jex

SWAT 4 is not a game about killing the bad guys. It is not a game where you run around the map by yourself like some rambo. If you want to do well in SWAT, you need to be part of a team. Being part of the team means working with the team, not rushing to get the most kills. When you have a team working together, you do well, but sometimes a little help is needed. Below are 3 solid tactics you should learn and use. They're very simple, but should be the basis of your gameplay. You should then develope your own tactics around these three core tactics.

These three tactics are weak areas in the team. I say weak because I see SWAT members being taken down more often in these areas, whereby there could be none.

- Cover
- Door Breaches
- Complacency

Cover
The team should move as a single element. However you decide that is your call, but one thing you must do first is provide cover. By providing cover, you save the team from hostile fire by being in a position to engage the enemy on your terms and denying him a shot at you, or members of your squad. This holds true in any game.

When you cover an area, cover it until you need to move. In SWAT, as all door open away from you (or the tango), you could simply stand in front of a door to deny the enemy passage through. This is playing the game engine though and not something I encourage. However, with 2 of you left and 4 doors in a room, this tactic would be wise. With a full squad, I would tend to sway people away from this and have them covering the door ready to shoot (it can make situations a lot more exciting too).

DO NOT turn around to see what is going on if you hear shots unless you are called for assistance. By turning round, no-one is covering your area and one tango could mean the death of the squad.

So allocate cover for everyone, or just don't cover an area someone already is covering. Use your noggin and work out where the best place for you to be is and try and make sure you cover all threat points.

One final point, game lag means that tangos can warp through a door. The door opens, and then suddenly he's through and you're dead. Don't take the chance, as soon as the door opens, start shooting (only if you have a none lethal weapon though). Don't shoot as fast as you can, just a steady rate of fire should do it.

Door Breaches

As with the real SWAT guys, door breaches are where most of the casualties occur. To minimise these, you should always have SWAT members in cover from the door being breached. When you open the door, lean across it to open it so you can quickly lean back behind the wall should you start taking shots.

Someone should always have a bang or gas grenade, ready to throw inside if needed. Remember:

1) Gas masks are needed for gas, but if you don't have a mask, wait for the gas to dissipate. The tango's will still be coughing but it will be safe for you to move in.

2) Flashbangs do not affect you if you have a helmet on (unless you stand directly on it).

If a grenade is thrown into clear, make sure you remember to yell "Hands up!" so any tango's can start dropping their weapons.

Do not have your grenade thrower at the front, he should be throwing over a kneeling companion who is covering the door.

Complacency
Just because you cleared an area, do not assume it is clear coming back. Someone may have doubled back and will now be a more serious threat because the element is expecting it to be safe. Yes, this I have seen a few times now and it really shouldn't happen. Keep your guard up at all times, even if you have deployed door wedges.

Remember, the time it takes you to lean around the corner is a fraction of the time it takes for you to wait until the next round because you're dead.


So far these seem to be the 3 main offenders to team fatalities I have seen.

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Jex.

RickJJ~NTO~

My squad is just getting use to swat, we play bhd. Im trying to find out tactics we could use in mp/online. For a 6 man team on supsects, how many operators should use non-lethal or lethal?




RickJJ~NTO~
Marine Division

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=Sarc=

Jex was outlining tactics for coop play.

I don't know how much your squad has played SWAT 4 but I know some servers are strict on the types of weapons you bring. Stay away from the UMP .45 (duped the uber/noob gun) but you probably noticed that by now. The server may also enforce players to be all lethal or all less lethal.

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JO Guides & Tutorials
Team Element - It's who you game with.

Magnum50

Not trying to jump this post... but read it and thought I'd share.
I'm in the process of writing a article on using real world tactics in computer games... here is a copy/paste of part of that article relating to this topic.
Hope you, or anyone else can get something out of this:

copy/paste:

Communications: The in game command and reply structure works pretty damn well, but if you can connect with a co-op group on a team speak type server it will make it a lot easier and a lot more fun to multiplay.


Planning: While your looking at the briefing screens, equipment options, and entry locations decide first who will be the element leader, for that one mission he is the one and only person to give commands, it's his show let him run it the way he wants and then on the next mission someone else can be in charge.

Decide who will team up as red and blue teams, and those two members in a team should NEVER, EVER leave each others sides.

