I think I understand why playing commander isn't as popular.

[FURRY BIRD]

I often can score more points not playing commander.

[bman427]

True, but also people never follow orders. And their like f*#@ you commander you cant do s@$#. WTF don't orbical stirke their you f#%# b#$@

[FURRY BIRD]

True, but also people never follow orders. And their like f*#@ you commander you cant do s@$#. WTF don't orbical stirke their you f#%# b#$@

I was in a game last night where people wern't following orders at all so I just resigened and went capping silos and made mega points!

[Revoluti0n]

Actually, if your team sucks I highly doubt being a good commander will make much difference. That is why I think people do not like commanding.

[Shad.au]

I saw one dude put it brilliantly on here; "Commanding is like playing an RTS where your units don't listen to you."

[The 13th Raptor]

I just play commander when there are a bunch of tough walker/apc whores on berlin, orbitals sort them out 7 out of 10 times. I dont bother giving commands, no-one listens.. ever.

[nutcrackr]

Why I don't play much commander

1. Not many people follow orders
2. Not many people really care about winning the round
3. It can be really boring at times
4. Mutiny votes even if you are doing a good job

[Vyshus]

Commanding on a 64 man conquest can give you a LOT of points, kills, and occasionally a competent squad leader.

[Coasterdude-3o5-]

Commanding is fun on Belgrade and Camp. I had 90 commander bonus points and a total of 150 in 1 round yesterday

[Deesies]

titan commanding is boring. There's nothing for you to really do other than click uav or supplies every now and again =/

[Wrekriem]

On the contrary, you can sit in your moving weapons platform of death (titan) and gun down people in between orders.

[GLENNYBOY1]

I don't command much because the commander screen is glitchier than a bag full of glitchy things.
Out of all the bugs in this game its the only thing that makes me want to punch my monitor.

[Micster]

Why I don't play much commander

1. Not many people follow orders
2. Not many people really care about winning the round
3. It can be really boring at times
4. Mutiny votes even if you are doing a good job

I agree with them all. I've had people Mutiny me and they never provide a reason as to why. Mutiny's rarely ever work however. :)

[WanderingZephyr]

I've gotten some very, very high points Commanding on larger infantry servers (150+ Career Points) in Conquest Mode. Out of just a few rounds on that server (pretty quick rounds too) I made off very well.

But that kind of thing seems to not be the norm. I got a lot of those points because almost everyone joined a Squad, and in a level like Berlin all of the fighting is just so concentrated that the career points roll in.

In Camp Gibralter, I also got 12 kills out of one artillery strike before (when the fighting was all concentrated between Ruins and Central Camp).

Titan Commanding though...it's just the opposite.

The fighting is not concentrated, and most people tend not to be in Squads. Getting Commander Bonuses for Squads following orders is rare, and only really seems to happen once the shields go down and people start defending and attacking the Titans. But a lot of people just don't bother with that.

The lack of an Orbital Strike really prevents you from getting kills unless you go do dirty work on the ground or in the Titan Corridors--which some servers explicity warn against.

On top of all this, are the mutiny votes and the rules against what a Commander can and cannot do on some servers. Many don't say a thing about moving Titans when you're loading the map, just a 'check our website for the rules' but will kick you immediatly for it.

Really, the only bonus of Commanding in Titan mode is that you can Command from a safe place (the hanger) and not every worry about getting knifed--at least not knifed by an enemy.

[Styreta]

*edit*

I saw one dude put it brilliantly on here; "Commanding is like playing an RTS where your units don't listen to you."

That was meeeee

[MouseNo4]

I played many rounds where the commander position was empty the entire round. The server was full but we had no commander. Nobody wanted to do it.

That is why nobody wants to be commander, cos it sucks real bad.

[mikeon]

And you can't forget your teamates who hunt you down to knife you while you're in the commander screen.

[StormPirate]

Titan Commanding is much harder than Conquest Commanding. In Titan you have to watch the damage of your Titan in relation to the enemy's Titan, the number of silos each team has, and how many enemy units are on the ground vs/ attacking or defending the Titans. Obviously the first part of the round is much simpler, but once the shields start failing you really need to know when to switch tactics between attacking, defending, and capping silos. Most Commanders don't want to be bothered doing this. Add in the frustration of having some squads ignore your orders, and I can see why most don't want to do it.

