L85: Feedback on TC-PKM's post on Teamwork

I was going to do this in the comments section of TC-PKM's post, but felt it was rather long and deserved a full post. Here's my take on things:

#1 Squad Up.
Absolutely essential for good teamwork. So far this has not been a problem for us, although we should work out beforehand who wants to be squad leader. I'll come right out and say that I don't particularly like being a squad leader but will do it if no one else wants to. I know TC-PKM is not always thrilled to be squad leader, but he is damn good at it. So is TC-L96a1, particularly in sniper mode which I will talk about later.

#2 Plan squads effectively.
Infantry Only: Agreed, forget anti-tank or engineer kits, worthless.
This is a topic that I think should be much discussed and will most likely meet with some disagreement among many in the BF2 community. While I think snipers are of limited use in squads smaller than 4 people, that doesn't mean we should discount them entirely. As mentioned in #1, having the squad leader, such as TC-L96a1, as a sniper can be very beneficial. The squad leader can act as a "forward scout" and spot enemies and issue orders and instructions to the squad without being overly exposed. While this would mean only 2 or 3 squad members available for attacking, it is still a useful asset. Again, I think this is a beneficial strategy only when the squad leader is sniper.

As for Spec Ops I disagree. I think they are perfectly useful as assault troopers, even in small squads. The Spec Ops upgrade (G36) is a great weapon with awesome accuracy.

But for overall effectiveness, here are my 2 cents worth on ideal squads for infantry only servers:
only 2 people = both medics
3 people = 2 medics and 1 supply (TC-L96a1 is just as deadly with the L85 as he is with the sniper kit), or 2 medics and 1 Spec Ops, or 2 medics and 1 sniper (only if sniper is squad leader)
4 people =
- 2 medics, 1 supply, 1 Spec Ops
- 3 medics, 1 supply
- 2 medics, 1 supply, 1 sniper (preferably if sniper is squad leader, but with 4 people only recommended, not required)
5 people or more = any combination of any kit, excluding anti-tank and engineer, that includes at least 2 medics and 1 sniper

#3 Spot the Enemy Before Firing
Excellent point. With TeamSpeak and RogerWilco we have all fallen guilty of shouting out enemy locations to our buddies instead of using commo rose. By using commo rose we can easily spot the enemy for our buddies.

#4 Stick Together
My biggest weakness. I always start good and then tend to get excited and ahead of my squad. Bad idea. Will try to be better at this. Would also like to point out that sticking together doesn't mean we have to be sitting on top of each other - only that we move as a team and take flags as a team.



#5 Tactical Maneuvering
I think we have been pretty good about this, when we don't panic and stick to our plan. It is a great way to approach any target - someone leads and provides cover for those behind. The ones behind then provide cover for the point man to move forward and the line continues.

Another item I would like to mention is to avoid clustering and pointing in the same direction when taking a flag. It's hard to do since everyone needs to be close to the flag to bring it down, but at the very least we should avoid all sitting in the exact same spot pointed in the same direction. When taking flags we should take care that each squad member points in different directions, thereby covering all approaches by the enemy.

I'll cover more tactics in separate, more detailed posts and as TC-PKM suggested split them between offense and defense.

Battletime

It's battle time again on our wonderful server, I'm going for a 6:00 time, will be trying to log on a little earlier to attract playes like moths to the light. Who's up?

Teamwork Basics

Ok, here's the first installment of teamwork basics. Some of the things that L85 mentioned are very true, and we faltered in the second half of the game that we played last weekend. The first game was great, but we splintered and that's when we had issues. So, I'm gonna go over those things, and hopefully we'll get some good advice out of this.

#1: Squad Up.
Something we usually do well, and we usually have someone start a squad first thing and invite the others to join it. What happens afterwards is sometimes where we find trouble. We need to come up with a kit complement that is effective together. Unfortunately, that means snipers are usually ineffective in squads smaller than 4. It also means that Spec ops is out, but not necessarily. Those 2 kits are more "lone wolf" type kits, but can be used effectively in a squad with good planning. I'll discuss that later. This brings me to item 2.

#2 Plan squads effectively.
Obviously in an infantry only server it's useless to have the anti-tank or engineer kits, yet we've actually seen them, and with disastrous results. Every other kit is far superior than these 2 for infantry fighting. While I love my DAO-12, I never use it unless we've got armor to contend with. This goes to the other point, what do you use? We've found a complement of 2 medics minimum a must, plus either support, and if you've got the men, a sniper from afar spotting and covering. Spec Ops and assault are also useful in a squad, and can be used in place of the support for closer range (ie point blank) such as capping flags and such.

