How To Be A Field Leader
Alarik
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9326Members
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9326Members
<div class="IPBDescription">What every aspiring F.L. should know...</div> here's a quick set of tips for field leaders i've thought of, after playing the role for some time now. suggestions for additions or editions are welcome.
imo, a good field leader is one of the most important roles a marine team needs. even if your commander is uber, you can do a lot of good, but for any commander short of a virtuoso, you are what wins the match. a marine commander is a very busy player. many times, he will be performing a delicate balancing act of taking care of marines all over the map with medkits, gear, ammo, and waypoints, and building up expansions in perhaps two or even three places at a time, all the while trying to get everything upgraded as fast as possible. this doesnt leave most commanders much time to worry about tactics and keeping the marines organized and on task. this is where you come in. it's your job to know what is going on and what needs doing at all times, and to let both the commander and other marines know what to do and where. it's your job to keep everyone on task and everything in working order. most of the time, it will be you that sets the tactics, and your orders that will win or lose the game. a field officer needs to have a firm grasp of tactics, the ability to think quickly and make multiple decisions at once, and last but certainly not least: the presence to make his team listen to him: you are nothing if your team doesnt listen.
let your team know that they are not to wait around at base for any reason. if there are weapons already on the ground, they can pick them up as you move out. if there are none, tell them to MOVE OUT WITHOUT THEM and do what they can to help. many marines dont know this, but YOUR LMG ACTUALLY DOES HURT ALIENS!!!! if two unupgraded marines empty their lmg clips even decently accurately into a fade, THAT FADE WILL DIE. repeat: YOU DO NOT NEED AN HMG OR EVEN A SHOTTY TO KILL FADES. you spawn for free. a fade costs 44 resources. a swarm of unupgraded grunts through a phasegate WILL take down whatever fades they have, if you rush them...and your team loses no resources when you die. in this, you really need to lead your team by example. make a point of always being in the thick of the action, and call your team to you...they will follow.
not quite the same as the first one, but close: keep your marines OFF the commander's back about gear! MAKE them KNOW that the commander's first duty is to build and support marines IN THE FIELD, NOT to baby them at base with gear! if the commander himself is having to explain to the marines that he is too busy to drop gear <i>right this second</i>, then he is not able to do what he needs to be! truth be told, a good marine team really doesnt NEED a lot of heavy weaponry most of the time. it's a bonus, and make sure your team knows that.
always remind your commander and the rest of your team that hives are top priority, and that people need to move in groups. i cant tell you how much it helps, just to tell people that at the beginning of games. the first thing i do upon entering any public game is type "remember everyone, hives are first priority...take them first, and make sure you move in groups". if they dont catch it the first time, repeat it a couple times, and more often than not, most of the marines will play well.
i cant stress enough how well actually using the "follow me" command near other marines works. there must be something magical about seeing that ! go up over your head and hearing "this way" that makes marines want to shout "SIR YES SIR" and follow you to wherever you want to go. it works infinitely better than spamming "form up at base for attack". just find some marines and spam the "follow me" at them, and move out.
try your best to keep morale up if the game is going poorly. let your team know when they do something right, encourage them, make them laugh, whatever. you have to be your team's freaking William Wallace...keep their spirits up! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->. you need to rile them up and keep them fighting...too many marines teams will give up mentally if the alien team shows any resitance at all. if you hear any "omg we're **obscenity**" or "**obscenity** lets just give up, we cant fight fades without hmg/ha" then you need to show them and tell them whatever they need to hear and see to regrow some balls and regain some faith, and keep attacking!
remember...NEVER TURTLE. never LET your team turtle. a turtling marine team loses. always be attacking something! that's not to say, of course, that there is never a situation where a couple of your marines should hole up in a base somewhere to keep it from being overrun, but it should never be a team affair. if you arent attacking something somewhere, you are on the losing side. even if they get three hives and are coming at your base with onos, dont turtle. mount up the best assault squad you can and move out on a hive. if you take it out, it wont even matter if you lose your main base. move the CC and portals there and move on the next one. if you dont, you lose, but its the only chance you'll have! let your team know that turtling=loss...dont just tell them, MAKE them KNOW it!
lastly, if your comm is a noob, help him out. if you see that he is not getting done what needs to be done, you may have to walk him through things. tell him EXACTLY where buildings need to be placed, and which. tell him wheihc upgrades are needed, and when. if he really, truly doesnt have a clue, vote him out. otherwise, leave him to do his job.
imo, a good field leader is one of the most important roles a marine team needs. even if your commander is uber, you can do a lot of good, but for any commander short of a virtuoso, you are what wins the match. a marine commander is a very busy player. many times, he will be performing a delicate balancing act of taking care of marines all over the map with medkits, gear, ammo, and waypoints, and building up expansions in perhaps two or even three places at a time, all the while trying to get everything upgraded as fast as possible. this doesnt leave most commanders much time to worry about tactics and keeping the marines organized and on task. this is where you come in. it's your job to know what is going on and what needs doing at all times, and to let both the commander and other marines know what to do and where. it's your job to keep everyone on task and everything in working order. most of the time, it will be you that sets the tactics, and your orders that will win or lose the game. a field officer needs to have a firm grasp of tactics, the ability to think quickly and make multiple decisions at once, and last but certainly not least: the presence to make his team listen to him: you are nothing if your team doesnt listen.
