Should Squad Leaders take point when moving as a squad?

**Redeye7** · 11-26-07, 09:09 AM

Kind of an oddball question but just curious as to how some of you handle things.

If the squad is gathered together and moving out for a new objective, do you think the squad leader should take point?

I see good and bad things about that. If no beacon is out, SL is the spawn point, so if he dies that can disrupt things for a few seconds. And even if a beacon is out, it can be blown up at any second.

My natural inclination is that the squad leader should hang back a bit and give the verbal / map orders he needs to give in order to keep things flowing.

Then again on the flipside, its much easier to locate your squad leader on the minimap in case you lose site of him or her, instead of wondering which of the green dots on your radar you should be following.

Not a life or death issue I know, but its something that has come up lately in some of my tactics talks with other players and i was just curious to see how you all felt about it.

**laggyNgroovy** · 11-26-07, 09:15 AM

It's all situational.

But reasons for hanging back
- you're a mobile spawn point. You die, others can't spawn on you.
- gives you time to look at the map, see what's going on, i.e. Goliath moving on your flank that another squad points out
- if you got the recon drone, give your drone a chance to work, let your killers kill

Reasons for being point -
- you know exactly where and how you want your squad to go, sometimes easier for them to follow instead of constantly being a back seat driver
- you're playing the bait while your squad is ready to provide cover and revive as necessary

**...bigdog...** · 11-26-07, 09:21 AM

I try not to be the point man....but I can only do that when I have a point man that knows what he's doing.

And......he'd have to do it better than me, faster than me....which is unlikely.

Point men need to advance, fast, get those inf sonars down (meaning be support class). Medics need to trail the SL, but stay out of nade/explosion distance of him, so they can revive him in an ambush. A second, backup medic should do the same for the primary medic. Everyone else should cover their respective fire zones. If you're in the back, walk backwards. If you're second in line, cover the flank the 1st guy isn't covering.

work in tandem.

play as a unit. SWAT team style. Leap frog from cover to cover.

It's the most fun you'll ever have playing the game, when you do it like that.

**Mcstrange** · 11-26-07, 09:25 AM

Anyone thats followed me knows I am a first through the door kinda guy, a lead from the front, you all best try to keep up kind of SL, an I just cleared out the defenders get over here and hurry this flag up sort of man. Ill hang back, but thats usually to use your ass as a bullet shield

But I agree with laggy, its very situational and what works, or in some cases doesnt work for me, isnt the way other SLs should run their squad.

It really comes down to where your most effective, and if 'most effective' is hanging back being a spawn point, drop a damn beacon and get in there and kill some folks!

**Tenrou** · 11-26-07, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by ...bigdog...

I try not to be the point man....but I can only do that when I have a point man that knows what he's doing.

And......he'd have to do it better than me, faster than me....which is unlikely.

Point men need to advance, fast, get those inf sonars down (meaning be support class). Medics need to trail the SL, but stay out of nade/explosion distance of him, so they can revive him in an ambush. A second, backup medic should do the same for the primary medic. Everyone else should cover their respective fire zones. If you're in the back, walk backwards. If you're second in line, cover the flank the 1st guy isn't covering.

work in tandem.

play as a unit. SWAT team style. Leap frog from cover to cover.

It's the most fun you'll ever have playing the game, when you do it like that.

You had me at hello

**XLucier** · 11-26-07, 10:39 AM

I say and have asked the squad leader to get to the point of attack and hide and not get killed. This lets us who are dying fast to respawn on target with little or no travel time. I hate it when a squad leader puts a becon in the hot zone all it does is give a target to the enemy. Yeah you dont get to attack and get lots of points but it helps the team win. Doing this on the titan works wonders.

When your respawning with no beacon it makes it seem like to the other team the enemy is coming out of no where like roaches.

**w4jchosen** · 11-26-07, 11:14 AM

I usually take the lead until we get close to the flag then I will hang back to let my squad cap the flag. The reason for this is strictly for the routes I take to get where I want to go. I also try to let my squad know the reason for taking that route so that in the future I can hang back.

**QuickLightning** · 11-26-07, 12:40 PM

Very situational... I am usually in the frontlines with my squads. Though I'm not always leading them. Anyone who has squadded with me more than a time or two knows I often split myself up into 2 groups and hold multiple silos or control points at times.

Why? Because it's a very effective deterrent. If the enemy sees a big regular at silo four... he's going to assume there is a squad there and sometimes ignore it looking for an easier one to take. Now if he sees another big regular over at silo three... Well that one doesn't look too good either.

I know my squadmates and I know the regulars will be damn fast at getting to where I need them. So if either silo did get attacked we'd be there in full force RATHER quickly.

Hell, I know I do it. If I see ...bigdog... on a silo, I choose another silo to attack. I do this Because I KNOW he's going to have all 6 members of his squad working their asses off on that silo. It'll be more beneficial to the team to just run AROUND him and take the easier to get silo.

The only time I sit back and let my squad use me as a spawn point is when we are deep in the enemy's ground without a spawn point or a beacon nearby. Then it is very beneficial for me to sit out of the fight.

**FragRaptor** · 11-26-07, 03:49 PM

As everyone has said it is situaltion, if the flag is very light you can stay back check your command map and allow your squad to take care of it. But if the flag is heavy and you need more than just 5 people to do it you may have to get into the fight, in which case you should lay a beacon down, after all when your done with it all you have to do is walk over to it and press g, then continue to next objective.

**nsRaven** · 11-26-07, 04:48 PM

My own rule of thumb has always been that if I'm acting as a spawn point, then I'll hang in the back in relative safety and tell my squad to spawn in and move forward. The same goes for if I'm using a recon drone. I'll spot out any enemy I can see from my safe location, give directions to fish them out, and occasionally take a few shots when I'm able. When my squad finally gets things in order and the immediate vicinity looks fairly safe then I'll move up to hang closer to the squad. The whole point is to trust your squad to handle the situation without your 1337 skillz.

There are some times like the other night when Tenrou commanded Belgrade. I placed a beacon first and then when I died and respawned I came back with a recon drone. Sometimes I already have the drone and pick up kits until I find a beacon. In this case I still hang back, but a lot closer to the action at the same time. Moving forward for a kill and then diving back for safety behind my squad. After all, the drone is only useful if I'm alive.

If all I've got is a beacon, then I'm usually with my squad closer to the front. I try to follow behind someone at least so that they can turn the corner into the shotty and I'll follow up with the kill and revive to keep the squad moving. Not always in that order either. Sometimes I revive first to provide a distraction while I make the kill.

In my opinion, the squad leader should never be the first man in. If you're running across open space, then who cares, but once you're at your objective the squad leader should fall back if not all the way to the back of the line. Next to the commander, a squad leader is the most important piece on the battlefield. Its the squad's job to safeguard their leader and its the squad leaders job to trust his squad enough to let them follow through.