Man up and lead a squad

[thebusdriver]

i always have my own squad, and here's why:

game starts, aprox 4 squads:
1x clan squad, locked 4 1337 playerz
2x voip squad, i do not have a mic
1x chopper (lb/bh/merlin/...) squad, locked 4 1337 playerz

and then this awesome "you have to join a squad or we stab u in the nuts" message appearz, forcing me to create my own squad, and here we go

btw, my squad is usually empty

[Scot]

Get a mic!!!!

[thebusdriver]

Get a mic!!!!

actually i have one but i'm shy

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Meh, I'm 14 but I still go into the world of PR with the young-hating vets (A stereotype of the "OMGZ 1337Z CH0PP4Z!" 10 year old.)

[Scot]

actually i have one but i'm shy

[VoXiNaTiOn]

L
M
A
O.

That is all.

[Zimmer]

I try but I allways get some noobs that want to do their own adventure

[davetboy_19]

actually i have one but i'm shy

The Communist couldn't have said it any better. Just talk, no one cares if you make an arse of yourself by saying the wrong things nor should you...you will probally never meet these people IRL.

And as for being an SL, I never used to do it. I'm still at home being a pawn on the field. But normally if there is the pretty common thing of three 1 man squads that are locked and 1 full or 3/4 full CLAN ONLY!!! squad, plus the uber leet 2 man 'air' squad who cant fly for chips, I will make one. And the first idiot to pick up a sniper rifle on a map the does not need one gets kicked...and re kicked. Along with anyone with no mic.

Then I get down too my pretty average SL-ing ways. But if you never do it you will never be good, enough time spent in the high chair and you may become one of the greats.

[Tartantyco]

I try but I allways get some noobs that want to do their own adventure

-First rule to leading: Be an *******. It's the only thing that helps keep pubbies in line.

[Dude388]

TheScot666;840537']

Mr.T + tank + classicly funny commentary = Epic Win!

Now back on topic.

I'd personally love to be a SL, but I don't feel I'm totally ready to lead. Not to toot my own horn, but I know HOW to lead...I just haven't learned the maps well enough yet. I understand the basic layouts and flags (on preset maps), but the common ambush sites, good vantage points and general geographical layout are still a little grey to me.

Nothings worse then a SL who has to say "Uhhhh one sec, let me get my bearings" or "Where do you think we should go next?" (with no commander present). So once I'm confident that my knowledge of the maps is sufficient enough, I'll consider leading....but not a moment sooner.

[gazzthompson]

no voip people should join voip squads, if the squad leader isnt a prick he wont kick you. seen to many "no voip" squads recently

[vilhelm123]

-First rule to leading: Be an *******. It's the only thing that helps keep pubbies in line.

Players aren't required to stay in your squad, this is just a game remember? Being an ******* leader isn't going to make their game very much fun and as such you are likely to find that they start to resent you. Take charge by all means, that is your job after all, but ordering people about in an '*******' manner is likey to cause more problems than it is going to fix.

I'd personally love to be a SL, but I don't feel I'm totally ready to lead. Not to toot my own horn, but I know HOW to lead...I just haven't learned the maps well enough yet.

I'd say you'd make a good SL now mate really, its a sign of a good leader if they only have a bit of intel to hand and yet can still pull something out of their hat.

[thebusdriver]

Players aren't required to stay in your squad, this is just a game remember? Being an ******* leader isn't going to make their game very much fun and as such you are likely to find that they start to resent you. Take charge by all means, that is your job after all, but ordering people about in an '*******' manner is likey to cause more problems than it is going to fix.



I'd say you'd make a good SL now mate really, its a sign of a good leader if they only have a bit of intel to hand and yet can still pull something out of their hat.

yeh .. i'm always nice (in squad chat) ... and usually its quite funny
random squadmember: "oi, whats with the screen ... its fuckin dark"
me: "ur health is low"
other guy again: "oh .. , i get that alot"
commander *scottish accent*: "theres a fuckin' snipa under the bridge, take that out"

yeh well ... guess i gotta get back to that some time

[daranz]

On servers that kick for not being in a squad, you always end up with what I call "squad leader chicken" when rounds begin. Basically, it's usually about 6 or 7 people, sitting there unassigned, and silently daring each other to go SL. The person with the weakest nerves will chicken out and end up creating a squad, in order to avoid being kicked; the rest will then join.

