So I was on a Tactical Gaming server on Friday (another QT3 tagged guy was there, didn’t recognize the name), and neither side had a commander.
I complained a few times, then put up, and went to be my first time as commander. We won, but they still didn’t have a commander, and my squads were good.
You know… it’s not that much fun. You’ve got 4 buttons – Scan/Arty/UAV/supplies which you want to use as soon as the recharge. You’ve got squads you’ve got to direct.
And that’s like… it. UAV at the hotspots, arty after a scan, supply when needed.
That’s partly the reason why the commander gets 2X points if his team wins. Compensates for the fact they don’t get to run around and shoot things.
I don’t mind being the commander every now and then. It’s a very busy job. But I don’t like being the commander two or three times in a row. You’ve got to mix it up.
And if you want to level up, be the commander. I average about 50-80 points as commander, and if my team wins, that’s easiliy 100-160 points. I average far, far lower numbers when I’m actually playing as a grunt. A good game as a commander is probably worth 4-5 games as a grunt, in terms of points.
Anyways, in my own personal experience on the Tactical Gamer servers, I do my damnedest to avoid being commander or squad leader; squad leader even more so. When I played on the idiot servers, it was easy to accept that I’m probably wiser at the game than the other players, and thus giving orders to the numbnuts easily affected the outcome of the game. No sweat. However, on the TG servers, where nearly everybody is actually using their head, I get overwhelmed. I figure I would be one of the worst people to try and lead a squad or be the commander of the game, and I don’t want to ruin my team’s chances of winning (and of having the most fun possible), so I avoid it.
Additionally, I have noticed that a good squad leader is far more important than even a great commander. A very vocal and aware squad leader can lead any squad from hopelessly running around and dying to being a dominating force on the map. Should there be a few good squad leaders on a side, a commander is not even necessary.
Yeah, I wonder what sort of things they can do to tweak this. There’s like a million more things for a commander to do in a game like ‘Savage’ so it keeps things interesting.
I’m a run and gun commander. I stay behind the lines, look for spec ops guys crossing over with scan, then hunt them down. Keeps me entertained, and can still get the other abilities off.
UAV usage- I hardly ever drop the UAV at a constested spot…your guys already know there are people there and using scan or zoom I’ll spot out snipers and such…I drop it over another flag, and if it is empty, order a squad- or even better a helo to go take it- at the very least it will distract the other team.
Supply drops/Arty strikes always always do these in super zoom in mode, you can practically land it right where you want it- arty can still be off by 20 yards or so…but also tell your guys in the area to get out! always good to hold your arty until it is needed or pound the main base they are using looking for repawn kills. If you can keep of reinforcements for an extra 20 seconds, that will be a flag cap.
I find people listen if you tell them they are awesome, or they suck. It at leat creates the illusion that you have a clue of what is going on.
I’ll occasionally play as a lone wolf SpecOp and just try to cap flags behind enemy lines. I’ve often had (and GREATLY appreciated) a commander sending a UAV right over my head to cover me in these instances. The radar alerts me when an enemy spawns right next to me, and it gives me a heads up when a tank or a jeeps is coming down the road towards me. It’s a big help.
LOL. Too true. I had that happen last week as a matter of fact.[/quote]
Yeah, commander is a thankless job.
I’ve been avoiding Squad Leader like the plague on the TG servers as well. Last week I found myself SL suddenly, and tried to make the best of it, only to discover that I had a squad full of people completely uninterested in listening to their squad leader. They just flitted around the map indulging their whims.
I thought disobeying SL was a no-no on TG servers, but I have no idea how to initiate a kick vote or inform an admin, so I just logged out in frustration.
I think the feature to spawn next to your squad leader is an extremely innovative feature. Saves you hauling all the way back to the fight, and if the squad leaders are smart and stay alive, it can really add to the urgency of a firefight.
I can’t imagine another game of this type coming out without that feature … it’s really convenient and also adds a bit of tactical depth.
Sometimes I can rambo flags by myself and I just use the squad leader as an extra spawn point. If they’re actually engaged in action I’ll of course spawn with them, but a bunch of lone gunmen constantly capping flags is extremely effective if they’re decent players.
