MDFubar

Ahh, That is the question and I believe that we can all come up witht some good answers. We always expect a certain amount of cooperation, knowledge, and skill from our Sm's. The problem is that everyone has different expectations and not everyone knows what to expect.

How often do you squad up with an SL that you have served with before? Why? Familiarity? You know thier style, what they expect, how they lead, and (yes believe it or not)a little about thier personality.

Those who are fairly new will not know what I mean when I say Bommando. I served with him a few times and his style could make people break thier mouse, but he was a damn good Sl in my opinion.

Here is what I think a good Squad Member is:

Entering a squad, the Sm should announce themselves and ask what kits are needed.
After recieving this information, the SM should ask if the Sl needs certain load-outs.
If the Sm has a deficiency with a certain kit, please let the Sl know.
If the Sl has not stated, please ask if you are to hold spawn or where to spawn.
When the appropriate time to spawn comes, spawn in with the appropriate kit and load-out.
Note: As simple as this all sounds, you would be suprised how many people do not do the above.

When on the battlefield, follow Sl orders and unless told otherwise...stay with your squad.
Keep your awareness up, if you notice someone flanking then report it immediately and wait for orders. Do not always go for the kill unless you or your squad are in immediate danger. The Sl may want to proceed and let someone else handle the contact or decide to dispatch a fireteam in that direction. Please try not to engage without support.

There are many times that you may be moving as a squad and do not want to engage the enemy, thus giving away your position. If you find yourself alone and seperated from your squad, ask your SL what you should do. It could be wait, help squad X, or fall-back.

If the situation on the field has changed, such as your squad is pinned down by armor, ask your Sl if you should change kits(providing that they have not already asked for someone to do so). A squad that is Assaults and Support suddenly encounters a walker and a tank, if eveyone takes the inititive and respawns as Engineers then you have too many. This is not a good situation to be in once the armor is gone and now you are faced with multiple infantry.

If, by some chance, you spawn in with the wrong kit...please inform the SL as to which kit you spawned with. This information is vital. If you spawn at the wrong place, let the Sl know where you are and what happened. Again, this is vital.

Keep each other alive, do not be afraid to swap kits in order to revive someone. If you can, practice this as it could mean the difference betweeen life and death for your squad.

Do not be afraid to offer suggestions the the Sl, orders are orders but sometimes the Sl may not see what you do. Please remember to follow the Sl's orders. When you are reporting contacts, please try to "Q-Spot" also. This will then show up on the min-map and make it easier to pinpoint the enemy.

Basically it boils down to following orders and staying together. If anyone has anything to add, please do. Anyone that has been an SL should have something to add from thier point of view. Anyone that has been an SM should have something to add from that point of view also.

If they do not know what you expect of them, they can not deliver.

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Bobslovski

We had a little write up on our site for the basics of being an SM:
1) Listen to the SL:

First and most important, listen to your SL and do exactly as they say, there is typically a long warm up time so don't be afraid to ask questions, but once the round starts you should know exactly what to do to begin with, and should not start questioning the SL when "in the field" so to speak, just do as they say.

2) Use VOIP correctly:

Don't talk bollocks, don't curse or moan down the microphone , it's distracting and the rest of the squad could miss other important information, if you need to swear, don't push the button, be straight to the point when you communicate.

Try to make sure your mike is set correctly, ask if you're too quiet to hear, or so loud that the rest of the squad **** themselves whenever you speak .

3) Revive correctly:

If someone is down, check it's clear, if another squad member is going for the revive, cover them, don't run in with them or you might both end up dead from a few rockets.

Make sure there isin't a whole enemy squad around the body, the revive will likely be pointless, as you will both end up dead, and you will cost your team an extra ticket. However if it's your SL who is down, it can be understandable, as the rest of the squad can spawn in, or (in the case of robbie) he can bunnyhop away.

Courtesy of bob - if one or two SM's have just been taken out with rockets, wait until he reloads before you move and revive, always likely there are more on the way, alternatively you can fire rockets back, but this may give away your position to more enemies.

4) Stay dispersed:

Don't stay too close to your SL, or the rest of the squad, you want to be within reviving distance, without risking being took out by the same rocket or nade.

