Kamikazie
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a little guide to help you along your way, and how not to piss everybody off
The Noobies Guide to making BF2 more enjoyable for everyone.
In writing this guide I make no claims to be any type of expert in Battlefield2. I simply feel that there is a general lack of understanding on how this game is intended to be played, and I would like to put forth some ideas to broaden the horizons of my fellow soldiers.
This guide is not intended to address the differences between classes and play styles, teach you how to better pilot a plane/helicopter, or be a “1337 ‘[]’4|\||< h4x0r”, but rather emphasize proper team-play and use of specific squad & commander functionality.
I have split this guide into a few sections to better organize ideas and areas of game play.
(You can copy/paste and search for any topic line to jump to that part of the guide)
I. Infantry Combat
i. Joining a Squad
ii. Squad Combat & Team play
iii. Squad Leader
II. General Vehicle Ethics
III. Commander
IV. General Game Ethics
I. Infantry Combat
When initially joining (spawning) you will be on foot as the class of your choice. After entering the game you will be in the group "Unassigned", which simply means you are currently a "lone-wolf" and are not a member of a Squad, nor are you the commander.
Infantry are much slower on foot but have the advantage of added concealment (vehicles kind of stick out like a sore thumb) and group dynamics when in a Squad. Squad combat is the new feature of BF2 which adds an incredible amount of dynamic game play to the battlefield series and should be your main goal if you are not a dedicated pilot or tank driver.
i. Joining a Squad
By default Caps Lock is your squad management and commander binded key, for the duration of this guide we will refer to this key as Caps Lock regardless of your assignment. When you hit Caps Lock you will be shown a map to the right (similar to the spawn screen) and on the left you will see a list containing the subsections Commander, (we will go into this in more detail in Section VI. Commander) and Squads. Under Squad will be a listing of currently created squads, or the button "Create Squad" if there are no created squads (this button will still be there until the squad limit has been reached).
Upon joining a server/match, the very FIRST thing you should do (unless you intend to be commander) is join a squad. There are no reasons for lone-wolf players of any sort, and no benefit to being lone-wolf over being in a squad.
If we take a look at the abilities in the battlefield of a lone-wolf style player, you will quickly see why there is no reason to act alone in BF2.
1. Lone-wolf's have no voice-communication with anyone.
2. Lone-wolf's can not give/receive any types of orders.
3. Lone-wolf's are restricted to only currently held flags as spawns. Lacking the Squad-Leader as a mobile spawn point.
4. Lone-wolf's lack any types of group cohesion, squads will typically (as intended) stick together and contain all of the needed classes if composed properly. So constant access to ammo/health/anti-tank/vehicle repair are a given.
By joining a Squad you enable yourself to have:
1. A Squad Leader (assuming you're not the leader) who acts as a constant spawn point while alive and mobile (unless in a vehicle which is full, in which case you need to spawn nearby/wait until vehicle is unoccupied)
2. Voice-communication with ONLY your squad (limit to 6 people) for much better/faster communication and assistance.
3. Dedicated orders from your Squad Leader/Commander which show on your minimap with a line to the destination (and a visible icon similar to the flags with distance underneath in your HUD) Instructing you to Attack/Defend/Destroy/Mine and so on. All members of your group see this as well as see each other as green dots (instead of blue) on the minimap, and names above the players are green so they are always easily identified as a squad mate.
To join a squad you have a couple options.
1. Select "Create Squad" on the menu to the left and become a squad leader (or select create custom squad in which you can name your squad instead of using the default Alpha/Delta/Charlie/Omega/etc.) and have other people join your squad.
