[LoPo]

Thought this was pretty informative, especially for the n00bs.

http://www.forumplanet.com/planetbat...19&tid=1698608

Why form a squad?
1. To rule the battlefield. Plain and simple, a 4-6 person diverse squad can simply dominate almost any given situtation.
2. To be able to request supplies / UAV from commander
3. To recieve instructions from your commander like defending a flag you just spawned at because he sees enemies about to take it over.
4. To be able to communicate over VOIP with your squadmates
5. To have a moveable spawn point that allows you to get into the action a lot quicker.
6. To NEVER die. I've been lucky enough to be in a few matches with a full 6 person squad with 2-3 medics and several people finished the round with ZERO deaths.

Squad Leader 101
As a squad leader, you should be directing your squad and also staying alive so your squad can continue to spawn on you. This means hanging on the fringe of a firefight / flag cap and not being the first person in. See how it goes and then go in at the end of the fight. Wish you had more points? Easy. Be a support person who hands out ammo or medic who heals.

Squad leaders should:
1. Always spawn at the front lines.
2. Never ride in a 2-person vehicle. You are NOT a spawn point when this happens.
3. Constantly update your squad on next objective. Large squads will get seperated on occasion. You owe it to the ones that are stragglers to let them know where to meet up with you at.
4. Kick players who are not spawning on you or going as one with the squad.
5. Request UAV overflights on flags you're approaching.
6. Recruit players (through manage squad console) to keep squad at maximum strength.
7. Request supply drops to re-arm your squad (if no support person)
8. If you don't want to be the squad leader, just leave & rejoin the squad. Let someone else do it then.

Squaddies 101
As a squad member, your responsibility is to stick with your squad. Plain and simple. Power is in numbers. Not only can you take flags so much faster, but with the right mix, a squad can completely dominate whatever is thrown at it.

Squad Members should:
1. Always spawn on your squad leader when you can.
2. If you are a medic, keep your squad leader alive at all costs. You lose him, you lose your spawn.
3. Look at the mix of your squad and use a kit that will benefit the squad the most. You don't want 6 medics running around. Pick something that will compliment the squad. Every squad should have 1-2 AT to take out armor and helos. Also - it is not surprising to see a support person rack up more points than any other person b/c they
can resupply five others on a continual basis.

Other squad functions
As stated in the beginning, lone wolf (spec ops / sniper) or 2-person chopper / tank squads also have a lot of benefits.

For the lone wolf, you need to be in a squad to request re-supply (the spec ops operating behind enemy lines to get more C4 or sniper guarding 1-3 flags who needs more ammo).

Small squads should:
1. LOCK YOUR SQUAD. If you want to be lone wolf/2-person crew, lock your squad. This basically tells others you're fine with what you have and you really don't want anyone else joining.
2. Respond to the commanders orders as long as it's reasonable. Many times, a commander will do a scan and see that someone is sneaking behind enemy lines. You may have just spawned and not realized that someone is about to cap that flag.

Final thoughts
BF2 has a tremendous amount of potential for squad-based play. The VOIP that is limited to squads, the ability for squad leaders to request things from the commanders, the moveable spawn all enhance the on-line game experience.

While not specific to squads, the commander role really only works when you have squads. It is impossible for a commander to tell people to defend a flag that the enemy is approaching unless they are in a squad. They can also tell you that a flag is currently clear and should be taken easily. Also, the commander can really only respond to squad leaders effectively. If you're not a squad leader, requesting supplies is nearly impossible.