BF2S Forums The Great Commander Post Pt. 2: The Commander's Guide

Thank you Timmy and thank you Archenar. Both things I will include in the next revision.

I haven't had a lot of time to devote to BF2 (actually I've only played one game in the last week) lately because I'm just starting my Freshman year of college, so forgive me if I'm a little lax on updates.

i have a question, do u get points of a squads take command of a flag but you didnt send them there? it seems that i only get points if i tell them to atk and then they get the flag ...also idk if it was a glitch but if a commander wins is everything x2? because one game i had 46 points commander and some how in the end my total was like 400ish...lol

was there a part one of this commander post that i missed?

Part I was just me complaining about the situation that inspired me to write this. This is where the good stuff is.

i find that i have a very soviet-like doctrine when commanding. that is, i reinforce success and leave the unsuccessful to their doom. the reasons are simple - if a squad can achieve some objective, then they likely can do it again and thus are worth resupplying or supporting in some fashion.

this isn't an absolute, of course, with battle being such a fluid situation, and i'll always try to support as many troops as possible. but with larger games your attention and resources simply aren't enough to cover everyone - you will have to prioritise. and the elite troops get priority.

the problem with this is elite troops don't necessarily need your help. they are often good enough to achieve the objective alone. hopefully, by giving them extra support, i can keep the elite troops alive longer and enable them to do more than normal. less skilled players, meanwhile, may need the support a lot more, but they are more likely to fail even after i've expended assets on them, so i tend to limit the level of support i give to them.

i wonder, do other commanders follow a similar approach? or are you more inclined to give help to those in distress and leave your best units to manage on their own?

Last edited by Krappyappy (2005-09-01 09:01:08)

Good points all.  I have been the lone wolf on occasion, simply by forgetting to join or create a squad after applying for Commander and not getting it.  But other than those times, I'm always in one or the other.  That's what this game is about!  The VoIP feature is outstanding, the Commander mentioned before was using it exactly how it was meant to be used.  Excellent.  We should all use that example to invoke more teamplay.  I bet it would work too! Great post B.Schuss!

one commander went "enemy infantry spotted" like some gazillion times over and over again.. and a mutiny vote started cos he didnt understand "STFU" "Can someone shut him up!!" being repeatedly appearing.. it just grates on everyone.. i went to bed with that command ringing in my head.

Ronball9 wrote:

mikeshw wrote:

one commander went "enemy infantry spotted" like some gazillion times over and over again.. and a mutiny vote started cos he didnt understand "STFU" "Can someone shut him up!!" being repeatedly appearing.. it just grates on everyone.. i went to bed with that command ringing in my head.

He was probably doing that because the enemy had taken out his UAV and possibly his radar so he was spotting manually until either of those came back on line.  It may have been annoying, but if he was actually spotting them for you (red icon appearing on your mini-map as opposed to just a question mark), it contributed to the success of the troops nearby to clear an area or just stay alive.

If it is a choice between hearing "enemy infantry spotted" or seeing "you have been critically injured" on screen, I will take the former.

ron, got your point. trouble is, it was a 16 player map, and flag capping was bunched up and not spread out like the larger maps, and the UAV was working sweetly..

i sometimes do the "infantry spotted" thingy if i see a lone wolf defending a flag, but i do it just once. thats alls that is needed to alert him, provided he, like u said, took the trouble to look at the mini map. or if there is a spawn rapist on an uncappable flag, and the UAV is better off used to assist the teams elsewhere.

happy to say that i turned a team of losers last nite on a 32map Fushe Pass into winners and got my goldie..yahooo.. intelligent placing of UAVs and arti strikes to soften a target was the tactic i used. thankfully they didnt come looking for me to take me out cos their commander was just plain bad at 10points at the end of the round. my side did the mutiny vote but not enuff to kick me out, and the server kicks out players who keep initiating the mutiny or kickvotes on the same player.

but i quit the server after that, cos the language there was really abusive. i m in this for the fun of it, thats all.

Some stuff I just wanna add as Commander. (haha i realize I DO play a lot of commander, commandeered all the way since PFC *laughs* which explains the kick/bans i got earlier)

I realized that spotting someone only makes him appear for say 3-5 seconds? Then he disappears again. Spotting shouldn't be the be-all and end-all function of the commander. I've seen n00bish commanders just right-click and spam spots, and the mini-map ends up with question marks all over the place. That's just retarded. Every squad should help in spotting, be it infantry, sniper, armour or even jets. This spotting will: 1. Inform the Commander, 2. Chances are help some other squad.

I.e. I usually like a pure heli squad when I command, and i usually get the gunners to spot ground targets which helps teams that are converging on that position.

For Commander, i feel that VOIP is a MUST. With 6-9 squads i don't think I can even type fast enough. On a good day: with 4-5 organised squads, I already have my hands full with them constantly requesting next orders etc. And my mini-map's already so messed up with all their actions (attack here, defend there etc. etc.)
I particularly like squads that are split up into little fireteams: 2 mini-teams of 3 people, 1 to provide suppressive fire, another to flank and take out the enemy.

