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Tactics Tips on playing Officers

Raventhefuhrer

FNG / Fresh Meat
Sep 5, 2011
2
0
Hi,

I am playing the Beta and I decided I had better start to learn to play as Squad Leaders and the Commander, since I often see at least one of those positions unfilled and they strike me as the most versatile, and important roles. Can anyone give me a few tips, or ideas?

For Squad Leadership I realize that squadmates can spawn ontop of me, so it's useful to stay near the fighting but as out of direct danger as I can reasonably manage, to provide a steady stream of fresh fighters to the front, as quickly as possible. Also smoke to cover advances, and mark places where I think an artillery strike should be sent. Anything else?

With Commander it seems like I should be more or less tied to a radio. Force Respawns when there's a big pool of guys waiting to come back to life. And of course call in Artillery strikes and recon planes.

A question though, when a commander calls for artillery on the radio, does it land everywhere that's been marked, or can I pick and choose certain areas and disregard other marks to make the shells fall faster, or in greater density in a certain area?

And lastly, for both Commander and Squadron Leader roles I feel like I should be making use of the command wheels (V and B default I think) to issue orders, or generally be bossy. But at the same time, I don't think anyone really pays attention...?

That's about it. Any thoughts, help, or advice is appreciated.
 
Hi,

I am playing the Beta and I decided I had better start to learn to play as Squad Leaders and the Commander, since I often see at least one of those positions unfilled and they strike me as the most versatile, and important roles. Can anyone give me a few tips, or ideas?

For Squad Leadership I realize that squadmates can spawn ontop of me, so it's useful to stay near the fighting but as out of direct danger as I can reasonably manage, to provide a steady stream of fresh fighters to the front, as quickly as possible. Also smoke to cover advances, and mark places where I think an artillery strike should be sent. Anything else?

With Commander it seems like I should be more or less tied to a radio. Force Respawns when there's a big pool of guys waiting to come back to life. And of course call in Artillery strikes and recon planes.

A question though, when a commander calls for artillery on the radio, does it land everywhere that's been marked, or can I pick and choose certain areas and disregard other marks to make the shells fall faster, or in greater density in a certain area?

And lastly, for both Commander and Squadron Leader roles I feel like I should be making use of the command wheels (V and B default I think) to issue orders, or generally be bossy. But at the same time, I don't think anyone really pays attention...?

That's about it. Any thoughts, help, or advice is appreciated.


- Soldiers won't spawn on the SL if the SL is in an enemy zone.

- You don't need a radio to force respawn. Just press M and then press Force Respawn

- Artillery will only hit the Commander's target. Squad Leaders can only ask the commander to put an arty strike where they want one. (You still have to use your binocs to direct the arty barrage though. Would have been nice if you could direct arty using map co
 
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You can control the artillery with your binoculars? How does that work exactly?

Hitherto, I knew that only Commanders could call in barrages but I thought they just automatically went to any 'mark' on the tactical map that comes up when you access the radio (Green mushroom-cloud-things).

Do Squadron Leaders have to use their binoculars to mark too?
 
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As a commander, I stick by the radio and use Binos to spot for artillery.

As a squad leader, I make sure I pop useful smoke; hell I'll even run to ammo dumps just to get MORE smoke. I also issue orders through the "b" menu; the acceptance of orders is buggy at the moment, but it still gives people are objective to go to and they can see where to go when they pull up the tactical overlay.

Sometimes I'll get right in the thick of it as a squad leader. But sometimes I pull back and let people spawn off me. It's really a judgement call based on the situation

Edit: Btw squad leaders attack and defend objectives better. I'm always disappointed when the SL's aren't in the objectives as it makes it so much easier
 
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A good squad leader makes a whole lot of difference, was playing with a good one on Barracks and it was great, he was keeping himself alaive but I noticed he was getting a lot of kills and points, probably just a good player.

I try to do the same as SL but no one ever spawns on me :mad:

Are you saying that if your in an enemy cap zone, ie your trying to cap it people can't spawn on you?

I think people have also no realised you can swap your SMG for a rifel if your a Commander or SL, ;)
 
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couple errors above fwiw. You can just press 'N' to force respawn without hitting M to open map. You can also tap or hold T to show how many waiting and who they are.

You don't have to mark your own arty as commander, you can just click on the arty marker that squad leaders have placed on the map. If you do, yours goes away and becomes theirs. Then call in arty and it hits where they marked.

That way the commander can call in arty to a forward position he can't even see thanks to squad leaders marking it.

What are the exact differences between mortar, arty and rockets?
 
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3 important things to help you be a good SL(the game mechanic stuff you seem to have down already).


1: Have a plan

If your just running around doing targets of opportunity you can't exactly direct a group of people well like that, in an "on the fly" kind of way.
Look at the map, make a plan.

what to attack/defend

what direction to approach from/what directions to cover

if you are going to cap point sweep or camp(looking for enemy or letting them come look for you).

