Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

LEADER'S GUIDE

Leader's Guide for the Orbital Strike Force.

Guidebook series 1 : 02 v 2.1.0

"With great power comes great responsibility." -Uncle Ben

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

Introduction This handbook is a collection of methods, tactics, communication, the theory of leading and suggested

squad behaviour. It is designed for those who are relatively new to leading, but also for those who have

quite a lot of experience and want to improve their skills.

You don't need to read straight through from start to beginning since this will be quite a lot of text. Just

pick what you are interested in or read some passages and then try them out.

This guide is divided into seven sections and the appendix.

The first part will give you some details about the theory behind the leading. It will cover your behaviour,

what it actually means leading some people from different countries during their spare free-time and

shine a light on things you might never have thought of before. It is relevant for both squad and platoon

leaders.

The second part covers practical squad leading. It will tell you some ingame-tips about setting up a

squad, basic squad behaviour, squad-composition and they way ORBS runs their squads.

The third part covers some basic tactics and important tips about effectively leading a squad. If you

already know the basics, you should have a look into this one.

The fourth part is about Communication standards, setting up your comms correctly and getting the

most out of Teamspeak.

The fifth part covers the ACS as a framework for advanced squad- and platoon leading. You should know

the basics and have some experience before starting to implement most of the things in the ACS, but

having a quick look into it doesn't hurt you even if you're new.

The sixths part teaches you how to properly use your map, whether you're squad or platoon lead.

The sevenths and last part is about platoon leading. You don't need to know everything else in this guide

to be a successful platoon leader, but having experience as SL and the outfit standards is advised.

In the appendix you will find some useful tactics, concepts and tables.

Do not take this guide as a solution to all your problems, it still requires a working brain. Apply what you

need when you need it, and modify it as you see fit.

The guide was created by searching through forums, discussion and of course my own experiences,

especially from mentoring in the Leaders Ops. But it is in no way the work of a single mind, and I'm

always open for suggestions.

-gustav1101, July 2014

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

Table of contents 1. Theory ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.1. What leading means ............................................................................................................ 1

1.2. Morale and dealing with those under your command ............................................................ 1

1.3. Micromanagement .............................................................................................................. 4

1.4. Enabling an effective squad ................................................................................................. 4

1.5. Advancing from member to squad leader /platoon leader .................................................... 4

1.6. Making mistakes ................................................................................................................. 5

1.7. Applying real military strategy and tactics to PS2 ................................................................. 5

1.8. Public or Organised Platoon? .............................................................................................. 6

1.9. Representation ................................................................................................................... 6

1.10. Recruitment .................................................................................................................... 7

2. Squad leading - Tips for the battlefield ........................................................................................ 7

2.1. The Basics .......................................................................................................................... 7

2.2. Leadership certification points ............................................................................................ 8

2.3. Squad composition ............................................................................................................. 9

2.4. Squad cohesion .................................................................................................................. 9

2.5. Time management .............................................................................................................. 9

2.6. Leading a public squad ..................................................................................................... 10

3. Basic tactics ............................................................................................................................. 11

3.1. General tips and guidelines ............................................................................................... 11

3.2. Vital spots and positioning ................................................................................................ 11

3.3. Attacking a base / area ..................................................................................................... 12

3.4. Defending a base / area .................................................................................................... 13

3.5. Tactical Micromanagement ............................................................................................... 14

3.6. Use uncommon Approaches .............................................................................................. 14

3.7. Fire discipline ................................................................................................................... 15

3.8. What else is there to learn ................................................................................................. 15

4. Communication ........................................................................................................................ 15

4.1. Setup on Teamspeak ......................................................................................................... 15

4.2. Radio discipline ................................................................................................................ 16

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

4.3. Communication within the platoon .................................................................................... 16

4.4. The ingame command channel .......................................................................................... 16

5. The Advanced Combat Standard (ACS) ...................................................................................... 17

5.1. The concept ...................................................................................................................... 17

5.2. Communication Standards ................................................................................................ 17

5.3. Fire teams ......................................................................................................................... 17

5.4. Drills ................................................................................................................................. 18

5.5. Building and object names ................................................................................................ 19

6. Reading the map ...................................................................................................................... 19

6.1. Map tools and configuration .............................................................................................. 19

6.2. Using the map ................................................................................................................... 21

7. Platoon leading ........................................................................................................................ 24

7.1. Duties of a Platoon Leader ................................................................................................. 24

7.2. Communication ................................................................................................................ 25

7.3. Basic Skills and Tactics ..................................................................................................... 25

7.4. The Commander ................................................................................................................ 26

7.5. Inter-Outfit cooperation ..................................................................................................... 26

8. Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 27

8.1. Squad layouts ................................................................................................................... 27

8.2. Crosstalk TS setup (Command) .......................................................................................... 27

8.3. Tactics .............................................................................................................................. 28

8.4. ACS Communication standard ........................................................................................... 30

8.5. Chat commands ................................................................................................................ 30

8.6. Setup on Teamspeak ......................................................................................................... 31

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

1

You shouldn't go as far as

Drillsergeant Hartman, but

make sure people follow your

command.

1. Theory

1.1. What leading means When asking experienced leaders how to lead a squad, you will most likely get as many answers as you

asked people. Some leaders are taking their job very serious, expecting a lot and achieving a lot, others

only maintain a very basic form of organization and just want to have fun. Both points are valid, and

there are many more in between. Of course, this guide focuses heavily on those who actually want to

achieve something with their squads / platoons.

You have much freedom in how you do your job as long as you follow the outfit rules, behave maturely

and do what is necessary. Remember that you are a representative of the outfit more than normal

members and that you are still playing with human beings. There is no need to think that you are

superior to others, you just have a different job and that requires some rights that others don't have.

1.2. Morale and dealing with those under your command A major issue is the morale or mood in your squad /

platoon. Always remember it's actual people you are playing

with, not some bots you can order around. So how do you

get them to follow you?

1.2.1. Be dominant

Losing dominance is probably the worst thing that may

happen to a Leader of any rank. If this happens you will

probably need to delegate the job to someone else as

regaining their confidence in you is very hard. So don't get

there in first place.

Make sure they know you are their commander. Once you

gave an order, it needs to be executed, so saying no from

time to time will be necessary. If you order them to pull vehicles and someone says "I'll go as max",

then you need to stop him. As long as you stay the superior part of your squad, people will most of the

time not even notice when you made a mistake.

Always do what you order yourself and stick with it. It will show the others what you expect of them. (Of

course, there are necessary exceptions like placing beacons or quickly gathering intel, but after that you

should return to your squad.)

Since this is one of the most important parts of Leading all of the paragraphs in this chapter cover the

question on how to assume and keep control.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

2

1.2.2. Your orders & your voice

Don't let them talk over you, you shouldn't need to wait for some seconds of silence on the comms

before you can paste in your orders. Tell them to clear comms and actually command them (see Usage

of comms and disobedient members)!

Keep calm. Sometimes screaming at someone helps, but it shouldn't become a habit, and never do it to

inexperienced people who try at their best but just don't know better. Talking in a calm, friendly voice

achieves you more than being severe all the time. Don't be angry or aggressive while leading, people will

notice and this creates a negative mood.

Always be assertive. Sound confident about what you do - even if you aren't. If you don't, people will

naturally start to question your competence and may even start giving advises and orders themselves.

While most of them just want to help you doing so, it will certainly make it even harder for you as you lost

your dominance. This must never happen.

Don't justify yourself. This is a common mistake and many people do it subconsciously while giving

orders or when people start to complain. Justifying will let them think you were on the same level as they

are since someone who is superior doesn't need to justify himself - so just stop it. While you should tell

them what you're planning, you don't need to explain your whole plan.

Just remember that the voice and rigidity you give your commands with are very important and will have

a huge effect on how people follow you.

1.2.3. Work with them

The emphasis is on "with" here. Let people help you, gather ideas, don't be arrogant and think you

alone know what to do. Normally the SL has the best overview about the situation on the battlefield and

the plans you are trying to work on, but still listen to the others.

This may sound contrary to the previous paragraph. The trick here is about what you ask and what you let

it sound like. The question "Anyone knows what we should do next" will certainly not help your image of

a capable Squad leader, but gathering Intel on the other hand (like "Anyone knows where the entrance

points to this base are") or asking simple questions while keeping control ("If anyone has suggestions

about how to take out that armour zerg, speak up, otherwise we will retreat") will be less harmful. This of

course requires you to have a rough idea about what you want to do. If you don't, then redeploy

somewhere else.

