Guide to the Commander Mode (Basic)

[Bird Killer]

Alright, I notice that many are having difficult using the commander mode and really don't learn anything than pretty much using the Artillery. I hope this manual will help:

Commander's role is to execute assaults, defense, and other actions/recommendations that will make the team better than the other. Usually, a commander who does achieves this role will get more respect from their team and most likely win seeing how the match is won by only 20-50 ticket points by the winner.

How to become a commander:

Once you're in the game press "Enter" unless you're in the spawn screen and click on the "Squad" tab and you should see "Commander" with the option to apply for the commander, mutiny the current commander and be the commander, or resign from being a commander.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/5286/applycommanderde7.png

Apply for Commander

If you apply yourself, you have to wait a while until the game picks who should be the commander. If it has chosen you, a message should appear on your bottom left screen asking wheter to accept or decline the position of commander.

Press "Page Up" key to accept
Press "Page Down" key to decline.

Mutiny the bastard!

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5075/mutinyuc2.png

If you pick the option to mutiny the commander, the game will present a vote to the team with the option to:

Vote to kick the current commander
or
Vote to keep the current commander

So, far I have not yet seen a commander actually get kicked, thanks to the fact that this voting system has a very low profile in people's HUD's and the fact that NO ONE CARES ABOUT THEIR TEAM! If one does get booted, then damn, that commander must have done something extremely wrong.

Also, some servers have turned off the mutiny option so if you have a lousy commander with this server-side option on, you're out of luck.

Resignation

Resigning makes you quit being the commander. To resign, click on the very same button that was selected to apply for commander:

http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/3186/resign1nj7.png

or select the option on the bottom right portion of the commander mode:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/5457/resign2yg4.png

How the Game picks the commander

The game claims it has chosen the player with the highest rank out of the players who applied. If the two or more candidates have the same rank, I believe the game will choose the player who has the highest global score or has the highest score. I cannot confirm it right now.

Congrats, you're now the commander, now what?

Once you have accepted to become the commander, press the "CAPS LOCK" key to open up your commander controls. You cannot access to this if you are dead.

Commander Mode:

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/2074/screen056bv7.th.png (http://img377.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screen056bv7.png)

The eye of the commander: Map

This Map is a non-transparent full map showing your squad leaders, friendly teammates, and flags. What many don't realize is that you can actually zoom in and have a bird's eye view of the map real-time showing everything, including the enemies. I could say this is almost like a map hack. To zoom into the map to a certain area, left click that area and then use your scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in or out. Now, if you do not have a scroll wheel, check your control options to see which key is used to zoom. This is damn useful for anyone who has a mic assuming he doesn't babble and actually say useful things. You don't need a special option to do this, you always have this, the only thing is you have to search for enemies or key objects.

Zoomed:

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/6166/screen060gm5.th.png (http://img375.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screen060gm5.png)

Commander's 5 basic action

There are 5 basic and eye catching options for the commander. They are easy to use and pretty easy to understand. Just click that option and then click one of the map you want that action to be executed except for "Scan" which scans the whole map.

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8837/commanderoptions3aw.png


Scan:

Basically this is a one time radar that scans the whole map. The enemies will show up as a red big dot. This option is useful when you use Artillery or want to monitor enemy movements.

This option is disabled if your radar is destroyed:

http://img253.echo.cx/img253/5606/radar4pp.jpg


Scan:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5521/scanningtd7.th.png (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanningtd7.png)
Artillery[/B]

Most likely the reason why many want to become a commander, this option makes the 1 or more howitzers launch multiple rounds at a concentrated area that is selected by the commander. The impacts are always random so it might not hit the target you want to such as directly on a flag or an armor. Artillery is very effective against infantry and light armors but never on heavy and medium armors such as the M1A2/T-90 or the LAV-25.

As of 1.03/1.10, Artillery no longer gives you "kill points" (+1 for every enemy you kill, this is not a "score point") during the round. However, artillery kills will still be registered to your global portfolio. This means, you can still earn badges based on kills and increase your global kills with artillery.

It is believed this change was implemented to prevent ex-commanders from getting both score and kill points with their artillery that they ordered shortly before they resigned. When looking at the bare perspective, this change does not affect commanders who did or does not abuse their position, to them, it's simply a "cosmetic" change on the score board.


This option is disabled if someone destroys your artillery pieces. However, you can also repair them:

http://img253.echo.cx/img253/7271/mecartllery0yz.jpg

Artillery barrage in Commander's view (You feel like god and pity those who are in your screen of death):

http://img45.echo.cx/img45/5381/artillery7be.th.jpg (http://img45.echo.cx/my.php?image=artillery7be.jpg)


Artillery barrage in-game (Screw duty and loyalty to my unit, i'm getting out of here):

http://img45.echo.cx/img45/6126/artilleryingame7pl.th.jpg (http://img45.echo.cx/my.php?image=artilleryingame7pl.jpg)


UAV

This option launches an invisible unmanned recon aircraft that constantly scans an area equivilant to a grid size constantly for a long time. Enemies will blink as red targets such as a red dot (infantry) or a red tank (armor). This is very useful when you are monitoring an area to find hidden or camouflaged enemies such as in a flag zone. Another great thing about this UaV is that your teammates will also see the enemy that is detected by the UAV on their radar.

Since 1.20, whenever the commander uses the UAV ability, an actual UAV is deployed above the area of target. The UAV is destructible, bringing the UAV scan to a premature end, but due to constant orbit over the target and small size, it is difficult to destroy without heavy caliber weapons.

You may stumble upon a target that is highlighted in white than red; that target is the enemy's commander

This option is disabled if your enemies destroy a recon hut:

http://img253.echo.cx/img253/5742/reconhut5mp.jpg


UAV:

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/530/uavcloseupag4.png


UAV scan detecting 2 hostile APCs (scan size looks smaller the larger the map is):

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5576/uaveffectqf7.png



Supply Drop

This option magically makes a supply box appear out of the sky and falls down by parachute. Anyone can use this and it is destructable. You can actually kill infantry if the package lands right on them, but quite rare. This will most likely become useful once people learn how to request ammo! Another great feature: this package also repairs vehicles and commander assets. However, it will not repair "neutral" objects such as bridges.

There are no assets or objects that are responsible for supply crate drops; Commanders will always have this option for the entire round.