#3 Spot the enemy before firing.
I found this out the hard way not too long ago, that if you see an enemy, use the commo rose, and not the teamspeak. Using the commo rose will spot the enemy on the map, and will allow one of your squadmates to nail the guy if he nails you first. L85 got frustrated with me the other day because of exactly that. I told him there was an enemy in a hill, shot at the guy, he nailed me first, then L85 went to revive me as he didn't know where the enemy was, and L85 got killed before I was revived. We could have saved 2 tickets if I had used the commo rose.

#4 Stick together.
Another biggie, but really simple. Stay together, about 30 feet apart. This allows you to get to each other if need be, but keeps you far apart enough for the guy with the nasty PKM sitting prone at the objective. It also allows for a greater range of view.

#5 Tactical maneuvering.
Last, but not least, moving. This will be covered more in depth on the defense, offense posts, but the basic is to have one crouched, watching forward while the other 2 or 3 squad mates move forward, then when they get to a good spot, one stays behind, another continues on, and the previous spotter runs to catch up. This allows the croucher to spot enemies he sees while they move, and the movers time to take action. More on that later.

Ok, that's the basic list. I'll add more as we learn more, and begin on the defending and attacking posts. Happy hunting, and please levae comments to add in the previous post.

Teamwork, Updated

Ok, seeing as L85 mentioned teamwork and its benefits, I've decided to begin a teamwork post, listing ways we can improve, and also ideas that would improve our combat work. I am going to break it down into a few parts, so that it can be referenced later, and also used for various types of battle, e.g. attack, defend, moving, etc. If it is suggested in the comments section, i may even get as specific as maps, and strategies we can use for that. Lemme know guys, and any input is of course, always desired. Any comments on "combat etiquette", is it will probably become known, please keep them left to this post, so they don't get lost and ignored, and I will make sure they get to the proper location.

Teamwork

Great game today, although it was shorter than I had hoped. I had actually been on since 9am CA-USA time (about 4-5pm or so UK time) and actually am amazed my wife didn't threaten divorce when you guys finally came online like 4 hrs later. The morning sucked, could never get enough people to join for a game. It seems like 3 or 4 is the magic number, people see 3-4 people and figure a game is close to starting, unlike 1-2.

TC-PKM, definitely go for the G36 special forces upgrade. Whenever I am not playing medic I am playing special forces and I think it is a great gun.

While I think we played well, I am of the opinion that we did a lot better at the beginning when we played as a team. I think we kind of lost some of that teamwork as the game went on and I am definitely part of the blame. I get excited, forget to communicate with the squad, and rush forward sometimes without realizing I am alone. So next time out I will definitely communicate better and let's really concentrate on staying together as a team.

HOLY COW!

Ok, just finished our playing for the day, the server got a very good workout, and I also must admit, it was a great day had by all. Even with L85's hatred for Karkand, we all had a great time, and I have to give credit to all the players there, as the rules seemed to be adhered to. I, for one, had great luck hunting, and had very good results. It's great to see that there are still good, decent, fun players out there, and also that we worked together as a team. L96's sniper skills were unsurpassed, at one time he was dropping people left and right. Keep shooting for that L96, you deserve it. Well done everyone, and hope to see you all again tomorrow.

Teamspeak

Owing to the problem Roger Wilco has with Routers, and also we get it free with our server, Teamspeak is now up and running. You'll need to go here to download it, (client version) then install it(duh.....). After that, run it and hit quick connect. type in the IP, your name, etc. I will be sending IP and pass etc. by email until i get it up and running properly, once in, look for the Twisted Claw channel, enter the Twisted Claw Password (the same as everything else to do with Twisted Claw), and you're in. Please don't forget to use your TC username to keep the identities safe.

Anyone free Friday night CA-USA time?

I know TC-PKM is gearing up for a battle on Saturday, not sure if I will make that one but I will definitely be on the server on Friday night around 22:30 PST (05:30 GMT) onwards. I know that's early for our UK friends, but I should be on for quite some time. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Otherwise, hope to see you on Saturday.

Next Battle

Right, the next battle will be taking place soon, I am planning on a tentative date, saturday the 7th of October, at about 6:00PM GMT. Who's game?