Re: What is a Good Squad Member?

**Lorax74** · 02-04-2008, 05:58 PM

I am not a fan of armor, I prefer keeping my boots on the ground and leaving the armor to SLs better suited to guiding its use. Nothing irritates me more than seeing someone spawning in the rear to bring up a piece of armor, and it doesn't matter how l33t you are with it. I make decisions and recommendations to the CO based on my squad and our position and someone grabbing a tank or APC from the main does not help me out as much as that extra body does on a flag.

**Bobslovski** · 02-04-2008, 06:02 PM

I agree that a Sl needs some good members , and an SL's true test is not leading the best its leading the worst, but its is still very difficult to be SL as yo have to concentrate on a whole battlefield not just whats in front of you. As for fire teams i would very rarely use them maybe if im breaking through and see an undefended flag i might send two members to try cap it. but keeping all 6 squadmembers together i think is best .

**Firebane Cecil.** · 02-06-2008, 03:43 AM

heres something you can add.

you can change kits after the zap and before the revive.

so if you are left with a dead squad, get the assault pack, then quickly change back to whatever and let the medic do his job, while you cover. more rockets\grenades at this stage = lose.

**black_Mirror** · 01-11-2009, 07:08 PM

*bump* ( because i can )

**Reaperassault** · 01-11-2009, 07:31 PM

It takes two main factors

Listen to your SL

Learn from your SL (especially if they know more than you)

other than that just play the game with the kit you have (assaults = revive, supports = ammo)

**TC Migs** · 01-11-2009, 08:48 PM

I've been SL-ing a little more these days and what frustrates me is when SM's don't keep the kits I have requested. I find at some point during the round, a recon show's up, or the ENG or Support I asked for has gone to Assault. Thanks for the thought folks, but keep the kits I asked you to go with unless I direct you to go with another.

**MDFubar** · 01-11-2009, 11:03 PM

I usually will address it once, but if it costs me our objective then the SM in question is looking for another squad.

**Dorb** · 01-12-2009, 12:00 AM

Another thing I've noticed with SM's and they do this a lot actaully when I SL, I picked the wrong kit, and there is a Medic kit laying on the ground right next to them and they ignore it even though they see it.
Or they go wrong kits saying oops I forgot to change.. after the 5th death..

**Adaxa** · 01-13-2009, 05:20 PM

What I look for in a SM is simple. He follows my orders, but intelligently. What I mean by that is that he follows my orders, but he thinks about it. Should he think that it is an outrageous decision, he does not call me an idiot. No, he states why it wouldn't be a good idea, and why. If he does think it is a good idea, he follow my orders, and that's it.

**pred011586** · 01-13-2009, 06:15 PM

My ideal squad member?

Intelligence:
Similar to what Adaxa stated, the ability to take the order given, and analyze it when not in the heat of battle is key. I do not expect the SM to act upon this analysis, but rather suggest an alternate strategy if available. As a SL I only have one screen to look at, in a squad full of intelligent SMs, I'll effectively have 6 screens to look at (7 with an effective commander but this is about SMs not COs) to analyze and make decisions on. It is the SL's job to make those decisions, NOT the SMs. However I feel it IS the SMs job to offer alternative strategies if it seems some new information should change the plan.

A very nice example. Let's say we're defending Statue, and I give the order to rocket Com Center, or Ruins. If one of my SMs sees an enemy tank shelling Playground, I expect him to tell that to me so that I can call my squad off of the walls where they'd be exposed to a tank approaching statue, and take anti-vehicle positions to deal with the tank if/when it comes at us.

Skills:
I expect my ideal SM to be highly knowledgeable about both basic and advanced game mechanics. Basic combat skills is pretty much everywhere and includes everything from knowing when to revive/smoke/rocket/hide/etc, but advanced combat skills isn't nearly as common. I expect my ideal SM to understand the concept of ticket bleed, and how it works on each map. One thing I do NOT expect is incredible fighting skills. BF2142 is as much a chess game as it is war. You fight with your brain, your brawn is just a tool. Skills mean nothing if you can't apply them correctly.

Focus:
Things can get insane in the heat of battle. A defense of Eastern Docks on Tunis can get pretty chaotic with all the nooks and crannies for the enemy to come out of. The key to a successful on-flag defense of that flag is to not lose yourself in the moment. Focus is integral to a successful attack/defense. I understand how combat ADD can easily take over your mind, as I've fallen victim to it more than I'd like to admit, however the more control you have over your focus, the more successful you'll be.