Supply crate:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1589/supplycratenc2.jpg


Vehicle Drop

Available to the commander when Patch 1.30 was released, commanders are now able to drop transport vehicles, either DPV/FAV or Humvee/Vodnik/NJ2034 depending on the map:

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/3058/vehicledropyu1.png


Strike at Karkand: Heavy transport
Mashtuur: Heavy transport
Operation Cleansweep: Light transport
Wake Island 2007: Light transport
Songhua Stalemate: Light transport
Fushe Pass: Light transport
Dragon Valley: Light transport
Sharqi Peninsula: Heavy transport
Dalian Plant: Light transport

There is an interesting use for this ability exploited by commanders known as "cartillery". Like supply drops, the idea is to drop the vehicle onto an enemy or vehicle to kill the unlucky target. Unlike supply drops, vehicles are more effective as they do not veer off target of the drop and lands faster, at least visually. Due to the nature of freedom offered by Battlefield 2, there are several other uses of vehicle drops than from its true purpose.

Basic Option's Time Chart

http://img253.echo.cx/img253/7370/bf2reloadtimes9ui.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)


Accept Commander: The time it takes for each ability to be available once a member become a commander.

Deployed: The time it takes for each ability to be available once it has been used.

Runs For: The time each ability lasts (i.e, UAV scans the area for 30 seconds until it goes away).

Before impact: Time it takes for the ability to "hit" the target (i.e, it takes 7 seconds for the supply to land on the ground).

This chart is made by Anders who is from a PoE Tournament known as Total-War (www.total-war.com) (http://www.total-war.com%29).

Squad info & comments

One of my favorite part about being a commander, ordering a squad to do something...which no one does.

Squad Info

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5770/squadinfoat8.jpg


On box on the middle left side shows the Squad info such as how many squads you have, how many members each squad has, and what kits each member of the squads have:

Special Forces: Sword/Sabre
Assault: FAMAS weapon
Medic: Cross
Anti-Tank: Rocket
Enginneer: Wrench
Support: Machine Gun Mounted on Tripod
Sniper: Crosshair

If one of the member has a vehicle icon (Tank, transport, helicopters, etc.) it means that he is in a certain vehicle that relates to the icon.

The green bar indicates the each member's health.

The box to the most right can have 3 icons:

Green Check-Mark- The squad leader has accepted your order
Red X- The squad leader has refused to follow your order
Yellow question mark "?"- The squad leader is requesting order

To select a certain squad, simply click on that squad info and it'll become highlighted or simply press the number key on your keyboard that corresponds to the squad # such as pressing Key 3 to select squad 3

To select more than one squad, simply press CTRL or Shift and select the squads with the mouse. This can save a some time by not having to go through squads one by one.

Squad Comments

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5889/squadorderscn5.jpg


Right click the squad info to make comments such as:

Commend (Good Job!)
Rebuke (YOU SUCK AS A SQUAD LEADER!)
Follow Orders!
Artillery incoming
Artillery Availale
Supply Drop Available
UAV Available
Divide Squad (Rare to see any commander to use this command)

Commander & Squad commands

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/2778/ordershr6.png

These are the tools to command your squads effectively and quickly. You can bring these commands up on the map by dragging the mouse over the point you are concerned about and right click on it. There are 2 categories of commands:

Squad Commands

These are the squad commands that are brought up:
Move to this position (Yellow Arrow)
Defend this point (Purple Shield)
Attack this Position (Orange Sword)
Repair this object (Red violet wrench)
Destroy this target (Hammer)
Mine this point (Mine)

This will save time from having to type to the squad and you can quickly pinpoint the exact location the action to take place. It also has a better method of gaining attention to the squad leader than just regular text.

Commander's action

Zoom
Spotted
Call in Artillery
Deploy UAV
Drop Supplies

Zoom

Do I have to explain this? It's the same as zooming in and out of the map except you do it differently. The former option makes you left-click on the point and scroll the mouse wheel to zoom (or press a key that's assigned to zoom) while the latter option makes you right click on that point and select "Zoom." I prefer the former option since it's faster.

Also I have to say that if you do not have a mouse with a scroll wheel, buy it damnit! It'll make the game and internet browsing more enjoyable than having to use "drag here, click here, pull down here" method.

Spotted

There is this one particular squad command in which works similar as using the "Spot command" in-game. Obviously it's called Spotted and the way it works is if you detect a target such as a sniper, you can give the "Spotted" Command over the target and the enemy will appear in your teammates radar for a short period of time. This can really save you a lot of time and not to wast the UAV ability just to show your guys one or few enemies.*

You may stumble upon a target that is highlighted in white than red; that target is the enemy's commander

The other three commands (Artillery, UAV, Supply Drop) are the same options as the 4 basic options I told you. The only difference is how you order these actions. The former option makes you click and drag the "crosshair" of the action over the map. The latter option makes you right-click over the point and select the action.

Squad Leader's Request

Squad leaders can request commanders to take certain actions to help and aid the squad in their mission or goal. They can request:

Orders
Artillery
UAV
Supplies

Orders- When they want orders, an exclamation mark "!" will come up in the squad info of the squad requesting the order. If this happens, it's common sense to give an order to the squad than just doing nothing as if the squads got a dead commander pigging for points.

Artillery, UAV, and Supplies- When a squad leader requests any one of these, a yellow icon will show up that corresponds to the action in need:

Gun surrounded by circle: Artillery is requested
5 pointed object: UAV is requested
Parachute: Supply is requested

To accept the request, right-click the map and two choices, Accept and Decline, will appear. It's highly recommended that you accept requests as it helps your team hence more score for you (explained later). If the action is available, and you accept the request, the action will take place where it was requested. However, when the action is not yet available for use and you accept the request, the squad leader will get an excuse of why his request cannot be accepted.

If there are two or more requests from squad leaders at the same time and you only want to accept certain requests such as only UAV and Supplies, right-click and accept over or near the request icons you choose to do. This should only accept the requests you choose to do without accepting another request you choose not to do (i.e. accepting to start an artillery barrage with 5 of your men in the area).

Finding a specific unit or kit to do a job

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/5609/screen018hr9.png

In the bottom of the Commander screen, you'll notice several icons of weapon kits (and types of armors. This toolbar is used to find infantry with a certain kit or in a certain vehicle by hiding other teammates of the map that does not fit the requirements. Say you need to find the closest medic for a certain squad, punch in the medic icon:

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1457/medicfindercm9.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=medicfindercm9.jpg)

Remember that this feature also applies to vehicles too. However, I believe you can easily find which vehicle you want than trying to find an infantry with a certain kit. Also, you can punch in more icons than one. So if you want to find two or more infantry with certain kits that are different from each other at the same time, just punch in their icons and they'll be the only infantry to show up on the map. This toolbar is an excellent way to find the right man for the job in short time in searching and execution.