Always tell people what you're up to and what you have in mind - if you have the time that is. (There's a

difference in telling them what your plan is and justifying yourself. Don't do the latter.)Let them know

there is a bigger plan and they are doing something important by fighting in your squad / platoon. The

great commander who gives orders without explaining them to surprise everyone in the end is for the

movies. The squad works more effective when everyone knows what to do, and besides from that they

might have some good ideas on how to accomplish the mission.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

3

1.2.4. Keep the moral up

"Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley."

-Sun Tsu, "The Art of War"

One of your responsibilities is to maintain a good mood in the squad as otherwise people will either start

leaving or complain aggressively against you.

Don't forget to give positive feedback if they accomplished something or fought for some time in a

difficult position. However, only do this if you actually mean it, because repeating the same phrase over

and over again and praising them for standing on the point in an empty base sounds as faked as it is.

If people start complaining (about how bad the current alert runs, how the PL uses the squads,

overpowered enemies and so on), it's not your job to join these voices (even if you share their opinions)

but to keep morale up and try to make it fun for them again. If all else fails, tell them to stop complaining

so the bad mood doesn't get multiplied. Also see Representation on this!

1.2.5. Avoiding the vacuum - Be present

To keep control people will need to know that you exist in first place. Never let them forget that you're

there and giving the commands. If you stop talking for some time, people will notice a vacuum where

their leader has been, and this is a quick way of losing dominance.

To avoid this, you need to make sure everyone knows where they have to be and what they have to do at

all times. You don't need to be constantly talking while nothing happens, but when the action starts, you

need to be there. Never let them forget that you exist!

1.2.6. Disobedient Members

Finally, if things get heated or people stop following orders (or don't even start to), warn them. If they

still don't obey, kick them. Following orders isn't limited to fighting at the right place but includes

switching classes or pulling /leaving vehicles and everything else you ordered them to do. Also

remember that not following the orders is against outfit-rules and might result in a ticket for them, so

report bad behaviour to an officer if you don't have the leaders rank in the outfit.

Don't let disobedient members stay in your squad (even if the squad is not full) since it might make

others think that not following orders is OK under your command. Even if it's almost everyone in the

squad you shouldn't be afraid of kicking them or merging those who follow into another squad and

disband the rest. If the whole squad doesn't work, disband it and search for the mistake you made, as it

was most probably yours.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

4

Doing it wrong: Piloting a vehicle

when in a leading position might save

your life, but it isn't your job

1.3. Micromanagement Micromanagement means taking care of things like squad composition, squad behaviour, fire teams,

weapon management, and so on. While it is certainly highly beneficial to keep an eye on your squad's

composition, it will cost you time. The deeper you go into the organization of your squad, the more time

it takes of course. You will need to find a balance between these.

How much you actually need to micromanage depends highly on the skill and experience of your squad

members. While newcomers might need you to show a way into the game and how to play effectively, it

is unnecessary for the experienced ones and even becomes annoying if you make it an order since they

might interpret it as mistrusting their skills. Give them some room to use their skills.

1.4. Enabling an effective squad To keep your squad as effective as possible, it is your job to enable everyone to do their jobs. This means

to take over the responsibility of organizing and planning on a strategic and tactical level. If your squad

members don't need to worry about these things, they can excel in what they really need to do.

While you shouldn't tell them every little detail and the reasons behind your every decisions you should

keep them up to date with what they are doing and what you are aiming at in the long run. If they know

what you're trying to do they can behave according to that target and maybe they come up with some

nice suggestions. At the very least everybody needs to know what they have to do.

Basically you want everyone to be focused on the big goal while they don't have to worry about how to

achieve it. This also means that you avoid a vacuum and people won't start to interfere with your

responsibilities!

1.5. Advancing from member to squad leader /platoon leader There are some mistakes that especially first-time-leaders do. Here are some tips that might help you.

1.5.1. What is your job and what isn't

Sometimes, it's difficult to adapt to a new environment. You know how to fight, how to drive or how to fly

- but is that your job when you lead a squad? Many new squad leaders try to do the job of normal squad

members and many new platoon leaders try to the job of a squad leader. The result is that you lose time

to things that aren't your priority while at the same time not being present on the battlefield, and in the

end the squad / platoon ends up with someone in

the leading position who doesn't do his job.

When you become leader, you have to start to

delegate jobs and realize that you most likely won't

be on the top of the regions ranking list because

you're too busy organizing. (And yes, this also

means leading might severely cut the amount of XP

you get per hour.) If you need a Sunderer pulled from

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

5

the next friendly base, it's way better to order someone else to do it than doing it on your own. You would

have to redeploy from the battle zone, pull a Sunderer and drive all the way to the base, maybe even

outmanoeuvre enemy gunfire. All this time, you wouldn't be with your squad and have no idea how the

situation looks like!

1.5.2. Giving orders to your former comrades

Some might find it strange and uncomforting to command someone who is older, more experienced or

has a higher outfit-rank than you or simply people you have fought together with for some time. But you

are the SL / PL for exactly this job, and giving no orders is worse than giving bad orders.

Before it comes to a situation where you have someone else giving orders in your squad, you have the

options to delegate your leading position to him for this time, nicely ask him to reduce it a bit or even

better set up whispers between you on Teamspeak and let him shadow you.

1.6. Making mistakes As someone who makes the decisions, you are bound to make mistakes. This will happen no matter how

experienced you are and how good or bad you know the game, so get used to this thought. The important

part is how you deal with the mistakes you make.

If you sound confident enough and keep people busy there's a good chance that no one will notice that

something went wrong since they don't worry about the strategical perspective too much. If they should

notice, don't apologize and explain why you made your decision this way. Instead just give new orders

and get them working again. The more routine you show in dealing with mistakes the less of a problem

they are.

1.7. Applying real military strategy and tactics to PS2 It has been tried in the past on several occasions. If you are familiar with RL-strategy or even have

experience in commanding a squad, then this might give you insights and ideas others don't have. But

always keep in mind that this game doesn't follow the same rules the real world does, thus many

strategies might not work.

Enemies can respawn indefinitely and there is literally no end in the number of vehicles and aircraft they

can spawn, so you can't expect that only by killing enemies you will win. You can't kill a zerg by killing

the enemy infantry or armour, you kill it by for example taking their spawn possibilities.

Drawing their attention to some other place to bind forces only works if you bind considerably more

forces than you deploy yourself, and still, since they can respawn somewhere else anytime, this might

not work out in the end. Planetside 2 is a very fast game, the situation changes more quickly than on a

real battlefield and reaction times are way slower.

Neither the enemy nor you really need support lines to your home base aka Warpgate, it's only an

additional but optional bonus. On the other hand, tactics like flanking manoeuvres and breaking their

morale (farming them) might work, just keep the boundaries in mind.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

6

1.8. Public or Organised Platoon? Leading a Public Squad / Platoon is very different from leading an organised Squad / Platoon. They are

considerably slower, often less skilled, and most of the time not responsive and inactive on voice or

written chat. Keep your orders simple and repeat them from time to time and remember to put down

Waypoints. Be patient and keep in mind that some people might also have problems with the language.

However, you should remove those who don't even follow waypoints. Talk to them frequently, as those

who actually listen to you might join the outfit if you advertise it from time to time. More micro scale

advices can be found in the Squad Leading section of this guide.

Members of the Organised Forces have to be on Teamspeak and can thus follow more complex orders.

They will be faster and hopefully more responsive, but again, remember that you have to be patient.

Some people need some time to grow comfortable enough to start talking on Teamspeak, and some

have (like mentioned above) a language problem. As a leader you are expected to lead your squad on a

more organised and micromanaged level. How to do this properly is explained in basically the rest of the

guide, though you of course don't need to implement everything right from start. If you lead a squad in

the Organised Units, make sure your Squad uses the designated Teamspeak channel (one channel per

squad in the Organised Units channel family).

1.9. Representation Especially as a leader, you are a representative of the ORBS on the miller server. Whatever you do will be

seen as an action of the outfit, so behave accordingly! Insulting, team killing (under any given

circumstances) and similar actions will not be tolerated. Instead, building a good relation with leaders

from other outfits can be very beneficial for the whole ORBS, so help your outfit by helping others. This

includes respect for the so-called "randoms" or "blues", other outfits, and even for the enemy.

