This is version 2 of my commanding guide. I added a few things, pruned a few others, and revised some, but I've mostly just tried to format it so it's a bit easier to read. I'll try and illustrate for version 3.
Table Of Contents
Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - Using Your Squads
Part 3 - Using Your Assets
Part 4 - Battlefield Tactics
Part 5 - Other Advice
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
The question that needs to be in the back of your head as you play CO should always be “how am I using my strengths to benefit the team?” As the CO, you have a unique perspective on the developing game: you see everything. Unlike the rest of the team, you have a sat track, but maybe more importantly, you have the time and ability to FOCUS on what’s happening in the game
Squad leaders and squad members are forced by the developments in the game to mostly focus on the situation that immediately surrounds them, so their ability to judge the most effective approach to winning is limited. The CO, on the other hand, spends almost his entire time focused on the two-dimensional top down map. He knows where his squads are, and he has a pretty good idea of where the enemy usually is by using his assets, his team’s spots and his own spots. The CO’s strength, then, is his ability to analyze the entire battlefield.
But the CO also has weaknesses. Unlike the players, the CO is extremely limited in his situational awareness. A good CO can use his bird’s eye map to get an idea of what the on-the-ground situation is like, but it’ll never be as good as the players who are actually there.
This is the simple duality that makes up my approach to being a CO.
PART TWO: USING YOUR SQUADS
I. Know your squads
Your squads are your building blocks to success, but they aren’t created equal. Although it’ll be impossible to know exactly who everyone in each squad is, you can get a fairly good idea. And as the round progresses, you’ll be increasingly aware of which squads follow orders well, which are creative, which defend well, etc.
If you can figure all this out quickly, you’ll be in the catbird seat. Also, remember that some squads will be just one or two people.
II. Communicate effectively with your squads.
Communication is the key to success, but just because you’re talking doesn’t mean you’re communicating effectively. When you play CO, remember that Squad leaders communicating with their squad members is equally – and probably far more –as important as the CO communicating. Every second you spend on the command channel is another second the squad leader can’t spend communicating with his squad.
So brevity isn’t just the soul of wit; it’s what’s going to win games. Keep your information short, and don’t needlessly talk.
Remember, highlight a squad and then press V to only talk to that squad leader. Probably 80% of the time, it’s only necessary to communicate with individual squad leaders. Doing this will limit the intrusion on other squad leaders’ time.
When all squads need to be alerted to something, use the B button, and keep it short. If, for example, the enemy has managed to get a back base, quickly announcing “enemy has the square. Be advised” is an effective use of the open command channel.
Please take note: Do not give a running commentary of the game. Limit your team-wide communication to about 2% of the total time played and your individual squad communication to about 5% of your time.
This being said, DO communicate with your squads. For any order that doesn’t have an obvious reason, I verbalize the order briefly. Even if I don’t explain my reasons, it’s generally reassuring to squad leaders that their CO has put some thought into their order.
III. Manage. Don’t micromanage.
As the CO, it’s tempting to tell squad leaders how to do their job. But this is a mistake. Giving general orders and allowing squad leaders to figure out how to accomplish these orders is usually a far more effective approach.
Squad leaders have a FAR greater situational awareness than you do in your comfy armchair hidden at the back of your base. Even though you’re better aware of where the enemies are, you can’t be everywhere at once, and the squad leaders better understand what’s weak and what’s strong.
This doesn’t mean you can’t order anything past “attack” and “defend,” but it means you need to give the appropriate flexibility to squad leaders to accomplish their goals.
Finally, just to reiterate point I: know your squads. Certain squads deserve and can handle flexibility better than others.
IV. Order. Don’t suggest. Don’t waffle.
You’re the CO. You’re the alpha-dog. You’re the man. So don’t waffle. Squad leaders and squad members want to do their job, but they aren’t usually so keen to do yours. Saying “I need some people back here at Inner bridge lock” is ineffective. Pick a squad, issue an order, and communicate it. You just create confusion by sort of just throwing an order out there with no specific squad that needs to do it.
Don’t give options in the middle of a battle. If you want to do that before the game starts, that’s okay. But don’t do it while people are involved. They don’t have the time to decide, and they’ll probably wonder what the heck you’re doing back there.
V. Spot, spot, spot, spot, spot, spot…
Never stop spotting. Any time you have some down time, right click and spot near your squads. Try and give them some additional information. If one of them spots a walker coming up, keep the walker spotted. If you notice a squad moving up toward a defending squad, spot them out. Doing this eliminates much of the need to use of the squad leader’s VoiP time. If you see a tank coming to flank, you don’t need to say it on the command channel, you just need to spot it.
VI. Understand and control “FPS ADD”
I don’t know who coined the term, but it accurately describes one of the biggest issues you face as a CO – even in a
TG server. For that matter, it even happens to
TG squads.
The sad truth is that you can’t always eliminate it; all you can do is hope to contain it. Just be aware that people are playing to have fun, and if there’s no action coming their way, they’ll sometimes stray farther and farther from where you want them. You can use lots of techniques to minimize this, but you need to be aware of it. A lot of the time, I’ll tell a squad that their primary function is to defend site X, but if they can move up to cause a little problem at Y, then that’s fine. Then if I see people move in, I spot them, and the squad falls back.
VII. Try and organize starting rushes
Usually, you won't have that much time to organize a starting rush, but if you have 30 seconds or so, it can help a lot to ask SLs to call out a vehicle. Or, if you want, just announce who's taking what and where. You want your forces to get out into the field ASAP.
