Project Reality Forums

I think as a squad leader common sense is the way to go..Ive posted before about this...but here i go again...(maybe we should get fuzz in here for a little head to head discussion)

I dont think im one of the best around but i often play squad leader when i have time to play....

Some of my techniques...

1. I ask the squad what they would like to do at the beginning of the round...if no answers i make the decision...about 50% of the time i get some response or ideas...the idea behind this is that people are much more likely to follow a plan they all agreed upon than one that they are told (remember we are in fact not in the army)

2. Keep talking...I think even 2 minutes of silence is usuaully too much adn things will slowly start to crumble...some talk to much, some not enough but basically a constant stream of communication...i often pop out to the situational map and just give everyone an update as they should be keeping there eyes front and back... even this battle update gives me a good reason to talk... also of course encouragement...awesome..oh shit..damn we suck.. nice work etc... all phrases we know how to use...

3. finally i guess, SL STAY ALIVE AND STAY BACK! despite the fact that the SL is usually one of the stronger players his role has changed... he is not the lead fighter and point man...this is a no brainer but i still catch fuzz doing it all the time... (might explain fuzz..hehe) Let your squad know to go ahead of you (the SL) and assign someone to take the rear.. have them spread out and always keep them moving ahead of you...you are not being chicken..THIS
IS THE SLs ROLE.... Operation ghost train is a map inwhich the SL staying alive is the key strategy for winning...

anyway thats my three fast points.. if the SL is yelling at you leave the squad.. he probably just power tripping or has some other personal weakness.. Peace all

ps. Micheal_Denmark you are one of the funniest SLs around..you are so serious...even when you got angry at me once you were still very serious..hilarious!!! "soldier, get out of the tank!!" haha...funny guy

I'm a shy and kind squad leader and lead only when no other squad is using the landscape to flank enemy
There come times when your team is doing very poorly and anything you do just fails. At those times it's hard to try to be a solid leader.

Good info IronTaxi, I sure should talk more, but english ain't my first language and sometimes I just can't find the words I need. That might be a problem for many leaders I guess.

nSika_FunP wrote:IGood info IronTaxi, I sure should talk more, but english ain't my first language and sometimes I just can't find the words I need. That might be a problem for many leaders I guess.

That is probably true for many players, including me. But the amount of discussion may be restricted to some tactical issues with only a limited number of sentences, sayings etc. (we do not discuss any political issues or similar in a squad *gg*). Experience and training is the key. If you are lucky and may play in a well communicating squad for some times, you will automatically gain better (specific) language skills.

IMO, even to play under a communicating SL with wrong grammar, simple statements, who is struggling and searching for words etc. is much more fun, than having a native speaker who does not speak at all. I am ashamed about my funny pronunciation and my unfortunate sentences sometimes, but I try to hang on

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Top _Cat the great wrote:I generaly relish the optunity to be SL, this however is after playing the map for awhile (knowing flag cap order, strait rout and then the ways around) and ofcourse understanding the kits and gametype. But this really only takes a few weeks.

I wont deny, being an SL is not easy but the huge buzz you get from winning is totaly unequaled for you took the repsonsiblity and the accepted challenge and met it using every inch or your brain and wits.

I would love to know, from any player who feel unable to be SL, what is it exactly that they feel is stopping them?????/

i dont like being Sl becuse i dont get action because I have to hide for teammates to spawn off of me.

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1 I NEVER play SL...just hate responsibility...and I play to shoot and kill not sit there leading by map.

2. Thus I don't know how to hand out kits

3 And it's difficult to get the Commander to hand out artillery strikes...

--- I prefer to be a grunt in a good squad but playing as SL brings new challenges, always good to mix it up.. i'd advise it to all of ya..at least you'll know what being SL requires.. help the whole squad out.)

IronTaxi --- I think you are spot on... however i do think leading the squad as SL. (taking point) is needed at time.

Often SPEED of action / decision / direction by the squad is essential.
Even with good communication between the squad, the quickest way the suddenly change the direction of the squad is to the lead it. VoIP and Q "follow me" ...

