Cavall

I'm recently re-reading 'The Art of War' by Sun-tzu, as translated by John Minford, and have noticed very many concepts that can be used and should be kept in mind while playing Battlefield 2142. Most of this information useful for Squad Leaders and Commanders, but Squad Members might also find parts useful. I'll posts quotes (in chapter increments) that I find relevant to BF2142 and the tactics used on TG servers and my own extrapolations and ideas concerning the topics, discussion of these points would very much be appreciated. I realize many of these points are common sense, but they are all things to keep in mind when in a leadership role in BF2142. Again there is much between my quotes as I'm condensing full chapters into a paragraph. And sorry if I've improperly placed this Thread, though as it deals with tactics and pointers I think its in the right place.

Chapter One: Making of Plans
"Master Sun said... There are Five Fundamentals of deliberation, for the making of comparisons and the assessing of conditions: The Way, Heaven, Earth, Command, Discipline. The Way causes men to be of one mind with their rulers, to live or die with them and never waver. Heaven is Yin and Yang, cold and hot, the cycle of seasons, Earth is height and depth, distance and proximity, ease and danger, open and confined ground, life and death. Command is wisdom, integrity, compassion, courage, severity. Discipline is organization, chain of command, control of expenditure... The Way of War is a Way of Deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be. When near, appear far; when far appear near. Lure with bait and strike with chaos."

Discussion: First, the five fundamentals of command. The Way is something not easily aquired, it is a squad leader or commander's innate ability to influence his or her troops; it is both a blend of charisma and experience, the ability to convince your troops to your way of thinking both with words and knowledge, they follow because what you have ordered is what is the proper course of action. Heaven, for TG purposes, is the rules of TG, the outlines of what is and is not possible on TG servers, this may limit your strategies and the rules must always be kept in mind. Earth is the map; what is and is not possible due to the limitations of the terrain and the cover along routes of attack. Command lies solely with the commander and SL's, place orders following the outlined precepts and victory is much closer at hand; a able commander and SL must know what they are doing, they must know the proper course of action at a given time, they must understand the limitations of their underlings, they must be willing to risk something to gain something and they must enforce their orders effectively. Discipline is something TG is blessed with and most every soldier I have played with on TG servers are very disciplined, officers follow the commander and soldiers follow their officers at least 95% of the time. An exceptional tactic, that should be used more often than it is, is sending only the SL (and perhaps one other) ahead to a new objective and having the rest of the squad spawn on arrival or order; yes many times your squad is alive and you must move, but a single man draws less attention than a full squad both from enemy commanders and enemy soldiers. Spawn beacons, when properly placed, are a devastating tool; leaving a beacon hidden at a flag then defending another allows for quick changes in position should the first flag be taken. Yes your cannot spawn on your SL but this is made up for by having another fighter available since your SL isn't hiding and being a spawn point -- this is obviously only useful under certain conditions and depends on the situation. A properly defended flag should appear as if there are no defenders -- the enemy can't resist such an open appearing flag and is then lead to the slaughter by the defenders, ambushes and explosives are one of the most effective tools available in a fast paced game like BF2142, and a well placed EMP grenade before a counter charge is the final nail in their coffin.

Cavall

Chapter 2 holds little relevance to the game.

Chapter 3: Strategic Offensive

"Master Sun said: The general who cannot Master his anger orders his troops out like ants, sending one in three to their deaths, without taking the city, this is the calamity of seige warfare. In war, with forces ten to the enemy's one, surround him; with five, attack him; with two, split in half; if equally matched, fight it out; if fewer in number lie low; if weaker, escape. A small force obstinately fighting will be captured by a larger force. There are Five essentials for Victory: Know when to fight and when not to fight; Understand how to deploy large and small numbers; have officers and men who share a single will; be ready for the unexpected; have a capable, unhamered General."