Unfortunately, you cannot communicate to these selected players via VOIP unless they are a squad leader.

Voice over IP

Battlefield 2 has a built in communication via microphone system in which commanders can communicate with squad leaders, and squad leader can communicate with his squad. Lonewolfs cannot use this feature.

As a commander, communication is crucial as you have a clear bird's eye view of the map. Therefore, relaying real-time messages is a great aid to your squad and team.

Icons that indicate your mic is "live"

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/2748/squadsquadleader8se.jpg
Squad Leader to Squad member or vice versa

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5826/commandersquadleadervoip7vm.jpg
Commander to Squad Leader or vice versa

To talk to a certain or individual squad(s), the CO should highlight the concerned squads then press the "B" key to communicate. Using the "B" key allows for voice comm *only* to the highlighted squads. Using the "V" key by default sends the CO's comm to *all* squads.

To talk to a specific squad, press the squad's number on the keyboard*, then press B to talk to only that squad. CTRL+numbers* followed by B will talk to those selected squads. V talks to all squads and works outside of the commander window. B does not.

*The number keys are what many call "hotkeys" or "bind keys." For these number keys, you select the squad that corresponds with the number you pressed (Key 3 = Squad 3).

The communication line is: Commander <-> Squad Leader <-> Squad Members
There is no method to communicate via voice to squad members directly from the commander.

Commander Points and Commander Bonus

How Commander Points work

The formula for commander points is:

Total score earned points by the team / # of players = Commander score.

Back in the days when BF2 players were still trying to figure out the forumula, many believed it was the average score per player in the team, even the crappy BF2 manual stated this theory. However, many pointed out several flaws in this theory, either by testing it or giving a counter scenario such as: "Why won't commander's score drop if the average score of each player decreases?"

The word that was missing in the theory that the commander score is based on the average score per player was EARN. This word drastically changes how the commander earns its points and explains various causes that lead to commanders getting points.

Again, I shall remind you:
Commander score formula: Total score points earned by team / # of players in the team.

You see, when the average points earned by player goes up, the commander's score also increases. What's so unique about this formula compared to others is that commanders are immune to point reduction if their team's average score decreases due to TKs or other similar acts. Also, it safegaurds commanders from losing commander points or being delayed from earning their commander points if one or few of their teammates, especially players that gained high # of points, leaves the server hence dropping the average points per player.

This formula also explains why commanders get points if a player kills a spotted enemy either by commander's spot command or UAV, why commanders earn points if their teammates captures the flag, and other events that are based from conicidence in relation to this formula.

In addition, it encourages the commander to keep supporting their team to earn more points via UAV, Spots, and Supplies. Furthermore, since commanders do not get any score points from artillery kills, commanders must carefully decide whether to use artillery against its foes that could be dealt with by friendlies. After all, friendlies get score points for killing hostiles (1 kill = 2 score points), but commanders do not (CMDR achieving 1 Kill/Assist/Capture = 0 points) in ANY WAY. These kills by commanders however will be credited into their combat score, total kills, class/kit kills, and vehicle kills (if inside).

Do you see the irony? Killing enemies or capturing flags alone as commander will make you steal points from your teammates and therefore, by the formula, you will also be robbed of potential commander points.

Example of the formula in the works: In the first half of the match, your team consists of 20 players who earn a total of 400 points. However, due to Teamkills and other related incidents, your team has an overall total score of 325. In the 2nd half, 10 players from your team disconnects the server and thus you have a total of 10 players in your team. They earn a total of 300 points but due to TKs and other related incidents, your team has an overall total score of 250.

So with the given information, what's the total possible score a commander would get before the 2x bonus? Lets see:

1st half: 400 points earned / 20 players = 20 points per players
= 20+ for commander

2nd half: 300 points earned / 10 players = 30 points earned per player
= 30+ for commander

The total score a commander could have before 2x bonus is 50.

Commander Bonus

As you know, only Commanders get 2x bonus if his team wins. However, it's not actually a 2x bonus but it's good enough to describe it generally. In truth, the game doesn't actually double your score, but actually adds the commander points you earned to your total score. The significant effect of this rule is

-Even if somehow, such as teamkill, you lose points, the bonus will still account for that point

-No one can double their points simply by becoming the commander just before the round ends.

So let's say you had the total of 50 commander points and overall of 50 points. You score 2 teamkills, giving -8 to your overall score to 42. The round ends with your team winning the round. Instead of 42 x 2 = 84, you actually get 92 points. Why? Because the game actually adds your overall score to the commander points you earned, so it's actually 42 + 50 = 92.

Conclusion, the formula is: Total Score + Commander Points Earned, not Total Score x 2.

Finally, players who rack up a lot of points by kills, teamwork points, and flag captures and quickly be commander before the round ends do not double his score because he had no commander points to be added to his total score at all.

No closing remarks due to character limit

-Bird Killer

[DevilDog#1]

You the man!!! :lol:

[Phalanxe]

Perhaps you could mention that squad leaders can contact the commander using the T key to request artillery, supplies, etc. Also, squad members have less options that the leader, but can request things from the leader so that he can contact the commander. Otherwise, nice guide.

[littlejay]

yummy, this helps :)

[Atolmazel]

Does anyone know what these buttons are for yet? (see attached)

[Bird Killer]

Heh, thanks, in reply to Phal, this was only suppose to be a Commander's guide. I might make a Squad leader's guide too and hopefully it'll be a lot shorter. As to Atolmazel, I'll find it what it does, I just learn all these things just be playing not by in-depth examination. I suspect those things will point out which person has a certain kit in the map by hiding other people who doesn't have the certain kit/vehicle so you can quickly find the right man for a certain job. An example should be trying to find your nearest SF guy that's near the enemy artillery or bridge for demolition.

[ahhsai]

already found those out mysef, but damn good guide, hope it helps lessening the amount of commanders running around in jeeps a=calling artillary strikes through the "t" command lol =D

[Atolmazel]

I agree, the commander stuff seems pretty easy to grasp (especially with Mr.Tutorial Voice), and yet some people still seem to not get it on servers. So a tutorial like this is a good idea, but as far as I can tell people are catching on pretty well as the interface explains itself really rather well.