2. find a current squad which is not full (#/6 format shows you how many are in the squad, and you can also use the down arrow to display members of any squad) or locked (if the lock button is highlighted the squad has been locked, when you click join squad it will send a message to the squad leader to allow you to join or not) you can select "Join Squad" and you will be assigned to said squad and earn the benefits listed above.
ii. Squad Combat & Team play
Joining a squad is not simply designed to be an aesthetic addition to the game, it is designed around group dynamics and improved game play. You should ALWAYS stay with your squad unless otherwise instructed. (Sniper Covering Team/Spec-ops Breaking off to destroy key targets/Gaining temporary cover when ambushed)
When a squad sticks together and functions as a team, they can be nearly unstoppable. You can fill an APC/Helo and roll from one spawn point to the next, or even occupy a caravan of a Tank/APC/Jeep which can dominate the ground. (having medic/support/engineer's in said vehicles makes a constant re-arming/healing/repairing rolling spawn-caravan) You will often see a single squad in a random PUB single-handedly controlling the flow of the map, picking off stragglers and capping flags as they wish, the only counter to this is having your own effective squads.
(see also II. General Vehicle Ethics)
iii. Squad Leader
Being the squad leader is an important position to say the least. There are three main responsibilities of the squad leader.
1. Maintain verbal/text contact with the commander and relay information to your squad (voicecomm is designed to be between the squad, and then squad leaders and commander)
2. Relay orders given by the commander (page up to accept) that will be given to your squad mates, or set the orders yourself. Something A LOT of people overlook is the fact that just like a commander, a squad leader can bring up the squad screen with CAPSLOCK and right click ANYWHERE on the map and issue commands (and zoom as well).
3. Try to be the most intelligent person in your squad big smile The squad leader acts as a mobile spawn point, so he should be the last one to rush in, and the first one out. If your team wipes he is your direct re-insertion into the battle without the travel time. Typically you want your squad leader to be one of the medics in your group, but it’s not mandatory, it just helps. (a secondary medic is always good to revive the squad leader first if he dies)
Maintaining voice communication with your squad keeps the squad reacting fast, and updating orders lets them know what needs to be done. Another important point, if you are the squad leader, and the commander issues you an order, ONLY click accept if you actually intend to complete said order. When an order is accepted the commander goes on to issue other orders based on that, if you accept with no intent to come through, you’re just hurting your team. There’s no penalty for saying no.
As squad leader you are the base of operations for the other 5 people in your squad (assuming its full). That means that to take on this responsibility, you may have to make game play sacrifices you normally wouldn't as a grunt. First and foremost as the mobile spawn point for your squad, you are the quick re-entry point into the battle if your squad mates are killed. Leaving the current objective to go off and play "Rambo" is not welcome for a squad leader, also jumping in a one or two player position vehicle and driving around the map for extended periods of time (read: tank/helo/plane) is not acceptable either. You are to stay alive to the best of your ability, if your squad is rushing a flag and there's a chance of hostility, you stay in a safe location until you're SURE its safe to advance... if everyone dies, you can be your teams saving grace.
If you do not wish to be squad leader and would rather assume one of these roles, simply click "Leave Squad" and then hit "Join Squad" and you will no longer be the squad leader. If you re not giving commands, requesting orders/assistance from your commander, and are going "Rambo" there is no point on wasting the squad leader position for everyone else and effectively making your group worthless.
II. General Vehicle Ethics
This was covered to some extent in the paragraph above, but if you are skipping straight to this section I will repeat myself.
BF2 is designed as a team game, you are not on a team to kill everyone you don’t like, enemy or friend... you are on a team to assist each other in winning the current battle. With that said if you are a support class/medic class/engineer class, you – by definition – are to support your teammates, heal them, re-stock their ammo, and repair THEIR vehicles too! It’s not designed to keep you and only you alive longer, it’s for the benefit of everyone. Also do NOT get in a transport vehicle (or almost any vehicle) alone and drive off, if you’re not trying to be Joe hero (which you’ll undoubtedly fail at anyway) no matter what you do… help is better. So if you see that jeep, and there are some blue/green dots on your minimap nearby, make sure they don’t want a ride before you leave, about the only vehicle that doesn’t benefit THAT much from other occupants is a tank… but even there it’s a help if its an engineer up top.