Check out what the rest of the team is doing.
Do they need back up or are they a good distraction for a flanking move for your squad.

So have a plan but be flexible with it to meet the needs of a situation.



2: Communicate
you need to try and let the rest of the squad know as much of the plan as you can as far in advance as you can. Use mic if it's working(i call out what squad group i am talking to), use squad text chat if you have to.

Remind them to spawn on you when they can, and try to let them know when it's a bad idea to spawn on you.
If they get killed right when they spawn on you too much they will stop doing so.



3: know your squad

you have to stay on top of what classes you have to work with. If your the bolt only squad maybe you should stay with defending a point.
If your an assault squad but have the MG class maybe you should defend a forward spot more then assault(if it's under heavy attack). If you have that squad but no one is MG maybe it's time to move out to the next point(and hope someone else covers your advance).

Again have a plan, but be flexible with it to work with what resources you have.
 
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Yes, that's it. Then press B and request arty from the commander.

Or a faster way is to hold F, then press mouse1 for 'Move there' order, or mouse2 for arty mark.

What lacks in this game is a reason to play commander. I usually end up as one because nobody on my team wants to play it. And I dont blame them, because it can be pretty boring sometimes, and afaik you dont get extra points for putting up recon or forcing a reinforcement, so you end up with jsut a couple of stray arty kills and some lucky shots because you hang back more.
 
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A squad can often get by decently without a squad leader, but having a good one is a great experience.

I agree with what others have said about good SLs being effective communicators. Keep yourself slightly behind the front to stay alive and accommodate squad spawns, but near enough to see the enemy's movements and relay them to the rest of the team.

When attack orders are given, don't forget to pop your smoke along the path the attackers will most likely take. If you spot an enemy panzer anywhere, try to spot for artillery or check your map to give a grid reference. A grid ref will help your team's AT soldiers immensely in knocking out armor.
 
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Best advice for fledgling Commanders? Ignore the armchair generals. If they wanted to decide what the Commander should do, they should have gone Commander themself.

Dont ignore polite reminders tho - youre human, its easy to forget to do something.

Work out for yourself what the best course of action is - practice as a squad leader first, work out where common enemy choke points are, use your map a lot, get a feel for the flow of battle and when a rush of reinforcements would be useful.

Always try to know where your nearest radio is. And dont be afraid to get stuck into combat. If your artillery and recon plane are on cooldown, and the spawn queue isnt backed up, go help capture or defend a point. Despite what many people who should know better think, a good player can be both a soldier and a commander.
 
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I was wondering if Squad Leader had any features not in RO1.

I am surprised how SL is available in every map I join.

* Smoke grenade

* Cap faster

* Make enemy cap slower

Those three things right there make it a valuable class, even in the current environment of little or no team communication.

Add to that the semi-auto rifle or SMG and I could play it all day long.

I often ask people to follow me, join me, help me and am usually ignored, so I focus primarily on capping - getting in a cap zone and then hunkering down and staying alive until we cap or I am relieved by reenforcements.

I do not remember if any commander ever dropped artty on my sightings. But I have been able to spot snipers pretty well with the glasses.

Does anyone know if SL or Commander give more points to you or your team when you kill them?
 
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For Squad Leader, think of it as Assault with the ability to cap faster, and defend caps against their Assault troops better.

Smoke can be used to screen your team advance, but it can also be used to slow the other team, throw it far out or into their building and they have to to slow down and be cautious coming through it.

But a new feature for Squad Leader is allowing people to spawn near you. So long as you are not in an Enemy held area, that is. So you can wait on the line for people to spawn near you and THEN assault.
 
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Both squad leaders and commanders can mark targets for artillery but only the commander can call them in.

Any mark set by a squad leader can be used by the commander to fire a barrage you simply click the mark you want to fire at on the map.

This is why its essential for squad leaders to mark positions, that way the commander has several marks around the map to choose from, rather than having to run out and mark his own targets all the time.

Another thing the commander has is 2 smoke grenades very usefull for quickly covering an attack avenue in smoke.

Oh and to force respawn you dont even need to open the map just hit N

If i want squad leaders to mark for me i usually ask in chat then send up a recon plane so they can all get some usefull marks ready for later use.
 
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Arty and Mortars ( never tried rockets so far)

Arty has a longer cd and last much more on the spot choosen. Use mortars to spots that will be fast taken by your infantery so you dont waste arty cancelling it to avoid killing your teammates.

The best thing is a good commander with several good SL so commander can use Mortars to destroy tanks since cd is not so long. Please SL, mark tanks spots and tell commander so, that makes much easier to defend/attack for example in Commisar's House.

It makes a difference, even more if you are attacking, cuz defending maybe is better idea to just spam arty on the respawn spot as always in Ro1.

I guess Rockets have shorter CD and they just must be for destroying tanks imo. But idk.
 
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