If you lead regularly and maybe even have a higher rank in the outfit, you are part of the command

structure of the outfit. This means that you will not always have the luxury to speak your mind freely

because you are an authority person, and if you become angry or say something offensive, it will look like

an official statement or at least like the opinion of the leadership of the outfit. As a regular leader or as

someone with a leaders rank, you can't speak or post as freely as an individual anymore. Also, talking

bad about other leaders or outfit decisions can harm the outfit a great deal. You can say whatever you

want in the leaders forums and we won't ignore it, but once a decision is made, you are expected to

back it, whether it's yours or not.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

7

1.10. Recruitment The outfit needs a steady influx of new members since a lot of people leave the outfit or game each

month. Recruiting new members is vital to keeping the outfit alive. You can do this by leading an open

Public Squad / Platoon with or without the use of Teamspeak. Don't forget to make advertisement for

the outfit, the website and Teamspeak from time to time. Even non outfit members are welcome to TS!

2. Squad leading - Tips for the battlefield So you made it to your first command. What are concrete things you should keep in mind?

2.1. The Basics

2.1.1. Setting up a squad

To form a completely new squad, you will need to invite someone to form it. To invite someone, you can

either

use the chat-command /invite [player name]

go to Squad screen (default hotkey: p) and use the "invite to form squad" box

go to the outfit screen (default hotkey: o), click on the members field, open someone's context

menu (small ">>"-icon next to their names) and click on "Invite to squad"

open the HUD context menu for other players by holding the "spot enemy" hotkey (default: q) with

the cursor over another player and select "invite to squad"

From that point on, you can open it up so others can join. You now have some filters to set:

Private squad: checking "private squad" stops random people joining your squad when they hit

insert or start the game. Should be checked for outfit-only squads and unchecked for open squads.

Outfit and Friends: makes that squad visible only to Outfit members and/or your friends. If you

made the squad private you can check Outfit, and only outfit members can join.

Advertisement: This is the name of your squad. Please follow the outfit naming standard.

Show Tag: Should always be checked as this will show ORBS in the platoon page identifying it as

one of outfit squads.

Finally, click enable recruitment if your squad is not private. This will apply your settings.

2.1.2. Waypoints

When starting you should have a look on the map. Your platoon leader should give you a location to

attack or defend and perhaps even mark the area with the platoon waypoint for your squad, which is the

colour of your squad and has three chevrons. You can set up your own squad waypoint by right-clicking

on the map and then place the green squad waypoint with one chevron. Note that this is only visible for

your squad!

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

8

2.1.3. Other markers

Of arguable use are the squad objectives which you can place by holding the spot enemy key (default: q)

while your crosshair is over the target like a generator, terminal, capture point and so on. You can only

set them while you have a clear line of sight to them (except for the capture point which you can set

always). Normally communicating the target in the normal ways is more successful than using this

feature.

2.2. Leadership certification points

2.2.1. Command Comm. Channel

Certing into the Command Channel is highly advised once you have the basics going. It gives you access

to the ingame chat and voice chat leaders channel and the orders channel (written chat only). The leader

chat is accessible only for those who have certed into it and are currently a SL, so use it for inter-outfit-

coordination. Remember to behave and don't command anyone there, you represent the outfit so act

like it.

The orders chat has a five minutes cooldown and will broadcast a chat message to all NC on the current

continent. Use it for example to request reinforcements to some base if nobody responds on leaders

chat. Don't use it for broadcasting advertisements for your squad as this is against SOE's code of

conduct.

2.2.2. Request Reinforcements

Currently the only possibility for a SL to spot points on the map (like the location of an enemy deployed

Sunderer) on a larger scale are the markers (Attack and Defence) you get from certing "Request

Reinforcements". They can be seen by the whole faction on the map, so your PL and other SLs can see

them as well. They stay for 5 minutes, after that, you can set new ones (cooldown is 5 minutes as well).

2.2.3. Rally points

You can cert into different smoke markers individually and then drop them the same way you drop

waypoints. Your whole faction can see them ingame and on the map (but not the enemy, so don't try to

use them like smoke grenades!). Rendering range for this is again performance dependant, but is

roughly about 150m when closing in to the marker. Certing into them at some point is suggested as they

can be useful to mark additional waypoints along a path for example.

2.2.4. Beacons

You absolutely have to cert at least level one of the squad beacon (in the "Leadership certs" section

under social) so this becomes available. Every squad leader has the possibility to deploy a squad

beacon on which squad members can drop on via drop pod. You can select it like a weapon and deploy it

in a position where it is directly under the sky with no obstacles in between (except for shields). Normally

the beacon appears in your inventory when you become SL, if it does not, you have to find an infantry

terminal and re-equip. Note that the beacons are seen by everyone and due to its lighting it's pretty easy

to spot, so enemies will go for it. The render distance is only 150m however, so deploying it a little bit

outside of where the enemy is can be an advantage. Note that this can be performance dependant. You

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

9

have a 5 minutes cooldown before you can deploy a new one (this cannot be reduced by further certing

the beacon).

2.3. Squad composition The classes of which a squad consists are defining it's role on the battlefield, so you should keep an eye

on it as well as on what you want to achieve. It's always a good idea to inform your members on what you

need and what you will encounter, even better to organize who plays in which class. This takes time, but

if you have some short minutes you should spend it on a decent squad layout.

As for ops-nights, it's always a good idea to define some basic layouts that you can switch between: You

might start with the standard-layout, but if you tell them right at the beginning of the ops who should

equip which grenades, who brings the smoke-launcher, who will switch to which class when you do a

max-crush, counter enemy armour or give long range fire support, you will be way faster than if you do it

once the situation comes. Same goes for armour, pulling Galaxies, Sunderers, and for switching to air.

The standard suggested infantry layout looks like the following:

3-4 Medics for healing and reviving people

6 Heavy / Light assault

2 Engineers for ammo and repairing

0-1 Infiltrator for hacking and RDD

There are more standard-layouts for different situations in the appendix.

2.4. Squad cohesion When moving or fighting in a base, you want to keep your squad close together, at least in most cases.

Squad members can support each other this way (covering areas, reviving the fallen) and you can hit the

enemies harder while you are always aware of the situation your squad is in. Also this is the perquisite

for applying more advanced tactics like the "move and cover"-drill.

While real squad formations are difficult to apply in Planetside 2, you should make sure your squad

keeps some basic formations. Maxes and Heavies should always be first in the firing lines (Guarding

doorways or leading the charges). Engies should stick to the Maxes and drop ammo in sensible

locations. Medics should stay out of direct fire for the most of the time since their primary job is

supporting.

2.5. Time management Time is essential in PS2. It's a very fast game, and you want to make sure that you use what little time

you have in the most efficient way. This means that you ask your PL at least one minute before you

accomplished your current mission for new orders, that you have already taken care of a galaxy /

Sunderer, and that you don't stand around idle waiting for the enemy but instead deploy mines, turrets

and get yourself into a good position.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

10

However, don't be too impatient. Use the time you actually have to take care of squad composition,

planning, organizing vehicles, and everything else that helps you in the next battle. When you notice that

the base you are fighting at is not defendable or the attack push is failed, then don't wait until you are

completely pushed out. Instead, redeploy to the next base, inform your PL, and prepare for the next push

/ for the incoming enemies.

Finding the right balance will come with experience, just make sure that you don't waste any time being

completely idle.

2.6. Leading a public squad One of the most important sources of recruits are the public platoons. Making your squad public has two

advantages: People get to know about us and our game style and you get bigger numbers than you

would have with outfit only. The drawback is that you won't be able to operate as organized, you will be

slower and it can be a little more effort.

To keep them entertained and involved, you need to talk to them frequently in ingame voice chat. It is a

good idea to order your squad to use this communication over TS so they get to know that the squad is

active and works together. Providing tactical information over ingame voice chat should be mandatory.

You should repeat given orders often, it will make it more likely that they follow you (and some people

might have a problem with the language as well, so repeating them is never a mistake).