Leadership:
One thing I've learned from my years of being a guild leader, is that the best guild members are ex-guild leaders. This same concept applies to BF2142. The best SMs are the ones who also are successful SLs. The reason behind this goes back to the Intelligence part. Your ability to analyze situations is put to the test when you are SLing. If you can be a successful SL, then you have that ability. I love it when successful SLs join up in my squad because I know that they will take the orders I give and be able to analyze the situation and adapt accordingly without my input, along with knowing the information that needs to be relayed to me so I can make the quick effective decisions.

**black_Mirror** · 10-24-2009, 03:36 AM

Sadly i have to reply to that topic again.
Lately people forget about these things i guess...
A few things which bother me and can be prevented easy

- at the beginning of a round hold your spawn unless told otherwise. Don´t spawn just because your SL didn´t told you to hold spawn. There is absolutely NO need for you to spawn at the beginning. You will just be another body walking around and probably getting TKed by a Buggy or an APC.

- After a total wipe out of the squad while defending a flag and the flag has been taken from your team, don´t instantly spawn on your SL when he spawns back at the main to grab a buggy... If your SL crashes or get killed through Motion mines you wasted a ticked just because you couldn´t hold your spawn for a few seconds longer.

- Always spawn on your SL unless told otherwise. If your SL is dead don´t randomly spawn on any flag just to be back in action. Maybe your SL has other plans that includes you to spawn on him in a few seconds.

- If your get in a squad in the middle of a round ASK what kit is needed instead of just spawning in whatever you want.

- If your SL does not assign you a special kit for whatever reason don´t just spawn in your favorite sniper ololol kit. The standard kit is Medic! If there is no Support that would be fine as well but Medic is standard. ( If your SL says that the kit choice is free your free to spawn whatever you want but it is recommended that you look what the squad already has and spawn what is needed )

**spiff913** · 10-24-2009, 11:19 AM

Amen to all of that. ^^

My 2c - Stay with the squad, and call out when you go down.

Don't be too chatty about it, but give a very brief description of your location -

"Spiff down, east of flag..."

Amazing how many tickets that saves.

**Math_Magician** · 10-25-2009, 02:24 PM

I just have a question.

What if you don't have a mic? Generally I've noticed people don't read in-game chat. So how do you report to your SL on all those things in the very first post?

**Housekeeper** · 10-25-2009, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by spiff913

Amen to all of that. ^^

My 2c - Stay with the squad, and call out when you go down.

Don't be too chatty about it, but give a very brief description of your location -

"Spiff down, east of flag..."

Amazing how many tickets that saves.

I cannot agree and emphasize this more. Too many times lately it seems like my SM's are very shy or something and don't call out when they are down near medics in our squad. You should anticipate a revive if you see green medics around, assuming combat situations allow it, and it never hurts to shout out when you are down real quick - often a busy SL / SM does not see the icons on their minimap or even hear the cries of "medic".

Another thing to add on this point is that please when you are in my squads as pred pointed out in his post very well - give information that you feel could be useful to the SL / squad over VOIP with quick situational reports. Not only does this relay tactical info, I cannot stand being the only person in my squad using VOIP while SLing, especially when I see 3/6 are TG members! Lets liven up the squads, without mic spamming, and increase the intensity of the teamplay as a result!

That being said, make sure there is adequate radio silence for intense firefights, and while SL is speaking. SM's should only be speaking up when the situation calls for it - ie for revives, preferably after you can hear we have mostly won the fight, and for key enemy movements such as armor approaching, or larger amounts of infantry. If you have say just spotted a single sniper that you are sneaking up on, your squad does not need this non-vital info (unless of course they kill you, in which case call for a revive and state enemies last known movements!).

I guess in summary my rambling post can be summed up as follows:

- call for revives via voip when your SM's might not otherwise notice in time
- contribute to the squad via quick situational reports to report key info, especially during prolonged radio silence, we all like the squads that are working together via lots of voip so lets get more of those going. I especially expect this from seasoned TGers.
- just like the right amount of spice in your cooking, just enough VOIP reports to make the squad spicy and delicious is the key.

**Housekeeper** · 10-25-2009, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by Math_Magician

I just have a question.

What if you don't have a mic? Generally I've noticed people don't read in-game chat. So how do you report to your SL on all those things in the very first post?

To be quite honest, the only real solution to that problem is to get a mic. It is vital to the way we play here at TG. You are correct - almost nobody reads in-game text, and can you blame them? 9/10 times with the amount of action on TG servers it is off the screen within 2 seconds, and before anyone has had time to read it.

I do realize that not everyone can use their voip at any hour of the day and not have to worry about waking people up etc, but other than that excuse I cant think of many others - mics are cheap for useable ones!

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