MAG FAQ - Squad Leader and OIC Guide For Newbies

[XShava]

Napattu täältä:

http://community.eu.playstation.com/...s/td-p/9135520





All credit goes to Chaotic_Renegade from the American Beta forums



If you have any questions I will try to help as I am usually a squad leader







IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR ALL SQUAD LEADERS:



LISTEN TO YOUR PLATOON LEADERS:



1) Even when you think they have not chosen the best course of action.

2) Even if you think you are smarter.

3) If you dont like taking orders then apply for leadership.

4) It makes the game more fun and realistic.

5) If you disagree with the platoon leader begin the order and then advise the platoon leader against that course of action.

6) If he/she disagrees and remains on task then follow his/her orders anyways.

7) remember a united platoon is ALWAYS better than a divided one



To Issue Frago commands:



1) Hit select to goto your Tactical map.



2) As you look around your tac. map you will see blue dots (those are people in your PMC) blue triangles (those are the people in your squad) red dots (enemy troops) red vehicles (enemy) and red squares with different icons in them (these are things like enemy bunkers, aa guns etc...) these are what you want to set the objective on.



3) in order to actually set an objective you choose a vehicle or an enemy structure. then move ur cursor over what ever you decide on, and hit X.



4) you have now set an objective and will get frago points for kills and other objective related things.



To use special abilities:



1) pull up your tac. map (hit select)



2) hit R1, this will bring up your specials. pick the ability you want (mortor or guided missle). choose a target just like you do to set an objective. then hit X on your target. (REMEBER you can kill your own team with specials, so be careful and make sure you weigh the gains with the risk before you launch a mortar in a hvy fighting area.)



3) there are no specials in sabotage.



How to communicate with your platoon leader:



1) to communicate with your platoon leader hit up on the D-pad and hold it



2) choose the platoon channel.



3) talk...if you die sometimes you have to reset the channel.



4) your squad can not hear you when you are in platoon channel.



5) other squad leaders can hear you as well on this channel.





What happens when you do this:



Attacking:

Bunker: if you kill a bunker then you just deystroyed an enemy forward spawn.



Mortor: you just killed the other squad leaders ability to call in a mortor strike



AA GUN: you just enabled yourforward air spawn (paratroopers and helo insertion).



Motor Pool: you have disabled respawn for the defenders vehicles.



Sensor array: I think you disabled a platoon leaders sensor sweep. (not 100% on this one)



Gate: you took out the front door.



Road Block: pretty obvious.



DEFENDING:



Reapair: you can tell your squad to repair any destroyed building (gates and roadblocks included).



Defend: you can tell your squad to defend anywhere.



Destroy that vehicle: you take out the attackers forward spawn on the ground.

Message Edited by T9X-69 on 24-09-2009 11:22 PM

[XShava]

Officer In Charge (OIC) - Tips




Communication is KEY! If you do not have a headset or are afraid to get on the mic and communicate do no apply for the position. As a OIC you run an entire 128 man army. Let us know what you see and what you want the platoon leaders to be doing. At all times you MUST communicate with this role.


Use your Command Abilities! In my second game in domination today I had to tell my OIC to use his abilities. He sat there for 10min into the match without using a single one. Also let people know when you use an ability. For example, when you recharge the airstrikes let the leaders know that they are recharged.


Address who you are speaking to! Do not sit there all match and say "The APC's are moving up, take them out". Hello, there are 4 platoons with apc's! Unless yall can read minds how do we know who you are talking to? Also do not just talk to your assigned platoon the entire game. If you want to do that there is a position called "Platoon Leader".


The Tac Map is your friend! As a OIC you need to keep your eyes open for weakspots on your teams defense or the enemy's offense. You should be the first to know if key points go down and instruct your team to get them repaired asap. Your eyes should be on this map more than they should be on the battlefield.


Strategy! Get in the company chat channels and talk with the other Platoon Leaders. Find out why they are being pushed back so fast and find a way to fix it. Your the OIC you call the shots you are to blame for a loss, no one else. Let everyone know the gameplan and execute it.