Also, I don't know if it's in the guide but holding down 'k' allows the commander to speak to all the squad leaders at once. And I think any of the squad leaders holding down k can do the same thing, including the commander.

[SPARTACUS]

Excellent info, I hope that everyone who applies for the commander position in the game reads this. I have played several times where I request orders, artillery, UAV and supplies and NOTHING happens. During one game, I saw a commander get booted off because he wasn't doing anything.

This function (commander) is very useful when it is used correctly, and you have obedient squad leaders. Which unfortunately rarely happens as you mentioned.

[konquerer]

Just to add some things.....you can also point out snipers or other hostiles by right clicking and choosing spotted,then all friendlies will see them on their map for a short time

You do not need to rely on engineers to repair your equipment....just drop a supply/repair box near your equipment and it will repair itself!

And to select a squad to order ,all you need to do is click on their corresponding number(ETC squad 1 press number 1,convient for quickly ordering several squads easily)

1st USe the scan so YOU can see where the enemies are .......NEXT

USE the uav so YOUR TEAM can see where the enemies are

[Refused]

Good post. I've seen too many guys being commanders, running around like rambos because they don't know how to be commander.

[Doorgeslagen]

Perfect guide. Thanx, now I know what to do. I never was commander because I want to learn the role first before I play and now I know I can be a commander. See ya'll on the battlefield :)

[Bird Killer]

Updated and revised, thanks Konquerer, your tip has been posted and credited. I'll be also trying to find out what those icons on the bottom means.

And I wish my thread title was changed removing the (Basic), this guide has been updated and revised so much that I don't think it stops at the basics anymore.

*cough*mods*cough*.

[[bic]Argonaut]

ive been searching for a post like that since the demo came out. thanks very much for the in depth look into the commander mode.

ive been on many servers but only on a few, there were actually people willing to play this role, which ive dedicated myself too.

i hope there will be more info on tactics and strategies soon :)

edit: i think this should be a sticky! many people dont know hwo to play this role, maybe it even deserves a place in a news post.

[DMC]

Nice guide!

[Fugufish]

Being the commander is a lot of fun and quite challenging. Like you said, having a competent squad(s) that actually listens makes it all worth while. Good tip about the supply crates repairing your stuff. I saw them next to the MEC artillery and now I know why! I also enjoy being in a good squad with VoIP.

[|TG|Tempus]

Nicely done!

[HYP3R]

Good tutorial. I played commander several times. Also, there were several morons that tried to Mutiny me because I wasn't calling in Air strikes and sending a UAV where they asked. Kinda hard when the enemy blew the artillery and radar. I tried to explain this to the team to "get repairs to this location" but they kept saying STFU and trying vote me off. Finally I said screw you and Resigned. Another got in there and was like "Let me show you how its done... wait.. hey why can't I use artillery" .... HELLO *******! I say "LMAO!"

[hollowpoint367]

The buttons on teh bottom allow you see JUST selected units, or all. ex/ if you click kits and and click a few kit-buttons, only the ones selected will show on your radar. The other side shows vehicles. This is useful if you have some guy not in a squad, but you need to find him and all you know is his class (but why would you want to help a lone-wolfer?).

Currently, one of the most devious strategies my friend and I have come up with is to drop supplies in an enemy cp. Yes, an enemy cp. Why? becuase then I call an artillery strike right on top of the just-dropped supplies. The enemy gather around the box, rearming and whatever else they like to do; they praise their commander, when suddenly*BOOOOMM!!!! *

[imported_Psycho]

i think voting on Battlefield is generally screwed up as half the people don't vote and there is an option so u can opt out of i think if your on a 64 player sever then 20 people or less should have to vote for it to be passed cause half the team doesn't bother voting anyway

its a good guide

[Bird Killer]

Specific infantry kit & vehicle toolbar that is located on the lower part of the commander's screen is now added and explained in the guide. I have also added in screenshots of the Artillery.

Most likely to revise the article, it just doesn't sound good to me...

Edit: I think this current guide will be my final, I don't know anything that I haven't covered about the commander mode and the only changes i'll most likely makes are edits and some small revisions.

[Bloodening]

You should add that it's possible to select multiple squads at once by CTRL and/or SHIFT clicking in the squads list.
I saw someone asking about this some days ago.

[Atolmazel]

Damn it. What was the button to communicate with all squad leaders? A yellow speaker comes up with a star above it, as opposed to the green one. It's not k...

It's a shame you can only threaten squads if they disobey and not take any real action (like dispanding them)

[Syndicate]

:yay: Thanks for the guide for nubs. Now hopefully we can stop having retarded commanders and more responsible people fill the positions. I however messed up the first time being commander but it took me about 10-15 minutes to get the hang of it. But for all the other retards out there please read this useful information. I think this thread should be stickied at the top.

[geddeth]

You do not need to rely on engineers to repair your equipment....just drop a supply/repair box near your equipment and it will repair itself! Excellent info. Thanks!

[geddeth]

Damn it. What was the button to communicate with all squad leaders? A yellow speaker comes up with a star above it, as opposed to the green one. It's not k...

It's a shame you can only threaten squads if they disobey and not take any real action (like dispanding them)

Yeah. I'd like to vote for adding answers to those.

1. What are all the commander's VOIP keyboard shortcuts?

2. What do each of the squad right-click menu commands actually tell the squad/squad leader (commend, rebuke, etc.)?

Great guide, though, thanks!

[CoLbY^]

you are god, i have been lookign for this since i downloaded the demo. Thank You!

[FrodoFraggins]

Excellent guide. Sticky for you.

[zrulli]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! Nice Frodo!

[Ozirtz]

Damn this site just keeps getting better by the hour!! Awesome job and Thanks, I wish everyone would read that.

:cool:

[l337-Sniper]

very useful guide :) thanks for takeing the time to write it

[Beugnen]

Top FAQ! Keep it up!

[Bird Killer]

Yeah. I'd like to vote for adding answers to those.

1. What are all the commander's VOIP keyboard shortcuts?

2. What do each of the squad right-click menu commands actually tell the squad/squad leader (commend, rebuke, etc.)?

Great guide, though, thanks!

I can answner #2, Commend is congratulating the squad while rebuking is like threatining them, they're only words, they do not trigger any actions at all. The others are quite obvious. You will hear what the commander will say to the squad leader.