As the SL it is up to you to keep an eye on the whole battle, the commander rarely feels the strength of the fight, and you have to react accordingly to changing environments, i find to change quickly and efficiently it is easier to lead from the front, and then try and get a point man in front of you....a quick attack by a squad at the exact right time can be deadly, I often find the it is hard to communicate the speed of the attack, I find my squad crawling in when I wanted them to rush, etc., sometimes leading the squad gets the best response…trust your medics and don’t get shot in the head!

Vary your tactics according to the map, ejective etc etc etc.

Well…I’m sorry Iron Taxi if I have offended u in any way when playing.
I have not gone angry at u at any time. Maybe I’ve got frustrated at u on occasions, but not angry. Still, I hope u will accept my apology for any inconvenience you might have experienced when playing with me.

For the record, i sometimes get frustrated on entire teams and also let the teams know if i am. And a lot of players find that hilarious.
I sometimes raise my voice and I sometimes don’t. It depends on the noob level, the lone wolf level and the fair game level.

I’m a passionated player, and that’s basically it. I don’t know about u, maybe u never experienced passion in any game before? And to be frank with u, I basically don’t care. Hope I don’t offend u when saying so.

I don’t remember ever having called any player for a soldier. People who play with me, knows that I call players by name. If in any moment I should ever have called someone in this game for a soldier, Iron taxi, it maybe would have been in a moment of true sarcasm. No offence.

Actually I sometimes end up in squads with players just as passionated as my self. You would defently get a laugh observing us playing.

I play with a lot of people, and some players like my style and some don’t. Actually I get all kinds of reactions, positive and negative. Some in game, some on the forum and some as PM. And your type of reaction is not the first of its kind, and will not be the last. With a player like me, that’s just how it is.

NB: Not sure, but I think that some people without passion for a specific game/issue/work/course and so on often find people with passion for any of the above comical or hilarious.
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When I started out being a squad leader, in the days of the vanilla version, I acted very polite and always asked everyone what kind of kit they would prefer and even what object they would like to attack/defend. The democratic approach, being a squad leader.

Today I hardly ever do that. Basically I just tell people what kits I think would be needed most and/or welcomed and then I order the squad in what to do. Many squad members ask what kit I need and some even bring up ideas now and then, which I like, cause it often brings tactical engagement to the game.

I often deploy single squad members to specific positions when the squad is in defence, but only occasionally when in attack. That’s because:

1.
I don’t feel experienced enough yet to lead a squad with players I don’t know, thereby not knowing if I can rely on their skills.

2.
I maybe don’t feel secure in what tactic I should make use of.


The langue problem is well known to me too.
Sometimes when things go to fast, i begin a sentence in my own langue ...and then mumbling it into some sort of English. When it happens there’s often this long silence from the other squad members. ops:
No doubt about that the native English players defently got an advantage when it comes to lead in English.

nSika_FunP wrote:I'm a shy and kind squad leader and lead only when no other squad is using the landscape to flank enemy
There come times when your team is doing very poorly and anything you do just fails. At those times it's hard to try to be a solid leader.

Good info IronTaxi, I sure should talk more, but english ain't my first language and sometimes I just can't find the words I need. That might be a problem for many leaders I guess.

yeah a big problem to me too

batalla35

Hx.Clavdivs wrote:LOL - I wasn't thinking of anybody spesific, batalla. I just feel the weight of responsibilty weigh heavy on my tiny shoulders. I let that burden go to someone else.

In real life, the squadleaders would have undergone training. Most people are not born leaders, they are trained. And most SL's on the playground of bf2:R has not received training to become leaders. In real life, if you get a leader that would mean instant doom for you and the rest - you do not obey, you do what it takes. It's a game, sure - but stupidity is never applaused.

That said, I do plenty of stupid things ... alas ... I don't play as an SL.

I thought you were talking about emile

batalla35

I like to play SL when I can. My advice is to call you squad what you want to be, ie VOIP ONLY, DEFENSE, ATTACK....etc. If you use comms, like I do in my VOIP ONLY squad, make sure people have comms, and if not remove them if they don't. Ask for help if you are unsure about what to do as SL, people are willing to help. I am always willing to throw out advice if you need it, just join a squad and start to learn. Also, if there is a commander use him!!! I use arty whenever I can!

