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.