Moral! So your team is pushed all the way back to the control points. Now is not the time for you to get on the mic and start dropping F bombs at everyone. Your troops will fight hard for a leader they can believe in. Just like in real life we need encouragement to bring the best out in us.


Fight! As a OIC sure your in charge but you need to get out there and fight as well. Did you know that you regenerate the health of squadmates and vehicles you are in? That's right, if you sat in a APC all map it is virtually invincible. So get out there on the front lines with the grunts.




OIC Abilities Guide

Satellite Sweep:













Calls in satellite surveillance, revealing all enemy locations on the map. Everyone on your entire team will be able to see enemy locations for the duration of the sweep as red blimps on the radar.



Comms Jamming:














Jams enemy communications, making radio chat intermittent. The enemy team will not be able to cycle through their radio chat channels. Static will also come through enemy headsets.



Signals Jamming:














Jams enemy command network, blocking enemy TCM and CNI abilities. The enemy will not be able to call in airstrikes, or UAV's regardless if your anti air defense is online or offline for the duration of this ability. Also the enemy will not be able to navigate through voice chat channels.



Rapid Redeploy/Barricade:














If you are on offense as a OIC this will increase the enemies respawn time to 29 seconds. If you are on defense as a OIC this will decrease your teams respawn time to 9 seconds. This ability only lasts for a short amount of time as well.



Tactical Strike:














Refreshes all friendly forces tactical strike cool down times. All squad/platoon leaders will have airstrikes refreshed for use soon as you press the button. Make sure you let your team know in advance to use everything they got before you refresh!



Tactical Map Layout





The Tactical Map goes CLOCKWISE so you should know where the platoons are on the map at all times!

[XShava]

LEADERSHIP
Leadership is learned from experience, a lot of trial and error. Official leadership positions such as SL, PL, and OIC only offer you more communication options and several area of effect attacks. It doesn't mean you are an effective leader by any means. A successful leader doesn't even have to be a squad leader, just somebody that can direct the unguided troops in a squad to something more effective. This is where my guide comes in as a self help guide to stay on task and complete the objective in the absence of a leader, or in the presence of bad leadership. If you default to the guide I made you can help your team much more than following bad commands.


The heart and soul of leadership comes from commanding your own 8 man squad. I also set up the strategy guide in such a way that if everybody reads it then plays according to the guidelines I set forth the leadership roles are put to the sidelines because each individual player is functioning at their full effeciency, doing something useful for the squad/platoon/company.



An effective leader will remind a squad/platoon about what they should be doing. For example, if the bunker lines are all destroyed, the leader should remind all squads/squad members to search and kill any and all survivors on the defensive line to prevent them from repairing their bunkers, then to move on if it is clear.



Leadership isn't simply telling people that they are doing a good job etc, that is nice to hear but doesn't make that person a leader at all. A leader will redirect ineffective squad members/squads/platoons to something that is effective and will complete the mission. If everybody is already doing a good job without the leader saying anything then the leader isn't needed because you are working with elite troops.



There are a few things a leader can try to do but most of these attempts at controlling the entire platoon/company should be done in the beginning of the game to create shock and awe. For example, on Sabotage I was platoon leader of the attacking team and was able to get roughly 3/4 (21/28 players) of the company to all spawn on the spawn point going towards objective A in a blitzkrieg knowing that the typical 2 squads would be there to meet us. We were able to over run objective A and capture it, leaving 1 squad on Objective A, the next phase was to have the other squads to move towards Objective B from the flank while the last squad that didn't listen was struggling against two defending squads in the front. We were able to take Ojbective B and was barely able to unlock C before A was overrun. There was so much time after that to get C that we won a landslide victory.



Plans like this should be devised to make the game more interesting, and to throw the enemy completely off balance. Sabotage is one of the only modes that I can think of that can accomodotate this type of plan quickly and easily because there are only 2 spawn points.


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COMMANDO updated 10/15/09 video links below




Here is an example of a good Commando run, watch and take notes. All matches are recorded in 720p HD Enjoy!



