Welcome to duty commander!

[DDS]

I think were getting off base here somewhat. The commander is a role, such as the squad leader is a role. Infantryman is a role.. matter of fact everyone has a role which when teamplaying each puts forth very important effort to winning the game. The commander has a much broader responsibility than just having tools at his disposal. He is, well the commander. The leader of the team. He has (or should) bought into bringing the team to victory. The CO has a broader view of the battle in terms of squads ability and responsiveness, employed tactics that were successful or not, enemy weaknesses/strengths ect. ect.

Making the commander more marketable so people will be commander may help, maybe not. That is not my point. My point is that the community has decided (so it seems) that the commander is no longer necessary.

I feel a bit like the guy that showed up with no beer at a party when I command (though I never do this ). What the hell has happened? Perhaps later one might think the squad leader is also expendable based on this attitude ingame?? What? the officer has no sniper rifle?

[Rudd]

Perhaps later one might think the squad leader is also expendable based on this attitude ingame??

that actually happens alot, you see a squad created for CAS or something, the squad leader just goes "I'm waiting for CAS" and doesn't lock the squad, then you have 4 people grabbing whatever kit they want and running off to fight.

Alot of players automatically defer to their squad leader or commander

The majority of players imo will follow orders great, and once the constraint is applied they perform admirably

And then the rest of the players need their SL/Commander's will to be imposed upon them, or removed from the server.

I don't think people have decided the commander role is expendable, just stressful - it puts the responsibility of victory at your feet in a way the best commanders have that hint of 'Lead me, follow me or get out of my way!" about them

They should add the ability to control the UAV from FOBs. It would make the commander role much more enjoyable. The 10 min (13 min) time between UAVs isn't enough to actually get your *** out of base, go across the map (and be back on the 10 min mark) and do something useful, except maybe transport some crates in a logi.

I agree that the commander shouldn't have to stay home (he can do too many useful tasks), but from what I understand of how the UAV works, I doubt that the UAV can used out of main.

[DDS]

Old topic but still very much on my mind.

My much beloved PRBF2 seems to be going down the shutes. God I remember when I first started playing this mod and how things have changed. Perhaps it is just me expecting too much from the game. Thinking reality is what is reality on the battlefield such as in Afghanistan.. I watch for the DEV's to steer this thing around.. but what I hear from the community is it is 'really' just a game and what we mean by reality is that the sounds sound so real! and the assets are so real looking. Perhaps that is why BF3 has become the new eye-candy. And bonus! You don't have to obey that CO there either.

[ShockUnitBlack]

Main issue is a good deal of the players still playing are so well seasoned they no longer really need to use any real amount of teamwork to be successful in most ordinary scenarios.

Case in point - a squad I was in today, composed of experienced players, basically succeeded in capping out the USMC on Jabal and knocking out several infantry squads without anyone saying a word. Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do and how to do it - no questions; no callouts of enemy positions or anything.

So yeah, we did well. Was it fun? Not really.

To be honest, I miss when the game was new and daunting, full of challenges. Now PR simply feels like the sort of mindless game I was trying to get away from when I first downloaded it. I still enjoy it, yes, but I enjoy it for the rounds when I still find myself needing the teamwork the game was designed to offer, not the rounds where I no longer find I do.

[DDS]

...To be honest, I miss when the game was new and daunting, full of challenges. Now PR simply feels like the sort of mindless game I was trying to get away from when I first downloaded it. I still enjoy it, yes, but I enjoy it for the rounds when I still find myself needing the teamwork the game was designed to offer, not the rounds where I no longer find I do.

I feel the same way at times. It's like the progression of the game has slowed near a halt. We have adapted to so many changes that at first were daunting but we adjusted. I kept expecting the game mechanics to keep ratcheting up the realism and seeing more of the nilla aspects fade away. That was the idea I thought.

[ZonexNL]

I agree, the commander position is actually mandatory to keep the team together and give squads specific orders but there tend to be a lot of retards around who go against the commanders will or are not even listening to him at all. That's just plain grief, in my opinion.