Discussion: I've noticed several times that if left to their own devices, or sometimes even against orders, multiple squads will relentlessly attack a well defended flag, even when outnumbered (such as harbor at CampG when a buggyrush fails continueously). If the commander and SL's do not grasp the situation and allow this to continue, defeat is inevitable. You must avoid where your enemy is strong and attack where he is weak, it is the responsibility of leaders to ensure this. In BF 2142 it is highly unlikely you will ever have 10x the enemies force, so these next points deal solely with numbers of friendly and enemy forces. If you are overwhelmingly more numerous, overwhelm them; if you are numerous, attack -- three direct and two indirect; if possible, flank them; if you are outnumbered entrench yourself until reinforcements arrive, if success is not possible, retreat -- a single ticket saved can tip the balance of the battle. The Essentials: know your limits, of what your squad can handle -- there are forces that should not be attacked; commanders and SL's must know how to manage their underlings effectively; it is only beneficial if everyone knows the situation, communicate everything, both to your squad and to your commander -- SL's are a commanders eyes and ears, if you do not supply your commander with information he or she will not be able to formulate effective strategies; lastly, a Commander must know their own limits and set about removing them -- if less experienced, a second oppinion from a knowledgeable SL is invaluable, if experienced, the unasked-for suggestions of a less experienced SL wastes time, balance is key and knowing your SL and commander's abilities will help you lead effectively and cohesively. The word of the Commander is law during the round (excepting if an order breaches TG rules and guidelines) but the commander needs accurate information with which to base his or her desicions.

Cavall

Chapter 4: Forms and Dispositions

"Master Sun said: Of old, the Skillful Warrior first ensured his own invulnerability; then waited for the enemy's vulerability. Invulnerability rests with self; Vulnerability with the enemy. The Skillful Warrior can achieve his own invulderability, but he can never bring about the enemy's vulnerability. Invulnerability is defense, Vulnerability is attack. The victories of the Skillful Warrior are not extraordinary victories; they bring never fame for wisdom nor merit for valor. His victories are flawless; his Victory is Flawless because it is inevitable; he vanquishes an already defeated enemy. In War, there are Five Steps: measurement, estimation, calculation, comparison, victory. Earth determines measurement; measurement determins estimation; estimation determines calculation; calculation determines comparison; comparison reveals the victor."

Discussion:

Absolute invulnerability is impossible due to the constantly shifting dynamic of the game, situations change constantly. It is always more costly to attack than to defend; defenders have known cover, they know in advance the weaknesses of their position, they know the routes the enemy can use to assault them; the attackers may know the available routes but they can never know everything about the situation -- are there APMs? are there sentry guns? IDS? Where are the defender's exact positions? A UAV or IDS can help, but it is still impossible to understand the situation entirely, keep this in mind. The skillful soldier excells at defense, as the team that holds the most flags successfully will, in most cases, be victorious; bleed and the cost of assaulting flags drive down their tickets while our own reserves stay strong. The geography of the map should be seared into a leader's mind. A leader must constantly be thinking about how to utilize the terrain for attack, about where his or her squad is vulnerable to attack or counter-attack, about where the squad can advance without engaging an enemy. It is the commander's responsibility to co-ordinate his or her squads so that proper avenues of assault and defense are available, it is the Squad Leader's responsibility to keep their commander informed, it is the squad member's responsibility to keep their Squad Leader informed.

Cavall

Chapter 5: Potential Energy

"Master Sun said: The Skillful Warrior exploits the potential energy; he does not hold his men responsible. He deploys his men to their best but relies on the potential energy. Relying on the energy, he sends his men into battle like a man rolling logs or boulders. By their nature, on level ground logs and boulders stay still; on steep ground they move; square, they halt; round, they roll. Skillfully deployed soldiers are like round boulders rolling down a mighty mountainside. It is simply a matter of potential energy."

Discussion:

Short chapter and the information is only really alluded at. This chapter, with so few words, is about situational awareness, one of the most subjects of TG. A commander should not rebuke a squad for failing in an objective, for the failing is the commander's -- had the order been correct then the objective would be attained; even a tactically correct order can be incorrect if issued and enforced at the impropper time. A commander and a squad leader must grasp the potential energy by ensuring situational awareness. If you have a friendly tank approaching, it is best to hold off your attack until it arrives, don't waste tickets by attacking rashly, if a squad is running through your demo trap it is better to ensure the maximum kills rather than explode it on the first soldier -- timing is an essential. There is rhythm to everything, even warfare and video games, there is a proper time and a proper place for everything, find this rhythm and victory -- whether for your team or for your squad -- will be yours.

Cavall

Chapter 6: Empty and Full

"Master Sun said: Be sure of victory by attacking the undefended. Be sure of defense by defending the unattacked. The Skillful Warrior attacks so that the enemy cannot defend; he defends so that the enemy cannot attack. The place I intend to attack must NOT be known; if its unknown, the enemy will have to reinforce many places; the enemy will reinforce many places, but I shall attack few. By reinforcing his vanguard, he weakens his rear; by reinforcing his vanguard he weakens his rear; by reinforcing his right flank, he weakens his left; by reinforcing his left, he weakens his right; By reinforcing everypart, he weakens everypart. Weakness stems from preparing against attack. Strength stems from obliging the enemy to prepare against an attack. Victorious campaigns are unrepeatable. They take form in response to the infinite varieties of circumstance."