The last time I remember selecting the key to bring up that speaker with star was "T," however my control settings are modified so it might not be the default key.

And thanks for the sticky

[TexRoadkill]

Nice guide.

Here's a little practical advice for newbie comanders. Some people like to hide and command but I prefer to be a sniper or engineer and protect my toys. Especially the arty.

I usually follow these steps:

1. Do a scan to know where the enemy is grouping up or flanking.

2. Drop a UAV on where the enemy is concentrating or the most threatening. People will usually attack where they see they enemy on their radar so the UAV can guide squads without giving them orders.

3. Drop arty on where you think the enemy will be in about 10 sec.

4. If any of your assets are damaged then DROP SUPPLIES ON THEM!!! It is usually faster then trying to find an engineer to travel over and fix them.

[[bic]Argonaut]

5.) (or so) i usually try to drop a supply box on starting enemy helis, when i see one starting on the radar. its fun, cause it takes 80% of its "health" ... hehe.

[Bird Killer]

I also want to notify that I won't be having BF2 once it releases because i'll be visiting U.S. (California) during my summer vacation hence being away from my gaming computer. At the same time, I plan to keep using this guide for the commander mode BF2 retail. So if you see any changes in BF2 retail from BF2 demo in the commander mode, please do tell me so I can quickly make the revisions once I get on a computer after the release of the game. And screenshots too if there's any new features.

[GhostRecon]

awesome guide

[MOZI -ASO-]

A good tip is go and practice your commanding skills in the singleplyer mode.This way u can familiarise yourself with the commander screen etc. Then u can go in and try ya hand on multi as commander without people voting a mutiny against u and makin u feel like a fool :)

[JIGA]

I knew a lot about the commader mode, but what I didn't know was:
What many don't realize is that you can actually zoom in and have a bird's eye view of the map real-time showing everything, including the enemies.

Now that's just flat out cool but.... can this be disabled if your radar/uav is taken out? Or do you get to see this all the time. If you get to see it all the time well... it's ok but if your radar goes out or UAV this view should go out. It seems like a satalite image to me, there should be a way to take it out so the commander can not view it all the time.

[Bird Killer]

Nope, there is no way to disable this feature, it's not super-cheap as you might think, although you see things in real-time, you have to zoom really close limiting your field of view at the same time making it somewhat hard to spot enemies with your own eyes.

[geddeth]

Yeah, try your scroll button to see what he means. There's really no time to scan the map that way, tagging all the enemies one-by-one. And like with the UAV, once you tag an enemy, it's only shown on your team's minimap for, like, 6 seconds or something.

I usually use the zoom-and-tag function when I've just run a scan of the map. I then throw in a UAV in the area with most enemies, or where an attack mission is going on for one of the squads, or wherever it'll do the most good. I then attempt to tag as many remaining blips from the scan before they go away.

I agree that it's a bit unrealistic, that you can't scan once your radar is out, but you can view real-time satellite video images .. but hey, it's only a game, right!? :-D

[MoJo|Night]

Just a quick note to say that Caps lock would not work on my computer to get into commander mode, I had to bind it to another key to be able to access commander mode, this may explain the number of T menu only commanders out there.

I think the default VoIP commander/squad leader chat key is V by the way for those who were asking.

[imported_DrunkenMonkey]

Good work on the Commander guide. Commander mode is a lot of fun but not well documented on the demo. Some I was able to figure out by trial and error. (calling arty down on your own squads definitely a noob commander error, heads up people!) Dropping supply crates near damaged buildings is great as its almost impossible to get someone to repair things. One tip for supply crates, if you drop them right on a vehicle, they will break then you have a pissed off squad calling for ammo 'till they are gunned down.
One thing I was wondering is if its possible to issue orders to unassigned(lonewolf) players. Do they hear orders issued to squads? Do you need to right-click on each individual? Often I have a whole team of loners and despair at actually coordinating my team. Calling arty down on some "teammates" on purpose may have crossed my mind more than once but I have so far resisted the urge.
Commander mode rocks, and probably is even better with actual functioning squads.

[strathound]

Here's a little tip for all the new Commanders on the USMC side. First of all, all Commanders should be scanning the battlefield as often as possible. This will allow you to follow enemy troop movement and predict where attacks will occur.

That said, watch out for enemy troops on your carrier. When you notice a blip appear all of a sudden (parachute) or you see the blip approaching slowly from the sea (boat or APC), let your troops know. Then, when the enemy is onboard, do a UAV scan of the carrier, find the spawn camper, zoom in on his position and keep using the Spotted tag to keep him well lit up for your friends to see. Your buds should make short work of the little bugger. This will keep him from spawn camping your troops, mining the flight deck or destroying your command center and radar.

[imported_bl1nd]

All i got to say to all the new guys on the game is

PLZ dont apply for commander if u dont know crap about it, ur ruining others gaming experience, because ur making the team lose, the commander is an important part of the game

Im number 180 in the leaderboard of commanders

Always use scan before artillery, dont bomb every place like crazy, be patient, wait

when the enemies are taking a flag and the flag turn white always try to bomb that place

[Mr. ADHD]

Hey hey,

To expand on what you said. A team of six can blow away an uncoordinated enemy. MARK MY WORDS, if people don't get their act together and use VOIP, the Commander option and teamwork, their game play will be reduced to being non-existant.

Personally, clans will soon wipe the map...so if you're not in, one like myself, find one otherwise you'll never last.


Mr. ADHD_C

[wutdafeezi]

Nice guide :)

[|LW|Shinji]

The most dedicated BF:" guy yet. I praise you for the time you took to make this :D

[christerflea]

very nice guide, thank you

[thredge]

OK, forgive my ignorance, but the buttons at the bottom of the map seem pretty usless to me as there is no way to contact the individuals you locate with it or even to figure out who the heck they are so you could try to contact them. Does anyone else have a better understanding of this? And also, is the commander even allowed to send commands of any sort to anyone except for the squad leaders?

Also it seems that after becomming the comander it doesn't seem like you can see who is actually in the squads so you know who you are talking to. The small work around for this that I found was just to hit the tab key, and it seems for the commander at least they actually show your team divided up into the squads here.

Oh, and maybe the kits button should be mentioned if you click it the personel icons will show up as the various kit icons so you can see where they are.

[ShortChop]

Here's some q's I didn't get to read pg three I'll do it when I get home. I'm a work and it's time to go so here it is quick style -


1) As Commander: How do I cancel commands?

