New To Squad, But In Need Of Some Help!.

Sirius Yostar

Hi Sirius Yostar here, or call me Siri for short!.

So, i got Squad several days ago, and have been liking it so far and have also got some pretty nice kills for someone new to the game as i am familiar with the gameplay and mechanics from the game battlefield 2 and its mod called Project Reality! which i enjoyed immensley!.

But i would like to ask for some perhaps "Beginner" tips or guide on how i can become better, as a Squad leader as i have done several games now where i've had to make my own squad due to everyone elses squads being full or "locked" so they can use tanks or helicopters etc...plus i have been seeing some games where anyone who joins my squad practically just flat-out disobeys my orders and does their own thing which sort of annoys me abit....is their any help that i can be given to someone who is new to squad so i can become better or any "British" themed clans i could join to perhaps get me into a more organised-teamwork based experience, i also have Arma 3 and understand the basics of squad teamwork and such so any help would be appreciated!

EcchiRevenge

You're new, nobody cares what you say. Today, most of players wouldn't know what PR is. I know for sure the one thing you say that will definitely not be believed and would only work against you: "I know what I'm doing."

There are guides on youtube. But if you're trying to create squad just because you couldn't join another squad - switch team/find another server/afk.

PR is a better game and much of the skills do not translate directly. Squad is far more casual since you can just hide a permanent rally(it's all permanent here) behind enemy lines and spawn from there until enemy stumble upon it. Nobody loses kit when they give up so there's far less care for medic(don't ask for 2nd medic). There's also no vehicle collision damage(for both vehicle itself and whatever it hit).

sneakylikeasnek

If you want to keep squad leading and want people who are willing to cooperate and do what you say, kick those who disobey. Squad leading is too much of a headache by default in Squad to keep around the ones who want to ignore you. Just be clear over squad chat what you want and what happens if you don't get it. No harm in kicking those who aren't willing to cooperate.

For example, at match start, I'll tell people in my squad where I want them to spawn - or if I want them to spawn at all. Sometimes I like addressing the squad in the menu before we spawn into the local chat madness where you can't hear yourself think. I'll say in squad chat, "Hold your spawns so I can explain the plan. If you spawn, I'm kicking you." If anyone spawns, they're gone. Sets the tone that if you want to be in the squad, you need to be able to follow directions. Unlike what many people think, this game doesn't really have a steep learning curve, even for squadleading. It's just the tools and explanations for everything are so bad/nonexistent that it makes it a hassle to find all the relevant information to succeed.

As far as finding a good server, I would recommend Riplomacy. It's a NA based server, but plenty of europeans play on it because the quality of player is generally good, and the regulars often squadlead and have competent players who recognize them and follow their lead. Recommend checking it out, as it mostly plays invasion which is currently the best mode in Squad. Lots of coordination most of the time, at least compared to other servers which run RAAS/AAS.

Geebus

The big thing you'll have to learn about squad leading is that you are playing more against your own squad than you are the enemy team in many cases. SL'ing is all about figuring out how to get people to do what you want. This is especially true nowadays considering that the overall standards and expectations for players have dropped by quite a bit when compared to what someone might expect back in the earlier days of the game.

That said, it is incredibly important to make clear your expectations to the players in your squad. These expectations should cover the 3 C's of Squad: Communication, Coordination, and Cooperation.

Communication is fairly simple. ALL players in your squad should be expected to have a microphone and use it. When creating a squad, it is always a good idea to put somewhere in the name for your squad "MIC REQ" or something along those lines. This signals to those joining your squad that you expect them to have a microphone and that if they aren't looking to talk then they should go elsewhere. Then once the squad fills up, you should do a microphone check for your squad. Just go down the list and ask each player if they have a microphone. If you don't get a response from someone after asking a couple of times then you should kick that player and let someone else take their place.

You should also look to keep that communication going throughout the match by way of regular reinforcement. Unless you get the rare, super squared away squad then there will be times where the comms stay silent for longer than they should. As a squad lead you will need to find little tricks that fit with your style of play that help to keep people talking. One of my favorite ways to go about this is to ask for updates every once in a while. Simple question like "What are you guys seeing?" or "How's everyone doing on ammunition" can go a long way towards keeping the rust from forming.