The most important part about leading a public squad is that you need to keep some kind of basic

discipline. Try to maintain some kind of organization and keep your squad together, though you can't

expect them to behave in any way like Outfit members or as fast as they could. Don't get frustrated and

be patient, remember to update your waypoints and repeat your orders over and over. Don't get angry,

you are a representative of the outfit now more than normal.

However, you will need to kick disobedient people and pay more attention to your squad, checking if

everyone follows orders. There will inevitably be some who don't, and after giving a friendly warning that

playing with the outfit means to follow orders, you need to kick them. Otherwise you will end up with a

squad full of people who are not following orders and getting a bad idea about what the outfit is. It is

possible to "grow" a public squad that is very disciplined by kicking those who are not.

Your squad beacon is an even more important tool than it is normally. It will be the primarily spawn

point for your squad, so it can be used to get your squad closer together again. You can also order a

redeploy to the Warpgate for the same reason.

Friendly zergs and enemies work like magnets for your squad. Many will just follow a bigger number of

allies out of some kind of herd instinct instead following your orders or engage the enemy blindly and

pursue them to the death. If you don't want that, make it very clear that your target is somewhere

different, update your waypoint, place a beacon, lead the way and repeat it over and over again on

comms.

It might seem frightening to some, but leading a public squad is not that much work after all, it is just a

little bit more frustrating. Just remember that you are doing the whole outfit a favour by doing it.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

11

Example: East Canyon Checkpoint. The Spawn is

separated from the capture point by the road and a

bridge with few cover. So you want to cover the east

side, not the west side.

3. Basic tactics "No plan survives the first enemy contact"

- Helmut von Moltke

3.1. General tips and guidelines Don't let your team fight from the spawn, get them outside, use the terrain, think outside of the box.

If there is a hill that infantry can't get on, why not make a gal-drop onto it and let your troops rain

hell on the enemy?

If you failed to bring up a beacon, don't hesitate to give SL to someone who currently is still alive

and in position. You will still give the orders, he is just deploying the beacon for you.

Try to get the high ground, attack from above. You can normally get into cover quickly, while the

enemy is pretty exposed to the death from above.

Don't fear to switch between infantry, armour and air. Adjust to the situation.

Always take care of spawn points! It's better to have two Sunderers than one.

Try to predict friendly movements as well as enemy movements and communicate with your allies as

often as possible.

For some more advanced tactics see the appendix.

3.2. Vital spots and positioning Positioning is one of the most important things a SL / PL should keep in mind. In most bases or areas,

there are some vital spots you need to control and you will control the base. It needs some training to

find these spots. In the easiest cases they are the buildings with the capture point in it, other points can

be well-defendable buildings with a clear line of sight to the point or to the spawn, bottlenecks (like

bridges or valleys), high ground (the

top of cliffs on Indar, mountains on

Amerish and so on), a cover between

spawn and point or a rock formation

close to the road where you can

control enemy armour moving in.

The most vital spots are always the

spawn building (be it enemy or

friendly), the capture point(s) and in

big bases some of the generators and

the SCU. Other points can generally

be buildings covering areas or

especially the approach from spawn

to point when defending a base and

positions that grand a tactical

advantage. Look on the map and

figure out where the vital spots are!

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

12

Doing it right: Forcing the enemy into a bottleneck

and defend from an elevated, covered position while

flanking the enemy

A good position

provides cover for your squad

lets you defend / attack vital spots

cuts off the enemy's way from a spawn to a vital spot

gives a good shooting field with little cover for the enemy

prevents the enemy from flanking you

provides a possibility to retreat if needed

Use the layout of a base to your advantage! A base is divided into areas made up by the positions of

buildings, cover and empty areas without cover like a road. If your squad is in a position with good cover

while securing the point and the enemy needs to cross an uncovered area to approach you, you have

done it right.

Fight them while they are still in transit. You are not bound to attack the enemies because there is a

base nearby, instead you can and will be more successful if you find a good position that might be of no

value to stop them from zerging to the next base, but to destroy as many of them as you can. This is

particularly useful when engaging an enemy armour or air zerg because due to chaos, resources and

transit time they hopefully won't be able to draw the next wave quickly enough.

In a nutshell, you want to have a good cover while they have not and / or a bottleneck for enemy

movements that will neglect superior enemy numbers. If you manage to get your squad and maybe even

a Sunderer with AMS into or close to these locations, you will be able to counter way more troops than

you have members in your squad, giving the PL the possibility to send other squads elsewhere. However,

keep in mind that staying too long in one location is the best way to get flanked or max-crushed.

3.3. Attacking a base / area When you get ordered to attack a base, make up your mind about

Map analysis

from which direction you want to come (can you avoid the well set up line of defence of the enemy?)

with which loadout you want to get there (Squad composition: Standard loadout, Maxcrush, ...)

spawn points on location (do you

need your own Sunderer?, where

can the enemy spawn?, ...)

your odds to beat them there (if

in doubt make up your mind once

you're there)

your adjacency to the base

(sometimes PL makes a mistake)

why are you attacking

(distraction, crushing a zerg or do

you actually want to take the

base)

Adjust your plans to these points. If

you are ordered to take a big base

(Biolab, Amp station, Tech plant) and

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

13

Possible defence lines from Paris Eastern Grove to Peris

Amp if you want to defend the horizontal shield generator

you are unsure about what to do, have a look to the appendix.

During the attack it's crucial to keep a spawn point nearby, since this is especially in big battles a

bottleneck for your possibilities and effectiveness. It's dangerous to only rely on medics unless you're

playing in a very well organized squad, so make sure you keep your attack well supported with enough

Sunderers. Most of the times, it's worth moving out with more than one Sunderer.

Once you are wiped you need to inform PL. Tell him whether or not you think you should try again. Note

however that if they managed to push you out you will probably be worse off next time: The enemy is

prepared, you will now have to push all the way in again probably through uncovered territory and some

allies will probably wander off from the fight and go somewhere else if all your Sunderers got destroyed.

Generally speaking, if the enemy was able to push you out from a good position then you need to make

up your mind if you'll be more successful next time. If there is a valid reason to believe that odds have

changed then try again, if not then trying the same approach again won't do any good.

If your approach fails or you make no progress at all, try something different. Make a flanking

manoeuvre, attack from a point where they do not expect you, switch to tanks / aircraft and so on. This is

where you need to be creative. Don't make it too complicated, and expect that you will have to adapt.

3.4. Defending a base / area Similar to the attack, you need to figure out

whether or not the base-spawn suffices (most of the times the answer here will be no)

what the directions are the enemy will come from

if the time has come to push them and get into a more forward line of defence

A defence should include pushing the enemy as far as possible and encountering him as early as

possible (from a good position,

of course). Set up your

defences as far forward as

possible. When these break,

fall down into the next line of

defence and set up a new fight

there (these lines might for

example look like "bridge -

outside of the base in cover -

gates - walls - buildings -

capture point building - upper

floor - point"). It will take the

enemy more time and you will

get more possibilities to break

their attack and finding a

position where you can beat

their numbers.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

14

Fighting an enemy zerg in a base can be very difficult, since they will deploy lots and lots of infantry

which then overruns the base and the situation gets out of hand. Once you notice that your current point

will fall, don't wait for it to happen. Use the time, fall back, set up in a good position in the terrain (not in

a base!) and let them come to you.

To break the enemy attack, you will either need to take their spawn options or take their adjacency.

Diverting their attention to another base might work, but is far less reliable, especially if the attack is

unguided (aka a zerg). If you are defending a base and the point is secure, it might be the right moment

to do for example a gal-drop behind their lines and take their adjacent base so they can't cap yours

anymore. Even if the attack fails it will give you additional defence lines and you have pushed them

further away again.

3.5. Tactical Micromanagement Micromanagement on a tactical scale means telling your people what to do. This does not only mean to

put down a waypoint and tell them to go there, it means that you guide them through the base which

may look like this: "Let's group up at the Sunderer, then push out towards that bridge. Cross it, regroup

behind the Boulder. Stack up on the southern entry of the Medwing building, enter when ready! We hold

first floor, keep an eye out for balcony and point." Don't give this to your squad in advance of course,

you improvise on the go. Only tell them their next objective. This makes sure that your squad sticks

together and that everyone is in a covered position.