2) As Commander: When I send an order to attack then send another one it puts a yellow line and a white one? What is the difference?

3) While in a server and playing is there a way to find out what server you are currently playing?

4) Is there anyway to color code the text for different squads?

5) Change squad colors or tags to identify on the command screen the different squads without having to click on the squad number?

[geddeth]

1) As Commander: How do I cancel commands?I don't believe this is possible. Like with artillery, supply drops etc.

2) As Commander: When I send an order to attack then send another one it puts a yellow line and a white one? What is the difference?The yellow one represents the squad's current, accepted order. The white one is your new order, which hasn't been accepted by the squad leader yet. When he/she accepts it, the yellow line will disappear, and the white will go yellow :)

3) While in a server and playing is there a way to find out what server you are currently playing?I believe you can ESC to the menu and find out there somehow, but I can't remember the exact method right now.

As for the last questions, I'd like to know as well.

[[VA]Stalin]

Wrote a quick 7 step commander thing in another thread, thought maybe it would be a good idea to put it here for a sticky since it works for me (unless you guys dissagree with it of course):

So far I have an excellent commander experience where people actually listened to my orders and actually did mutiny vote against other guy almost immediately if he outranked me and got commander position (and that was on a 32 player server). Here is what I learned to do:

1) You MUST use VOIP ALL the time and inform people about the current map situation. People are NOT going to follow your blind orders if you just order them to defend or attack different targets; you have to tell them the reason why you are asking them to do that. A good example, you see that Western most enemy point is clear when you did a scan, you Voice to squad leaders saying that they can take the point easily and assign a squad that is closest to it to attack that point. If they refuse, no probs, assign the other squad and always be polite about it.
2) Same thing for defense, a lot of times people refuse to be on defensive, and I fully respect that because if some commander just orders me to defend back of the base without telling me why, well, I'm just not going to do it. But, as a commander you have to say something like: Incoming enemy towards North-West flag, it looks like a jeep with couple of enemies. If anyone available please spawn there. This works for me 95% of the time especially if you zoom all the way in and guide your guys to enemy soldier.
3) Don't just send UAV over where there is most amount of enemy; send UAV for these hard to get spots or for defensive purposes, so they would see that single enemy that is trying to capture/defend the flag.
4) Always point out availability of the vehicles. If, for example, you see that in your main base there is a free APC/Tank/Heli/etc standing, tell it to your guys, trust me, they'll appreciate it.
5) If the squad/person does well, commend them. And not just 'right-click/commend', voice it over, they took that hard to get flag, fought hard, lost many men, but they took it, they deserve a commendation.
6) NEVER be an ***! Yes, you can accidentally arty your own men, it happens, and that squad leader might say "WTF doood, you fing suck!” just let it slide and say "Sorry about that man". He just got killed and could've said it in the heat of the moment, if he's not an *** then he'll just say "it’s cool"; otherwise ignore him if he continues to saying crap to you.
7) Make sure to fight on the defensive but spend most of your time "commanding". I spend about 70% of my time commanding the guys, while the other 30% is to recapture/defend locations which are being taken by the enemy. So basically don't be in front lines, but contribute whenever there is fight around your area (good balance especially if you are a SpecOps).
Conclusion: I follow the above 7 steps (maybe more, can't think of top of my head right now) and almost all the time people begin to trust you and then follow appropriate recommendations (aka orders) coming from you. By the way, above tips are also applicable to real life commander experience as well, nobody will follow a leader that doesn't make his men trust him.

[imported_Wilf]

Just curious, has anyone figured out what exatcly earns the commander points?

[geddeth]

I'm interested in that too.

[Mickezzz]

TIP: I your team doens't need supply box and one of your Artillery cannons / Radar / UAVradar is broken, and nobody comes to repair it, then drop a Supply box on it, then it will automatically repaired!!!

[[23rd]LtCol.Pisko]

wow this helps so much..i was commander a few time then i quit trying because i had no idea what was going on..now i can apply for commander. :D

[UrbanAssassin]

Awesome write-up. I thought I knew almost everything about being a commander and I learned a few things. Thanks! Great job!!!

[Sniper_13]

wow thats an awsome tutuorial, best thing about being commander u dont have to move one foot stay in main base and find a place to hide and just artilery and get kills and points that way. and providing ur teamates with enemy positions

[buzzz]

Can anyway help me figure out what is seen on maps. For example, I can see a blue soldier or green soldier on a map and then I realize that they had died a few seconds ago but the view still shows them on the map. This is confusing since I am holding off firing the artilary until no friendlies are around. Also I announce artilary only to see friendlies rush in to get bombarded. So how can I tell which squad they belong to so that I can warn the squad leader. One last question, why are some friedlies blue and some green?
Thanks for anyone's help in advance. :hmm:

[Luv_Muffin]

I would like to thank everyone who provided input on this topic. :D
Today was my first day as Commander. I was a squad leader (by myself though *sniffle*), when I noticed we had no commander, so I applied for the job.
We were getting beaten pretty good, but I thought that it couldn't hurt if I was a commander, since we were getting destroyed anyway. lol ;)
I used many of the tips here, and it was surprising how fast a game can turn around when you get your squads working together.
We went from getting wailed on, to dominating every map.
There was only one mutiny vote per round too, but I was too busy with scans and such to get morally outraged at the mutineer. I also waited at the start, in case someone else wanted to be commander, but when nobody else chose it, I chose it again.

I think I will have to study this thread some more, but overall I think it really helped me. Using scans, placing UAV at critical points, never ending punishment with the arty worked well, and I also commended my squads generously! They were so good to me, once they started getting their supplies. I even had a few arty requests, which was nice. I tried to keep my orders logical, and if I got a refusal, I would UAV the position, then give the order again. I usually got an Okay, once the squad leader saw what I was seeing with the scans.

I thought being the commander would be boring, but it really is non-stop action! I had so much fun, even blew up a few tanks that tried to steal a flag from where I was doing my commander stuff. (That scan is so cool). Also spotting seemed to get results too, sorta a cheaper version of the UAV.

Nobody called me sir though.... :laugh:

[GrimEvil]

nice guide thanks for the help

[Bird Killer]

Damn, this thread has grown a lot. Sorry I haven't replied or contributed and replied to some questions (including 1 PM). I'm in a vacation at California right now and I had no access to computer in 2 weeks. I also have BF2 (finally!) so i'll be playing it and exploring the commander mode to see if there's anything new.

