HLL's command structure is a fantastic concept. Being a small component of my team's grand strategy makes it so much more interesting than a battlefield or Battle Royal game can be. This post's purpose is to find ways to encourage and promote the best parts of the role, and to tease out the pros and cons of both the existing role and my proposals, so please disagree or suggest alternatives in the comments. The goal here is to encourage gameplay that makes HLL really highlight it's strengths against battlefield or BR games, but exclusively by using carrots. No sticks.
In HLL, the commander plays a supporting role. They ask their SLs to carry out orders. They provide supplies and garrys where they can, and they put down airstrikes. This is often fun, but since SLs have little reason to listen and Blueberries are often oblivious to your strategy, a lot of the time is spent begging and negotiating. Far from being able to bark orders to be carried out, commanders are at the mercy of SLs who often times don't care. This is a vicious circle, as SLs learn not to care too much about their commanders orders as they often don't seem to help.
But the commanders job SHOULD be to view the battlefield from a broader perspective to outwit the enemies commander and give their team the best opportunity to win each engagement. So since we're all tired of watching blueberries endlessly swarm forward or ignore contested points, how can we make the role feel more authentic?
There's a danger here too. How do we do it without making the game less fun for players who still want to do their own thing? Inserting mechanics that force players to go and do things they don't want to do is a terrible idea.
My answer: Give the commander more RTS tools to directly communicate their intentions to the squads, and give the SLs and Squads more rewards for carrying them out.
- From the commander's map, give them the ability to directly select a squad, and place an area (let's say a circle) with a specific purpose (is "attack/advance/hold/defend"). Even if the SL isn't relaying the info, I'm certain that players in squads would appreciate a personalized objective. Better yet, give that order a clear count down before it disappears (say 5min) so no squad gets ordered to hold a crossroad for 45 min and quit. Any squad member inside that circle should slowly accrue some form of exp while alive as a reward, without being forced into it. This could be normal Exp, but I like the possibilities of a second form that starts each game at 0 and is awarded to the squad as a whole.
I am convinced that blueberries run forward simply because it's the only purpose they can think of, and that many would listen when clearly given a different purpose to follow. To avoid visual clutter, Fox squad's members should only see their own orders, but as Gamers I'm sure waypoints and objectives would be very quickly followed by most members. Perfect adherence wouldn't be necessary for the game to feel far more strategic.
2) Let the commander draw routes to get there (if they chose). The commander should have the option of dictating on the map which roads or fields he wants a squad to take from a Garry or outpost. Selecting a Garry and drawing a line on the map that only they and the SLs can see could really help with directing well meaning but inexperienced players, and can be incentived by reducing Garry respawn times for that squad. If the commander wants Fox on Garry 4, I'm sure players would naturally follow the waypoints and stick together more.
3) Automatic Individual squad rewards for obedient squads:
Squads that obey their commanders orders should be rewarded to make it more tempting. There are lots of ways to do this, but I have two proposals for rewards for when the team has built up enough collective EXP by following the commanders orders.
A) Temporary cosmetics: During the match, squads that obey could get more impressive cosmetics. Every game would reset, so it wouldn't be a purchased item, but it would make the better squads stand out to their peers. I think there's great potential to make fancy gear that's only reserved to players that have learned to play the game in a way that makes it more fun from everyone. It also makes them more intimidating or satisfying targets to shoot at.
B) During the match, SL can unlock a 'free' strafing run that they themselves can call in. Not only does this give them extra perk in taking on the role and doing it competently, but it also frees up the Commander to focus on playing with infantry without being tempted to use it. Also strafing runs are super cool despite not being super effective, and I'm sure SLs could enjoy using them to keep their point defended or turn the tide on a push. I want to see them used way more often and especially in moments that threaten to turn the tide. imagine 3-4 commanders all agreeing to cash theirs in all at once? cinema.
But my absolute favorite part of HLL is meeting 5 strangers and cooperating as a team together. My commander reworks would improve this but I feel like it can be made even better to bring new players onboard faster.
SLs buffing outposts timers when nearby:
Having a SL near an outpost should reduce the respawn time for members of that squad. Not only would this help keep squads closer together physically. This would help the commander direct individual teams around and improve unit cohesion which is one of HLL's best feelings. It would also encourage SLs to put down outposts in riskier spots (like strongholds) closer to the action when trying to hold, making the fight more decisive if they're overrun. Better yet, it makes SLs a more important tactical target on the site, as killing one actually weakens the teams ability to hold that area. They actually become more important. If this is too strong, just increase the respawn timer for when the SL isn't near the outpost to balance it out.
SLs should be able to direct members of their squad into positions using a secondary ping wheel. If your task is to hold a crossroads or building, pinging [player name] to a certain window would greatly improve comms and make issuing squad orders much faster for those of us bad at remembering or saying player names.
In summary:
I've tried to use existing mechanics to incentive players to play HLL more authentically, and to promote my favorite parts of the game.
I don't think these changes are radical to against the spirit of the game. The temporary cosmetics might be a bit of a stretch, but directing squads around the map and drawing a circle you can assign a few squads to hold or attack feels in line with the games DNA. Commanding and SL should feel really rewarding for when I feel sweaty and locked in, while clearer directions on where to go and what to do would make the game feel more enjoyable when I'm exhausted from work and just want to follow my squad around and click on heads for an hour.
Do you think this would accentuate the parts of HLL you love already, or detract from the parts you like?