Two seat Helo’s/Planes are even MORE of a reason to wait for a teammate, they are designed as designated gunner positions and WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE LONGER AND HELP YOUR SCORE… so please be respectful.
And the obvious but always overlooked, if someone gets in a vehicle before you, listen carefully now… DON’T DAMAGE THEM JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T GET THERE FIRST! Yes even if they drove off in a jeep alone, you’ll notice a “Team Vehicle Damage” message come up which effects you just like tk’n but to a lesser degree. So just let them go, and find another. It only starts a vicious circle.
III. Commander
The commander position is extremely integral to a team’s success in Battlefield 2. He is a standard soldier of any kit type who is given added abilities in a separate menu to assist his team and establish a battle plan for the map.
The commander screen, seen by hitting CAPSLOCK, is a unique screen which shows the battlefield in the standard spawn style map, except that the commander can zoom the map 2 times (down to real-time fully rendered top view of an area, as opposed to the squad leader who can only zoom once to a blown up view).
He/She also will see 4 bars in the upper left corner for:
* SCAN - Satellite scan of the battlefield – shows static placements of ALL enemies on the map which fade in a few seconds, but you can right click and “Spotted” them to your team. USE: hit once to scan the field REQUIRES: satellite station to be active (icon looks like a satellite dish on the map in dark gray – yellow if not operational)
* ARTILLERY – Fire an artillery barrage at a specific target on the map. USE: select artillery, then select a point on the map to the right (it is A LOT easier to be accurate zooming once, and if possible twice, as the full out view is inaccurate at specific targets) REQUIRES: at least one artillery gun to be undamaged. (icons are dark gray artillery guns on the map – yellow if not operational)
* UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) – Allows the commander AND ALL TROOPS to see enemy troops within the UAV’s area of view for a set amount of time (functions like a radar sweep). USE: Select UAV and select point on the map you would like to see/show troops. REQUIRES: UAV station to be operational (looks like a rectangular dark gray object on the map – yellow if not operational)
* SUPPLIES – drops a supply crate on the selected portion of the map, supply crates repair nearby vehicles, re-arm troops, and heal troops. They are a very useful resource and cannot be “disabled” by any type of attack. One of the best uses for supply crates are to repair SCAN/UAV/ARTILLARY when no troops are around or wont listen, simply zoom in all the way on the map, and drop it by the damaged object and it will be repaired fairly quickly.
Additional to this (and located underneath the above commands) are the squads. The commander can view all squads, the makeup of classes in each squad, whether the squad leader has voice communication (and can be muted) and the location on the map of the squad leaders in larger circles with a number in it.
The commander can select any squads “bar” and then issue a command on the map by right clicking and selecting any of the options (ATTACK/DESTROY/MINE/REPAIR/DEFEND/etc.) The squad leader will then be prompted to accept or decline, if they accept you will then see the command target when selecting that squad (you can always view current assigned orders of a squad). The commander can also right click on troops in the comm view map and select spotted so the team sees them similar to the troops “spotted” use.
Finally and most important for the those intent on playing commander. If you do not believe you can finish the map, or you have to go all of a sudden, at least have the courtesy to notify your team that you are departing. A team without a commander will typically not function nearly as well as one with an even mildly competent commander. Let someone know so they can fill in, many times it is far too late by the time someone else realizes and applies.
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO CHECK IF THERE IS AN ACTIVE COMMANDER!
IV. General Game Ethics
This is always a tough subject to touch on, and it’s an issue that is steadily getting worse in online gaming, but here goes.
You are playing a game, games are intended to be fun, but not just fun for YOU… fun for EVEYRONE INVOLVED. (with the exception of losing which can’t be helped) With that said you hold no right whatsoever to team kill/team wound/vehicle damage or any other asshole maneuver you can think of. Everyone in the server is there to have fun, and should be treated with equal respect until that person gives up the right to be respected (Usually by doing one of the above).
