Commander Mode?

**Soku_Jinchu** · 07-25-14, 03:01 PM

Hey guys,

I've been out of big cooperative games for a while [mainly because I haven't been able to drop $60 on a game everyone is actually playing], and back in the BF2142 days I had a ton of fun destroying opponents with an effective chain of command.

My experience the past couple of days on the BF 4 server is that, while the squads work extremely well as individual units, there's rarely any cohesion in the team as a whole. I'll send my squad out on an order that's being neglected by the rest of the team--having a live map on a second monitor is AMAZING--only to watch my whole team have the same idea and recklessly abandon other parts of the battle.

Does commander mode in BF4 just really suck? Or what's the deal?

**Allane** · 07-25-14, 03:36 PM

There's one major problem: you can only hear and speak to one squad at a time, the one you have selected.

Personally, I find the Commander position doesn't have a good enough ability to gather information. There's a big difference between sending a flag that's guarded by some no-name squad that's easy to overrun, vs sending them to a point defended by only three players, but those three being the best players on the server and are more than capable of repelling a squad. As a squad leader, I know better who is in what squad, what their capabilities are, and whether or not a point is worth fighting over, something I've never been able to determine as a Commander.

In the meantime, veteran squad leaders have learned that holding two flags is generally the best idea, since it minimizes overlap with other squads. Sometimes it looks like you holding two flags is a waste of time, but another squad will venture out, or one of your flanks will open up, and you'll be glad you're still there to hold that flag. If the squad leader notices that the team is following them, they should either adjust their tactics, or use the team chat to announce which two flags their team should NOT be at.

TL:DR, Commander mode isn't as useful anymore, and it's difficult to use correctly.

**[CoFR]SirMoo** · 07-25-14, 04:48 PM

can you command at the same time as playing? or does it not let you? My tablet is missing a power adapter at the moment so I haven't been able to try it out yet.

**loki2158** · 07-25-14, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by [CoFR]SirMoo

can you command at the same time as playing? or does it not let you? My tablet is missing a power adapter at the moment so I haven't been able to try it out yet.

You can not command and play as a SM at the same time. When you select commander it will log you out of the main game and in to the commander screen.

**visuvius** · 07-26-14, 03:05 AM

Yeah its just not the same in this game as it was in BF2 or 2142. One of the huge issues I've noticed as that in the midst of the chaos, sometimes you completely miss that you've even been given an order. I'm actively paying attention and often I don't realize that I've got an order until I pull up the Comm Rose and see I've got an "Accept Order" option. Also, people seem to generally just dismiss the commander in BF4, way more so than they did in BF2 and we're playing on a server where that shit is monitored. Still, commanders find it hard to get their shit accepted. On top of that, once a squad does accept an order, unless its headed up by a reg, there is a 90% chance they will not stay where you ask them to.

I'm sure people are sick of hearing me yell at them all round but I find shouting at people and pointing shit out in game is (slightly) more effective than actually going commander and issuing orders. "DEFEND ECHO", "BRAVO GETTING FLANKED", "WHY THE FUCK ARE WE LOSING OUR ONLY FLAG", tends to get more of a response. I mean, the alternative is me going commander, issuing a bunch of orders, having them ignored and then asking admins to kick people left and right, which is a lot of work.

**Soku_Jinchu** · 07-26-14, 01:23 PM

Okay, thanks for the replies everyone. It bothers me that EA/DICE would take a mechanic that worked so well and mess with it so much. The game feels so much less tactical and so much more like large-scale counterstrike now... And the only reason counterstrike felt tactical is because it has small, squadless teams.

**Amador +JP2+** · 07-27-14, 02:22 PM

I enjoy Commanding ... or at least I did. It is more difficult in BF4 to Command. They have made it pretty and added useless tools to the Commander's arsenal, but I believe it has been designed for people on consoles/pads with little interest in making it a true asset to the team.

Can Commander help and can teams excel with one still? Absolutely ... work hard at it and it will come (just not every time).

**[CoFR]SirMoo** · 07-27-14, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by visuvius

Yeah its just not the same in this game as it was in BF2 or 2142. One of the huge issues I've noticed as that in the midst of the chaos, sometimes you completely miss that you've even been given an order. I'm actively paying attention and often I don't realize that I've got an order until I pull up the Comm Rose and see I've got an "Accept Order" option. Also, people seem to generally just dismiss the commander in BF4, way more so than they did in BF2 and we're playing on a server where that shit is monitored. Still, commanders find it hard to get their shit accepted. On top of that, once a squad does accept an order, unless its headed up by a reg, there is a 90% chance they will not stay where you ask them to.

I'm sure people are sick of hearing me yell at them all round but I find shouting at people and pointing shit out in game is (slightly) more effective than actually going commander and issuing orders. "DEFEND ECHO", "BRAVO GETTING FLANKED", "WHY THE FUCK ARE WE LOSING OUR ONLY FLAG", tends to get more of a response. I mean, the alternative is me going commander, issuing a bunch of orders, having them ignored and then asking admins to kick people left and right, which is a lot of work.

When Commander gives you an order, it will show up as Blue crosshairs on the flag marker, instead of the squad-level green crosshairs when you/SL gives an order. You can accept it by "passing the order to your squad" that is, by hitting the spot key on the ordered flag. It turns green and you will get the "order accepted" message as well, the commander will also see that you have accepted the order.