Coordination is all about the plan. It is monumentally important that you as a squad lead are constantly able to create plans on the fly in whatever rapidly changing scenario you find yourself in. It is also a good point to remember that in many scenarios, having no plan can do more harm than having a bad plan. When you don't have a plan then you really don't have a squad. Squads without some sort of guidance are nothing more than a collection of individuals looking for something to do. When players start finding their own things to do, you lose all cohesion in the squad and quickly will find yourself in a position where it is hard to get everyone back on track.

Make your plans simple but not too simple. Your plan shouldn't be that you are attacking or defending but rather HOW you are attacking or defending. Come up with a couple extra steps for these big squad directives. For example, when attacking you should always be looking to flank the enemy when possible. Take that extra minute or two to ensure that your squad is making their attack from where they can make the most effect. It is also a good idea to direct the squad to only shoot at the enemy when you've been spotted. I have been the winner in countless attacks just because I was able to keep the element of surprise on my side.

And just like with communication, reinforce your plan by restating it when applicable. For example, say you have just loaded the squad into a truck in preparation for an attack. You plan to drive to the vicinity of that objective, use the supplies onboard to create a FOB, then flank to a good position to start the attack, all while doing it as stealthily as possible. Often times people might not have been paying attention or perhaps they misunderstood what you meant. With this in mind you should restate the steps as each are completed, making absolutely sure that everyone is clear on what the squad is doing.

Cooperation is making sure that people are working together. You can have a plan and be effectively passing information between each other but you aren't really going to be getting very far if you aren't encouraging people to stick together. You should constantly be reinforcing the idea that sticking together makes the squad more effective. People should be in close enough proximity so that if someone is downed, they can easily be revived by someone in the squad. Always try to stop and let everyone regroup when possible as well. The difference between an attack being successful or failing might have been waiting that 30 extra seconds for everyone to get together before a push rather than everyone running in at separate times. Also don't allow the members of your squad to run off and do whatever they want. They are there to work with everyone else, not to go and do as they please. If someone isn't where they are supposed to be, tell them to get back with the team or get kicked.

Building on this, another concept you should be aware of is the trickle-in effect. This is something that happens when players aren't effectively sticking together. The classic example of this is when an attack doesn't necessarily succeed on the first push, leading the squad to get shot, die, respawn at the closest spawn, then repeat. This ultimately leads to little groups of ones and twos attacking in waves rather than the whole squad altogether. Get them to regroup before another push whenever there are a handful of players respawning.

A good way to keep people together, though how well it works can be spotty even at the best of times, is to make use of fireteams. It is always a good habit to assign all of your squad to fireteams. Splitting the squad into two or three equal groups using the fireteam assignment system is a great way to make delegating tasks to the squad easier. At the beginning of the match, split the squad into a couple of groups and tell them that you expect them to stick with those fireteams at all times. It is so much simpler to say "bravo team go hold that building" or "charlie team attack that position", than it is to try to split eight players up on the fly. But again, it can be pretty spotty as to whether folks actually keep to these teams when the fighting starts so take what you can get with it.

As a final note I cannot stress enough that you must remember that it is YOUR squad. Being a squad lead requires you to be a bit of an **** at times to get things done. This isn't to say that you should be bossing people around all the time but rather not to let the occasional turd drag the squad down. If anyone starts to cause trouble, always be willing to boot them from the squad. Somebody else will come along and fill that slot and getting rid of troublemakers will help to keep the squad in line. As you play more you'll find a balance to how much leniency you'll give to people. Remember that they chose to join YOUR squad and chose to play by YOUR rules. Make your expectations clear and hold people to them. One last thing is that any time you find yourself running into problems there are tons of experienced SL's out there that are more than willing to help you along your way. Since this forum can be pretty much dead at times, I'd recommend the Steam Discussions for the game. There are quite a few regular SL's that help folks all the time with all sorts of advice.

Other than that, good luck in your cat herding career!