Part 1 : YouTube - MAG Beta - Commando run on Domination mode Part 1



Part 2 : YouTube - MAG Beta - Commando run on Domination mode Part 2


MAG offers one of the greatest opportunities in online gaming to engage in commando infiltration and sabotage of the enemy defensive compound. This is also one of the most lucrative ways to make EXP all by yourself! But the risks and rewards are fairly balanced out. First I will outline the risks and the rewards, this will help you, the reader see if this is the right thing for you. This will also allow those who hate when people go on commando runs or do not understand it, realize what is going on and why it is an acceptable playstyle (play however you like it is a game!).
RISKS
You are alone 99% of the time
It is not always easy to get through the enemy's front lines without dying (several times, and for the new commandos, MANY times)
If you engage in combat with anybody while behind enemy lines, regardless of whether you kill him in combat you will be hunted down and over run, it will just be a matter of time.
Any future commando infiltrations in that same match will be met with more resistance and possibly defending players waiting for you.
REWARDS
Provides the best solo-troop experience once you are behind enemy lines sabotaging their infrastructure.
Provides you with some of the BEST game play experience, the rush of andrenaline while you are sneaking behind enemy lines makes for great stories of achievements, and failure!
Teaches you infiltration skills which will be useful for when you are on the defending team. Some of the best infiltrators make the best defensive players with their specialized knowledge.
Teaches you discipline in not simply killing everybody you encounter as it produces disastrous effects on your commando infiltration.
Having laid out the basic principles of commando infiltration playstyle. The reason that this playstyle is beneficial to the team as a whole is that once you are passed the enemy front lines, you can begin your attack at nearly any point of their infrastructure. This initiative in combat puts you in charge of setting the pace of what will be your eventual death. When you set that first demo charge, you have to keep in mind that YOU have now set the defensive team in motion against you. The enemy will be aware of the flashing infrastructure, go ahead, plant another charge somewhere else. Now the entire enemy team notices two things flashing. Since squads can only talk within each other, you may gain the attention of anywhere between 1-5 players who will all, by their own process of deduction try to intercept you before you arrive at your next destination.
Look at everything that I just mentioned and break it down, one commando on the attacking team getting the attention of 1-5 defending players who now have to go BACKWARDS (no longer defending the front line objectives/bunkers) and track down a single player in an undetermined location. This is great effeciency! Now is the hard part. Once you notice people running around the previously abandoned compound, you have to ask yourself how to stay alive for as long as possible, and destroy as much infrastructure as possible? Simple, do NOT engage in combat with any of the defending players investigating your whereabouts.
Do not mistaken "do not engage" with "do not fight". The difference is simple, if you think the enemy saw you DO NOT FIRE, either get behind cover, lay down quickly, or otherwise remove yourself from getting any more attention from that player. If the enemy did NOT FIRE at you then your cover isn't officially blown, trust me on this. It is a test of your nerves and has got me by MANY insane situations in which I believe the enemy saw me. While you are avoiding further detection from the enemy you thought had seen you, keep your gun aimed at him (if you couldn't go behind cover, always try to hide in this situation!) If the enemy keeps moving along and seems to otherwise not care about you, or perhaps not even see you then lower your weapon and continue on your infiltration. The situation is completely different if at any point in time the enemy fires at you at ALL. Two basic strategies are if the enemy is a LONG distance from you and you are wearing light armor and you have both sprinting skills unlocked then I would suggest that you run away from the enemy, make a reasonable distance between you guys then hide and listen for footsteps, if it is clear, continue infiltrating and sabotaging the base. If the enemy shoots at you in medium-close range then you almost have no choice but to shoot him since you can die within a matter of seconds. Once you killed the enemy you will have to spend a minute or two going as far away as possible while staying behind enemy lines so that the enemy loses any reference point of where you may possibily be.
Once you have spilled blood in the enemy compound, things change for the worse quickly. For every enemy you kill behind enemy lines, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a dedicated hunter tracking you down until they kill you. The next time you plant a demo charge on something you have much less time to run away as that will serve as your hunter's reference point to search for you. This is what I mean by "your eventual death" as an infiltrator. It is very difficult to go all game without running into a kill or be killed situation.
There is hope though. As I mentioned, if you are successful in planting numerous demo charges behind enemy lines, you will attract the enemy as I mentioned. However, if you can succesfully sneak around and not kill ANYBODY (and not die yourself) then what you will end up doing is the opposite effect of killing somebody looking for you. You will frustrate the enemy search party. You can rely on your average player psychology that they started searching for you because it might be easy to find a single person running around blowing things up. If you make yourself impossible to find by adopting an ultra conservative method of sabotaging once every minute, or minute and a half, the average player will lose interest in you and move back to the front lines. Keep in mind that this is just for the average player psychology, it is VERY possible that you have attracted the attention of a commando infiltrator that is playing on defense in the current game. This player WILL NOT stop until you die because this is FUN for him, he won't get bored doing this. Most commando infiltrators are not as interested in front line warfare as they are with the action behind enemy lines, he will be your nemesis for this match, guaranteed. This is good since it keeps both you and your nemesis trained at the highest level of competition possible. It is amazing that we can enjoy small scale skirmishes that test patience and stealth, rather than all out brute force and enjoy the polar opposite, all in the same match!
Another technique is to infiltration is to sabotage a several things at once, then go dormant for 2 minutes, keep scouting for enemy search teams, and go for another big run, then go dormant again, rinse repeat. Playing as a commando in MAG has so many different approaches to it that it is hard to list them all here, but these basic concepts for one of the most advanced forms of combat (1 against X) should get you started on a path that you might never turn back from!