Discussion:

Many players play the game with fun at their highest priority. While enjoyment is indeed a prime concern, victory may require a squad to hold a flag even if it's not being attacked. If there are no defenders, it WILL be attacked and it will most likely be taken. Attack swiftly and surely, defend absolutely, prepare for every possibility. Misdirection is key in this game, telling your squad members to hold spawn can help you avoid detection and arrive at your destination unharmed. A squad running visibly for a flag can distract defenders from spotting two more squads that are travelling to another flag. If the enemy does not know your intentions he or she is FORCED to defend everything equally, lest a flag be lost (some flags can be safely lost, but rarely so). If there is one squad on each flag, then an attacking force of two squads shall be successful. Keeping the enemy offbalanced and guessing your next move is a devastating tactic to employ -- so long as you retain control of your feints and sub-feints. Just because a tactic works once on a map, does not mean it will work again. Be creative, be spontaneous, if you fall into the habit of a certain technique or tactic as a leader, your foes will prepare in advance for you. It is overall disadvantageous to fall into such a pattern as the one victory you gain by changing tactics unexpectedly will be bought with two or more losses from placing your 'known tactic' in place.

Cavall

Chapter 7 isn't very relevent.

Chapter 8: The Nine Changes

"Master Sun said: The wise leader in his deliberations always blends consideration of gain and harm. By tempering his thoughts of gain, he can achieve his goal; By tempering his thoughts of harm, he can extricate himself from calamity. He wears the enemy down by keeping them constantly occupied; he precipitates them with thoughts of gain. The Skillfull Warrior does not rely on the enemy's not coming, but on his own preparedness. He does not rely on the enemy's not attacking, but on his own impregnability. There are Five Pitfalls for a General: Recklessness, leading to destruction; Cowardice, leading to capture; a hot temper prone to provocation; a delicacy of honor, tending to shame; a concern for his men, leading to trouble. These five excesses in a general are the Bane of War."

Discussion:

Both a commander and a squad leader must contemplate the consequences of their actions, by moving to attack a flag, they may leave a flag undefended and vulnerable. Confidence in securing your objective is essential, if you are in doubt as to if you can succeed it is better not to try -- you may leave your flag unattended and while you all die, the enemy captures your flag. When under heavy pressure, keep your wits about you and think rationally, regroup if possible -- your three squadmates (minus SL) can not overcome a full squad, so retreat to where your leader will spawn, do not waste your tickets in a futile attack. The Five Pitfalls concern both leadership roles, though they do affect a real life commander much more than a gaming one: if you are reckless or eager for a fight you may make a poor decision and end up hurting your team in the long run; if you hold back too long because you fear defeat, your enemy may recieve reinforcements and when he attacks your defeat is assured; if you are tempermental you may take the enemy's bait and lead your squad into an ambush, keep a level head and be cautious of an apparant flaw or opportunity -- in most cases an ambush is unlikely, but advance with caution regardless; do not feel bad about losing an objective or flag, attacking it right away again is probably useless as there is definately at least a full squad there, wait for your opportunity to strike effectively. Concern for your soldiers doesn't really affect the game that much... but if you are running as a SL to an objective, it is disadvantageous to stop and rez a squadmate.

Cavall

Chapter 8: On the March

"Master Sun said: In war, numbers are not the issue. It is a question of not attacking too aggressively. Concentrate your strength, assess your enemy, and win the confidence of your men: that is enough. Discipline troops before they are loyal, and they will be refractory and hard to put to good use. Let loyal troops go undisciplined and they will be all together useless. Command them with civility, rally them with martial discipline, and you will gain their confidence. Consistant and effective orders inspire obedience; inconsistant and ineffective orders provoke disobedience. When orders are consitant and effective, General and troops enjoy mutual trust."