They key I think is to use VoIP. Issue orders and quickly explain your tactics over VoIP. You'd be amazed how many SL's will start following orders and getting involved if they know what you're thinking. If you have to deny them a supply request because it's not ready to go, telling them over VoIP prevents them from thinking your just another stupid commander. Also, ask them what they want. If a squad really want to play Titan defense, let them. If for some reason you need to pull them off, explain that you need them to do something else for a bit and they will usually understand.

Voice Communication is the key. IMO, if you don't have a mic, you probably shouldn't play Commander.

[ak1knight]

I don't command because I don't get points for kills, and with no one following orders you have to go and do the dirty work yourself.

[Talus]

From my limited Commander experience, I end up scoring high, often getting Gold.

It really depends on how well you play Commander ;)

[Deesies]

On the contrary, you can sit in your moving weapons platform of death (titan) and gun down people in between orders.

True but you don't get points for it :P

[X-Rayz]

I saw one dude put it brilliantly on here; "Commanding is like playing an RTS where your units don't listen to you."


lol true

[pr3tz3el]

I reckon its about 50-50. Half the time you'll get squads listen to you... others you won't... Thats when you resign...

I like to play squadleader and I normally try to follow commander orders... Although sometimes you do just get a really gay commander who keeps telling you to defend the only flag rather than attack some others...

I personally have more of a problem with people joining my squad and not following orders... If you wanna do your own thing, go lone wolf or make your own squad!!!

[Vikaman]

Thai people dont mind me commanding... they follow orders (well clan squads ..)

AND, they let me run around do my sniping and stuff (NO, I DONT RUN INTO THE BATTLE)
I do what I can to prevent base rapers on Cerbere by sniping the cr@p at the people on the tower. ...

[FURRY BIRD]

I'm lucky to get 30 points per round on a Titan server, where not commanding I could rack up more points than that if I work at it.

[vbl]

1. Not many people follow orders
2. Not many people really care about winning the round
3. It can be really boring at times
4. Mutiny votes even if you are doing a good job

5. It's boring, shallow, and mostly irrelevant

[Minmaster]

i command a lot on titan mode. on conquest, commanding is a lot of work and a crucial element for winning, but not so on titan. commanding in titan mode is okay if you want to kick back and relax. if you want a break from intense action, you can sit back, watch tv, take a shower, eat a meal or do other things while you command and you can rack up pts. without capping or killing. in fact, most of the servers rather have you not partake in the action, so it all works out for me. sometimes i even put myself in the titan AA guns (to get AA hours) and go to bed and wake up next day and notice that i got a gold medal for doing jack. of course most of the times i am doing what commanders need to do, its funny how you can end up getting the same amount of pts. for doing nothing and doing a lot of things. plus, commanding is the easiest way to rack up gold medals.

[Brood+98]

i dont issue orders to squads much, im not their mother, i tell them where the enemy is through spotting, i support them through UAV and orb strikes, and i keep em gunning with supply crates.

theyre not babies, i think squads can look after themselves, provided i give them a hint where the baddies are. spot some baddies and people generally get the idea of where they need to be.

commander, your the ultimate support unit. no more, you just give your team that little edge over the other team. you dish out health, ammo, enenmy scans and the hurt. really the only thing a commander needs to do is laucnha UAV on hot spots every 2 minutes to be great. maybe the occasional orb strike aswell. the whole issuing orders is rubbish, just try and nudge your guys to go where they are needed.

[WarGimp]

Would be nice if more people understood that they can score higher if they listen to the commander. I did a lot of command in BF2 and I've been doing some in 2142. Generally my guys tend to behave rather well. I make sure that I'm supporting them as best as possible and I use VOICE to make sure my SLs are paying attention.

I also take feedback from my troops. When they say they want to be/are doing something particular, I let 'em do it. I explain myself when I give them attack orders to something halfway across the map.

How many people have figured out that you can make some serious points by defending under command orders? If a commander gives you an order to defend a silo and you pick a dude off who's attacking it, you get 1 point for the kill, one point for the silo defense, and one more for squad success/command orders! I shocked my squad last night by doing this as an SL who was in voice contact with command. Ended the round with a fat bonus and a big victory.