PART THREE: USING YOUR ASSETS
I. Sat Track
Sat Track is the quickest to recharged asset you have, but that’s good because it should be your most used. Sat track is the thing that gives you battlefield awareness greater than anyone else. Use it to spot enemies coming up, preceding use of orbital strikes, looking for weak flags, deciding where to put a UAV, etc.
II. EMP
The EMP is the slowest charging of all of the assets, and yet it’s the least useful when used on its own. You can use it to effectively scramble a squad’s screens or temporarily disable a vehicle, and that’s not bad, but it’s not great. Sometimes a scrambled squad will get killed or displaced because of it, and sometimes a disabled vehicle will be a sitting duck for an engineer, but as a CO that doesn’t happen too often.
The best use for EMP is in combination with something else – usually an orbital strike. Zoom in on a walker, EMP it, and then immediately Orbital Strike it. This can take some practice, but it’ll almost assuredly take down the walker.
III. UAV
The UAV is a very useful asset. It's a decidely more useful asset in infantry maps. Always try and place UAVs where they're most effective. In maps like Tunis, you can often get two flags covered with one UAV.
Often on choke points, your team will have placed IDS. Try not to waste a UAV on an area already covered by these.
IV. Orbital Strike
The Orbital Strike is the most impressive asset you have available. It’s a fairly useful one, and it’s probably the most fun to use as a commander. It’s also the only one that’s ever going to directly get you kills. But it needs to be used right.
Generally, you want to use your orbital strikes whenever you can, but be sure to use them effectively. Don’t just click on an area of the map with lots of red dots. Zoom in and see whether you can get them in an area where they can hide, where they’re prone, and where the orbital strike will make a difference.
As a general rule, I’d say the Orbital Strike is most effective in two situations: First, in infantry maps to take down infantry killing Walkers and APCs. As Bommando has pointed out, the most you’re ever going to get with a single Orbital strike is 5 or 6 kills, but by taking out a walker, you’re probably saving far more tickets than that.
Second, it’s effective in breaking up congested enemy infantry. Sometimes enemy infantry is making it impossible for your squads to get past. But a simple Orbital strike will cause confusion, kill a few, and create the opening for your squads to slip in. Be careful not to harm your own team though.
V. Supplies
Supplies don’t need much explanation, but drop them near walkers, a recon squad taking out assets, or just generally around defending squads. Encourage your squad leaders to request supplies. This makes it a lot easier to know when and where you need to drop the supplies. Remember to Zoom in as close as possible to make sure your supply drops are good ones.
Also note that if your assets are destroyed, you can drop a supply box next to the asset and it'll automatically repair the asset.
PART FOUR: BATTLEFIELD TACTICS
Rather than try a comprehensive guide to battlefield tactics that could probably fill a small book, I’ll list a few suggestions.
I. Defend versus Attack
Defending almost always takes fewer tickets than attacking. It’s easier to keep defenders revived, you can spawn back at the flag you’re defending, you can find sneaky places to hide that can cover large areas, etc.
Please don't send your squads out on pointless attacking excercises.
II. Defend key areas. Defend choke points
I think this is pretty obvious, but defend areas that give you bonuses such as lots of armor, a walker, a good vantage point and maneuverability, etc. Additionally, defend areas with only a few entrances. It’s much harder to assault an area that has a single choke point.
III. Attack weak points. Wait for weak points to develop before attacking.
I know this seems obvious, but attacking where an enemy is weakest is often overlooked. Also, remember that weak points WILL develop as the game progresses. If you don’t see a weak point right now, have your squads defend until you DO see one. THEN strike. You’re the only one on your team who can know when and where is weak, so make sure you use this advantage.
PART 5: OTHER ADVICE
I. Know the bleed.
Always keep in mind how a map bleeds. In Belgrade, you bleed the enemy by having a majority of the flags, but in Fall of Berlin, you only bleed the enemy if you own all of the capturable bases. It would be unwise, therefore, to try and capture an extra base if it'll cost you dearly in tickets to get and won't earn you anything else. Often times having just one flag while defending in an assault map can be a good thing as the enemy will waste itself by trying to grab the last outpost. But on the other hand, in a head-to-head map, the bleed can be essential.
II. Develop a thick skin
SLs are under a ton of pressure. Don't take anything they say to you personally. If they're curt, that's probably because they're under fire. Keep in mind that you're likely to be the scape goat of choice if your team doesn't perform well. That's just the way it is. But SLs certainly DO appreciate good commanding.
III. Don't forget you're a soldier
It's ingrained into most of our heads that "commanders don't fight." In general, I highly agree with this. What you contribute by fighting is nothing compared to what you contribute by staying in base. However, this doesn't mean you can't do a few things to help out your team.
In particular, I suggest going engineer and laying motion mines at a back choke point (for example, put motion mines up at square just in case an APC breaks through or something). You have the great advantage that unlike those soldiers that are fighting and dying, your mines aren't likely to go anywhere. Also, going recon and laying APMs and RDX on a back flag can be a life saver (for example on com center or roadblock in Cerbere). Most good squads won't be totally foiled by your measures, but if you can slow a squad down, the cavalry may arrive.
I should note that you should do this when you have your first bit of down time. Don't neglect your squads in order to do this. You're a commander, and no, you shouldn't be fighting.
IV. When you command, use teamspeak.
This says it all, but if you command, you're going to have squad leaders who repeatedly refuse to acknowledge your orders. Try talking to them first (look up their name, don't just call them "squad 3"), but if the problem persists, report them on teamspeak.
