Kit Assignment

[Exploding_Silver]

So far I have not been assigning kits to people that much.
I tend to say at the start of the map which kit is preferred eg "this is infantry heavy map, assault with defibs is preferred"
If armour is cornering us I will call for engineers.
So I've been giving people a lot of individual choice in what kit they play.

On the other end of the spectrum, in BF2 Wulfyn would assign kits to people at the start of the round then they play that kit the whole round. In a situation he would just call the kit eg. "engineer, there is an APC to the north take it out" eg. "sniper use your scope to see if there is anyone at that enemy flag". In short he would call the kit for the job and not the person. This worked well in BF2, Wulfyn was a really effective squad leader.

I perceive there is resistance or disobedience* from people to being told what kit to play. I think this is to do with unlocks and the dynamics of that. This is my perception, I'm putting this out there to find out what the other regular squad leaders perceive the situation to be and also what would be a good way to work kit assignment in 2142.

* disobedience of SL orders is breaking our server rules

[birdie_in_Texas]

since i started SL'ing in 2142 now, i generally ask for a couple of kits, but then tell everyone to play their best kit...watch who goes what, and then i usually fill the gap as whatever i need myself..it worked well all this last weekend, and i had more fun in 2142 than i have since i got the game...

now that i know almost all the maps, it usually just falls to a couple of assaults, an engineer and a support guy..sniper seems to be the most useless until they have RDX and even then, engineer with motion mines usually make more sense...

but all i know is i had a helluva lot more fun this past weekend SL'ing and i hope to keep doing it..

[TheFatKidDeath]

I always call out the kits I want from my squad. The kit mix I request vary depending on the map. I've found most players will play a kit if told.

It can take a disciplined squad to stay with a kit for the entire round and you really have to know other players to make this tactic effective. This is one of the ideas I've been trying with the 9th.

If I had 2 minutes + on the opening of a round I could take this one step further and request players use certain unlocks and stay with those unlocks the entire round.

For example, if I had two Engineers in my squad - one would carry both the mines and the other would have the PDS-1 and Diffuser Kit. This would take advantage of all the Engineer attributes. Once one of the players dies, they would respawn with their assigned kit.

I may start to use this tactic as I'm seeing alot of returning players.

[Dark Viper]

I just let my SMs play with whatever kit they want. It's a game and your supposed to have fun. Besides, they will probably be helping the squad more if they can play with the weapon/kit they are most comfortable/best with.

Seems to work though, since about 85% of the time we get best squad (and no, it's not always full of TG vets lol).

[SaladFork]

I find that although I excel at one kit, there's another kit that I can play decently, and another one that I can do fairly-well at. If the SL doesn't give specific orders, I'll take my best kit, or one that bets fits the situation (as I deem fit). However, if the SL starts naming needed kits, I'll usually offer to take a kit that's needed if it's one of the 2-3 that I'm comfortable playing as.

On a similar note, you have to really think about the new unlock system and what it means. Maxing out the unlocks for a specific kit is quite a lengthy investment, and usually it's only done with kits one prefers playing as, and kits that one is good at playing as. Asking them to play as a kit that they have little to nothing unlocked (and can't do as good a job as someone who plays it more often and has more unlocks) puts them, and your squad, at a noticeable disadvantage.

~Salad

[Arf]

I just say, "I want 2 Engineers, 2 Medics, and 1 Support" like I really mean it. II'm just ranking the kits by priority. Occasionaly I give numbers that add up to 7 which should be a dead give away but I don't often get called on it.

Does it work? I have no idea. I usually play with a lot of TG vets and they'll make a varied squad without being asked.

[DirtyLude]

I like playing support every once in a while now that I have some unlocks, but too many of them in a squad is just useless, so I wait for everyone to spawn before picking my kit.

I think calling kits is more difficult as well, since there's only 4 compared to the bunch in BF2. You can't be certain what equipment they all have. Unless you want to be technical and call out the load outs as well. It would be easier if you knew the Recon guy would for certain have RDX, or the Assault guy was sure to have rockets, or the support guy has a sentry, but you have no way of knowing.

[Zoraster]

TGers are remarkably adept at filling the needs without being told exactly what to do (I think Arf's suggestion is best). It's helpful if a squad leader says what he needs, but if you're in a squad with mostly TG members, then you'll probably have exactly what you need very soon.

[Eroak]

I either CO or SM. when I'm SM I listen in and if a kit is called I'll offer if it's anythign but recon. I like the recon I'm just not as good as others. As for the other kits I best as support and a step away on assult. Engineer I'm good with when I get 2 field unlocks on it.

Usally what I do is start out support. They can disable vehicles and mow down bloody rain. At my first death I'll check the group kits and change if there is 1 or no medic or engineer(if needed). The only time I never change if I told my SL I'm a kit. If I'm not doing any good at my role I'll ask for a switch up. Which I haven't had to do yet.

[Slicklizard]

My best kit is recon, I can kill quite a few snipers with it and still be able to run up to a vehicle and take it out with mines. If I'm called upon to use assault or engineer, I'll gladly change my weapon. The SL knows what his plan is, so its best to just follow orders and make the best of it. I even got complimented on having a sniper shot with the basic assault rifle.

[IMI-50AE]

I'm good with all the kits, but I lean towards support, with a little medic work on the side. What I do usually is look through the list of kits the squad has and try to round it out, sometimes becoming the sole support player for the squad, meaning I'm the one the whole squad sucks ammo from. Lots of points, lots of running, but hey, it's worth it.

[Revark]

I usually just say what I need, and one or more of my squad members will oblige. But then again, I usually have TGers in my squad, and boot pubbies that dont listen. =)

So it goes like....

I have 2 tanks incoming. Engineers on it, and if you die in the next 15 seconds please spawn engineer.

Or..

Can we get some APM on the flag? Squad member X I see you are dead, if you have access to APMs please spawn recon.

Other then that I usually say at the start of a round. This is a good engineer map. This is a good infantry map... etc.

[Krosstika]

Wait...you tell people what kit to be? That makes sense....now it would make sense to let people play kits who are more comfortable with whichever kit they want to play. If someone tells me to play engineer or recon on a match I'm gonna give that person the middle finger and go with support or assault...because thats what I'm good at.

[Atomic Dog]

Originally Posted by Krosstika

Wait...you tell people what kit to be? That makes sense....now it would make sense to let people play kits who are more comfortable with whichever kit they want to play. If someone tells me to play engineer or recon on a match I'm gonna give that person the middle finger and go with support or assault...because thats what I'm good at.

That's not at all in the spirit of TG. Most of us come here to immerse ourselves in team based tactics. Thumbing your nose at your SL with an earnest request is kinda crappy dude. And says to me that you're all about me-play rather than teamplay. But...fortunately for you every squad tends to need an assault kit.

[Slicklizard]

If you have an entire group with sniper rifles, your not gonna be able to assault a base full of armor. Being inflexable to different kits will get you kicked from a squad. That being said, most of the time SL just say "I need 3 assualt, 2 support, and 1 engineer." Or something along those lines. If you are better at one of those, pick it. But flat out refusing will help no one in the squad and you're better off going lone wolf on a differnt server.