Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
The Great Commander Post Pt. 2: The Commander's Guide

This post will be broken up into different sections about the Commander position in Battlefield 2. Please feel free to reply with suggestions/additions/corrections/complaints.

I.   Overview of the Commander position
II.  The Commander's Role
III. The Commander's Screen
IV.  The Assets: Scan
V.   The Assets: UAV
VI.  The Assets: Artillery
VII. The Assets: Supplies
IX.  Conclusion


I. Overview of the Commander position

The Commander of a team can be the single greatest asset or hindrance to their potential victory. Calling in artillery, spotting large masses of infantry with UAV, spotting lone wolves, and resupplying the troops are the basic abilities of a Commander. However, with a little experience, practice, and know-how, each of these abilities can be expanded upon and more can be done from the Commander's seat. The objective of Commander? To help your team win. The incentive? Satisfaction, pride, respect, and oh... you get your round score doubled if your team wins.

Now, score. The calculation of the Commander's score has been debated by various people, but one fact is clear: it is based on your team's average score. "Kills in a UAV zone" do not specifically gain points for the Commander, artillery kills do not gain points for the Commander at all, nor do any other things a Commander does except help his or her team gain more points.

The part that is a bit fuzzy, however, is how exactly this average score is calculated. What if the team score is 300 and there are ten people on the team, then ten new people join the team. Does the score get halved? No, it doesn't. What if the round just started and there are rampant TKers on the team. Does the Commander get negative score? No, they don't. The same effect is had when negative points dramatically lower a positive team score: nothing. Negative points seem to have no effect on the Commander's score.

So here is my theory on the exact calculation of the Commander's score. This will probably be torn to pieces, and I'm sure there's an error in my thinking, but here it is:

When a team member scores a point or points, those points are divided by the number of members of the team at that exact moment and added to the Commander's score. Negative points, TKs, team damage, etc. are not reflected in the Commander's score. It is possible to have fractions of a point at the end of a round, as has been noted by odd-numbered scores from winning Commanders' scores. For example, I've seen a Commander get 79 points after winning a round. How else would this be possible after a score is multiplied by two, unless this Commander had somewhere around 39.5 points (there's probably a .1 or so grace area)? However, after all is said and done, it is rounded to the nearest whole number.

II. The Commander's Role

There are three basic types of Commander. The first is out on the battlefield, killing alongside his troops, jumping in vehicles, flying, etc. The second type finds a safe place to hide, preferably artillery and sniper-proof and absorbs themself in the Commander screen during the round. The third type of Commander does as the second type does, but knows when it would be beneficial for them to get up and do something quickly before retreating back to their safe spot.

The first type is the type to avoid being at all times. You cannot be an effective Commander while flying or an effective aviator while commanding. I once had a Commander jump in the pilot seat of a two-person bomber, I jumped in the gunner seat, and he crashed on takeoff right into the ocean. His explanation? "Sorry, dude, I was setting a UAV." Only in 16-player games should the Commander play as infantry, and even then not in vehicles, besides the odd Humvee or Vodnik for quick transport.

The second type is entirely honorable and useful if they have team members that follow orders and can shift from offense to defense quickly. This is how I play a lot of the time, and I find I usually have one or two dedicate squad leaders who will follow orders and do what needs to be done.

The third type is more to be used when your whole team is fighting off a horde at one point and one gets by and is trying to take your main base or one near it. Given that one infantry isn't a squad leader who has five more people spawn on them, it wouldn't be necessary to get someone to travel that distance when you're nearby.

If you are one of the last two types, it is in your best wishes to spawn as an engineer under the possibility that an enemy Spec Ops destroys one of your assets.

III. The Commander's Screen

The Commander's screen is (hopefully) where the Commander spends most of their time, so it's best to get familiar with it. Let me begin with a visual dissection of the screen.

https://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9617/comm1ha.jpg

That should give you a basic look at the Commander's screen. However, let me clarify a few things.

The box marked "Orders" will either be blank, meaning no pending orders, show a yellow !, meaning orders have been requests, show a green check, meaning orders confirmed, or show a red X, meaning orders denied.

Number of flags includes uncappable bases.

Squads show in green, lone wolves in blue, selected squads in white. To select multiple squads, use Ctrl or Shift. Using Ctrl, you must click each squad you want to include. Using Shift, it selects all squads in the list including and between the first and second squads you select. For example, clicking Squad 1, holding shift, then clicking Squad 5 will select Squads 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

There are three ways to zoom: N (default map zoom key), right-click then hit "Zoom", and scroll wheel. The easiest way to zoom in on an area is to left-click it to center it, then zoom in/out with the scroll wheel. You can also center by clicking on the map overview (upper left) or dragging, though dragging is buggy and slow, so I don't recommend it. Zooming in all the way (3x) gives you a real-time realistic overhead view of the battlefield. This can be extremely useful if you want to tell someone exactly where an infantryman is hiding.

https://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1871/zoom36qh.jpg

Now onto the two right-click menus.