3.6. Use uncommon Approaches "Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."

- Sun Tsu, "The Art of War"

Don't use the well-walked roads. Deploy tactics that the enemy doesn't anticipate: Set your squad up a

bit outside of the base on high ground and control the enemy movement from above. Attack them from a

risky angle that hasn't been used by your forces yet. Drop behind them or hack a vehicle terminal behind

enemy lines and come with Sunderers and Armour from the other side of the base. Whatever you do,

don't simply follow others.

When the point is already secured by allied forces you don't need to go there as well. Set up a flanking

position outside of the point and control a lane that the enemy will come through to get to the point. The

enemy will not be prepared for this and while you may not crush them completely a good support

position will let you ease them up. Maybe they will have to divert forces to take you out, which again

works towards your goal.

This is extremely important for any Squad leader who wants to be able to defeat the enemy even with

odds being against you.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

15

3.7. Fire discipline Sometimes, your squad needs to stay undetected for some time. Normally, it is a good idea not to draw

attention until your squad is in a superior position. Thus, it is useful to give the "Seize fire"-command

and move instead of engaging every enemy on your way. You won't appear on the map either if you don't

shoot (and are not spotted), so when you're in transit in a Galaxy or Sunderer, think twice before

engaging enemies.

3.8. What else is there to learn The most important part about learning how to lead efficiently is to do it frequently. Try different things

out and try to observe yourself while doing so, so you never do a mistake twice.

The best monitored way to quickly improve your leadership skills is joining a Leaders Ops. They are

organised every other Wednesday during Ops night and offer SL / PL trainees to be personally mentored

by an experienced leader. You will get detailed feedback afterwards. Sign up on the forum calendar if

you want to attend.

To keep up to date, you should check the forums regularly. Not only to join training (which is highly

advised) and events, but for reading getting the latest developments and tactics as well.

After you're done with your job, ask for feedback! You can also open up a forum thread, many people are

happy to give their opinions.

Finally, you can ask an officer or Leader to shadow you, which means that he will set up a whisper to you

and help you while you are leading. No one else needs to know about it while it's happening if you don't

want to. It's an easy way to gain experience fast and a good opportunity to get help or to validate your

efforts.

4. Communication Communication is what makes you fight as a group rather than as a number of soldiers. The most vital

part of this is to get yourself and your squad on Teamspeak if you want to achieve something!

For ACS communication standard see ACS framework and the complete list of callouts in the appendix.

4.1. Setup on Teamspeak When playing in greater numbers or more tactically, we switch into Squad-Specific channels on TS. The

leaders right click themselves and click "Channel Commander". Your normal communication is directly

transmitted to the squad channel without further change of settings. To communicate with the other

squad leaders and with the platoon leader you will need to set up the corresponding key bindings, which

is explained in the appendix (and on the website).

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

16

4.2. Radio discipline You will need to keep radio discipline. This is needed because you may have people talking in ingame

command-, platoon- and squad channel and on Teamspeak in your squad-, the leaders and maybe the

ops-command channel. You will need to at least filter out what is important for you and what not, which

will take some time to get used to. So don't spam the comms with useless information and don't allow

too much banter in your squad! If it gets too much, don't be afraid to call out "clear comms".

For communicating within the outfit, we use a certain standard: Always call out whom you are

addressing first, then who you are and then the message (which is inverted to the ACS communication

standard for inter-squad communication). Example: "Bravo from Charlie, we have enemy movement in

...", "Bravo and Delta from command, move to ...". The benefit is that if you're not the recipient of the

message then you'll notice this right at the start and you don't need to focus on it.

Your call sign is your squad name (alpha, bravo, ...) if you're a SL and "Platoon lead" if you're a PL. If

you are at the top of the command line, you can also use "command" as call sign. This is normally used

when there is a separate leader who coordinates multiple platoons and maybe communicates with other

outfits as well.

4.3. Communication within the platoon As a squad leader, it is your responsibility to keep the platoon leader informed about what is going on.

Tell him and in some cases the other squad leaders about the progress of your attack / defence from

time to time and tell him if you think you can't be successful at all or need reinforcements. But at the

same time, keep it brief, only communicate what is necessary and only to those who can need it. If you

notice that the enemy is moving or you encounter an enemy zerg or armour on your way, inform the

platoon leader and maybe other squad leaders who might use this information. Confirm every order you

receive! Also, keep an eye on the map, sometimes there are options or risks the PL hasn't thought

about.

Talking to your squad is just as vital as being the eyes and ears of the PL on the battlefield. Apart from

giving orders you should keep them updated on the situation and about yours and the PL's plans from

time to time. Especially when leading public platoons talking to them is vital as they will feel more

involved and know the leader is active. Think about using the ingame squad chat as well as Teamspeak

when playing with non outfit members.

4.4. The ingame command channel To communicate with the faction, you can use the leaders-chat (if you certed it and while you are a SL).

All other NC SL can read this. Use the orders-chat if you need for example reinforcements, the

broadcasted message will be visible to all members of your fraction on the continent you are on. Do not

spam the leaders or the orders channel since this is unnecessary and harming the reputation of the

outfit.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

17

5. The Advanced Combat Standard (ACS) The Advanced Combat Strategies (ACS) are a framework within the outfit that every leader should know

and be able to use. It provides standardized communication, movement drills and tactics that have

proved to be useful. While in the Basic and Advanced Training trainees learn to execute drills and tactics

of the ACS, you as a leader should know in detail how they work so you can order to use them. It is

strongly suggested you visit those trainings to learn about it if you haven't done already.

5.1. The concept The ACS settles on three basic concepts:

1. Teamplay: Squad members fight in a squad, not as a accumulation of individuals. The squad is more

important than yourself!

2. Communication: To be able to work as a group, a proper way to communicate is required. This is

provided by the Communication standards.

3. Standardization and reliability: Standardized comms, drills and approaches provide the ability to

work with squad members you have never played with before.

As a leader, you should make sure these concepts are applied within the squad. While it's certainly not

necessary to use 100% of the ACS all the time, it offers a huge benefit when the situation becomes

heated and you want to achieve something.

5.2. Communication Standards There are several standardized comm call-outs and procedures provided by the ACS you will need to

know. While every outfit member should know that you need to call out your number and that you need

to be revived when you're down, a leader should know the advanced standards as well. You can find a

complete list of callouts in the appendix. You will need to know them if you want your squad to use it!

As you get more experienced, you will learn when to use which drills. It is certainly not necessary to use

every possible callout whenever you can. However, don't go too easy or your squad will stop being

cautious. Even if there is no need for it, using the ACS will give your squad something to do and trains

you and them.

5.3. Fire teams Dividing the squad into two groups can be highly beneficial as long as the squad is big enough and

everyone knows what to do. This allows more advanced drills and tactics or simply covering a larger area

and encounter small enemy groups more effectively.

The standard composition for a fire team is 3 HA/LA, 1 ENG, 1/2 MED and 1/0 INF, making 12 people

in two fire teams in total in standard squad composition. Each fire team has a leader, one being the SL,

the other one a "sergeant" or fire team Leader (FL). The sergeant has control over his fire team like over

a normal squad, but he gets his orders from SL, not PL. The SL always has the final word over the FL.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

18

Australian Soldiers performing Fire and

Movement: One team covers, the other moves.

It is suggested to keep the separation as easy as possible, like 1-6 are fire team one, 7-12 are fire team

two. Since both fire teams normally share one Teamspeak and ingame voice channel, high

communication discipline is required.

5.4. Drills The drills are tools for the squad leader. They allow to perform standardized tasks fast and easily.

5.4.1. Move and Cover

The probably most important combat drill is the "Move and Cover"-Drill. It provides greater safety while

approaching under enemy fire (or while there is a

possibility of enemy fire on your way). While one or

two squad members get into cover on the sides the

squad moves along and open fire at enemies, the

rest of the squad advances to your target. Whoever

is running in front should head over to the next

cover, assume the covering fire and call out that

he's covering so the previously covering members

know that they can move on.

It is possible to work in fire teams instead of the

squad itself executing the drill. One fire team

covers while the other moves instead of single

soldiers taking the job.

5.4.2. Flanking manoeuvre

The most intuitive drill is the flanking manoeuvre drill. It requires two groups (like two fire teams or

squads) to execute. While one group is holding position and suppresses the enemy, the other group

seizes fire and moves into a flanking position. This only works if the second group is not detected until in

position while the first stays a visible target but is able to hold their line without being overrun.