[Bird Killer]

Can anyway help me figure out what is seen on maps. For example, I can see a blue soldier or green soldier on a map and then I realize that they had died a few seconds ago but the view still shows them on the map. This is confusing since I am holding off firing the artilary until no friendlies are around. Also I announce artilary only to see friendlies rush in to get bombarded. So how can I tell which squad they belong to so that I can warn the squad leader. One last question, why are some friedlies blue and some green?
Thanks for anyone's help in advance. :hmm:

I can explain them why they appear dead yet is detected by scans, I believe they can still be revived so you might somehow direct a medic to that position.

Friendlies that are blue means they are either a squad member or not in a squad, a green player means he is a squad leader as shown here:

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/9149/screen0011yh.th.jpg (http://img251.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screen0011yh.jpg)

Update:

If you're in a squad, your squad members will also appear with a green tag/name.

[jdogg88-Fed]

thx man very nice

[[G4S]kim1]

Looool....nice one! :O)

[=MIG= MotoXbudd]

Hey all. As BF2 is new, there are many clans just starting branches for it. =MIG= is one of them, and I am their BF2 Branch Leader. I have been studying the game in-depth for quite some time now. I have also been playing lots on public servers.

As with most games, pub servers are packed with a bunch of ignorant n00bz who not only ignore commands, and refuse to use teamwork, but also ignore typed messages. Even top scoring players (if not already in a clan) are just lonewolfs who dont give a flying rats *** about teamwork.

SOOOOO... I'm hoping this may be a decent place to pick up some COMPETANT teamates. If you are just a weekend warrior, or just in it to blow some steam after work, you'll have to find another clan. If, however, you are a badass mofo who loves using teamwork to rip enemy to shreads on daily basis, and looking for a competitive team to become a part of, PLEASE contact me ASAP.

As I said, I am just now building the branch. =MIG= was founded by one of the greatest webdesigners around, many of you may have heard of him... Cyberphreez (www.cyberphreez.com). He is an independant webdev, who is pationate about gaming. =MIG= was first developed for Tribes:Vengeance. But after its dismal sales, and lack of mod support, community interest has wanned.

Now is the age of Battlefield 2!!! =MIG= will undoubtly become a very powerful clan, and will be playing competivly as soon as ladders are up, and I deem us ready for battle! Feel free to visit the MIG CREW website www.migcrew.com (http://www.migcrew.com)

Again, the reason I am posting this call for apps here is because I figure anyone reading not only this commander guide, but also going through all the tread posts, have enough interest in the teamplay aspect of BF2 to at least tryout for =MIG=. There are some basic rules regarding applicants, including age restrictions, that can be read on www.migcrew.com (http://www.migcrew.com) Some rules are flexable, some are steadfast.

Thank you all for considering joining MIG CREW (http://www.migcrew.com) And sorry for sticking this in this thread. I know its a bit off topic, and do not wish to "hijack" the thread. Please do not respond or quote my post. Instead, either visit the =MIG= website, or contact me directly.

THANK YOU!

=MIG= MotoXbudd
BF2 Branch Leader
www.migcrew.com (http://www.migcrew.com)
motoxbudd@gmail.com

[Above All Laws]

What is the best way to score points? Can you only score points as a commander through kills with artillery? I want to get the commander badge and I need 40 points.

[[AWaC]Pseudo]

heres a tip for those of you who dont want to be the commander but want to be in a squad:

never, ever start your own squad unless all the others are full. it just makes it so much easier on us dedicated commanders when our resources are allocated to 4 6 man teams instead of 2 half teams one 2 person team and 5 one man teams. if you ask me commanders should be able to consolidate squads. like if people start doing the lone wolf crap and doing their own thing, either remove them from the squads or throw them into another squad..

bah no rants. what i'm saying is: if you want to play in a team, play in a team! if not then just don't join a squad and do your own thing. it will make it easier on the rest of us (especially us commanders) who want to take care of buisness and win some rounds.

[imported_Wilf]

I compleatly disagree. We dedicated comanders can see how many people are in a squad and designate bigger squads to bigger tasks. even single people in squads (though it would be nice if they didn't happen, they do) who squad up allow a way for the commander to more clearly comunicate his or her intentions. I understand some people dont like listening to a squad leader. I find alot of squad leaders inept and I just use them as an extra spawnpoint who on rare occasions is in the right place at the right time. I would rather have a squad of 2 people working tight than 4 spread out all over the map (yes I'm a bad squadee, and I'm trying to change my habbits, switching leaders till I find a good one that I can stick to, and that the commander can use).

In short, squad up, even if you tend to be a lone wolf. I can direct a single snipers rounds much easier that way.

Out

[EightBallX78]

thats all obvious dude\

[geddeth]

IMO, both Wilf and Pseudo have valid points. If your team is half filled up with lone wolves, a quarter of squad leaders and say, one 3-4 man squad, it'd make much more sense if people teamed up in existing squads. But obviously, it'd sometimes also be handy to have a dedicated two-man spec op/engineer squad ready for deployment at the opposing team's main base or for repair duty.

But most of the time, it'll be a mix of all of it. Rambo's will always exist, people will fail to team up in squads, some teams will be too small and people will neglect to teamplay. I understand how this is frustrating, but I think by now we already see what the game is generally going to be like, and how well people intend to utilize the team tools. Ie. not very well :-(

But once in a while you will get that awesome game where your team's squads just work, your commander is perfect, people obey commands and you wipe the other team out due to perfect, well thought-out and well executed tactics. And that's what makes this game so f*cking awesome.

Just my opinion.

[buzzz]

Thanks everyone and especially Bird Killer for you response. As for the scoring question. The best way is to aim to win the round. So do not try to use your artilary where there are a lot of soldiers including some of yours. Try to use it on a far base just before you give a command for one of your teams to overtake it. try to get a sniper that is taking out a lot of your troups and your soldiers are not able to reach him. keep an eye on your basis that have none of your soldiers on them to protect them, so if the scan reveals some red dots approaching use your artilary early on your own base so that it gets there before they neutralize the base. Keeping the number of bases high greatly increase the damage you cause the other team and will allow you to win. In short winning the round allows you to multiply your score and not killing enemies.

[imported_Wilf]

Ya. I read a post on another website that simply said average points of your team plus arty kills. And with the puny kill rate (often negated by stupid people running under the big red Icon on their hud map :mad: ) arty is not the way to get points. Get your team into advantagious positions, rack up their kills, and double that.