=HR=Drayu wrote:I like to play SL when I can. My advice is to call you squad what you want to be, ie VOIP ONLY, DEFENSE, ATTACK....etc. If you use comms, like I do in my VOIP ONLY squad, make sure people have comms, and if not remove them if they don't. Ask for help if you are unsure about what to do as SL, people are willing to help. I am always willing to throw out advice if you need it, just join a squad and start to learn. Also, if there is a commander use him!!! I use arty whenever I can!

My laptop's mic has been shot for months....but a new laptop arrives today, I will only join squads with voip, it makes a HUGE difference!

=HR=Drayu wrote:I use arty whenever I can!

Yeh..totally agree.

Arty on Karkand 2 is so sweet cos of the cqb's that occur round the flags

I have posted a Squad Leader guide at our forums if anyone is interested:

http://www.warishellgaming.com/forums/s ... hp?t=14200

digitmb wrote:I thought you were talking about (...)

batalla35

LOL. I said "and still beeing nice ..." LOL. I remember that round. He scared the beejezus out of a newcomer that had just joined the squad.

I wish I had BR of that round. 5 little green dots all over the map - and out of nowhere - we suddenly looked like SWAT taking over a major building complex and taking no prisoners.

banditdog_1 wrote: However, I always want to play in a squad so I always join one. Lately though, when I join and am say number 5 in the squad for some reason I seem to all of a sudden be the squad leader!

This is because they are not keen on teamplay and want someone to spawn on. Traits that this kind of player tend to have are: As US they use the M4 excessively, as MEC they use the AK-101 Exsessively, They request sniper kit eveny round, They request Heavy AT/ AA then take out a viechle then pick up their kit again and spray some more M4, They use the word N00B, they dont respond to VIOP, They Tk excessively...you get the picture.

...mongol...

I've logged over 140 hours as a SL in vanilla bf2 (according to bf2s) and many more since I started playing PR about a month or two ago. I usually work with clanmates, filled out with random people on the server when we don't have enough. Here are some general things I've found to work well in terms of working with people playing in your squad (I'm not going to go into tactics, all of this assumes you're using VOIP):

1. Take charge and communicate your objectives.
   
   Most people who bother to join a squad want to be given objectives and want to complete them. They expect you to give them orders. Knowing that can help get rid of some of the embarrassment/hesitation I've seen people talking about in this thread. If you get someone who joined just to pick up a kit or grief, just kick them out of the squad, no yelling/bullying necessary.
2. Be decisive.
   
   Choose an objective, communicate it and stick to it. Keep your guys focused on that objective. It's better to have your squad working as a unit, even on a bad call, than to have them feel like they don't have any clear objective. When you realize you need to change tactics, communicate the new objective to your squad.
3. Let your squad know when they've done a good job.
   
   When your guys listen and they get the job done, make sure you let them know that they've met your expectations. If someone did something particularly well, for instance a medic who managed to save the day in the flag radius, point that out. When your squad knows you're paying attention to them and their actions you'll be surprised how hard they will try to accomplish the objectives you've given them.
4. Morale is very important.
   
   Sometimes things will not go well. Sometimes your squad just won't gel, you keep getting killed even though you're staying back, the rest of the team is letting you all down, etc. etc. Don't take this out on your guys and realize that they're probably at least as frustrated as you are. Instead of getting pissed and dragging down morale, change up the objectives, eg: "Ok guys, we're not getting the support we need from the rest of the team, let's fall back and defend point X and see if they can pick up the slack with us watching their backs." Feel free to berate the rest of the team for running around like idiots, but don't rage against your squad. There will be times where your squad will piss you off, and sometimes a little comment can help to get people to perform for you, eg: "(Billy (a guy in your squad) TKs a couple of other guys in your squad) Come on, Billy, you have to step up here, calm down and check that fire." Billy knows he screwed up, but telling him to calm down and check his fire gives him a way to accomplish some goals you've set for him. He's much more likely to start playing how you need him to if you say that than if you go with something like "Billy, you stupid git, stop TKing!!!"

Another thing you can do is ask for feedback. Have someone who's been in your squad all night? Ask him/her for their feedback on how you can be a better squad leader.

A lot of these things will come with practice and experience. You'll screw up, just accept it, learn from it and move on. Eventually it will become easier and easier until the problems you spend most of your time dealing with as SL will be tactics and now how to get your men to work with you.