5.4.3. Breaking contact: Peeling movements

The idea behind the Breaking contact drill is the Center and Side Peel move. It is a retreat-movement

while still suppressing the enemy as good as possible (and to make it look like you were more people

than you actually are).

To execute the center or side peel movement, the SL needs to call it out at first. Then someone who can

easily get into cover starts suppressing the enemy from the covered position while the rest of the squad

retreats. While retreating, you take covered positions somewhere behind those that are already covering

and start giving suppressive fire on your own.

Do this in a way that there remains a lane where people can retreat on while not crossing your line of fire.

The position of this lane defines the type of the peel: If it's a central lane with suppressing squad

members to both sides of it, it's a center peel, and if the lane is uncovered on one side (because you are

moving parallel to the enemy lines) it's a side peel.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

19

German soldiers performing 360 security

Whenever you notice you are the closest to the enemy of your squad without any squad member in front

of you, it's your turn to give up your cover and retreat on the lane.

The normal peel moves can be too slow or difficult to manage sometimes, but with fire teams, it is

always executable. One squad stays in a line and suppresses the enemy, the other falls back, gets into

cover and starts to provide the fire suppression while the other fire team retreats, gets into cover and so

on.

5.4.4. 360° Security

This drill simply consists out of establishing a

defence around an object (like a Sunderer)

or even only a virtual point in the terrain.

Every angle needs to be covered and the

squad is in a circle-formation with everyone

looking outwards. This is a decent move after

getting out of a Sunderer or a Gal-Drop while

not knowing what to expect in the

surroundings.

5.5. Building and object names To be able to refer to positions and buildings without long descriptions, the ACS features standard

building and object names. The full list can be viewed on the website.

6. Reading the map "The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The

general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand."

- Sun Tsu, "The Art of War"

The map is your best tool for planning attacks, for picking a fight, and for predicting the future

movements of enemies and allies. It is vital that you learn how to use it effectively, so let's have a closer

look into configuring the map.

6.1. Map tools and configuration Let's have a look into the toolbar on the right, that one with the little Graph and magnifier icons.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

20

6.1.1. Statistics

The first icon represents the statistics window, which is most useful for displaying the current continent

population. This can be a useful tool for the Platoon leader when trying to find a continent to fight on,

though it's only an indicator for the actual chances of finding a good fight - double check with the actual

frontlines, the enemy might have continent overpop but nevertheless is only fighting you on equal

population battles. Ideally the population is equally distributed between all the factions.

6.1.2. Filters

The next button in the toolbar lets you set the map filters. It's a good idea to check everything apart from

Influence cloud and the Grid. (Grid is personal preference. While it's completely useless, I like the looks

of my map better with than without it.)

With the Hotspots-option checked the map displays the explosion effects on the map, as seen above

Heyoka Tech Plant or around Onatha Bio Lab on the screenshot above. The position of the hotspot

explosion effects indicates the actual position of the frontline, the size reflects the intensity of the battle,

and the colour who's currently winning. Be aware that this information might be slightly outdated

though, it takes some time for the hotspots to refresh.

You'll want the Heat Maps be set to Enemy Activity. While this takes a while to get used to, it will give you

much more information on the map as it now displays each territory in a darker red the more enemies

are in that area. This helps you finding a fight fitting the size of your squad or platoon. The territory

outlines are still empire specific.

6.1.3. Search Tool

The next option is the legend, but I don't need to explain that, so we'll jump to the last feature, which is

a search tool. Ever been in the situation that your Platoon Leader sent you to a base you don't know the

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

21

position of? Just enter the name of the base into the search function and that problem is gone. Keep in

mind that this feature works across continents, so if you just enter "Amp Station" all Amp Stations on

all continents will be in the search results. On clicking on a result, the map will center on that base.

6.2. Using the map Now with the filters set you already have a decent amount of information right away when looking on the

map. But this is not where we stop.

6.2.1. Using the map

When hovering above an area, an info box will display basic information like the name of the base or who

last captured it. More interesting are the total enemy and allied numbers and the relative population.

These numbers are always accurate and updated frequently, so you can trust them. It is important to

check the adjacent territories as well. If an enemy base adjacent to the base you're fighting in has

population in it, it is likely that this population will shift shortly into your current territory as well (or that

the battle is happening on the border of the map, but you can find that out with the hotspot indicators).

Pay attention to the lattice links! If you want to attack a base, you want to make sure that it's connected

to an adjacent friendly base that has no running cap timer! Also check the number of lattice links and

whom the corresponding bases belong to. If the enemy can attack on three lattice links, you'll want to

know that before you start the fight! And if the lattice link that leads to your current base is attacked at

an earlier point, you'll want to think about falling back and defend that base instead.

Look at where the hotspots are. If they are close to the borders of the terrain then the fight is probably

not happening inside the base (unless the info is outdated), so you can sneak into the base directly and

setup a defence line there. Similarly, if there is a major fight directly around the point, you probably

don't want to go there as well. Support your forces by coming from a different angle or by setting up

overwatch and flank the enemy from afar.

6.2.2. Lanes / Supply Lines

Lanes or Supply Lines are ways that people tend to use to go from one position to another. While PS2 is

an "open world" game, there are common ways that people frequently use when fighting in that area.

Generally one lane for example is the shortest covered way from the Spawn to the point, or from a

common Sunderer position to the point. Other Lanes are dependent on the base and the surrounding

terrain.

In general, you want your lane to be short, covered and on high ground. The longer the lane, the more

time you waste on running and the more area you offer for the enemy to flank you while not even close to

your target.

Keep in mind though that using a lane is predictable behaviour, and using a lane that is already heavily

used by your allies is not recommended as the enemy will be waiting for you. Think about uncommon

approaches.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

22

6.3. Analyzing the map While the previous tips were relevant for both Squad and Platoon Leaders, the following part will only be

of interest for Squad Leaders as they cover tactics, not strategy.

While on flight or on redeploying to the target base, you'll want to have a quick look on the map. Getting

an overview and a feeling for the base you're about to fight in will be vital to making quick decisions in

the fight. In 5 to 10 seconds you should be able to extract all the crucial info from the map, so let's see

what you can find in this time.

First, check all the aspects mentioned above: population, adjacency and adjacent bases, and hotspots.

Now it's time to zoom in and check the details.

Where is the spawn? Regardless whether you attack or defend, this is important. At least one crucial

lane will start here, and if attacking you don't want to get all too close to the spawn.

Where is the point? Either you know this one from your memory ore you wait until you're close to the

base, but it is important to know where the point/s is / are. The base symbol (that one to which the

lattice lines connect) can give you an idea, but it is far from reliable.

Where are the buildings? Which buildings are present, and how are they placed? Buildings are

excellent for defending territory and getting a foothold in an enemy base. Know where they are and

of which importance they are to your plans.

What is the geography of the terrain? Which areas are higher than others and offer an overwatch

position? Which areas make for a natural bottleneck?

Where are the roads? All the territories are connected with roads, and roads impose a threat to

everyone who wants to cross it. They are obviously ideal for tanks and Sunderers, so keep in mind

that this is where they might come from.

Where are areas of no cover? And where are areas that provide good cover?

Where are attack lanes? Where can the enemy come from? What are easy ways into adjacent enemy

bases?

How do the adjacent bases look like? Can they spawn MBTs or aircraft? How close to you and how

populated are they?

After you've made up your mind about these questions, you can finish your analysis: Divide the base into

very few sectors that belong together, for example the area around the spawn, the area around the

point(s) that provide cover, and areas that can be effectively covered from the same position.

You don't necessarily need to know all these points. In some bases some factors are more important

than others, and you have limited time. After all, the enemy will surprise you from time to time by coming

from an unsuspected angle. However, there are a lot of different enemy moves that you can counter if

you had a proper look at the map.

6.3.1. Example: East Canyon Checkpoint

An example is shown for an attack on East Canyon Checkpoint. You are coming from the south.

There are the area of the Spawn, of the point, and the buildings. The most important separation is

between the eastern and the western part of the base, as there are few ways of crossing the road and you

can defend either side.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

23

There are lanes from the

southeast to the point, from the

spawn over the bridge to the point

and from the south-western

building to the south-eastern

building crossing the road. A

dangerous lane (because it is

often forgotten) is the lane

directly north from the point (from

a Sunderer or from the spawn and

then under the bridge) to the

point area.

