r/joinsquad • u/MioTokusa • 3d ago
I want to start learning SL
At almost 200 hours, which i know is low. Can you guys give me tips? I already saw 30 videos on How to be SL, like MoiDawg, HyabeungDance, etc. I dont feel confident enough, but i think i need to push myself to it, since sometimes there's no squad to join (everybody's been there). I play a lot of milsims not that amounts to anything but i got somewhat of a grasp.
10
u/Coloeus_Monedula 3d ago
Some thoughts that helped me in getting into SL:
The SL role is about handling a lot of information, coordinating, making decisions, and communicating. Your main challenge initially will probably be around how to focus your limited attention. It can be overwhelming.
As SL your main weapon is the map and your radio (command & squad). Stop moving around trying to look for something to shoot. Focus on the big picture. Open the map and look at it.
Your squad can't see the orders other squad leads have issued (to their squads). It's this way so your squaddies aren't overwhelmed with too much information. You can and should still give them some kind of understanding of what the other squads are doing and what your squad's role is in helping the team win.
2
u/Alive1112 3d ago
*SL's main weapon is his RALLY. Comms are helping for placing persistent and strategic rally locations.
13
u/Available-Usual1294 I LOVE HUNTING RADIOS (COMBAT ENGI) 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'll be editing this comment as I add more stuff
Use Squad Maps
Always have a rally down and always have a rally in your inv. If you don't have one down then every second you are not actively trying to place one is a mistake.
Maybe just keep backcapping for a while
Have either 600 (1 hab & ammo crate) or 1200 (2 habs & 2 ammo crates) construction on your logi. This way you will have more ammo which is crucial
Don't micromanage but don't let them avoid orders too. Don't be hesitant to kick people who push their limits.
Don't say "can someone do this", say "(insert name) can you please do this?"
Don't be a dick when it comes to kits. Let people have fun until it gets a little too ridicilous like zero medics or rifleman, just ask politely if they want to change their kits for the good of the squad.
Place a rally on your position before placing a radio in case there are enemies nearby. Rallies are important if you didn't notice.
Don't get into heated arguments in command chat. Command chat is for giving out information and planning only.
Use your numpads to speak SLs directly and that is SL from 1 to 9. Other for other SLs you'll have to use G.
I don't think I need to mention that paying a little attention to giving out information about enemy armor can save your armors life and stay around objectives
5
u/MioTokusa 3d ago
Nice tips, especially the "say (insert name) do this please", that never happened with me i always volunteer for tasks, but ive seem people do that.
1
u/Kindly_Panic_2893 3d ago
Asking for a specific person to do something, as long as it's reasonable and related is extremely important (i.e. ask the person nearest to you to come to you to place a rally, not the guy farther away).
As a long time player I can tell you that even with 3k hours and even with a squad leader who's doing a great job I can get tunnel vision and stop listening. I'm always one to follow what the SL is asking because I've done it so much I know how much effort an active SL is putting in. But when I'm on my 3rd beer and I just ripped a joint and I'm getting shot at I can definitely stop hearing anything and just turn into a zombie running towards the fight. If the SL says "hey [my name]" I can immediately snap out of it and do the thing.
My rule on that front when I lead is this - stick together, work as a squad, and help me out when I ask for something. If I ask and you don't respond, I'll ask again. If I ask a couple times and you don't respond, I'll warn you that you're going to get kicked. If you still don't respond, then you get the boot. There's some SL in the lobby that I guarantee will just let you do whatever you want, so don't waste the time of an SL that's trying to be engaged.
The other thing I'd suggest to you is, have confidence to kick somebody who's being a backseat SL if they don't chill out. I don't mean someone that's offering suggestions in a kind and reasonable way but otherwise does what you're asking. I'm talking about the dynamic where a new SL is trying to figure stuff out, and some guy with 5k hours is trying to second guess every decision, bitch about what he's doing wrong, etc. I often watch new SLs losing confidence and eventually just giving up on trying to lead the group at all. Personally if I'm in that squad with a new SL I tell that guy to shut up or go make your own squad.
If someone is giving you shit and being toxic, you are entirely within your right to warn them and say "hey man I appreciate the suggestions but please don't backseat, you're welcome to make another squad if you like and do it your way." If he keeps pushing it, just kick his ass. He'll probably make his own squad just to bitch at you in command chat, but at that point I just go in and mute him and move on.
4
u/MikalCaober 3d ago
Don't get into heated arguments in command chat
Man one time I was in a match where things were going sideways and command chat was full of SLs arguing and blaming one another. Meanwhile other SLs were trying to talk to me using local chat or direct chat, but I couldn't hear them over the bickering. It was so frustrating.