[WanderingZephyr]

As a Squad Leader, I personally like Commanders who issue appropriate orders to my Squad--not orders to defend a random position, but just keeps up to speed on where my Attack/Defend orders are, and will give an updated order if my order has become less than relevent.

I just find it easier, since it's once less thing to do. If fighting is tough between flags, I'll often either forget or not feel safe enough to take the time to issue a new order immediatly, so it's nice for the Commander to effectivly do it for me, all I have to do is hit Page Up.

If he's giving random defense orders for flags halfway across the map, or attack orders that are three flags away from where my Squad is, it just becomes a nuisance.

As a Commander I try to do the same--not give far flung orders, but just check up on the Squads and make sure they all have the best orders for where they are fighting. I don't try to really order them to do anything, I just make sure that there orders are on where they're fighting, it means more points for everyone. Since I'm not an active fighting Commander, I usually have time to check up on Squads for orders and such, since other than spotting enemies, there isn't much to do between UAV's and Orbital Strikes.

The most active and helpful thing I do though I think is the spotting. I keep the greater/undetailed map up and spot enemies almost constantly where the fighting is. It bugs some people to constantly hear me spotting, but I really appreciate as a Squad Member, Squad Leader, or even Lone Wolf knowing where enemies are by an Active Commander keeping a constant bead on them, so I assume most people also care (and hey, more points),

[MouseNo4]

I dont know what i do wrong, but i havent even broken 30 points yet on more than 20 attempts. It seems just hopeless.

[WarGimp]

Donno, Mouse.
Have you tried using voice to talk to your SLs?
Sometimes it helps to explain that they need to use the command channel to talk to command.

I've found that in pubs, most players aren't interested in supporting command... until it becomes obvious that in doing so they are better off (both for winning the round and for scoring points).

[sbikerbud]

I agree with them all. I've had people Mutiny me and they never provide a reason as to why. Mutiny's rarely ever work however. :)


I had repeated mutinys against me in one round all instigated by the same person, so I resigned and typed "you want to do it? Be my guest"

We spent the rest of the round without a commander and it was a resounding loss:laugh:

Fluk em:mad:

[dranoz]

Commanding on a 64 man conquest can give you a LOT of points, kills, and occasionally a competent squad leader.

True enough. Unfortunately it's also the only place there might be competition for the job - not only for the reasons you state above, but also because of the "LAWL i g3t 0rbital str1kes!!!1!" crowd.

I guess I gotta keep plugging away for Brigadier General (Major Gold at the moment).

[namvet70]

I have enjoyed playing Commander in Conquest mode a great deal. On Titan mode, it is much more difficult, plus very long and drawn out...... I would say over half of all the games I have commanded have been reasonably close, and the squad leaders were able to take orders and follow them, which resulted in a lot more points for everyone. One of the keys to the Commander position is to keep using all your assets when they become available and constantly watch what is going on. In Conquest mode I rarely get bored, and always find something to do.
It is still a rush to get down to the last 20 points when it is about tied and win the game by 1-0.

Larry

P.S. : I have over 20,000 points in BF2 as Commander

[dranoz]

heh, that is a lot of hours and points, Namvet70. Any quick pointers for somebody just starting out at the commander thing? I'm sure there's an obvious trick or two I don't know about...

[namvet70]

No tricks. Just keep looking until you get on a server with a winning team, preferably one with lots of squads. There will be days when "it is just not happening", so to speak....I always play on full 64 Conquest maps...Keep playing Commander until there are mutiny votes, then alternate with some other players. While playing, keep giving attack orders to all squads for the next flag in line. If things get mixed up with lots of flags in contest, be sure your orders are up to date for the squads. These orders can amount to 50 + or more additional points for you in a game, and many points for your squads, especially for killing the enemy in the order area. This is very important. You need to learn how to use each commander asset. For instance, use the Emp feature each time it is available, even if enemy armor is not in play. It is a great tool to use after an arty attack, when the enemy comes out of hiding, as it stuns them for awhile. On Berlin, the Emp and Orbital Arty one-two punch will knock out APCs many times, if used at the same time. The UAV is also important to use constantly...I use the Scan everytime it is available to look for infiltrators...I drop supplies when they are available to the front line troops, even if they don't ask...You just have to watch the map flow, and use each asset each time it is available. On some maps there are constant requests. You have to know which to ignore, and which to do. Lastly, play on full 64 player Conquest servers. Stay in the back out of the way. I mostly play as Recon with the APM, RDX, frags, and Lambert. When the inevitable sneak attack on your assets comes, you can defend and repel it. After the attack, if you are killed, you can always repair your assets as Engineer, if necessary...