[XShava]

MEDIC
This is one of the most overlooked support roles available in MAG. The requirements to technically be a medic is the Medical Kit gear unlock which costs 2 points. Once you unlocked the Medical Kit be sure to go to the Armory screen and include the Medical Kit in your load out. The medical kit is 1,000 CC so it won't limit you terribly on what else you can include in your load out but when you decide to use a repair kit you will feel the bite on your primary weapon choices, as well as your armor choices, more on this later.
To be the most effective medic possible it is absolutely required to have a mic when you are playing. The first thing you need to do is introduce yourself to the squad as a medic. Let them know that you will communicate with your squad and let them know when it is possible and not possible for you to resuscitate them when needed. Just remember that as a medic, you will have to realize that at this stage in the game people will still bleed out immediately because they don't believe medics exist (kinda like Santa and the Easter Bunny). Patience is very important if you want to be known as a medic beyond this game and build a reputation. You will have to continuously assure those who bleed out that you will resuscitate them when you say that you will. Do not forget that if a squad member has a mic and asks if you can resuscitate him, you need to respond and let him know whether you can or not so he can bleed out. If you screw up and make a promise to resuscitate but for some reason forget to do it, apologize to the squad member so he doesn't start automatically bleeding out. An apology goes a long way and will often be met with a kind response and understanding from the player. Most people do not expect an apology so remember this.
The actual duties you will perform will be high risk resuscitations to your run of the mill healing. The best position on the map as a medic is near your squad members in the rear of them. If you concentrate on fighting alongside your squadmates, you won't be able to focus on healing them and keep them in the fight. If a squad member gets taken down, attempt to get him back in the fight asap. Before resuscitating your squadmate the important thing to watch out for is explosions, incoming fire, and any threats that may cause you to die immediately after resuscitating your squadmate. If you are the last man standing and you have an opportunity to resuscitate a member while you are taking fire, go for it. The reasoning behind this suicidal move is that, although it will most likely result in your death, the chances of your squadmate killing the enemy is good since most people have a terrible habit of immediately reloading after a kill. If you can maintain safe minimum distance with your squad throughout the game and you remember that being a good medic is about communication then you will earn the experience you deserve performing your duty on the battlefield.
Back to the loadout as a medic. 1,000 cc will be spent on the medical kit alone, if you want to take the most advantage of being a support character you will want to pack a repair kit as well which will set you back another 1,000 cc. Looking at this setup and taking the bare minimums in mind you have a total of 3,000 cc spent with 400 cc left to spare (basic primary weapon 600cc, side arm 200cc, light armor 200cc, medical kit 1000cc, repair kit 1000cc). This full support setup is viable on both the attacking and defending teams. If you want your focus to be on support, then keep your weapon unmodified and use the remaining 400cc to upgrade to medium armor.
While playing on the defensive team you will be able to perform every support duty possible at maximum effeciency. The amount of points you gain for this non combat role is great considering you are the backbone of your teams infrastructure.
During the attacking campaign this dedicated support role is most effective while you are in control driving an APC. You are a mobile spawn point, capable of repairing your own APC and if a teammate is taken down, you can drive up to their body park alongside it using the APC as cover then revive them and hop back into your APC and continue on the attack.
This is a very satisfying position to play as and everybody should try it once.