Right-clicking on the map section brings up this menu:

https://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3264/mapright8ap.jpg

Zoom - Zooms in. If already at 3x zoom, zooms back out to 1x.
Artillery - Places artillery on selected position.
UAV - Places UAV overflight on selected position.
Supplies - Places supply drop on selected position.
Move/Defend/Attack - Orders selected squad(s) to move to/defend/attack selected position.
Repair - Orders selected squad to get repairs to selected position
Destroy - Orders selected squad to destroy an object or objects at selected position.
Mine - Orders selected squad to lay mines at selected position.

Right-clicking on the squad section brings up this menu:

https://img165.imageshack.us/img165/7335/squadright0ex.jpg

Commend Squad - Praises squad for good work. Ex.: "Good work squad!"
Rebuke Squad - Criticizes a squad for poor work. Ex.: "My grandmother could do better!"
Follow Orders! - Reminds a squad to follow orders. Ex.: "You have your orders, soldier!"
Move! Artillery! - Warns a squad of incoming artillery. Ex.: "Artillery, on your position!"
Artillery/Supplies/UAV Available - Tells squad leader that commander assets are available at their request.
Sorry - Apologizes to a squad.
Divide squad - Orders a squad to divide into separate squads.

IV. The Assets: Scan

Scan sends a radar wave across the battlefield, revealing all enemy troops. The enemies appear as red dots, each one the same as the next. As such, vehicles aren't represented any different than infantry, though most likely that red blip speeding across the screen is either a jet or a helicopter. Scan is the first and most readily available asset for the Commander. It reloads the quickest and is usually the last asset to be destroyed by the enemy, as the UAV and artillery are the most prominent targets.

Scan has three main uses. The first is to locate large masses of opposing infantry in order to place artillery on thier position. The second use of scan is to locate areas where troops are so the Commander can send orders to the squads, directing them to attack an area or defend against an oncoming swarm.

The third use of scan is to locate the area of troops and spot them for your team. To spot a dot (haha, it rhymes), right click it and select "Spotted". This will send a message to your team such as, "Enemy car spotted," or, "Enemy infantry spotted." This will also display the appropriate icon on the mini-maps of the team, just as if a UAV were passing over the area. This spotting can also be achieved by pressing "Q" (default button) and hitting "Spotted" while looking directly at an object. However, these spots don't last as long as UAV overflights, so it is necessary as a Commander to refresh your spot by re-spotting every few seconds until the need for that spot is no longer necessary.

Spotting can be useful to locate snipers, so an ally can sneak up behind them and knife them. It can also be used to let a squad know a tank is rolling up on their position or if a lone APC or tank is heading towards a flag. The Commander can also spot someone sneaking up on that sniper if the sniper is friendly. I guarantee that if they're watching their mini-map, they'll jump up and run around once they see that red dot closing in from behind.

Basically, any time a UAV doesn't uncover an enemy, spotting can and should be used to aid your team.

V. The Assets: UAV

UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. When deployed, a UAV overflight sends a radar overview to a designated position, extending outward in a circle around the point of origin. It reveals all troops and vehicles within that area, represnting them as red dots, tanks, boats, helicopters, etc. on the mini-maps of the team.

In general, it is best to place UAVs on the largest mass of infantry, while spotting the strays. Exceptions to that can be made. For example, if the largest group of opposing forces is at position far from any of your troops but there are several assaulting one of your team's flags, it would be better to place the UAV on the flag, as that will better benefit anyone defending the point.

Also, do not simply ignore the UAV requests of squad leaders. Still, if possible, do not grant it right away. If scan is available, scan the battlefield first to see the amount of enemy troops near them. If it is only one or two, spot them for the leader and explain this to them. If it is more than a couple, a UAV would most likely be appropriate.

When a squad leader requests UAV, or either of the other assets (artillery/supplies), a yellow version of the asset’s symbol appears on the Commander’s map. Right-clicking this allows you to accept or decline the asset. This allows you to place a request precisely where it is asked to be deployed, which can be useful and time-saving.

VI. The Assets: Artillery

Artillery, or "arty", is a rain of artillery shells that can be called onto a particular point. The amount of artillery that rains down is in proportion to the amount of artillery pieces at a base. In 16-player maps, there is one artillery piece. In 32-player maps, there are two, and in 64-player maps, there are three. If any of these is destroyed, less artillery will be at the Commander's disposal.

