boring until someone shoots at you. Some CO's (*coughTempuscough*) like to make me defend the one flag that the enemy really wants, so it turns out to never be boring at all. I think yesterday on the oilfield map, my squad was continuously engaged for 40min straight.

When it comes down to it though, offense or defense, I do what the CO tells me to do.

[Tempus]

Originally Posted by SmokingTarpan

I think yesterday on the oilfield map, my squad was continuously engaged for 40min straight.

Yes sir! You guys had that middle flag the ENTIRE round. They came from the east, and you beat them back. They came from the west, and you beat them back. They came from the south.. Well, you get the picture.

Holding that area was critical to succeeding on the map, so I had to send my best squad there.

Defense rocks!