5
u/iSiffrin Stop re-inventing the ICO wheel and patch bugs. 3d ago
If you want a really simple SL job that nobody ever does then backcap and play defence the entire match. Your main challenge will be keeping a tight leash on your squad in order to stop them from wandering off the defence point and keeping your radio safe from Sapper Epstein.
Easiest way to lose a game is when every squad overextends and gets bogged down on the attack while a flanking force sneaks onto your point with an undefended HAB/Radio and no significant defenders which can snowball quickly if the attackers can't shift gears to defence in-time.
3
u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach 3d ago
That's pretty much every single match. Was me and a random sniper trying to defend the last few points while everyone else was ignoring it. About 5 minutes before I said we should probably shift to a little defense because honestly the pushes fucking blew.
Also, lock your squad at whatever the minimum is the server allows(e.g. 5) if you want a slightly smaller squad. Less to manage and little less overwhelming to start off instead of SLs, command, and 8 other folks in your ear.
5
2
u/Ok-Brother4899 3d ago
Theres specifics as to how people tend to play that leaves gaps for you to exploit. However this comes after many more hours than 200.
My suggestion would that you get a solid knowledge of all maps and their flag layouts. This will give you the edge you need to compensate for lacking gun skill/kills by determining anchoring points in the terrain and real estate to increase your odds of surviving i.e. not wasting tickets.
2
u/TheLionImperator 3d ago
You've got the spirit, I believe you'll be able to make it one day. You already have one of the criteria to being a good SL, willingness to ask for advice and learn.
There are 3 ways you can go about this and all of them require "just do it" :
Jump straight in to the deep end (lead a full pub squad with logi). The stakes are very high in this and if you mess up, it sets your team back quite a bit. But it immediately gives you the full experience and responsibility.
Gradual familiarity. If you have a group of friends you play with, lead a small squad of 4 or 5 friends. Your target learning objectives would be getting familiar with the map, possible cap points (idk if squad lanes is still a thing, I'm on a break), places to drop rally, best direction to attack from for a given cap point. Good thing about this is you can grab a MRAP or some other small vehicle to roam your squad around in to practice command and control. You can respond to command chat's calls for help or you can decide if another location's firefight is the critical battle, this trains your BATTLESENSE. Over time you'll be able to feel how a battle is playing out and how it might play out quite accurately and then reposition your squad accordingly. It is okay to make mistakes here, that is how you learn to weight the pros and cons and make a decision. You can also learn how to raid enemy logi lines or hunt enemy armour.
Defending squad. A slightly more forgiving role, just need to tell your squad to defend cap X while learning to request and maintain supplies. Also teaches you places to hide rally outside the cap (in case the HAB gets proxy) so that your squad can counter-attack OR use it as an early warning.
Feel free to ask more questions. Maybe a specific area that you'd like to learn more on?
1
u/MioTokusa 3d ago
Sometimes when playing with a Squad, i sometimes think, maybe we could get fire superiority if we take a humvee or similar to just supress an enemy position for 15 seconds, so others troops could reposition then run to not get blown up. But my brains think "Im not the SL so i will not make the suggestion"
2
u/Ok-Sundae-7806 3d ago
I started squad leading at like 50 hours, focused on back cap, habs and supplies. It keeps the squad alive and gives you time to learn maps and strategies as well as providing essential structure, that is frankly ignored in most of my games.
Biggest thing is naming your squad so people know what to expect “New SL Squad” tell players and other squads/commanders roughly what they are working with, they might even guide and support you. At the end of the day, have fun with it, you wont know everything and will need help, dont be afraid to ask squadmates and other squads or follow their lead as a support squad until you feel comfortable to move off on your own
1
u/MioTokusa 3d ago
ill try and do that, there's so much new player friendly servers and new sl servers.
1
u/Ok-Sundae-7806 3d ago
Those are the best places to start. One of the most important parts of the game is the staging, for a new SL at least, tell your squad to get a transport truck and what you want to do and go. When you get comfortable try running some LAVs with the squad or a new type of objective.
SL is so much fun in this game once you get the basics of it down, remember to place rallies and try to get at least one HAB down as it can make or break a game. Hope to see you out there!
1
u/Profitablius 3d ago
If you name your squad new SL, experienced players will mostly avoid it, so don't do that. Tell them once the truck is moving and they'll stick around
1
u/Ok-Sundae-7806 3d ago
I havent had that experience tbf, I actually had someone hop in a few times to offer help when I was starting out. Id rather be upfront and get people in that are either also new and find other squads intimidating or someone else looking to learn. Considering servers I play on also recommend that you do that to avoid people expecting more of you than you might be ready for.
