3 Things That Squad Members Should do More Of

[Santa]

Theres lots of things i could list out that make a good squad member, but there are 3 that can make an average squad a great squad. These 3 things are something that myself, new guys, IRR, and every IHS squad messes up. Just try to keep them in mind.

1) Follow orders quickly. I absolutely hate when i put down a marker, tell everyone to attack CP X, and see them stay where they are. They just keep on fighting at the flag we were previously at when the rest of the squads could easily fend off the enemy alone. Even if you think the order is idiotic, do your best to disengage from whatever you are doing and follow your SL. When certain people in a squad listen quickly and others listen slowly, it causes a staggered line going toward a flag. This then leads to single persons moving on the flag one by one, each getting mowed down alone. Instead, if everyone listens quickly and promptly, you can move out together and you will be much more effective.

2) Continue to follow orders. If you are stationed on defense, STAY on defense. Don't think that just because the last minute of defense hasn't been as action packed as your ADD infested lil brain feels it should be does not mean you can roam 100 meters away from your defense marker and kill whore. I cant count the number of times ive seen squads lose a flag because 1 or more squad members were 100 meters from where they needed to be.

3) If you are a medic, then be a medic. Its a very simple concept. If you take the medic class, you should be more concerned with reviving and healing your squad mates than you are with killing. This is because, 1, you have paddles, and 2, you have an inferior weapon compared to most of your enemies. Of course, kill when you can, but as soon as your teammate goes down you should make every attempt to revive him. If you are a medic and start to make your way toward my corpse when i have 10 seconds left on my timer because you were too busy killing people, i will request someone else to take the place of medic because you suck at it. And i will be that blunt with you as well.

[[tR]Greasy_mullet]

When I am a medic I really try and either take out the people who just killed you first or toss down some smoke if they are at range. Either way you might have to wait a bit for my magic paddles.

[icky]

Just keep in mind that in the heat of battle, many people miss the order to move out. Also, most people would prefer not to start running when they know it will result in them taking bullets in the back. I think the SL should rally the squad before moving out if they don't want to end up crossing the map in a scattered fashion.

[Braidedheadman]

Other medic tips that I feel get missed far too often:
- Smokes are your friends. They are also your fallen buddy's friends in that when he gets back up, it's not to the sound of both of you getting shot by some dude camping the corpse for an easy 2 more kills.
- If I'm not a squad leader, I'd rather see the dude camping my corpse go down before the medic tries to revive me. It's extremely frustrating to spend a good minute or more in 15 second critical injury countdown when a flag is about to be flipped because I keep getting shot immediately after being revived. For the minute that I spent out of play, the potential bleed from losing the flag may well have soaked up any benefit from keeping my ticket alive when I might otherwise have respawned and helped prevent an untimely flag turn over. Plus, in situations like that and when under fire elsewhere, I feel a medic with a weapon in his hand is more effective and benefits his team more than a medic with paddles. Secure the area before beginning triage (SLs excepted). Otherwise, Santa's #3 FTW!
- Please, don't forget to smoke the corpse if the area is saturated with heavy fire.

[Rick_Slick]

Couple of things for squad leaders, too, from my perspective... and I'm also guilty of some of these things when I'm not focused:

1) Keep your squad reasonably spread out, both when you're moving and when you're securing an area... make sure one frag isn't going to take out half the squad. Besides, the more spread out you are, you have more angles of attack against the enemy position. As fun it is for someone to see 6 simultaneous kills from their claymore, I assure you the people in the squad that just got wiped out aren't going "Sweet, that was a good one!" on their VOIP. Trust me, I know. I'm usually the one that trips the claymore.

2) If it is unsafe to spawn in on the squad leader, use VOIP to make sure we all know it. Nothing irritates me more than re-spawning on a squad leader after I run directly into a teammate's claymore than to take a tank shell in the back of the head as soon as I spawn in (unless of course it protected the squad leader from dying, in which case, holy crap I'm awesome!!)

3) Squad leader, stay the heck out of the action. Your ability to provide a mobile spawn point is of a lot more tactical importance than whatever hare-brained plan you've got going on to weave your way into the enemy camp and take the flag yourself while humming the James Bond theme. By being able to have an entire squad re-spawn near an enemy flag, it puts constant, unrelenting pressure on the defenders which will eventually a) wipe them out, b) occupy them until reinforcements arrive to help cap the flag, or c) allow me to spawn in so I can "defuse" the claymores in the area. That being said, make sure your squad members know to move out from the spawn-in location before they start firing so as to not give your position away.

4) If you have me in your squad, everyone should spawn in as medics.