Artillery can be used to slow down the enemy at the beginning of a round, clear out masses of advancing infantry, or preventing the enemy of taking a control point that no team members are close enough to defend.

However, artillery can also kill friendlies. To prevent this, first of all do not place artillery on a position where there are many friendly troops. This is just asking for teamkills. It may also be useful to shout out something such as "Arty at North flag, watch out!" Not everyone watches their mini-map at all times, but most should notice the message. If you still see someone advancing into an artillery area, you can right-click on their squad, provided they are in one, and select "Move! Artillery!" to give them another notice of the danger. If this still does not work, a personal message such as, "Panserbjorn, stay back, artillery!" is your last option, other than praying that the artillery somehow doesn't hit them.

The main misconception about artillery is that it hits centered on the spot where you place it. Through much experience, it can completely miss all infantry on a target unless you "pre-correct" its path. Most artillery shots hit somewhat off-center, sometimes up and to the left, sometimes down and to the right. A test shot, or watching the first shot of the match completely zoomed in, is necessary to judge the correction needed. It seems, though, that the error is different based on location of the artillery zone in relation to the artillery pieces. Is the position far northwest of your artillery? Try putting it a little southeast of where you want it to hit. Is it far north of your artillery? Try putting it just a little south of where you want it to actually hit. Testing various spots on different maps and playing Commander for a while will help you get a sense of where you need to put it, greatly increasing your amount of artillery kills and decreasing your amount of teamkills when artillery is in close proximity to teammates.

Recently, I read of a Commander who suggested never to use artillery, as it only works to decrease your points with teamkills. I must candidly say that this is an incredibly stupid and naive statement. If a Commander is worth his weight at all, teamkills from artillery will be few and far between, and often out of their control. Artillery can also help clench the win for the team. Artillery kills are 97% non-revivable kills. The other 3% are killed from splash damage from the artillery, and there's usually no one left to revive them. This ticket loss for the opposing team can help your team win, especially if the scores are close.

There are also a couple tricks for increasing your amount of artillery kills. The first is extremely simple to pull off, but it seems some people are catching on already (as I'm sure more will after they read this). Wait a couple seconds after placing an artillery call on a position, then place a supply box at the same point. Infantry or vehicles may flock to the box, putting them in a prime position to get wiped out. Only use this tactic if supplies are not needed by your team.

The second trick is similar, but involves a human target. If you have a willing subject, have them run into an area so that the artillery is between them and the troops. They start firing and showing glimpses of themselves, ducking down so as not to die by long range fire, drawing troops closer to their position and into the line of artillery. You can have the target get killed by the enemy if they can't get ouf of the artillery area, or they can take shelter nearby if possible.

And please, don't artillery single troops unless artillery cannot be used anywhere else and it is needed. For example, 95% of the opposing team in Strike at Karkand is mixed with your own team at the southern flag and one or two infantrymen are approaching an undefended flag. Obviously, the amount of damage to your team prevents artillery being used in the south, so artillery to save that flag is more useful.

Also remember, troops move! If a large mass of infantry is moving north as one, place the artillery where you expect they will be by the time it begins to hit. If you place it at their position, it will only startle them when the explosions behind them light up the sky.

In short, use artillery wisely and hope there isn't someone on your team with a grudge against you, waiting to run purposefully into your artillery. Or if there is, godspeed to the enemy's bullet.

VII. The Assets: Supplies

Supply boxes can be deployed anywhere on the battlefield they're needed. They give ammo to infantry and armor, heal infantry, and repair armor, vehicles, and assets. Supply boxes aren't team-dependent, so the enemy can use supplies dropped for your team. I am not sure exactly how long supply boxes last, but it is far longer than needed for supplies to be ready to drop again. They can be destroyed by being ran into, landing in water, landing on top of a tank, or being shot by a rocket/tank/APC.

Supply boxes are best used when dropped into the middle of a group of friendly infantry that is in a firefight with the enemy. Although the supply boxes heal slowly, every little bit helps. Unlimited grenades and ammunition help as well. They can also be used to aid armor pieces by giving them a spot to sit and get repairs if they are taking fire from Anti-Tank infantry or enemy armor pieces. Also, though less apparent, they can be used as mobile repair/resupply points for helicopters that can't make it back to main base safely or if all helipads have been taken by the enemy. Supplies can also be used to repair destroyed commander assets when placed near them. Wait until the Spec-Ops infantry is gone though, or they just have a source of more C4, and they'll blow up that supply crate as well.