[Arc_Shielder]

^ That's why in PRTA it's mandatory for SLs to obey CO orders. If for some reason the admin staff find the CO to be incompetent or negligent, we will resign him of such.

Maybe if all servers did this then people would feel more confident in taking the CO role.

[doop-de-doo]

I bet if the only person who could see where the objectives were was the CO and he had to mark them for the squadies, then the CO would do what COs are supposed to do, coordinate the army.

Yes. If you have an incompetent CO, you would be forced to mutiny, or admins would need to step in.

[DDS]

^ That's why in PRTA it's mandatory for SLs to obey CO orders. If for some reason the admin staff find the CO to be incompetent or negligent, we will resign him of such.

Maybe if all servers did this then people would feel more confident in taking the CO role.

Keeping in mine that the CO role is difficult, though some have commented here that it is boring. Far from it. When I'm commanding I am dealing with 4-6 squads who at times barrage me with information whilst I am adjusting to the situation constantly.

But the community having rejected the role means that it will always be a hard sell to bring it back.

A common experience for me (server will remain un-named) Right off the bat a player texted me after I asked if the admin's would enforce an order I gave a squad.

"co why are you griefing the server?"

[DDS]

...If you have an incompetent CO, you would be forced to mutiny, or admins would need to step in.

Valid point. Bear in mind that most CO's are just people like you trying to LEARN how to be a good CO.
I had games where I tried my best and we got our asses whipped and the whole team unloaded on me for losing and chose another CO commander the next round. Fair enough.

Sometimes the CO might have a different point of view as far as strategy. A good freind of mine (o0nzl0o) always say's to me "think out of the box DDS" meaning.. be willing to try something different. Ever notice how squads will continually attack a position from the SAME direction over and over?

CO's aren't perfect. Just like the squad leader role, until you have had the responsibility you don't know what the challenges are. And then when you have been CO or squad leader you have greater respect for that position or pity (LOL).

When I was in the Army my whole battalion thought our CO was goony bags but we still had to follow orders. And without structure on the battlefield the outcome wont be good. It's not so much about success as it is about cohesiveness.
I'm not near as good a CO as some I have seen. I wish the community could see some of the commanders and squad leaders I have witnessed and behold the beauty.

[Pvt.LHeureux]

Before the full mumble implementation the CO was REALLY usefull to have. As CO I was always coordinating many squads together, like Sq1 was asking Sq4's APC transport through me, but now they can do it themselves with mumble.

[DDS]

Before the full mumble implementation the CO was REALLY usefull to have. As CO I was always coordinating many squads together, like Sq1 was asking Sq4's APC transport through me, but now they can do it themselves with mumble.

Ok, thats a point often made. So when 6 squad leaders are planning strategy. Who's plan is agreed to? And how does this evolve. I've rarely heard 6 squad leaders agree on a TEAM strategy in mumble. There is some inter-squad tactical advantage but that is to be expected. Play as you go is not the same as having a commander

[PLODDITHANLEY]

All to often on a normal/pub game the only strategy that lacks is one squad defend last flag. Amazing how often no one wants to defend we shouldn't really need a CO for that?

Clan battles tourneys etc....we got mumble 1.0 so easy now.


CO is great for doing UAV mortar spotting.

[DDS]

May I offer that most don't like defending because they are left out of the fight while the other squads charge ahead. Most of the time a squad chooses to and names the squad as such. But there are times when your the last one to leave the captured flag so out of team-guilt you stay and defend. I try to rotate squads out of defended flags but that doesn't go over very well.

[Mellanbror]

Common decency should be that the (main) capping squad stays and defend the flag they've taken. Easy and more effective yes? Have you fought over a turf you will know the ground/positions better and get a quicker and more effective defense up.

Squads should overlap each other in caporder. It's not fun to "always" be the squad left defending. You capped last, well defend it, we will cap next and then we defend and you can march again.

Think by now every PR-player with the sligthest routine should know that last capped is never ever to be left unguarded. Thats how many games are lost. Think too many don't care about teams win as much as their own killstreaks (most often deathstreaks though by this kind of player hehe).