Personally, I don't like to SL that much, even though I do it once in a while. There are many reasons. Mainly, I find the SL position more stressful. Even as squad medic, I feel I have less responsibility for the squad than as SL. When the team is doing bad, I feel responsible for my squad's constant failure to turn the situation around. I also feel responsible for the entertainment of the squad, since this is a game after all, and my squad is not my personal paid entourage. That, and I prefer being medic rather than yelling at people to be medic.

It's like flying a chopper. Yeah, it can be fun, but you can ruin it for your team if you kill 8 people with your flying.

[victor_phx]

I also feel responsible for the entertainment of the squad, since this is a game after all, and my squad is not my personal paid entourage.

Yes, that's a good point. I believe a lot of people feel like that.

I too felt like that until a short time ago, when I was leading 3 inexperienced, new players, in Al Basrah and one of them said "This map is totally different when we have a serious, active SL. The gameplay gets much better."

I mean, if somebody is playing something called Project Reality and expects not to follow orders from an officer, then this person should just leave; this game is not for him.

[Truism]

You don't need to be an *******, you need to be charismatic, and sometimes forceful. Normally being coercive is enough. Being an ******* is generally a bad solution to leadership problems.

Anyway, I was squad leading on Chicago PR in the wee hours of last night (early morning US time). The server was just starting to die down, but I led the same squad through 4 rounds and 4 victories. We won Bi Ming with a loss of 4 tickets with some absolutely insane ambushing at the start and aggressive patrolling of flags.

Sometimes things work well, and you do get a very competetant squad who are able to use your tactical knowledge and judgement well, and who _get_ what you mean. Other times you don't. It's a mixed bag. We had an incredible run, word out to Karate.Doug for some amazing grenadier work, Vi Di Bellier (name probably very wrong) for some great carrier diving, and the rest of the guys for solid play the whole time.

[Wicca]

I AM THE BIGGEST *******! And my squad kicks ***! All the time!

And i guess i am pretty charming, so ladies to be shy, join my squad, il give you a greaaaaat time

on a more serious note, SL comes down to theater, how well can you act?

[charliegrs]

i believe theres a certain level of assholeishness required to maintain a functioning squad. but i only do it to people who are messing around not contributing squat to the squad, and people without mics. i wont budge on that, if you dont have a mic, your out. they are like 10 bucks, theres not much excuse to not have one. and being shy isnt much of an excuse either, ive played with quite a few people who were probably no more than 12 years old judging from there almost girlish like voices, and many of them were perfectly fine teamplayers. i could care less what you sound like or what you say.that being said, i will NOT be an ******* to a noob willing to learn.

[Smegburt_funkledink]

Nothings worse then a SL who has to say "Uhhhh one sec, let me get my bearings" or "Where do you think we should go next?" (with no commander present). So once I'm confident that my knowledge of the maps is sufficient enough, I'll consider leading....but not a moment sooner.

If you're leading a squad and you've had a session of "squad leader shuffle" meaning that you are the leader but kinda don't want to, Just explain your situation to the squad.

The first time I played on Ramiel, I was SL. I explained that I didn't know the map and asked for any advise that my squad members might have. Seriously, just because you're the SL, that doesn't mean you have to be the most knowledgeable one in the squad. Just ask for suggestions if you're stuck or can't decide where to go.

[Fishbone]

If you have a tactical mind go for it. Somebody may like a HAT or sniper kit, but nothing beats the power of an infantry squad under your control!

Nothings worse then a SL who has to say "Uhhhh one sec, let me get my bearings" or "Where do you think we should go next?" (with no commander present). So once I'm confident that my knowledge of the maps is sufficient enough, I'll consider leading.

You have a map with updated positions of friendlies and you can look around. How much more knowledge does a SL have in real life? Get into the role of leading your troops on an unknown battlefield. You will never be able to do that again once you have played lots of games. I know I really like SLing for the first time on Barracuda. You have to look on the map and think about how to approach the flag. On Qwai I can do that almost without the map and that makes it alot more gamey.

I also feel responsible for the entertainment of the squad, since this is a game after all, and my squad is not my personal paid entourage.

Words of wisdom. Although it is a juggling act between giving the squad the best action possible and working together with the other squads.