[WhiskeySix]

My "Things Squad Members Should do More Of" list:

- HOLD SPAWN. Numero uno. (To hold spawn deselect the spawn point and/or just leave the map open). Obviously in the heat of a firefight, you should spawn, but not when the map first starts OR when the assault/defense is lost (SL dead and flag lost). It doesn't matter which map or what we're going to do, just don't spawn. Why?

1. It gives SL a chance to change kits/plans based on what the rest of the team is doing.
2. One guy (the SL) can make their way to the objective faster than 6 can. (Even on a map like fallen, I'll use my whole sprint bar up before having you spawn on me... essentially doubling your sprint distance)
3. If a vehicle is used to get to our objective, there's no point risking 6 tickets - if you haven't spawned you can't be killed.
4. Having everyone spawn really screws up fast-attacks. A) I don't like waiting B) One or two guys always gets left behind and your squad doesn't hit the objective in full force C) it gives the other team racing to the same flag a big head-start.

- Don't change kits without asking. I operate the squad based on the kit-out, and if that changes without me knowing, we'll end up sticking our noses where they don't belong and getting killed.

- Watch your mini-map. The best SL's use "attack/move/defend-here" icons a LOT to organize the squad - pointing out where to counter-attack, intermediate waypoints while traveling, or even giving defensive stations per-member ("billybob, you go here <waypoint>... jimmyjames, watch this area <new waypoint>"). If you're not paying attention you'll miss it. (Also - the waypoints are not rough suggestions - they're orders and their location on the map is precise unless otherwise indicated)

- Learn PgUp/PgDn and use them to acknowledge orders and answer questions.

- Respawning doesn't mean find something new to do. If you had mines down, put them back down. If you had C4 on the flag, put that back down. If you were watching our north flank, go back and watch the north flank.

[icky]

Ok, someone change the title of the thread.

[ProjectNA]

Guys - great info for both SMs and inadvertently SLs.

On the medics killing first before saving - the full server due to the new maps *really* drives this home. Kill first - revive after. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry on Spies last night as we were not only getting slaughtered, I kept getting revived over and over and over again to the sound of Bane's support gun in my ear.

Last night was brutal on many maps at least for the team I was on (1/2 K/D for the team, ouch). A lot of new players on the server, which strains the SLs and causes some disorganized play (and losing). Probably what prompted this thread.

[BaneII]

Originally Posted by ProjectNA

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry on Spies last night as we were not only getting slaughtered, I kept getting revived over and over and over again to the sound of Bane's support gun in my ear.

Myself, I find the sound to be quite soothing as I help people to shuffle off this mortal coil.

[ProjectNA]

If the faces in this game could smile, you would have been creepily smiling (over and over and over) as you "helped" me : )

[Judge_Leo]

When I have time I will spot the enemy before I fire in case it's Mantis and he turns and shoots me between the eyes while I trace a perfect outline around him. At least then my surviving squad members can chase him down and get some of the same.

The point about the SL providing the spawn point is mucho importante, nothing worse than trying to defend a flag with one or two squads constantly spawning near you - there's never enough ammo. On that point SLs should remember to stay in a location that allows your squad members to spawn on you.

[Klenland]

Unless you are providing covering fire or are the squad leader, when ordered to attack a flag, get on the flag. One person sitting alone on his haunches under the flagpole usually will not work if the defenders are worth ten cents.

[Daarken]

I like to drive people around, and randomly run over whiney SL.

[Bc2ID]

Just my opinion on smoke. The situation will always determine if I throw smoke or not. I will throw smoke to add to the confusion of battle, to conceal an injured SM, and in the direction of the enemy. Never throw smoke directly on the body as you may have a hard time finding the corpse. Also if you need a medic, the interface has a command for this, I suggest you use it. I will not throw smoke if it will hinder the rest of the squad's attempt at closing with and killing the enemy. I will not throw smoke if the direction of the firefight has changed, as many times I can revive yer butt while the enemies attention is focused on something else. Remember that smoke also draws attention, which is something that you might not want when reviving. I will always attempt to revive the SL or an Sm within reason. If it is too heavy a firefight, then my gun is worth more than the whole squad wiping.

In squad communication works best when everyone is on the same page. This means the SL needs to give clear directions and move orders. Simply just throwing down a move marker will not suffice, back this up with a verbal command as well. Remember that running off in the woods "willy nilly screaming YEEE HAAAA" does not work. Work together, take your time, and move effectively using cover. I also appreciate a page up or page down when orders are given, this way I can keep track of who is in the fold.

B

[Braidedheadman]

Hmmm... A little off topic, perhaps, but I don't think I've ever yelled, "YEEE HAAAA!!" whilst running through the woods. I have, however, yelled, "LEEEEROYYYYY JENKINS!!" when I get what I feel is a bad order from a CO or SL to assault a flag fortified by 3 or 4 full squads.