Also, please remember to zoom in all the way before you drop supplies unless you’re sure of the spot or someone requests supplies (in which case it’s best to right-click and hit “Accept”). If you haphazardly toss down a supply drop, you may end up putting supplies on top of a tall building/in an unreachable spot.

VIII. Conclusion

The Commander is a powerful and useful member of any team. A good Commander can quickly and effectively relay most of the large amount of information they have on what is happening on the battlefield. When used correctly, the Commander's assets can further increase their power and their team's chance of winning. Practice and experience will help you be a better team player and Commander, gain you some respect, and hopefully make you have more respect for a good Commander.

IX. Disclaimer

This is all my view of the Commander's position, and mine alone. If you don't like it, that's too bad, though I will take all suggestions and complaints into consideration.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates will most likely follow as I continue to play and remember things to add or correct. Stay tuned.

-Sergeant Panserbjorn

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-14 04:34:08)

blue60007
Member
+0|6815
WOW! Awesome job dude! One correction though, UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle not Visual.
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
You got me there. I couldn't remember which it was and was too lazy to check.

Images fixed.

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-13 14:25:26)

TriggerHappy998
just nothing
+387|6818|-
Stickied.
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
Small updates to UAV/Supplies sections... designated by red text. All future updates will be colorful.... weee!

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-13 15:03:39)

=[4th]=SlayThem
Destroy Noob Cannons
+96|6804
Very Nice
I was commander today.. I set arty. and a black hawk full of MY MEN rushed right into it and landed and all got out.. needless to say they all died and punished me.. <_< I got mad and calle them all faggots and exited the server. lol.
oh and don't think I set it with them already on their way.. haha.. they were far from there.. and I said "ARTY! WATCH OUT" <_<

Last edited by =[4th]=SlayThem (2005-08-13 14:59:22)

Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
I had that happen to me on a 64-player Zatar Wetlands server. I had pretty much your same reaction. God, some people...

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-13 15:01:50)

=[4th]=SlayThem
Destroy Noob Cannons
+96|6804

Panserbjorn wrote:

I had that happen to me on a 64-player Zatar Wetlands server. I had pretty much your same reaction. God, some people...
haha yeah. I was on Dalian Plant 64 players.
PermaG
Member
+1|6817
Little fuzzy on one part, how exactly do you get the "Accepted" and "Decline" options for the requested assests? By right click on the map and bringing up the bring this menu --> https://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3264/mapright8ap.jpg , then I would right click on the requested asset and that would bring up the "Accept" and "Decline" options?
blue60007
Member
+0|6815
I think its right click, or maybe its left click, I'm not sure.
DogGunn
DogGunn Eats BF2!
+4|6818
Nice job there.
I'm so glad that somebody else knows that you can zoom in all the way to actully see your enemy.
I spend the whole time clicking spotted for my team.
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
PermaG, when a supply, artillery, or UAV request is called, a yellow version of the symbol appears on your Commander screen. That is what you right  click and hit accept/decline. Sorry, I'll clarify this in the guide.

Edit -- Wording changed.

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-13 21:11:15)

07>sin
mista sinista
+1|6816
you get team score when someone heals gets ammo etc from supplies right
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
No, you do not.
=[4th]=SlayThem
Destroy Noob Cannons
+96|6804
I've noticed that when I spot an enemy, and somebody kills him, I as commander get one point. kind of like an assist point. Is this true? maybe a coincidence?
Stasiek
Pojebany Hlop
+1|6810|Sicily, Italy
it's not a coincidence but a misunderstanding.
commander receives points by the average of squad team points, with all things happen so quickly you can't assume that 'i spoted a enemy, someone killed him...wow look point up'

for one, the one that killed the enemy might have been part of a team which by him killing raised his points which raised team points which raised commander points.  second, maybe a solo member killed the enemy but in the meantime the other squads are taking a active part in combat killing enemies and obtaining blags.

i played a few hrs as commander and from my experience i only get points in relation to how well my squads are doing.

:Question:
as a commander when he/she kills/supplies/repairs/heals/revives it does not reflect points on current server screen but once the round is over and upon checking the top player/top kits one notices that the kills/supplies/repairs/heals/revives reflect on the score...i might be wrong (playing too much) but if i'm correct is that score added to regular stats?  if i'm not clear i'll try to be next time
tF-voodoochild
Pew Pew!
+216|6818|San Francisco

damn, I had read the first installment, the ranting about the commander, and figured the second would be worht stickying but Trigger beat me to it! anyways, nicely done, hopefully I can get that command badge finally!
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
Stasiek is right... kinda.