There are buildings southwest and

southeast of the road, and there

is a cabin offering some protection for the attacker in the east of the base

The terrain around the base is elevated, and attackers often have to deal with enemy infantry, esp.

Maxes, attacking from the ridge lines there as that area is close to the Spawn. If possible you should

control the mountains east of the terrain.

There is a road leading straight through the base, and the enemy can easily come with armoured

vehicles from the north. It is easy for the defender to pull a Sunderer from there and park it northeast of

A point behind some boulders.

The bridge offers little protection, but the road is far worse. Crossing it is very dangerous and not a good

move for a larger force. The point offers some covered positions. There is a covered area adjacent to the

two major buildings on the far side of the road, and a covered spot a bit outside of the base southeast of

the south-eastern building.

The enemy can come with additional reinforcements primarily from the north and the northwest. The

terrain between the bases is uncovered, so it is easy to spot them when they approach.

What you do with this analysis is up to you, but with this knowledge it is easy to find some approaches to

the base: Place a Sunderer southeast of the base and in covered ground around the south-eastern

building. Move from there and have Galaxies as backup if possible since there are no other good

locations for Sunderers. You want to hold everything east of the road and have an eye on the north. Take

covered positions close to the point and have some people in the cabin.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

24

7. Platoon leading "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

- Sun Tsu, "The Art of War"

The difference between a squad leader and a platoon leader is not as big as the difference between

squad member and squad leader. You should know how to lead a squad if you aspire Platoon Leading

because you need to know what you can expect from your SLs.

Be prepared that if you are PL you will spend a lot of time on the map screen. Especially when playing

with inexperienced SLs the game can become more of a strategy game than a FPS for you and you'll find

yourself standing at the Warpgate or not even deploying at all for most of the time.

7.1. Duties of a Platoon Leader There are many, many different approaches on what a PL should do and what his duties are. In general

speaking, the PL is responsible for the strategic placement of his squads, but what exactly does that

mean?

When working with experienced SLs who know their job a PL doesn't have much to do. You give the

rough area of attack ("I want Hvar captured, make it happen" while not even having adjacency to the

base) and little more. Everything else is sorted out by the SLs themselves: The way to the target, which

base to attack, how to get there and so on. This requires a lot of communication between the SLs to

coordinate the attack. Telling experienced SLs how to attack a target only limits their possibilities. The

PL only needs to have a look at the map frequently and check whether the target is still achievable and

listen to what Command says. The advantage of this approach to platoon leading is giving the SLs a lot

more possibilities. In the end they know better than you what happens on the ground and thus should be

able to make the right decisions.

When having inexperienced (or lazy) SLs in your platoon you'll have a lot more work to do. You will be the

one who coordinates the squads and assigns the different bases, makes sure they know when to retreat,

gives them orders for the next attack in time, and makes sure there is an appropriate number of people

in the base. Encourage your SLs to communicate with each other and make sure they relay vital info to

the other squads in the area. Avoid giving them too specific orders like how to get to the base, where

exactly to go in the base, and other things like squad composition that are in the SLs domain. Give them

areas they are responsible for instead of specific points to attack. You want to help them enough so they

can do their job, but you want them thinking for themselves and give them space to make mistakes and

to learn.

Generally speaking, give your SLs as much freedom as you think they can handle. Always keep in mind:

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

25

The SL knows better what happens on the ground than you do.

If you have intel relevant to a SL then relay it, but let him make his own decisions.

7.2. Communication The SLs are your eyes and ears on the battlefield. As stated previously, they know better what's

happening on the ground and on a tactical level. They are the ones who can judge whether a fight is won

or lost, and that means that you'll have to communicate with them. Take them serious.

Ask for frequent status updates and keep an eye on the population in the base your squads are fighting

in. If they have underpop make sure they don't need reinforcements, and if you outpop them (~60%)

ask if they are needed for the cap. Give them orders ~30 seconds before they are done with their current

objective so the SL has time to prepare. They should give status updates and ask for new orders in time

by themselves, and if they don't, remind them of it and mention it in the debrief.

In an organised ORBS ops the PL is the link between Command and SLs in his squad. That means that

you process the orders coming from Command into orders that make sense for your SLs and that you

relay the status of your Platoon (like the size) and your progress back to Command.

It is a good practice within this outfit to hold a debrief after a more serious operation and after each of

the regular ops nights. The PL is expected to initiate this. Just go through each squad, ask them what

they liked and what they didn't like (about their own leading and other's), give your own feedback for

them and ask others to do the same. Don't forget to include feedback for PL. Keep it civilised and don't

hurt anyone.

7.3. Basic Skills and Tactics

7.3.1. Reading the Map

The map is your most important tool as PL. When playing highly tactical and getting most out of your

platoon, you will find yourself staring on the map most of the time. You need to anticipate enemy and

allied movements, find greater enemy numbers (the enemy zergs) and assess whether or not they are a

threat to you and find a good balance between your goal (like capturing important but empty territory)

and the fun of those in the squads.

A detailed instruction on how to use and configure the map is given in the corresponding section of this

guide. You will need to find numbers you can beat, either alone or with help from other outfits. It might

take some experience, but checking the map frequently should help you getting along.

7.3.2. Fighting the enemy

Enemy zergs don't magically disappear! They will either move on or fall back. Only if you hit them hard

enough they will redeploy, but even then, you will encounter those troops again eventually.

Keep in mind that defending is almost always way easier than attacking: You already have a spawn point

that is perfectly protected, you have walls, towers and buildings providing cover and a good field of view

and allies not in the platoon can help more efficiently than in an attack. There are some bases that are

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

26

easier to defend than others like Scarred Mesa Skydock or Waterson's Redemption (the Octagon). That

means as well that when you are attacking an enemy territory, you will want to have at least slightly

superior numbers - or a good battle plan.

7.3.3. Mobility

Get used to the thought that - especially during an alert - you will have to let your squads redeploy often

to react to different situations. While this might be not particularly liked by the most people, it will

probably be necessary. Don't stick to one continent or frontline while the important fights are fought

somewhere else!

7.3.4. Precapping a Base

Use the lattice system to your advantage. When your Platoon is capping a base and the SLs are

confident that the cap will happen send one squad ahead to the next base while their defences are still

weak to prepare it 30-60 seconds before the cap happens. Let them hack terminals, deploy Sunderers

and get ready on point. This way you make sure that the enemy doesn't get a chance to recap the base

or delay you in long fights between the bases.

7.3.5. Using what you have

To make good use of your platoon you will need to find the right fights for the right amount of squads.

This means that you should not outnumber the enemy with more than 60% (in most bases) or be

outnumbered, so delegate squads that are currently not needed at their current deployment zone to

somewhere else where they might make a difference. Again, keep checking the map frequently and

know where you sent your forces!

Remember that you're leading a platoon, not a squad. You should split your forces between bases if

needed, but your platoon is only a real platoon if your squads can support each other when needed. You

don't need to have everyone fighting on the same lattice lane, but as soon as one squads runs into

problems others should be able to compensate, so for example don't split your platoon between distant

frontlines and for sure not between continents.

7.4. The Commander The Commander is a role that is not (yet) reflected ingame. Command has the duty to coordinate

multiple platoons of different branches and to communicate on the NC Alliance Teamspeak server with

other outfits. The role is mostly used in ops nights. If you have specialised units like Rangers or the Air

Force active while you are Commander make sure the PLs / SLs know they can call them in.

To (kind of) comfortably communicate on multiple TS servers at the same time we use the Crosstalk

plug-in. You can find an explanation on how to use it in the appendix.

7.5. Inter-Outfit cooperation With the establishment of the NC alliance, the NC on Miller has a common ground for joint operations.

When you are Command you should be on the NC Alliance Teamspeak server. Outside of ops-nights one

possibility to communicate with the other outfits is the ingame command channel. There are no leaders

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

27

of the alliance, it is a mutual giving and taking: You give somebody help in a base where he requested it

and he might send you some reinforcement squads when you ask.

8. Appendix

8.1. Squad layouts

8.2. Crosstalk TS setup (Command) To properly communicate with the other NC outfits we communicate on the NC Alliance TS server. You

want to be able to communicate on two servers at the same time, and this is what Crosstalk is made for.

