Originally Posted by Zoraster

When I Squad lead, I very rarely use a beacon. The only time I really carry a beacon is in Suez when i'm trying to capture that back flag, and I can put the beacon on top of the building. Every other time, I use a drone.

Generally speaking, if you're a good squad leader with good squad members, the beacon is actually a very negative device. I think many SLs use the beacon as a crutch. If you're not using the beacon and you're the squad leader, you have a LOT more responsbility. As with everything else, good SLs thrive with that responsibility, and bad ones are suffocated.



This isn't always true. While I agree with the general sentiment, here's a few things to consider: First, when going for a back flag, often the front man is the safest member of the team. Second, sometimes to promote cohesion in a squad that isn't entirely made up of top-notch TG members, a squad leader has to phsyically lead. People are pretty good at following the leader, but are decidedly worse at taking the initiative to take point. Third, sometimes it's good for the squad leader to go down first. If he goes down first, chances are very high he'll get a revive and be able to get out of dodge. If he goes down third or fourth, the chances are lower.

That being said, I do agree generally. Squad leaders need to recognize that their spawn point is perhaps the singlemost valuable thing they possess. Charging in wildly into an enemy that outnumbers you is stupid. If you're sitting outside of ruin in Camp Gibraltar because you broke through, but there are enemies in the base, it'd be a very bad choice to take the lead in that attack. Also, my second point rarely applies when the squad is made up of some of the best TG members -- especially if they've played with each other for a while. They're very likely to know what to do and not need the extra help of following the big number on their minimap.

I don't know, a common practice on TG servers now is "frag the corpse" if the SL goes down, and there is a good possibility that the other team will know you are the SL because of the drone, a nade or two will keep your SMs from being able to revive you in time. There are pros and cons for being in the front or rear, I would generally say that the SL would be better towards the rear, of course the SMs have to follow orders for that to work. You are right about that.