We all recognize the importance of spotting. It's quick, it's easy, and it gives your entire team situational awareness of the enemy for a short duration. However, few squads actively acquire NetBat targets. I assume that the primary cause of this shortcoming is the general ignorance in activating the NetBat.

Spotting a target with the Comm Rose will not light up a red diamond in the NetBat. This is a common misconception, and spotting will only place the target on the mini-map. In order to place enemies into the NetBat system, squad members must target them with weapon zoom for about 1 second. Keeping a target in the crosshairs will activate the NetBat system and display the location of the enemy as a red diamond for the entire squad.

NetBat, unlike traditional spotting, provides greater situational awareness for the squad, and can reveal the precise location of enemy troops, even behind cover. Additionally, when using the SD-8 Accipiter drone, spotting targets will not help the drone track the enemy. If NetBat targets are not obtained as detailed above, the drone will not fire on the enemy and will be quite useless for the SL. As a side note, the Dystek Pulse Meter is the only item other than the Otus which will automatically acquire targets in the NetBat. When combining the Pulse Meter with the SD-8 Accipiter, the attack drone becomes far more deadly.

Another great use for the SD-8 gun drone is attacking the enemy while the SL is behind cover. If squad members activate NetBat targets, the drone will fire upon them, even if the SL is prone behind an obstacle. The drone naturally hovers, so it will generally remain above all small obstacles which will conceal the SL. Thus, the drone can engage foes while the SL is crawling away from harm. (Caveat: Hiding in obvious places with a drone flying above you will result in a swift death, courtesy of rockets)