Discussion:

Again, don't attack mindlessly, either estimate his strength, or ask your commander for numbers, an attacking force, even if more skilled, requires more men than the defenders to assure victory. As a leader you must make a judgement call on the probability of the success of an action. Rebuking a squad or squadmate for an action, without giving concern to the reasons, will diminish that unit's effectiveness and lowers the probability that they will follow your orders in the future and they might even avoid squadding with you in the future. Letting your friends have their way constantly can leave you undermanned at an inopportune moment and give victory to your enemies, friendship is prized, but even friends must follow the orders of their superiors in-game. As a leader you must be courteous, discipline only those who are unreasonable, those that do not follow orders consistantly are going against TG rules and so can be ultimately disciplined by an Admin via a kick or other consequences if necessary -- though often enough you can just kick a squadmate from your squad. Experience will lend weight to your orders, if your soldiers are confident in you then they will follow, repeated failures will reduce a squad or soldiers effectiveness and reduce the leader/follower trust.

Cavall

This next one's a big one, so sorry for the lecture.

Chapter 10: Forms of Terrain

"Master Sun said: There are different forms of terrain: Accessible terrain; entangling terrain; deadlock terrain; enclosed terrain; precipitous terrain; distant terrain. Accessible means that both sides can come and go freely... Entangling means that advance is possible, withdrawal hard. On entangling terrain, if the enemy is unprepared, go out and attack him. But if he IS prepared, and our move fails, it will be hard to retreat, the outcome is not to our advantage. Deadlock means that neither side finds it advantageous to move; on deadlock terrain, even if our enemy offers a bait, we do not make a move; we lure him out; we retreat. And when half his troops are out, that is our moment to strike. On enclosed terrain, if we occupy it first, we must block it and wait for the enemy. If he occupies it first and blocks it, do not go after him; if he does not block it, go after him. On precipitous terrain, if we occupy it first, we should occupy the heights and wait for the enemy. If the enemy occupies it first, do not go after him, but intice him to come out by retreating. On distant terrain, when strengths are matched, it is hard to provoke battle, and an engagement will not be advantageous. These six constitute the Way of Terrain, it is the General's duty to study them diligently.

In war, the following are not Natural calamities but the fault of the general: Flight, Impotence, Decay, Collapse, Chaos, Rout. If relative strengths are matched, but one army faces another ten times its size, the outcome is flight. When the troops are strong but the officers are weak, the result is impotence. When officers are strong but the troops are weak, the result is decay. When superior officers are angry and insubordinate and charge into battle out of resentment, before the general can judge the likelihood of victory, the the outcome is collapse. When the general is weak and lacking in severity, when his orders are not clear, when neither officers nor men have fixed rules and troops are slovenly, the outcome is chaos. When a General misjudges his enemy and sends a lesser force against a larger one, a weaker contingent against a stronger one; when he fails to pick a good vanguard, the outcome is rout. These six constitute the Way of Defeat. It is the general's duty to study them diligently.

If an engagement is sure to bring victory, and yet the ruler forbids it, fight; if an engagement is sure to bring defeat, and yet the ruler orders it, do not fight. If the General is generous but cannot command, if he is affectionate but cannot give orders, if he is chaotic and cannot keep order, then his men will be like spoiled children and useless. If we know that our own troops are capable of attacking, but fail to see that the enemy is not vulnerable, we have only half of victory. If we know that the enemy is vulnerable but fail to see that our own troops are incapable of attacking, we have only half of victory. If we know that the enemy is vulnerable, and know that our own troops are capable of attack, but fail to see that the terrain is unfit for attack, we still have only half of victory. The Wise Warrior, when he moves is never confused; when he acts is never at a loss. Know Heaven, know earth, and your victory is complete."

Discussion:

Ooookay big one. First up is types of terrain and examples. Accesible terrain: this is very common, as this is the majority of the major routes -- everyone knows them, everyone uses them, this is usually open ground with several entry/exit points and minimal to average cover, these are so common I don't think we need an example. Entangling terrain: this is a little less common in BF2142, generally this is also wide open terrain with few but good cover points -- Tunis Harbour (the big one) has some of this to the east of Power Station, behind the flags, where theres that field with a couple of containers in the middle -- you can advance, but retreat is difficult because you're not facing your enemy and usually unable to supress them effectively while retreating, but you still have to cover a lot of uncovered and open ground -- avoid movement in such a direction. Deadlock terrain: this is areas that, if defended properly can enduce a stalemate and force a grind for tickets, the mouth of toll station in CampG is a good example. Enclosed Terrain: this is usually a flag area, lots of cover, lots of ambush points, caution is needed when attacking these. Precipitous terrain: quite uncommon in BF2142, though theres a few, these are the 'beta routes', not the main avenues but the acceptible alternatives, the corridor just north of Ruin in CampG is one, as is the boat route in Tunis Harbour, these are hard to use when defenders are positioned correctly, though very effective if left unmonitored. Distant Terrain: usually on armor maps, this would be a flag thats not vital at the moment, such as Oil Station on Suez Canal -- the other flags are much more important and so long as defenders are left at the other flags, can be safely ignored for a little while.