**UPDATE** : If you are playing as a medic and you are guarding an objective, area, and you have a chance to revive another medic or shoot the player that killed him, I would always recommend reviving the medic first. This way you can increase your odds and rest assured that the medic you revived will revive you if you die. I can't count the number of times reviving first has got me the foothold on a tough to hold enemy position.


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RESPECing YOUR CHARACTER
This is a new feature introduced to us on the 9/17 beta build. This new feature allows you to respecify your character's skill points once you earn enough respec points. The respec points appear at the top of the Barracks > Skill window. The first respec opportunity is available once you earn 5,000 respec points. The next opportunity is available at a total of 10,000 respec points. If you make a mistake on your character's skill choice decision this feature is a great opportunity to fix these mistakes (sometimes make another mistake ;]) But for the sake of beta this feature is great feature to have. Once you are level 40 you can continue to play that character and accumulate respec points to give your character a new specialization.


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WHAT MAKES A GOOD SQUAD?




One good squad can make the difference between victory or defeat. One good squad can hold an objective longer than three inferior squads. One good squads can punch through the defense of an entire platoon. The key to this game is the proper management of each individual squad. What makes a good squad?



Each member of the squad understands and is on task performing the mission objective at hand.
Each member of the squad has the ability to revive one another.
Each member of the squad has microphones to keep contact with each other regarding the status of the objective.
Each member of the squad lets each other know who they are reviving. (Read the medic section above.)
Each member of the squad brings to the squad, their own dynamic way of performing the mission objective.

I will now explain what each point means in detail so you all can enjoy the benefits of being a integral part of YOUR squad.



Each member of the squad is required to understand the objective. If you have a microphone (as you should) and you are not sure whether or not your squad knows the objective, you must take the initiative and explain to the entire squad what the objective is. If you see squadmates that are in a forest far away from the objective, let them know specifically by calling out there name and telling them where they should be. You have to assume, unless you already know them, that they are new and do not yet understand what the objective(s) are. Try your best to guide these players. Educating players to what the objectives are is crucial for your team to succeed. The experience benefits for staying on task are more than worth it. The true reward is that you are playing as a cohesive unit.



Each member of the squad must have revive in order to be a "good squad." A good squad is hard to kill, not because they are good at shooting, but because they are difficult to KEEP down once you do manage to wound a player. A good squad always makes sure that each and every squad member and those around them are at 100% health at ALL times. Reviving another player as soon as they get taken down is another sign of a good squad. A good squad will easily break the morale of enemy players attempting to take you on if you show them you have the will, as a group to maintain an area with extreme effeciency, reviving one another regardless of the fighting going on.



Each member of the squad needs a microphone. You need a microphone to let your squad know what you see, what killed you, and what is about to kill them. You also need a microphone to let your squad medics know where you are, if enemies are near your body, and how close you are to dying. Conversely, since you would be a medic (as you should) you need a microphone to let your squadmates know where you are, if you can make it to them, and to ask them what dangers they should expect when they revive you. A microphone is also required to make dynamic plans and spur of the moment decisions as a group. You also need microphones to keep everybody on task at the objective.



Each member of the squad brings with them a different background and set of skills, and weapon(s) of choice. For example, if you are playing defense on Sabotage and you ARE the sniper on the squad. You can still have the fun you have playing as sniper, but if you want to help your squad that is all assault and at the objective, you can position yourself in such a way that you have a clear shot at the entry points into the objective. This way you ONLY shot at players going to the objective entry, and bring less attention to yourself. Most importantly you would be assisting your squad while you are using the weapons/tactics of choice. If you prefer to use AP mines, let everybody know that you have them and where they are planted, all this will culminate into a victory, most of the time, a land slide victory for your team.