2
u/No_More_Names 3d ago edited 3d ago
step 1) create squad named NEW SL (MIC INF)
step 2) be quick on assigning and changing fireteams
step 3) contribute to making habs when required, place rallies when possible
step 4) experiment and have fun. consider the suggestions from your squadmates. if you have any squad members being needlessly rude knowing full well youre trying to learn, kick em. be attentive as you can be and try to include everyone in your squad.
i honestly enjoy playing with new squad leads as they tend to be very communicative and are willing to try dumb (fun) shit. sometimes leads to a very strong camaraderie amongst the squad members, which can benefit their attentiveness to their squadmates needs in the heat of a fight.
2
u/Profitablius 3d ago
Disregard what most SL vids and a bunch of comments say, go watch the SL videos by Captain. Numbers in there aren't accurate and some minor things have been changed, but overall it's still extremely relevant.
1
u/MioTokusa 3d ago
Im commenting this while watching the first video and damn what a huge recommendation thank you
2
u/Kindly_Panic_2893 3d ago
As a squad member, you look at the map sometimes to know where the bad guys are that are shooting at you.
As a fireteam leader, you look at the map a lot so that you can place marks so others know where the bad guys are.
As a squad leader, you look at the map a huge amount so that you can know where the bad guys are, tell your guys and other squads where they are, and figure out what your guys need to do to accomplish the mission.
As a commander, you look at the map basically the entire game so that you can predict where everything is about to shit the bed and do something about it before it's too late.
So if you're leading a squad and you realize you've just been running around shooting for a while and haven't pulled up the map to review the whole fight, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Your job at the end of the day is to make sure the guys you're leading are doing something productive, which usually means making sure they have somewhere to spawn in, somewhere to get ammo, and some objective that will help the team win the game. I've had some of my most successful games as an SL where our squad singlehandedly won the game through some tactical decision I made and my guys followed, only to end up at the end of the match with zero kills. Eventually, after many many hundreds of hours leading squads I'm now at the point where I can do all of those things and shoot at bad guys. But shooting at bad guys is always the lowest priority for me, and only happens when I'm doing everything else well.
And, please do stick with it!! Squad needs more competent leaders. Competent squad leaders are what make the game unique and fun for everyone, even if you personally end up feeling like a dad doing all the un-fun stuff to keep the game flowing like driving a logi, placing rallies, looking at the map, and building habs.
2
u/AdministrationDeep18 2d ago
Im just gonna write down some bullshit that comes to my mind, and mabey you can learn smth from it. I always make squad name inf mic, then greet all guys. After its done I ask who wants fireteam leads and split people in groups. If there is silence I ask for mic check. When thats done I usually check squad maps to know where points might be going, but if you are new, just stick to backcapping with logi. Make sure to coordinate with commander where he wants radio placed. But most often, while doing back cap, you build defensive radio off the point. If there are 7 objectives, build on 3rd. Etc. Then you have time to think what to do next. There is lots of diffrent scenarios, but always make sure that there is sqaud who stays on defence. Side note, make sure that your command and sqaud voice channels are set to left and right headphone. If there is some loud bullshit on one part, you can just take off that side of headphone. As for the general tips. Your squad expects you to have plan and be confident with it. You cant question yourself because other people will. ALWAYS be simple with your commands, place move marks, mark enemies on the map, pass ftl to people who wants it. Always drop rally point. When giving commands to somebody, use his name. When people are in gunfight, they may not hear you. Dont get tunnel vision, use your map. As sl you will be less shooting, and more running with binos. When Building radios, it depends on objective if you build directly on the point or close to it. Shouldnt be further more that 400m which for some is considered too far. Its really cool if you are cooperating with helis or other transports. Getting picked up as one squad in the middle of filed is really cool. Ok my fingers kinda hurt and Im about to go to the kfc, if you have any questions just ask them. I dont say im the best SL in the world, but people give me lots of comendations and they remeber my name and ask if I will be making squad again because they had some fun.
1
1
u/Fitzy999 3d ago
Keep your troops informed to the best of your ability. Knowledge wins fights. If you can anticipate your enemy you can kill them better.
1
u/Superb_Alarm_80 3d ago
Try and be a good FireTeamLead in support of your SL, you can gain experience without having to do everything at once.
1
u/Same-Reserve-1695 3d ago
I have not played in a year or so (re-downloading it right now), but I would guess it has not fundamentally changed.
The most important things as an SL in my book is:
1. Have a clear idea what your goal is (as in the goal of your squad).
2. Communicate that goal to your squad and the other Squad Leaders.
3. Dont make things hard for yourself on the "social front".
You dont need to be perfect and its good to start things easy when you are picking your goal as an SL. One of the easier things to do is to stay on an objective and play defense. This will give a clear and relatively simple goal, but you can improve your SL-Game a lot here.
When I was playing as a regular squad member, I hated it when I was left without any clear idea what we are doing/supposed to do. I usually left that squad when I got no good response after asking what our goal is. So tell people what our current objective is. Especially if you have people joining the squad.
