Should there be Fire Teams within the BF3 Squad?

[sfscriv]

... Originally posted in the EA UK Forum in early 2011

Quote from Robert-Peters77

I like the fireteam leader idea. But how could it be implemented without encroaching on the abilities of the squad leader, or making each other unnecessary?

Initially, I was very disappointed with the reduction from BF2/BF2142 6-man squad to the BFBC2 4-man squad. I, actually, like the concept of 4-man groups better, depending on how it would be implemented.

Of course, the number of players in a squad will depend on the capacity of players on the server/map. For the PC, will it be 32, 64, or greater?

In real-life, the squad composition numbers 8 to 13 soldiers. With 9 soldiers, a squad leader and two fire teams of four (fire team leader and three soldiers). The squad numbers in real-life generally do not exceed a 13-man squad which is two 6-man fire teams.

I would like to see BF3 with two 4-man groups (fire teams) led by a squad leader.



The commander should be able to talk to squad leaders and they should be able to talk to him. Just as important the squad leaders should be able to "cross talk" to each other on the same channel. Then you would have squad leaders working/supporting each other and coordinating their movements and actions. While the commander could monitor and guide activities.

Then the squad leader would be talking to two fire team leaders and the commander instead of five squad members and a commander.

On a Movement-to-Contact operation against an unknown enemy size and disposition, one fire team generally lays down a base of fire and the other fire team maneuvers. This, of course, depends of the size of the enemy force.

What are the functions of a squad leader in Battlefield gaming? Answer: Make decisions for the squad, maneuver the squad, receive plan/orders from the commander, and coordinate support.

The squad leader should not be the player out in front of his group. He should be laying back a bit to: assess the enemy disposition, provide guidance to squad members, request support from the commander, and act a mobile spawn point to keep the pressure on the opposition.

I believe the squad leader himself should be a spawn point and the squad leader should be able to designate a spawn point that he can be easily re-designated. Similar to BF2142 "deployable spawn point" without flying in a "skypod" and similar to the earlier version of the Project Reality mod, but easily moved when the squad leader wants to shift the spawn point forward. If the deployable spawn point is destroyed by the enemy, there is a time penalty before the function again becomes available to the squad leader.

Have the Squad Leader and Sniper with the ability to call in Fire Support/Indirect Fire and Commander controls/approves. This would reduce indirect fire frequency and increase teamwork. Fire Support could also include aviation Close Air Support (CAS) with a request approved by the commander and a temporary CAS communication channels opens up for the squad leader/sniper to talk directly with the jet/helio supporting the attack.

I think this Fire Team concept is the type higher level operational complexity that is needed for BF3 without getting too complex like ArmA 2. Here is how I view the different military tactical FPS games:



Understanding that everyone has their own opinion. The above chart is the author's "Desired BF3 Zone."

The Fire Team Leaders would fight the close-in fighting and direct their Fire Team Members while the Squad Leader provide guidance to the Fire Team Leaders, coordinated his squads efforts with the other squad leaders, laid back to act as a mobile spawn point, coordinate Close Air Support (CAS), painted the picture of the enemy situation to the commander, and request commander asset support.

"Yes" to the following squad features for BF3:

- Integrated Squads
- Squad Leaders (SL)
- Name the Squad
- Toggle VoIP encouraged within the squad
- Toggle language used in squad (French, Russian, Spanish)
- Toggle the function of the squad
o.. Transport
o.. Armor
o.. Sniper
o.. Aircraft
- SL only spawn
- SL deployable spawn
- SL issue orders with Commo Rose & big map interface
- SL has ability to view the orders of other squads
- SL ability to request support
- SL & Sniper request Fire Support (Arty & CAS) with Commander approval
- Two channel VoIP with squad internal and channel to communicate with commander and other squad leaders
- Ability to mute other players
- Ability to kick from squad
- Ability to lock squad
- Status management (Health, Ammo, Repair) depicted
o.. Individual player
o.. Individual vehicle
o.. Overall squad

[pershainovitsh]

This would be a very good idea. I can't say much else. It would require quite a few teamwork-oriented players for to succeed, though. Eight people who would obey their fireteam leader, two people who would like to lead four people and take orders from a squad leader, and one to lead them all. Have seven squads and a commander, and you have 64 players per side. The maps would need to be big for this.

I wouldn't like squad leader spawning in this squad system or in any other. It's simply unrealistic, the squad/fireteam leader would likely hide somewhere instead of leading his troops, and it's horribly annoying to see four people appear right before your eyes while you are shooting at their leader. Voice chat between fireteam leaders within a squad, between fireteam leaders and squad leaders and between squad leaders and the commander would be essential. Positional VoIP is also something very important, like if you get lost and join another squad before you meet up with your own.