The element leader is in back, giving the orders to red team and blue team. (Ie: "Red cover left door, Blue stack up on forward door.")

Equipment: Decide on who is taking what weapons, each team (2 teams in an element) should have a less then lethal option, an opti-wand, and flash bangs. Each of the two teams should be able to operate fully on there own, with there own equipment. No team should have to ask the other team to come on over to use there equipment.

Opti-wands: The optiwand is your third best friend, (first being your partner/team, second being your primary weapon.) Every single door, every single corner, every single room should be mirrored. The element leader would say "Red mirror the door", Red One (w/o the optiwand) covers in case the bad guy opens the door while being mirrored, Red Two (guy with the optiwand) checks the door and should respond to the team, something like this, "Large room, long wall on left side, 2 more doors on right, 1 armed subject next to hostage." Then the element leader orders how the team will enter.

Stacking up: every door is a new entry, a new situation, after the optiwand report the element leader decides on entry, "Stealth entry, pick lock" or "Dynamic entry, breach with C4, bang and clear."

Entering a room: You should already know if someone’s in there, (but don't assume there isn't a bad guy hiding), you should also already have a general idea of the room, walls and doors because of the optiwand users report. You should already know how you’re entering by your element leader’s orders. So when it's time to enter, the element leader should say "Element (or just red/blue team) prepare for entry, Blue team breach, bang and clear... go when ready" The blue team will be up against both sides of the door, with the two red officers behind each of them. Blue One would prep the door for blasting or breaching, Blue two would prep the flash bang, the door blows open, (Blue One is switching to weapon immediately), Blue two tosses in flash bang then immediately switches to primary weapon, BANG... Blue one enters, Blue two enters, moving down the left and right sides, while Red One enters to the left; Red Two enters and moves to the right. In order of entry you report all clear, or subject down, subject surrenders. (ie: Blue One clear, Blue Two Subject down, Red One Clear, Red two clear.) Then the element leader walks in like king **** and orders officers to restrain, report, or cover the next threat/area.

Different methods: All members should be familiar with the four main types of room entries just in case the element leader decides on a certain type of entry.

Here are the four most common, (2 old school, 2 new school methods):

A)old school, Button hook: A button hook is when two officers each stack up on both sides of a closed door, once the door is opened or breach, officer 1 enters and clears from 12 o’clock to the position he was at on the outside of the door, meaning if you stack on the left you go in and turn left to be on the left side of the room you entered, and visa versa with the right side.

B) old school, Criss Cross: This is where two officers stack on each side of a door, then once the door is opened or breached, officer one goes from the left side of the door crossing over to the right, then the stacked right officer follows crossing over to the left side of the room.

C) New school, Wall Flood: A wall flood is when either 2 officers, or 4, stack up even on each side of the door, then once opened or breached they all enter in numbers, 1, 2, 3, and 4... 1 going to the left sliding down the wall, 2 going to the right sliding down the wall, then 3 going to the left half way down, then 4 to the right half way down... you then have all the officers on one wall to move in line formation to clear the rest of the room.

D) New school, Penetration: Penetration entry is when a team of 4 all enter a room, and go to the middle putting there backs together, then each officer is assigned a quadrant to cover and control.

Hallways: you should be working in pairs, (you NEVER leave your wingman). When moving down a hallway or an open danger area. One 2 man team would stay back and provide cover across the danger area, or one side of a hallway. The other two man team would move across the danger zone quickly to there destination. If going down a hallway, one officer should be duck walking (kneeling) while the other is standing behind him, two weapons downrange. You should also be on one side of the hallway only, so your back up team has a field of fire also.

Reloading: Always reload before entering a room, or before even setting up (stacking) on a door. You ALWAYS go in a new room with a full mag.
If your moving down a danger area, or hallway while engaging, and you need to reload. You yell "RELOADING", you would kneel down and reload, while your number 2 officer, your best buddy, is covering or firing over your head down range. When done, yell "Ready". Do not move while you reload, stop, kneel and reload, while your buddy covers you. And visa versa.

Practice, Practice, and Practice (training) so that when you do these missions you and your team work flawlessly and smoothly. Never leave your best bud, ever, and never go running after someone on your own, or without clearing areas first.

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Magnum
www.simhq.com