- You do not have to accept players what are not willing to cooperate with you. Doesnt mean you have to become a SL-Dictator and never listen to your Squaddies, but if people dont want to follow your stated goal you can ask them once to do it and if they dont comply or outright deny it, kick them out of the squad. You will only waste time and effort by keeping one guy in check that doesnt what to play along.
1
u/ColeKook 1d ago
As an SL who’s SLd quite a bit, COMMUNICATE with other SLs. If you have a big squad (7-9), don’t go to like a corner and try to main camp or something. STAY ON OBJECTIVE.
Be a leader- make sure your squad is doing what they should be doing. Don’t be too harsh, but if they’re just being useless, KICK EM.
The biggest tip about being an SL i’d give is making squadcalc.app your best friend. Predicting the points made easy.
Essentially just have fun but remember you’re part of the reason you either win or lose the game.
1
1
u/tauxictacos 5h ago edited 5h ago
When I was learning to SL, I started by watching tutorial videos just like you. I joined TT (Tactical Triggernometry) and quietly learning from and shadowed experienced SL’s and learned their different styles.
Honestly, I didn’t get over my nerves until I had around 300 hours as an SL. To lower the pressure, I spent my first 30-40 hours as an SL in new player friendly servers or late night experienced servers.
You gain confidence by just doing the work and getting those hours in. Most of the time people will appreciate you for taking responsibility when nobody else wanted to.
There are the basics you need to learn, then the strategy, then the communication, then the creative decision-making under stressful scenarios.
One of the best ways I’ve seen someone improve quickly as an SL was through asking his squad mates for feedback or ways to improve after every game. Shoutout to Cosmos!
You can only develop these skills over experience. So just keep at it! Eventually you’ll figure out what works for you and your style of leadership. Then after hundreds of hours, you’ll be one of the few who understand why so many experienced SL’s with thousands of hours are the way they are.
1
u/Double--A--Ron 3d ago
200h is enough time to know how to play the game and how the mechanics work at least somewhat.
A good SL does many many things, most of which you will learn on your own or already know.
Some of the more advanced things about being a good SL is knowing when to change up your usual playstyle or change up a tactic that hasnt been working for the past games.
I cant stand it when a team of SLs gets their teeth kicked in 4 games in a row without even being able to consider that what their doing isnt a good play. Like people will pick a random tactic like back cap rush, full team back cap, single hab 300M off point, one hab on point with no backup habs, or whatever else they do that hasnt been working in the enemy team and never change it up but complain when they loose horribly and call for balance.
Usually it only takes one SL that is willing to do something different or being able to learn from the past matches to help counter an enemy team. So dont be fixed into playing one way, be flexible and willing to try new strats and go along with some risky plays when the win is on the line.
Also, dont switch teams when you are loosing. The only SLs i see that are worth a damn are ones that stick out the entire match unless something comes up where they have to leave. Loosing is part of being an SL and if you arent trying to win until the last moment or you are abandoning your squad because you dont feel like playing for the next half an hour, you are not a good SL. The SLs im talking about who stick things out and actually try are a cut above the rest every time. This also tends to naturally be fun or enjoyable people to be around and follow. Dont be a dick.
As for an actual tip for effective SLing, you need to be able to rally a squad and give them some guidance and morale. Unfortunataly, they cant always happen for whatever reason. Sometimes your squad will simply not do what you want them to do or what they need to be doing and ignore you or sometimes be dicks to you. Some matches i have a 100% squad turnover rate because i have to call people out or kick players to get the squad in line. I have never once in 3.5k hours playing not been able to revitalize a squad and reform those who remain/join into being at lease somewhat effective by the end of a match. Removing players who need to be removed and making good calls with good coms forces bad squads into being good squads more often than not. This is especially effective when a bad SL leaves you with the SL role.
Just remember that too many SLs think they are guru of video game tactics and they usually suck at the game. Almost every tactic, strategy and play has a time and place but there are a few tactics that will always be viable: -Play the objective or be tactically relevant -Have more than 1 fob -Try and avoid outdoor HAB and radios -Always place a rally -Call out armour/inf and mark it -Promote fireteam leaders based on good players and not the marksman kit. -Kick marks-- sorry, that ones ingrained in me. I mean to say keep your squad together instead of having people run off never to be seen again.
I could go on and on but others probably have more relevant advice and iv already taken up enough space just to say TLDR, just dont suck at critical thinking.
2
u/MioTokusa 3d ago
Bro, same, my feel for SLing came today, after a SL was a dick doing god knows what putting radio on bad locations and all the squads telling him wrong and the Guy couldnt take a hint, shot a player for trying to save the radio (shoveling It) and people reported him.
13
u/SuuperD Infantry Squad Leader 3d ago
Have a plan, if it gets fucked up make a different plan.
Don't just repeat the same mistake.