Active squad-leading - fireteams

[Reddish Red]

I only use Fireteams when I can trust the sqaud, its very good if pulled off well.

[GrimSoldier]

Originally Posted by KingKong.CCCP

very very very very very hard to do in game.
I believe more than 50% of players knows pretty much all the squad/fireteam/platoon/younameit action/tactic... yet, it seems people play the game only to "stick it to the Man". It looks Sl is "the Man".
Most of the times when I'm squadleading, I feel like a grumpy babysitter who won't let children play.
Don't know why. All you need is a good squadleader, and 5 guys ready to listen.
Now that sounds *a lot* easier than it actually is.

So true, A lot of people think that since you are the squad leader that they must follow you and be right on your "behind" the entire time. Then you all get owned by a grenade lol.

[nathanator8811]

Fireteams are nice and all but I've only managed to keep a rigid FT setup working the whole round a total of two times, and then only with a squad full of vets. Most other times I've tried it, they quickly lost cohesion and trying to keep it became more a liability than an advantage. So try it, but if it doesn't work then quickly discard it. A more fluid approach of shifting people around individually in a general sort of way has worked better for me personally, but its more of a style preference.
In summary: If it works, then use it; if not, then don't.

More important to me is to convey our general objective as clearly as possible to the squad, and allow a degree of individual initiative in accomplishing those aims, depending on performance. If someone can consistently outfight the enemy, then more latitude is given. If a guy can't seem to hold his own in individual combat, then less latitude(and keeping him near a medic). Also, liberal use of the move marker to outline waypoints in quick succession usually works pretty well for me when I SL.

[flem615]

fireteams are always good but NEVER divide your squad to much. Look up the concept force mass, understand it and apply it. Basically, in PR terms, it says 6 is way better than 3.

[Razick]

The key to proper fireteams is having an experienced person as the other fireteam leader. Fireteams without proper leadership in every element will not be successful no matter how hard you try. If its just three guys mobbing it around then it will not work and your better off just disbanding it and keeping it simple.

It is normally too much to ask for from squad members because in pubs they usually arent the leading type and those who are go squad leading. This is why it is so unsuccessful in normal pubbing situations with complete strangers.

[Threedroogs]

Originally Posted by PFunk

A few times when I'd lead and I'd say "so I'm going to make two fire teams of three" some guy or a few would say "NO! thats stupid, doesn't work"

Some people don't feel like trying that hard.

time to kick. i tell people to lead their own squads if they're giving too many orders themselves or disparaging the plans. you have to be stern and confident in your orders.

trauma surgeons have a credo that translates perfectly to being a good SL:

"sometimes wrong. never in doubt."

make the best decision you can based on the situation and act.

as far as fireteams go...i like to keep my squad at full strength most of the time. when we do need to split up, i want my guys going in groups of at least 2. flanking the enemy is what divides my squad the most, but as soon as the enemy is destroyed we regroup. i like my guys to be near me (not too close, of course) so my attack markers are relevent. it's a lot easier for your squadmembers to get a line on the attack marks if they arent too far away or too spread out.

[Biggaayal]

I find 3 2-man fireteams total overkill. Most of the time one fireteam will be only 1 man. With the disconnecting and leaving that always occurs over a round...It will take too much effort to keep setting up the 3 FT again and again. I haven't seen anyone use 3FT with satisfactory effectiveness myself.

Then with two FT... It is basically down to
1) Discipline
2) Discipline
3) Learning to follow someone (Lorentz effect )
In my experience the FT strat can be very effective, even with total noobs and such, PROVIDED they have the discipline to be where you need them to be if they are alive.

What seems to work best, is telling people that for a whole round they must be on the heels of their FT-leader, and that that is the only thing they should do for the whole round.

After that I just play the game as if I was playing in a two man squad. As a standard I would use Alpha and Bravo, but lately using the FTL name to designate a FT seems more natural to me.

*****Golden tip****
Put the more experienced/trustworthy/disciplined players in the OTHER FT.

The other FT is away from you and you cannot babysit it. Therefore I put all the best suited players in the Bravo fireteam. You can take the newbies (not to the game but to the tactic) with you and babysit them much easier. It is also quite difficult to track a non-SL player if you aren't used to it. Your siblings will find it easier to follow a SL then a FTL.

And if you get pwned anyway...PR is all about looking cool when you get shot!


*As for the 2 4 man fireteams... I find it redundant. You might as well cooperate with any squads on ts.

*Something to ponder: using 1 2-man and 1 4-man FT. Traditional war doctrine says your suppression team should always be larger then the flanking team.

PS: already busting my skull about the limited medic kit that will make the fireteams more dependent on one another.

[Pure_beef]

This tactic is very good, however not good to keep it going through the same round, when the fireteams are trying to communicate VOIP gets messy as you now have 2 leaders talking. Best way to do fire teams, is to see a target, hold up, get the fireteams split, get one to flank, then both open up from 2 different angles. That way VOIP clutter will be kept to a minimum for most of the round untill you see the enemy