Alright, the Six Calamities, kinda like the general's flaws, they aren't so common in BF2142, but a leader should still keep most of these in mind. Flight: this one can happen, sometimes more than you'd think; if you're in the way of three squads, your one squad isn't gonna do anything, best to get out of the way and attack whatever flag they all just rushed from. Impotence: this only happens when you have an unexperienced leader, or the majority of soldiers are more experienced than their leader; poor commands lead the force to be in the wrong position and give victory to the enemy, or breeds disloyalty and disobedience from strongwilled soldiers. Decay: a master strategist with only new recruits is in deep trouble, he knows what to do but his troops are unable to carry out his orders effectively; this happens (infrequently on TG servers) and theres nothing we can do about it other than seed a few TG or otherwise experienced members into squads with inexperienced members and help them develop their skills. Collapse: pretty infrequent on TG servers, but I've seen it happen; if a squad leader tires of defending a flag they might push out against orders and inadvertantly allow the enemy to exploit the flaw in our teams defence and so give away victory -- it is important to follow orders and co-ordinate with your commander and your fellow squads THROUGH your commander. Chaos: an unexperienced leader in the Commander's position can be in a disadvantage; I'm not saying only experienced people can command, but it does help if the commander knows what they're doing -- an overall plan is usefull, even if it doesn't play out exactly like envisioned. Rout: this is defeat, both in a round and during individual objectives; if you make a bad call, while in a leadership position, you can cost your team tickets -- be sure to learn from your mistakes and this shouldn't be so much of a problem, this is all about experience.

This is a bit touchy, since TG requires you to follow CO orders, but many squads may fade into the 'gray zone' by EVENTUALLY following the order after completing another objective. As far as victory is concerned, there very well may be a situation where a CO order will not work -- if your commander is sending your one squad against two or three defending a flag, you know your chance of success is slim, but on TG you must follow this order, so do it intellegently; don't rush forward, engage from a distance and keep pressure on them until reinforcements arrive. The flip side of this doesn't apply as much, attacking when orderd repeatedly to defend isn't such a good idea, your commander (if you and the other squads are feeding him information like they should) has greater situational awareness than you, on a map-wide level, he or she may know of an enemy squad moving in on your position thats still a minute or two out. As a leader you must 'Know your enemy, know yourself, and know the terrain', to ascertain victory.

Cavall

The remaining three chapters to 'The Art of War' don't hold much relevance, aside from the last chapter (titled 'Espionage') in referance to reconaissence. Basically on this one, you gotta keep your leaders informed and SPOT EVERYTHING. If its not shooting at you, spot it. If it is shooting at you, or you can't spot it, alert your superior by voice communique.

Alrighty folks, thats it from me from now, I'm looking forward to discussion though.

Cavall

My pleasure ^_^ And if TG requires it I can remove the quotes from the book. I sourced it (if weakly) but if copyrights are an issue here then I'll take down the direct quotes and leave the 'discussion' parts.

Rasta-GR

Thanks Cavall, this was an excellent post!

Kudos for posting!

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DrBeat

I was reading this also. I friend of mine informed me that it was a useless book ifyou didn't apply it to anything.

Very nice!

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SilentSunshine

Good job, Cavall. I've got a copy translated by Ralph Sawyer... after about 50 pages of intro I set it aside. And, that was a number of months ago. Now I'm going to have to get back to it.

You've covered the bases very well, it seems. So there really isn't that much to say except that the ninth chapter is listed as another eighth. Copyright-wise I think you're fine, because you're using short excerpts for critical purposes. If there would be a problem you could re-quote with passages from here... http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17405 That translation is old enough to be public domain.

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Memento-Mori

Excellent work, Cavall. I'll deffinately look into this when I have some free time.

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BF2142 sign-in: |TG| Memento-Mori--
BF2/PR/POE sign-in: |TG| MementoMori117

DocGuo

could you elaborate on the different types of terrain??
anybody knows that you should never follow a strict set of rules...but I want to see the reasoning behind each one... and why it would be advantageous.... We should start with tunis and start recognizing the terrain types for the area around the flags.........

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Why "Doc"Guo? Because behind every good TG player there's a good doctor yelling "CLEAR!". There's also the fact that "Medic"Guo sounds kinda weird.