Players may call themselves great teamplayers, but if they don't pitch in and defend, they are not that in my book.

[Sgt. Mahi]

The overall problem for the CO right now is that he's rarely respected. I had a great game as CO last week where I did some casual commanding where most of the squads listened to my ideas.

If you want to be a successful commander in a public game you pretty much HAVE to do casual commanding because it is expected that you cannot get all squads to coordinate correctly.

So what I do in a casual game as CO:

Use UAV - I often dedicate the UAV support for tanks since they benefits most from the intel and they sincerely listen to you because they are always interested where their threats are located.

Use waypoints - What a commander also should do if he knows the map well is use waypoints. I personally don't use them as landing zones but instead I put them down where I think is a good location for setting up a FOB. This is surprisingly effective.

Transmit requests - The need for a CO for communications may be reduced significantly since Mumble but if there is a CO you would be surprised by how many squad leaders that will contact you to ask another squad for help/support instead of contacting them self.
This is where you can get in character and do some commanding and do some squad management. Be diplomatic about it and just remember that you can't expect full cooperation.

Place markers for transport choppers - The transport choppers often end up in a situation where they have to do several landings in one trip. There may be two small squads who need to be put down in different locations plus a supply drop in a third location. Putting down markers for the chopper pilot as he goes through the route can help him alot.

Place observation markers for relevant squads - Squadleaders in the field sometimes lack the time to get a good overview of the battlefield. Sometimes he can miss a vital information. To make up for this simply place observation markers for the squadleader. It will not spam his radio but he will get an instant location of possible thread and only needs to accept the order to get a marker down.

Place map icons from relevant intel - Needless to say the markers on the map can be a big help for your team in the battlefield. Keep an eye on the chat (many lonewolfers will often bring important intel in on the chat) and place those icons. Do not mark moving targets instead use observation markers for the relevant squad. Highest priorities for me to mark is AA, FOBs and stationary tanks.

Could be cool if we could get a "Casual CO Guide" going

[Strepto]

I really support a commander guide!

I was trying to figure how to enter the UAV station yesterday. Is there any indicator of where it is or who can use it? I found it on Kashan but not on Muttrah City. The commander section in the PRManual is lacking info, it is probably an introduction to the role and knowing what your superiors are capable of.

I would be interested to see a whole game from commanders point of view on Youtube. If it had commentary while talking to the squads involved it would be awesome. A written introductory guide would also be appreciated.

I believe the commander role in PR is way too hard to get in to.
1. You need to have some mutual respect from the squadleaders for it to work at all.
2. A few wrong decisions can wreck the round for you, and suddenly no squads are listening.
3. The squads on the ground expect you to have information, but does not relay their information to you. So when Sq 5 sees Sq 4 get wiped in the middle of nowhere they are going to ask Sq 4 directly of what killed them and engange/retreat without it ever getting to the commander.

(I have never played a round of commander in PR and this is just my observations from Leading and grunting squads)

[Sgt. Mahi]

I really support a commander guide!

I was trying to figure how to enter the UAV station yesterday. Is there any indicator of where it is or who can use it?

You can see the Pommand Post on the map. It's the vanilla icon for the Command Post

I would be interested to see a whole game from commanders point of view on Youtube. If it had commentary while talking to the squads involved it would be awesome.

Unfortunately very outdated since there's no UAV involved but here you go...

3. The squads on the ground expect you to have information, but does not relay their information to you. So when Sq 5 sees Sq 4 get wiped in the middle of nowhere they are going to ask Sq 4 directly of what killed them and engange/retreat without it ever getting to the commander.

Yes but usually you have a good idea of what it could be. Heavy assets are most of the time reported in team chat so what I usually do is bring an enemy infantry marker down where the squad died. That way you can leave some kind of a warning to the other guys coming that way.

[L4gi]

Luckily when you you're playing with enough friends(like we usually do), you agree on a plan and hope the rest of the team follows your lead. Although usually that isnt even required.

[Strepto]

snip

Thank you for the reply.

The video is made before mumble, mortars and UAV so i think it is a little outdated. Would really want to see a new one in 720p and the 0.97 patch.