Everone has found a niche, weapon, or Mode they love about BF2142. I think that is its strongest suit. I like to play Commander. 'Nuf Sed.

Larry

[Deady]

Commander can be pretty boring, and you get the blame for EVERYTHING.

We dont hold any silos? Commander's fault.
Our titan is being stormed without any resistance? Commander's fault.

The funny thing is, the people blaming you and mutinying you are the exact same people who don't follow orders and do their own thing.

The one redeeming feature of the commander role is the "Rebuke Squad" and "follow orders" command. You can really wind up some of the more immature, rage filled players just with a quick "Squad, That was a pathetic effort". ;)

I've had SLs spawn on the titan and stab me just for one "listen up subordinate, im in charge here so follow my orders!"

[dranoz]

Excellent, thanks.

[MrChris_CJ]

can be pretty tedious being commander, as well as boring tbh

[ColonelPanic]

The lack of an Orbital Strike really prevents you from getting kills unless you go do dirty work on the ground or in the Titan Corridors--which some servers explicity warn against.


The point of commander is not to get kills. Using orbital strikes to get kills only reduces your potential commander score. Because you don't get credit for kills as commander, you get a higher score if your team has a higher average score. So, if you're killing all the baddies then that will reduce your potential score because you are basically taking away points from the other players.

[dread]

I often can score more points not playing commander.

Also you don't get any combat related pins and spend your time looking on a satellite map, it's just so daaaamn boring -_-

[HG_Eliminator]

Commander is a thankless job for the most part.... i have done very well at times with good squads that listen...

but typically

1. squads dont listen
2. you get blamed for every failure in the game. usually is by the same squad that wouldnt listen...
3. you get hunted by 3+ enemys who cant get a kill unless its 4 on 1 ...
4. moron enemys try to kick vote you.
5. retard team killers detract from the score you should have gotten...
6. Did i mention its a thankless job ????
7. HUD is so buggy it's hard some times to get things working...
8. When your calling out Emeny positions between sat trac and UAV recycling theres always some jerk griping about the notifications and telling ya to shut up...( same guy usually gripes when hes suprised by enemys the commander didnt call out...) DUH..

all in all the perks to being a commander pale in comparrison to the down side ....I do it at times to help out a strugling team...but if they act like jerks.. i resign and do my own thing......

[Minmaster]

Also you don't get any combat related pins -

sorry that's a lie. i've gotten bunch of distinguished pins and everything else so don't misinform people.

[dread]

sorry that's a lie. i've gotten bunch of distinguished pins and everything else so don't misinform people.

I know that you -can- get pins but the most time you -won't-, simply because you have to stay out of vehicles and stand still for doing your job.

[gamefoo]

1. No one follows orders
2. Ridiculous requests for supplies/UAVs
3. Whining about not getting #2
4. Admins "kicking" when I get commander (Brig General so I always get it)
5. No one follows orders
6. Puts me out of action where I make a big difference
7. Admins kicking when I solo defend a point as commander instead of camping spawn.
8. No one follows orders

Just a few

Oh yeah, and no one follows orders

[HG_Eliminator]

oh and did i mention SQUADS DONT LISTEN?????? :p

[RYKUU]

its true you get high points from being commander
if your team is good but i prefer being a squad member then you only take orders from you squad leader

[gamefoo]

Yea Ive gotten over 200 points in one round on a good game of Camp Gibraltar.

[mikeon]

I just let the squad leaders make their own choices. If they have something in mind, I'm not going to stop them. Squad leaders that ask for orders or that have none I'll issue some. I spend most of the time using the scan function and talk to the team about where the enemy is and what we should do. Can't really force them to follow my orders since they are also playing for fun or points.