Killing spotted enemies doesn't specifically raise the Commander's score. The two points the team member gets, and maybe another point to someone for a kill damage assist, raise the total team score, which in turn raises the team average. It might be this one kill that puts your team average up to the next whole number.

However, it doesn't matter whether it's a squad leader, squad member, or lone wolf. They all contribute the same to the Commander's score, none more or less than the others.


Stasiek, if I understand your question correctly, you're asking if heals/revives/ammo points from playing medic/support classes while Commander have any effect on score. They do not. No regular forms of gaining teamwork points have any effect on the Commander's score.

As for the second part of your question, as to whether or not they factor into your stats? (I think you're asking if they add to total revives/heals in stats page.) I believe they do not.

edit--

You'll notice, as Commander, you do not get a message saying "You got a repair point!" or "You got a revive score!", etc. I think this further proves they do nothing to add to your score.

I will say this time and time again, nothing but average team score factors into the Commander's score, plain and simple.

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-13 23:34:14)

kilroy0097
Kilroy Is Here!
+81|6814|Bryan/College Station, TX
Let me add one possible addition to your Commander Guide.

You can select a Squad singly by click on the squad. Right click to give commendation or other messages etc. As you said in your guide.

However you can also click on one squad and then while holding onto the Ctrl button click on another squad. This will then highlight both squads. You can also click on one squad and while holding the Shift button click on squads further down the line. This will highlight everything between the first squad clicked and the last squad clicked.

This is helpful when wanting to send the same orders to different squads or the entire team who are in squads.

Also I have a question:
Is there a way to send messages to the entire team including Lone Wolves without using Team Speak (i.e. Attack this position. Orders)?

And unrelated to the Commander theme...
Question: As a Squad Leader how do I invite others to join my squad? I can't seem to find the location to do this.

Cheers.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
I didn't think to include the shift/ctrl thing in the guide. I surely will. Thanks for the reminder.

As for sending orders to lone wolves, your only choice is team speak, I'm afraid.

As for your last question: Go to the squad screen (caps-lock, just like commander) and on the bottom left of your screen should be a "Manage Squad" button. From there you can invite and boot players from your squad.

One bug that I hope they fix in the patch is that if you are invited to a squad but are already in another, you cannot simply hit accept and be transferred. It tells you that you have to leave your squad first. However, if you click leave squad, it makes the invite disappear, so you have to request a new invite, which is simply a pain.

Once again, thank you.

edit--

By the way, I intend on writing a VOIP section, but there are a few details about VOIP that I need to be sure of/test before I write that up.

double edit--

New addition in green in Commander's Screen section. Thanks!

Last edited by Panserbjorn (2005-08-14 04:34:41)

=[4th]=SlayThem
Destroy Noob Cannons
+96|6804
Oh. My. Gosh.
I was just playing on Songhua Stalemate. I was sitting atop one of the roofs protecting a flag with c4. I request supplies because I have no life and no ammo. the commander is just sitting spotting enemies.. I request over and over and over and over and over. NOTHING. and this server I'm on doesn't have mutiny. >.< I swear if there was mutiny, he'd be gone the second the mutiny vote was established. everyone was pissed off at him.
Panserbjorn
Member
+3|6803
Yeah, that's the kind of situation that completely irks me. Be careful, though. That supply drop near/onto the roof could give you away. It'd probably be best to just lay low until the coast is clear, though I still agree with you for being mad at the Commander.
tF-voodoochild
Pew Pew!
+216|6818|San Francisco

=[4th]=SlayThem wrote:

Oh. My. Gosh.
I was just playing on Songhua Stalemate. I was sitting atop one of the roofs protecting a flag with c4. I request supplies because I have no life and no ammo. the commander is just sitting spotting enemies.. I request over and over and over and over and over. NOTHING. and this server I'm on doesn't have mutiny. >.< I swear if there was mutiny, he'd be gone the second the mutiny vote was established. everyone was pissed off at him.
Hmm, were you a squad leader? I have yet to do extensive testing, but I am sure that if you are just a squad member that supply/uav/arty requests do not go straight to the commander, must go to your squad leader first or something. Does anyone have a clearer picture of how the whole chain of command thing works with requests?
blue60007
Member
+0|6815
The commander probably wanted to save the supplies for squads where there are a bunch of people around to use it, not just one person.
NiMhurchu
Suicide Operations
+13|6818|Germany

blue60007 wrote:

The commander probably wanted to save the supplies for squads where there are a bunch of people around to use it, not just one person.
... whereas chances are bigger that there is a medic/support in a bunch than in a SpecOp one man show...

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