let your team know that they are not to wait around at base for any reason. if there are weapons already on the ground, they can pick them up as you move out. if there are none, tell them to MOVE OUT WITHOUT THEM and do what they can to help. many marines dont know this, but YOUR LMG ACTUALLY DOES HURT ALIENS!!!! if two unupgraded marines empty their lmg clips even decently accurately into a fade, THAT FADE WILL DIE. repeat: YOU DO NOT NEED AN HMG OR EVEN A SHOTTY TO KILL FADES. you spawn for free. a fade costs 44 resources. a swarm of unupgraded grunts through a phasegate WILL take down whatever fades they have, if you rush them...and your team loses no resources when you die. in this, you really need to lead your team by example. make a point of always being in the thick of the action, and call your team to you...they will follow.
not quite the same as the first one, but close: keep your marines OFF the commander's back about gear! MAKE them KNOW that the commander's first duty is to build and support marines IN THE FIELD, NOT to baby them at base with gear! if the commander himself is having to explain to the marines that he is too busy to drop gear <i>right this second</i>, then he is not able to do what he needs to be! truth be told, a good marine team really doesnt NEED a lot of heavy weaponry most of the time. it's a bonus, and make sure your team knows that.
always remind your commander and the rest of your team that hives are top priority, and that people need to move in groups. i cant tell you how much it helps, just to tell people that at the beginning of games. the first thing i do upon entering any public game is type "remember everyone, hives are first priority...take them first, and make sure you move in groups". if they dont catch it the first time, repeat it a couple times, and more often than not, most of the marines will play well.
i cant stress enough how well actually using the "follow me" command near other marines works. there must be something magical about seeing that ! go up over your head and hearing "this way" that makes marines want to shout "SIR YES SIR" and follow you to wherever you want to go. it works infinitely better than spamming "form up at base for attack". just find some marines and spam the "follow me" at them, and move out.
try your best to keep morale up if the game is going poorly. let your team know when they do something right, encourage them, make them laugh, whatever. you have to be your team's freaking William Wallace...keep their spirits up! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->. you need to rile them up and keep them fighting...too many marines teams will give up mentally if the alien team shows any resitance at all. if you hear any "omg we're **obscenity**" or "**obscenity** lets just give up, we cant fight fades without hmg/ha" then you need to show them and tell them whatever they need to hear and see to regrow some balls and regain some faith, and keep attacking!
remember...NEVER TURTLE. never LET your team turtle. a turtling marine team loses. always be attacking something! that's not to say, of course, that there is never a situation where a couple of your marines should hole up in a base somewhere to keep it from being overrun, but it should never be a team affair. if you arent attacking something somewhere, you are on the losing side. even if they get three hives and are coming at your base with onos, dont turtle. mount up the best assault squad you can and move out on a hive. if you take it out, it wont even matter if you lose your main base. move the CC and portals there and move on the next one. if you dont, you lose, but its the only chance you'll have! let your team know that turtling=loss...dont just tell them, MAKE them KNOW it!
lastly, if your comm is a noob, help him out. if you see that he is not getting done what needs to be done, you may have to walk him through things. tell him EXACTLY where buildings need to be placed, and which. tell him wheihc upgrades are needed, and when. if he really, truly doesnt have a clue, vote him out. otherwise, leave him to do his job.
Comments
If only my voice-comm didn't come through so quietly.
<b>Excellently written... </b> Especially the part about "LMGs actually damage an alien". I love my LMG. It's cheap, it fires fast, it reloads quickly, and I feel absolutely no guilt dying with one. Dying with an HMG, though... <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
I'd love to play on a team with so many of you people who post here.
*thumbs up*
Another tip on voice comm. Talk as if you know what you are doing, it helps morale.
I usually play kharaa (Skulkie McSkulker), so I usually know how most marines think, which also makes for a great field commander.
A very important note is that if they don't want you to help out, stop. Don't keep giving suggestions if they don't want them, let them learn the hard way ;-)
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Yeah I do this pretty often. It really sucks when everyone on your team cant use voicecomm. Usually I talk to my team using there name and everything works out great. I suggest and ask nicely now to and the Commander usually spoils me with goodies.
i was playing eclipse the other day, we had 2 hives captured, i'm trying to siege the last hive and a few people kept asking for hmg/ha.........what good is this? its only against skulks and lerks.
scary thing was a vote to eject actually started, good thing the majority didnt eject me, so we won it.
hehe
jus that when money is low.. and u wanna gear some uber guy wif 1337 equipment cuz he can make a difference.. u dun want n00b marines killing themsleves and wasting those valuable 2 RPs <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
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Spawning only costs rp's when in tourny mode
Another tip on voice comm. Talk as if you know what you are doing, it helps morale.
I usually play kharaa (Skulkie McSkulker), so I usually know how most marines think, which also makes for a great field commander.
A very important note is that if they don't want you to help out, stop. Don't keep giving suggestions if they don't want them, let them learn the hard way ;-)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Do you or did you used to play as "Flanky McFlanker" on Counterstrike ?
The singlemost greatest tool is the voice comm.
I learned this way back in my CS days - you can type stuff all day into teamsay. You can mash down those premade voice commands. But communicating with the voice comm is better by ten fold. Typing only gets you so far, but even a few words in the voice will get much better results.
Being in the thick of it adds credibility to it. Granted, you need to know how to survive too.
You have to be a good soldier.
You have to be a veteran, and you have to know all the maps and their quirks. You have to know how the aliens think.