8.2.1. Installation and configuration

Crosstalk is a plug-in for TS. Download the installer, execute it and start Teamspeak. Go to Settings →

Plugins and make sure that the Checkbox for CrossTalk is marked. Close this window. Go to Settings →

options → Hotkeys, then click on Add to assign a new Hotkey. (If the button is available to you click on

Keep in mind that these are only suggestions!

Standard Setup Close Quarters

Conquer/Defence

Anti Tank (long

range):

3-4 Medics

2 Engi

1 Infiltrator

(usually SMG)

5-6 HA

3-4 Medics

3 Engi (AI turret)

1 Infiltrator (smg)

2-3 Heavies (dumb

fire)

2 Max (AI)

2 Medics

2 Engi (AV turret)

1 Infiltrator (sniper)

5 Heavies (1 AA, others

pref. AV lock

on/Phoenix)

2 Max (AV)

Mixed AA/AV open

area: Max Crash:

Forward team with

point defence:

2 Medics (C4)

2 Engi (AV)

1 Infiltrator (sniper)

5 Heavies (1 AA,

others pref. AV lock

on/Phonix)

2 Max (AA)

3 Medics

3 Engi

0-2 LA (C4)

4-6 Max (AI)

3 MAX (2 AI, 1 AA)

2 Engi (UB Grenade

Launcher)

3 Medics

3 Heavies

1 Infiltrator

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

28

"Show advanced options" now.) Select Plugins → Plugin Hotkey → crosstalk → Next Tab and Talk

Start. Click on OK and click on Add again. Bind the same hotkey you used before to TnT Stop (found

directly below Next Tab and Talk Start). Confirm this and you are done configuring the Plugin.

You should however add the NC Alliance TS server to your bookmarks. Do this by joining the NC Alliance

TS server (address is "millernc.eu" if the link doesn't work for you) and then clicking on "Add to

Bookmarks". Give it a label and make sure your Nickname is set appropriately. To get the ORBS tag

contact one of the ORBS Senior Officers or NC Alliance Server Admins.

ONLY EVER USE THE NC ALLIANCE TS FOR COORDINATING WITH OTHER OUTFITS IN PLANETSIDE 2. Not

following this will result in you getting banned from the Server and probably from the outfit.

8.2.2. Usage

Connect to the ORBS TS like you normally would. Make sure that Crosstalk is enabled (in Settings →

Plugins, no restart required). Next, go to bookmarks, right click on the NC Alliance TS entry and click on

"connect in new tab". This will make the new tab the active one and mute you on the other. You need to

make the ORBS TS server the active one again by right clicking on the corresponding tab in TS and then

on "activate microphone". Join the right Channel on the NCA server according to the continent your

forces are on. Use the hotkey you set up for the crosstalk plugin to talk on the secondary TS (the NCA

server).

Note that you should disable Crosstalk ducking by clicking on Plugins → Crosstalk → Ducking.

Otherwise you'll sometimes have strange volume effects when people talk. You can disable all the other

Crosstalk features as well as they are not needed for us.

8.3. Tactics

8.3.1. Carpet Bombing

Counters: Big enemy tank formation, preferably close together

Tactics: Get a Galaxy, all filled with people carrying explosives (C4, Tank Mines). Fly the Galaxy over the

enemy tank zerg, and let everybody drop out, one at a time with one or two seconds in between.

Everyone drops his C4 / Tank mines while falling. This should kill the most of the tanks (and most of

those who dropped, of course). The galaxy stays over the zerg and the squad can redeploy into it, so

8.3.2. Gate diffuser Sunderer

Counters: Active enemy shields

Tactics: While maybe not really a tactic but a proper use of possibilities, the gate diffuser Sunderer can

be an effective tool for a whole platoon to get into a Base with active shields (Amp Station, Tech Plants).

When certed enough and used properly, it should be possible to drive through active vehicle shields and

the inner base shields. You can't deploy the Sunderer there due to non-deployment-zones, but you can

use the squad deployment possibility of the Sunderer if you leave one Squad member in the Sunderer.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

29

8.3.3. Mountain Goating

Counters: Greater enemy numbers fighting for some time on the same spot

Requires: High mountain close-by within attack range on that you can't climb as infantry (except LA)

Tactics: Get a squad set up for long range engagement. Snipers, HA with Lock on or Phoenix, Engi with

Mana AV turret and so on. You will need 2-3 medics and probably an AA-Max as well. Get into a Galaxy,

drop on the mountain and stay there. Set up a squad beacon and let it rain fire on your enemies.

8.3.4. Stealth drop

Counters: Good enemy defence or little time to get your squad into position

Tactics: Get into a Reaver and fly undetected to your destination. Then deploy a beacon and let your

squad drop in. Simple as that.

8.3.5. Cap from behind

Counters: Heavy fighting at not moving frontlines

Requires: The frontline needs to be a bit away from the base they were coming from, you need to hold

your own base and its points

Tactics: Let your squad deploy behind the enemy lines - in their base! This will take their adjacency and

force them to fall back. While you may be not successful with the cap itself, you forced them to divert

squads into the base, thus helping your squads on the frontline to push them.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

30

8.4. ACS Communication standard Always call out your number before making a call out! General structure: >Your number< + >callout< [ +

>Additional information<]

Callout Additional information Description

Covering Area, direction, spot, ... Cover Team from enemies in the covered area

In cover - Use when you arrived in ordered location

Suppressing (direction) Provide suppressing fire into the enemy lines

Waiting - You are waiting in a position until someone got your back

Got your back Covered person You got that person's back. You will follow and cover him

nading (spot or building) Throwing a grenade / using a grenade launcher

Request nade Spot or building You need someone to throw a grenade

Engaging Direction, enemy You engage an enemy and will follow him (for a small

distance)

need rez/is down - You need a medic to revive you

Rezzing / coming

for

Dead person You are coming to revive someone. Call this out so you

don't end up with all medics going for someone

Need ammo - You need ammunition.

got you/ammo - You are providing ammo.

Reloading - You need someone to cycle with you

Cycling - You switch positions with someone

double peek - You are double peeking a spot

need swap (direction/spot) You need to respond to somebody's request without leaving

your position uncovered

Swapping - You are replacing somebody at his position

8.5. Chat commands Taken from here. The full list can be viewed there as well, this is only an excerpt.

/platoon disband Disbands your platoon if you're the platoon leader. All squads remain open

as single squads

/squad disband Disbands your squad if you are leader

/squad invite <player name> Invites another player to your squad

/squad kick <player name> Only possibility for SL to kick squad members

[/s] [/ss] [/sq] /squadsay Sends a text message to your squad

[/p] [/ps] /platoonsay Sends a text message to your platoon

[/o] [/os] /outfitsay Sends a text message to your outfit

[/l] [/c] /leader Send a message to other leaders (CR Cert and need to be squad leader)

/orders Send a message to everyone in your empire on the current continent. (CR

Cert and need to be squad leader)

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

31

8.6. Setup on Teamspeak To setup the correct whispers, go to

Settings -> Options -> Whisper -> Whisper Lists

in your TS client.

Squad leaders: Hotkey: Whatever you like, make sure

you don't double-bind it

Reply Hotkey: not needed

Whisper to: Groups

Group Whisper Type:

Channel Commander

Group Whisper Target:

Complete Channel Family

Usage: Communicate with all other

channel commanders in the same

channel family (Organised Units,

Public Platoons, Rangers, ...). Don't

forget to assign yourself Channel

Commander (right-click on yourself

in TS, then click on Channel

Commander)! Normal squad members

can't hear you with this hotkey.

Platoon leaders: Hotkey: Whatever you like

Reply Hotkey: not needed

Whisper to: Groups

Group Whisper Type:

Server Group

Orbital Strike Force

Command (Ops)

Group Whisper Target: All

Channels

Usage: Communicate with all

others who have assigned

themselves as Command. Don't

forget to assign it to yourself as

well! (Right-click on yourself in

TS, click on "Set Server Group"

and "Command (Ops)[temp]". Use

for inter platoon coordination.

Restricted - GBS 001 : 02

Leader's Guide to the Orbital Strike Force.

Guidebook series 1 : 02 Version 2.1.0, last updated: J uly 2015

Created by gustav1101. Feedback always welcome.

Base I mage Design: Schobbe, sillyme

"Make it so." - J ean-Luc Picard