If you're on a flag, try and cover a seperate direction to everyone else, and put something solid between you and the guy next to you.

5) The wonders of flanking:

Quite basic but sometimes underused, if you see one or two of your SM's go the left of a building, you should take the right, reduces the risk and you can catch the enemy off guard.

6) Know when to fall back:

You can't break through every time without fail, and in some maps certain positions are difficult to attack and/or defend, you will never lose as long as you know when you can win, e.g. if you've just lost half of your squad fall back and wait for them to respawn or try another avenue of attack, or just go around and take another flag, you will lose less tickets.

7) Courtesy of Bob - Spotting the enemy:

Make use of your UAV and radar in the top right of your screen, not only does it reveal enemy locations but you can often see where friendlies are, and if they need a revive, and if it's worth the revive, e.g if there are several members down it's likely there are several enemies there, or you can simply see how far away they are and if it's worth it.

Furthermore, you should always try to "spot" the enemy, if you see you are outnumbered, it is often more valuable to simply spot the enemy and wait for the right moment, as you typically won't have a commander in a clan match, spotting the enemy using, that radio thing, does help quite a lot, as there aren't any UAV's.

If anyone has anything else to add, or if you think I should change something, don't hesitiate to say.
Comments

nuckj

This is some great info on what makes a good squad member. I would like to also add:

DO NOT BACKSEAT SQUAD LEAD!

There is nothing worse than a SM saying "ok squadleader I'm gonna spawn with my (fill in the blank) kit at (fill in the blank) flag." Especially when the SL has already called for specific kits and said hold your spawn.

Or how about the SM that say's "Ok Squad...fall back to (fill in the blank)." Did the SL issue an order for the squad to fall back?

If you want to lead a squad - CREATE A SQUAD! Squads function best with only one SL.

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9th MID | 2142 Profile | New to TG?

MDFubar

Very Nice Bob, Thanxs for that input. Nuckj, a point well taken and this has happened to me a few times. I have actually told them to either follow my orders or go make thier own squad. Ironically, 95% have apologized and stayed with me.

keep them coming, there has to be more!

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Augustus Gloop

My favorite squad members make me look good.

"SL, we're being flanked!"

"Looks like Harbor is taking a pounding, should we go?"

"Squadleader up in 3!"

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Zhohar

Qualities of a good SM:

1. People who can have a sense of humor while losing. There are very few things that will get you out of my squad faster than profanity or loser attitude when things don't go your way. There are a significant bunch of TG people that I try to avoid because of this.

2. People who know how to revive properly. <3 Mr. Avocado

3. People who kill Reaper and Lyra while they are rolfcoptering!

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Pfft, how can you call it suicidal if we lived through it?

Adaxa

What I have to add

5)- Very important. Flanking gives you a better view of the enemy, and a better position. Also- don't fire when flanking unless backed up by two people, minimum (2 guys attacking and one reviving. Roles are interchangeable.), because if you're by yourself, you will most likely get shot. Either that or use hit and hide tactics. Report how many you can find.

7) Spotting is always important, because it gives you the information of where the enemy is facing. Don't just look at the red dots, look at the direction they're pointing in. This applies for snipers and entrenched squads, because an enemy can be nth feet away and still be looking right at you, and will report this to his squad.

Also- If you are alone and the only person alive and at the objective, do not attempt to capture the flag. Wait for your squad. Although you'll probably be disobeying your orders, it's better to wait for your squad, because if you attempt to capture w/o support, you'll most likely end up giving your ticket away, as a squad will most likely be moving in to take that ticket from you. Wait for your squad, again, and if you think it's safe, hit-and hide/run tactics can work. However, this only applies at how close the nearest enemy (flag) is. At a vehicle map, go for it. In Infantry maps like Camp Gib and Belgrade, make a move and go for the capture.

Also, If your SL is making a stealth run to a flag, don't accompany him. You'll just draw rockets and fire to his position. But this may not be the smartest thing, unless he's recon.

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|TG-Irr|Adaxa

Active in: BF2142

"Jesus saves! He passes to Moses... SCOOORE!"

skullhedman

I'm just asking for my own info here, but what about fire teams?

