Commanding

**Latinman** · 03-26-08, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by rv2pc3d

Originally Posted by finc.hairy

Doesn't everyone have their War College Ribbon?

I too wrote a BF2 Commander's Tutorial which I feel is a must read for new players as well as seasoned ones. I won't get into the details here but if anyone is interested, the word doc is here.

Shortly thereafter, I made this video http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7qjYlPNo3Ds

Enjoy!

Wow! I learned alot.... of what I'm not sure, but it was alot...

Lmao thats the same guys who made the halo 2 video of teabagging..

**finc.hairy** · 03-26-08, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by Latinman

Lmao thats the same guys who made the halo 2 video of teabagging..

I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else.

The voice of the guy who can't sing is Flyin_Hawaiian.

**Jlspence** · 03-27-08, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by capnemo314

...I guess you could read this for me and see if you'd like to add anything. Or you could just say that I'm completely off and then write another article with another view-point.

Nice basic guide. Under communication, commanders can communicate with a single squad by highlighting that squad in the list and then using the "B" key versus the "V" key. Could also do the same by using the Control Key and highlighting multiple squads (say squad 2 and 4).

Regarding placing the UAV, this sounds obvious but I see the mistake made over and over. Do NOT waste any of your UAV by placing such that part of the radius is out of bounds. So many players center the UAV over a flag...try to maximize usefulness for your troops by keeping it all in bounds AND if possible cover more than 1 flag with the radius.

Regarding supply drops...as you're observing the battlefield and see your armor in a good tactical position - support it by zooming in and placing a crate BEHIND the armor.

Regarding squad leader requests, don't automatically grant requests; HOWEVER, if you don't, always tell them WHY...i.e., "Negative on the UAV...just scanned that flag and there was no opposition, I'll blind spot for you instead." "Negative on Vehicle...I'll have one in 15 seconds."

On spotting, if you spot an enemy and it shows up white, it's the enemy commander.

One of the key things a commander can do for his squads is watch them and keep them from bunching up. Many times, especially with aggressive squad leaders there's a lot of what I call "chasing the gray". Keep your scan going so you know the big picture at all times...where is the enemy and where are they going.

**finc.hairy** · 04-12-08, 02:07 PM

Rather than start a new topic - I figured I'd just continue this one....

So this is something that puzzles me:

Players who don't spot anything. You know them. They'll play commander the whole round and never spot a damn thing. They'll drop UAV now and then or even keep it going but they'll never communicate, never shed light on what's happening outside of the UAV.

So my question is:

Why don't you spot?

The only reasons that come to mind as to why one wouldn't spot anything is because they don't like the commander spam "enemy infantry spotted"; they've been TK'd and mutinied a zillion times for commander spamming so they don't do it anymore; they simply just don't know how; they don't know that you can spot targets even when your scanners & UAV are gone; or they just don't are.

I've had my share of terrible commanders in both the higher and lower ranks so I know rank isn't usually a factor. Obviously there are exceptions.

I'm talking about this as an open discussion. I'm not pointing any fingers here. Maybe someone can shed some light on this, perhaps share other perspectives.

Cheerio.
Hairy

**LA_MERC_T4rg3T** · 04-12-08, 02:24 PM

Spotting the enemy should be a team effort, not just the commander.

**HooDaMUNK** · 04-12-08, 03:25 PM

Agreed, there are many times that someone states: blah blah coming on the left. or something to that nature. It is more helpful if they can attempt to spot the enemy as well. Only takes a second and you can track thier movements easily to take them down.
I command a lot and will stay in a safe place the whole game. Voice communication is a must! Not just for the information passed along, but to reinforce with your team that you are there and watching.
If the commander uses voice, the squad leaders use voice back to them more often than not.

Note the Gold badges for all commanding available

**Walkerxes** · 04-12-08, 03:30 PM

Just please please please don't be a total blabber mouth if you're commanding. Keept your voice commands to the essentials... as a SL it can get very distracting and confusing trying to listen to a commander babble on while simultaneously trying to communicate with and hear what the rest of his squad is saying.

**darkfyrestorm** · 04-12-08, 11:05 PM

im sorry i dont mean to be a blabbermouth but i find it much easier to say squad#whatever there is 3 {pick a number} enemies to the northeast of your position while i am trying to spot them out for them that lets them know where to look especially if my cursor is trying to drop uav in a spot and i am calling down artillery elsewhere all the while trying to read the requests that are coming in not to mention the wondering if my artillery strike actually did what i wanted to do noting that i hear someone stealthing up to cap me and trying to put my bullets into them so i can continue to do my commanding job...not to mention the times i get killed and am waiting to respawn but still have the image of the latest scan in my head and trying to issue orders over the mic .....{draws in deep breathe too continue} i am sure you get the picture...not all of us are as capable as others and being able to tell the SL's things is a very quick and effective means of nailing the point home. i also find that the SL tend to talk to me back rather than sending an asked command for the things they need when im talking too them
:4

**Walkerxes** · 04-12-08, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by darkfyrestorm

im sorry i dont mean to be a blabbermouth but i find it much easier to say squad#whatever there is 3 {pick a number} enemies to the northeast of your position while i am trying to spot them out for them that lets them know where to look especially if my cursor is trying to drop uav in a spot and i am calling down artillery elsewhere all the while trying to read the requests that are coming in not to mention the wondering if my artillery strike actually did what i wanted to do noting that i hear someone stealthing up to cap me and trying to put my bullets into them so i can continue to do my commanding job...not to mention the times i get killed and am waiting to respawn but still have the image of the latest scan in my head and trying to issue orders over the mic .....{draws in deep breathe too continue} i am sure you get the picture...not all of us are as capable as others and being able to tell the SL's things is a very quick and effective means of nailing the point home. i also find that the SL tend to talk to me back rather than sending an asked command for the things they need when im talking too them
:4

Oh, I well understand that, and I do it often aswell, I just try to keep my voice stuff as short and clipped as possible so the SL can relay what he/she needs to to the squad.

**CivilWars** · 04-13-08, 10:23 AM

hairy,

In my opinion there is a fine line between being informative, and being a pain in the ass. If all I can hear is "enemy infantry spotted" non-stop for 30 minutes straight I am probably going to be real pissed at the commander. I can't communicate with my squad when all I hear is the commander. My personal choice is to drop UAV for squad A and spot for Squad B when they are assaulting a hostile flag. Once you spot the enemies for them move to squad C if needed. There is no need to spot all 30 enemies on the entire map for the entire round.

Civil