[193d DCAT1]

The key is to give the squad orders for stuff that they are already doing - if they are attacking/defending the titan then give them orders to do what they are already doing, and the points will flow to all. Give them orders for the flag the leader is at (although this can be hard to tell sometimes on the satellite map).

You can get combat awards for spamming titan missiles or orbital strikes - in fact it can be a n easy way to get the requirements for some of the badges!

I often get gold by playing commander - I find it is an easy way to big points (AS LONG AS YOUR TEAM WINS!)

[sddo]

The lack of an Orbital Strike really prevents you from getting kills unless you go do dirty work on the ground or in the Titan Corridors--which some servers explicity warn against.

whenever i'm commanding in titan mode and the shields go down i switch from engy to support and setup an ammo hub and sentry gun in one of teh long hallways. i can still do my job behind the glass at no risk to my team, but i'm just helping to defend. i don't see anything wrong with that.

[ShotgunSoul]

On the contrary, you can sit in your moving weapons platform of death (titan) and gun down people in between orders.

That's IF the servers allow for moving a titan. Try seeing how many you can kill with the cannons when you're parked at Sidi's start.

They should offer arty for titan commanders; otherwise, it's basically just watching, occasional supply and heads up/UAV. Recon and supply crap I could do without having to sit in the Titan. It does get ironic though that when it comes to late game and shields are down, commanders often have to cap silos as teams are too busy attacking/defending the titans. But I really stopped playing titan when as commander, as few teams followed the "Uh, our shields are down need squad X to get in here" command way too much.

Conquest is a different story, and it's generally good, at least on the servers I play on. Being a commander in 64-player has its advantages, but I rarely send commands UNLESS someone's near a crisis point (enemy squad on the loose, flag cap, need your walker here, etc.). I hate squad leaders who DEMAND new orders every two minutes though. I usually trust squad leaders to do their own thing in the field. Micromanaging from a distance eventually leads to defeat.

As for how to fix the cat herding, well, they should offer MORE POINTS WITH MESSAGES STATING THAT to people following commanders/squad leader orders, and extra points for all players being on a winning team. That might get a few more heads into the situations, rather than playing APM deathmatch or OMG MT WALKR LOL!!!11METEHHOTNESSNOW!

It might.

Also, I wish I could see every team and be able to access it. I see some Alpha squads running on the map, but I can't click on them to speak with them because there was no alpha five minutes ago? Bug?

And oh yeah, orbital strike needs to be BEEFED. The arty from BF2 was the stuff of Ten Commandments-style terror, the wrath of an angry god in both sound effects and in the result of watching homeboy soldier flung around like a chew toy by a rabid rottweiler with Parkinsons. A BF2142 orbital strike? You can bunny hop through the dust through with a few scrapes.

[MouseNo4]

OMFG i just had the best round as commander! 127 - which makes it my highest score! Went for at LEAST 30 mins and only involves 3 squads. Those squads didnt listen to a word i said for about 10 minutes, but i constantly talked over voip as to the orders i was giving them, what was happening, where the enemy was and and if they wanted anything.

Nobody spoke back to me but after 10 minutes, they started to obey orders and damn, i almost feel sad that when i ordered one of my squads to attack a flag, they died.

The squads where hopping between flags like tapping piano keys. I did the best i could to support all the squads - even to the point of guiding them to enemies and warning them about dangers etc.

It was awesome.

[Jlspence]

heh, that is a lot of hours and points, Namvet70. Any quick pointers for somebody just starting out at the commander thing? I'm sure there's an obvious trick or two I don't know about...

You might take a look at this thread:

http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12195

[Jlspence]

And oh yeah, orbital strike needs to be BEEFED.

The Orbital Strike is strange. On infantry, it's just as you say...typically a few kills AT MOST. The BF2 arty was insane against infantry. I once got 65 kills in a BF2 round. However, against armor and combined with the EMP Strike, the OS is an almost certain kill. Arty in BF2 almost never took out armor unless it was already seriously damaged or one was lucky enough to score a direct hit.

[mikeon]

Maybe that was the point of the orbital strike in bf2142. Not for the commanders to kill a bunch of infantry or that one person at the flag, but to kill the dangerous armour to your team.

[Stryker]

The commander screen compared to BF2 is soo ugly. Hard to do the things I was able to do in BF2.