Last night on Belgrade I was tasked with taking Monorail with another player while my squad held Statue. Is communicating to the other squad member in your fire team (sometimes in an Order-like fashion "They have a tank inc, [FT Member Name] - spawn in Engineer.") stepping on the SL's toes?

Is there a specific process for talking on VOIP within your fire team to alleviate confusion and not to over step your bounds?

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Ghost Stalker

I did this a couple of days ago on berlin. After sneaking past the EU defense at crossroads and roadblock we got to outpost and at the time I had two other members of my squad. I went after the assets and the rest went after the flag. After the flag was captured and assets were destroyed I sent the rest of them to attack statue while stayed back and made sure the assets stayed down. I stayed there as also as a spawn point as I didn't have a Beacon on me at the time of spawn. several more people join and I designated 77 (the rest of the name I forgot) to take the squad and I relyed commands orders to the and kept an eye out of enemys kinda of like a commander.

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Kebab-Kastike

Nothing to add to your posts, you made rather complete set

About the talking bull****, sometimes a good situational joke can cheer up your squad. Like last weekend when |TG-E1st| Superfast was leading a squad at Camp Gibraltar and we were on EU defending enemy from entering Toll. Squad(s) from the EU side had taken the harbour flag back and all PACs moved back to take the flag back and everything went quiet for like 1minute. I said "Whoow, good to have a breather" or something like that. Then the killing continued after they took the Harbour back and rocket spam continued until we won.
Cheesy joke but I couldnt resist.

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|TG-E1st| Kebab-Kastike reporting for duty. | Why? Tubes! The internet is tubes!

MDFubar

I can't stress enough that we are here to ahve fun. Occasional jokes are not a bad thing if it has calmed down, just don't tie the channel up in the middle of a firefight.

Skull, if you where a designated fireteam and following orders I do not think that you did wrong. If you are alive and the other member of your fireteam is down(unable to revive), then asking them to bring a needed kit is definetly acceptable. You are seperated from your squad, following Sl orders, and the SL has left it up to you to fullfill your objective. You are onsite and know the situation, seems to me that the Sl had a great deal of confidence in that fact.

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nuckj

I would say if you are tasked by the SL to operate a separate fire team then you should be given a) an objective and b) room to work to complete the objective. So it should not be a problem to direct your fire team on movements and such to achieve the objective. The chain of command remains intact; your fire team answering to you and you to your SL. Order within the squad is the key.

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9th MID | 2142 Profile | New to TG?

Freeboter

there are three things a good SM should do.

1. revive

2. follow orders

3. shoot the bad guys

Zoticus

That was a great round. We got a lot more done because you split the squad up.

As a frequent SL I find that you quickly get a feel for your SM as far as which pubbies you can trust in a fire team. It pretty typical to have 2 or 3 TG players in a squad since I mostly play prime-time and I find splitting off a TG with a VoIP-ing pubbie makes a great fire-team while still having a reliable TG player close to me.

What makes a great SM to me is someone who passes along good contact reports and good intel such as "2 contacts on the Central Camp flag. Should we move out?". More eyes on the mini map is always a good thing.

-Z.

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|TG-Irr| - Zoticus77

Arithea

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to MDFubar again."

Seriously, nice write-up. People tend to forget that the squad leaders are just the mid-level decision makers; it's the squad members who really get things done. Without a good squad, a great squad leader still can't do very much.

My two cents on fireteams: I have split squads into fireteams before. I don't do it often. In fact, I tend only to do it when I know I have someone in the squad who can lead a team of two or three successfully. If that's the case, I'll say, "<fireteam leader>, please take <fireteam member 1> and <fireteam member2> and see if you can help cap X flag." That way, all three members of the second fireteam know a) what they're supposed to be doing, and b) who they're supposed to be listening to for the next little while.

As for backseat squad leading...seriously, people, if there's a piece of armor available at the main base you want to pick up and you think it'll help your squad get where they're going, ask. It might be that your squad leader really, really needs you boots-down at that moment, and bringing up that armor could mean the difference between re-capping a flag and wiping out the squad. The same thing goes for kit preference and assisting other squads. Also, if you don't like some of the choices your squad leader is making, take the initiative! Lead your own squad. The only way to know if your ideas will work is to test them out.

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