One question I have though, when you play Commander (besides specific operation squads) do you have the right to meddle with squad makeups? I tend to give veteran squads the right of way (to choose what kits they want etc. as they tend to complete objectives without fail). But n00bie squads tend to end up as recon under my command. Or I'll just tell them ALL to go spec ops and have my heli squad drop them off etc. etc.

And I HATE it when players spam spots (especially those who spot 'Hostile forces on the move' or 'Enemy Unit spotted') and just raise question marks all over the place.

Lol. We all love that. But nono no banana haha everyone demands supplies from me all the time...

kilroy0097 wrote:

I repeatedly remind my team in team channel to look at their MiniMap. That I am not spotting lone enemy troops heading toward or taking flags for my health. That I am not going to waste an art. strike on one guy.

Scan is there for a reason. I use it often. I must spot infantry and vehicles with that or else no one else but me knows where I am. I reserve UAV for large clusters or to supplement attacking squads or defending squads. I do not UAV for random troops..

Very very true. Unless in REALLY special circumstances (Mashtuur city, Squad gets pinned down by rooftop snipers) I only use UAV when there are more than 4 people in an area, or in areas where there's a BIG threat on its way. For 1 or 2 people, I spam spots. I tend to get the closest squad to spare 1 or 2 members to wipe him out, get my heli evac squad to come in for a quick hit etc.

kilroy0097 wrote:

Hence I spot quite a bit. But often my team does not care about such spotting and is not even willing to stop for a moment to defend a base that has a single guy in it. Instead they will simply drive right through the base and not stop.

This the most aggrivating part of being commander and why after 6 rounds I am done for quite a long time..

Thus the most irritating thing being commander in a public server. I sometimes have to wipe him out MYSELF. Everyone's more interested in charging out to get points etc. etc. and the commander has to clear the backlines (and hold the fort himself).

kilroy0097 wrote:

A good team is a joy to command for. A bad team is useless and might as well not have a commander at all.

aye. I love people calling me sir over VOIP. IRL there ARE a few people calling me sir, I'm in National Service now you see, but it souonds better over the net. *grin*

trimmer101 wrote:

i am pretty sure that you have to be a squad leader to get supplies straight from the commander, I have been in that situation many of times

If I'm not a Squad Leader, but I think I can exploit a fast-breaking tactical situation - I VoIP my Squad with the request (and to advise them of my "plan"); and ask the Squad Leader to VoIP the Commander. If he has his hands full (or he's proven himself to be a dolt), I preface a Team text message "To Commander" with the request.

However, if I've been scoring well throughout the round, I've had more than a few Commanders drop a crate to me before I even make a request; and even issue orders to the nearest available Squad to provide additional support in my area . . .

Panser, this guide is really helpful on all the stuff it covers. The importance of spotting, the lure&blast arty technique, etc. I have learned a great deal.

I would like to see your guide expanded to include more on the 'command' in commander. I think this is the toughest part of the job.


Last night, I was Commanding US on Clean Sweep 64. All the MEC were waiting for us out on the closest flag, and I specifically ordered all squads and loners to leave the front position alone and attack the flags in the middle-left of the enemy flags. As you know, so long as we were crawling clumsily out of boats and up hills to defended positions, we were going to get spanked.

One of the four squadleaders okayed the original command, but then got sidetracked.  Some courageous idiots lept ineffectually on the closest flag, making it harder to arty the MEC massed there.
With usually one or two obedient squads, and 20 or so ungovernable boobs, I was largely reduced to supporting whatever my guys decided to do. Spotting, UAVs, Supplies...
We never managed to get a stable base of operations on the landmass, and of course were very badly beaten.


It seems to me that there are two components to 'command'ing.

1. Squad Control: There is a great deal of variability in squadleader obedience. A hateful few obey commands that are what they are already doing. A generally useful, but occasionally foolish few obey any command they are given. Most obey a reasonable command from a commander they trust.
Has anybody found any tricks for winning over the reasonable SLs?
Generally, I try to reward the obedient ones with supplies or other asset supports, but not intentionally punish the disobedient with lack of support.
Does anybody find Commending/Rebuking an effective means of getting obedience?


2. Overall Strategy: Assuming you have a majority of reasonably or blindly obedient SLs who are vaguely competent in TACTICS, you have the chance to really turn the tide and accomplish STRATEGY. Will we all hit the enemy head on? Will 1 brave squad tie them down while the rest circle behind their mass to take flags? Who is going to hit the enemy assets? Will we take out that bridge? Will the transport heli concentrate on taking flags, or killing rooftoppers? This is basic stuff, and more important on some maps than others, but I insist that weaving squad TACTICS into team STRATEGY makes the difference between good and great commanding.
Unfortunately, the most influential time for these decisions is right at the beginning, when you haven't had a chance to win squad trust (unless its the second or third game).
Strategy tips would of course be different for every map.

bruisehound

"...those who assume the risk of an even struggle have no assurance of victory"
-Procopius of Caesarea, History of the Wars