[Bird Killer]

Duty as a commander and the desire for high scores do not mix. If you want to achieve a high score you should not be a commander. When you accept to become a commander, you also accept to sacrifice the potential of gaining a higher score as a standard player and focus on making the team as a whole win the match, not individually, including you. With this said, commanders rarely do get low scores, in fact, the winning commander is almost garunteed to be in the top 10 and it's not uncommon to see them being in the top 3.

I seldomly am a commander because this is my first week of BF2 and I just want to frag around and have blasting fun. Right now, I only logged in 40 minutes as commander. I'll definately try to become a commander most of the time as the days go by.

[Sllutmonkey69]

One main problem I am having with commanding is if players request supplies the request only shows for a few seconds as an exclimation mark right? if I am busy how can I find where that request was made? When I press page up say 10 secs later and it was the last request. I still cant find the right spot.

[[BEF]-ollie]

i dont know if this tip has been posted already but when your a commander and you kill someone using artilery u will get a kill with the weapon kit you are using, so as long as you can get 10 artillery kills in one round you can get the basic kit awards :) i.e. basic sniper. you dont actually have to sniper anyone, just blow them to pieces :) bit ov a cheat for getiing awards :D hehe

[CLDragon]

i just wanted to say thanks for this FAQ, yesterday my team won 6 times in a row, the scan before UAV is really helpful. aswell as finding snipers in remote area.

[Bamut]

I would like to say that there is a change in the commander scoring system after 1.02 and I think it is for good. Now the commander recieve ONLY commander and kill points. No team score and no cups for capturing flags. So this is the end of the so called "field commanders"(players running around as medics, assaults, etc useing the artillery for private interest and the double score option). Besides this is going to clarify the situation about the "basic command badge". Because now you are recieving command points only(1 if your team capture, defend or neutralize a flag).

[RtB4510]

Excellent Bird - killer - thank you

[Swip2]

I would like to say that there is a change in the commander scoring system after 1.02 and I think it is for good. Now the commander recieve ONLY commander and kill points. No team score and no cups for capturing flags. So this is the end of the so called "field commanders"(players running around as medics, assaults, etc useing the artillery for private interest and the double score option). Besides this is going to clarify the situation about the "basic command badge". Because now you are recieving command points only(1 if your team capture, defend or neutralize a flag).

Hi, new here. Been aiming recently to get the basic command badge. I'd have to agree that there is a difference in the commander scoring system since the latest patch.

However if you can only get points for team capture, defend or neutralize, what happens if you (or your team, I guess) is doing such a good job that you have all the captureable flags and the enemy never gets near enough for anyone to get flag defend points? I think it's happened to me a few times. :confused:

-Swip2

[Solid Snake]

respect good guide

[Varsol]

very, very good guide. Alot of players have good tips to add, and I found this guide quite helpful

[Bird Killer]

I wish this got stickied again as it once was, i'm having to deal with trying to find this thread in a flood of other topics...

[Drifter]

i wish my graphics looked like yours... :(

[migwell]

I was playing a lot of commander but had to go away on a job and missed over a week. The big change? Apparently everyone wants to play commander and lots of people outrank me after a week off.

Maybe I'm imagining it but I have been disconnected after getting commander, had my team switched after becoming commander and got mutinied against at the end of a game where I had the team ahead by 80 points. Someone else jumped in, barely managed to get the win and took my double points. Commander whoring...

Been playing about 3 hours and commanded (and won, I AM good at it) only one game. Sometimes there isn't even a vote. The worst part is I command as an engineer and when I don't get it, I have to run around like an a@@hole with the shotty.

[Lawnsdale]

How exactly do the scores work for commander. No matter how many people I kill with artilary, my score doesnt go up.

[Talus]

Is there a way to issue a notification to all squads at once?

e.g. to all squads: UAV is available

[Raxor]

shift click the squads then right click
then select uav avaliable

[Talus]

SWEET!

Thanks ;)

[ArcLight27]

The best strategy i've found is to zoom in on the enemy CP at the start of the game and start artillerizin' his recon hut and radar station. Also, Commanders typically hide in some remote location. Every time I do a scan I look for inconspicuous red dots and them drop the people's elbow on them.

Did anybody know that you can repair your own artillery w/ supply drops?

[JaketheMedic]

Good job man . This will educate the new players. Keep up the good work! :guns:

[-=Exc@libur=-]

Nice thread!

what is the best way to get points as a commander besides arty kills? what type of points can u get as a commander using just the commander console (eg. repair, ammo, points from supply drop.)

Ex

[sincles]

arty kills dont give commander points, nor do they contribute to your end of round score EVEN if you win the round....only use arty when your sure teammates arent around that area, other than killing infantry and lowering your score if you get punished (which you will 99% of the time if you tk with it) it hasnt got much purpose for getting points....

but if your playing this game for fun..it is a great pathway clearer to buildings and flags, most people sprint away from the arty or go hide in a building, hopefully giving your troops enough time to move in and finish them off

[bigkev]

I still have not seen an answer to the points question.
Does anyone have any idea how many points you get for each commander action?
Im trying to get the commander badge but i cant seem to find out what actions give points

[Hugh G. Wrection]

I still have not seen an answer to the points question.
Does anyone have any idea how many points you get for each commander action?
Im trying to get the commander badge but i cant seem to find out what actions give points

NONE. You get NO points for any Commander action. You only get points for actions by the rest of your team, such as capping flags.

[-=Exc@libur=-]

so u get a combination of all points made by the team then? if so what specifically; eg. you mentioned capping flags as one set, are there any specific other actions?

Thanks

Ex

[alextaylor29]

Great thread I learned quite a bit thanks.

[aznsensation18]

nice thread it helps

[Hugh G. Wrection]

so u get a combination of all points made by the team then? if so what specifically; eg. you mentioned capping flags as one set, are there any specific other actions?

Thanks

Ex

I'm pretty sure you only get points when your team neutralizes and caps flags.

[imported_Wilf]

You get the avrage score of your team. Your personal points have very little to do with your personal score, though I do believe they count twards your team avrage (I'm usualy too busy taking care of my teams needs to pay any attention to the points). That means if you use arty and raise your score by say 6 (3 kills) in a 40ish player game, and prevent your team from capturing a flag, and get the same kills themselves, plus risking a TK.....It just dont add up. Generaly I use the arty on that sniper camping over your main base that is pissing everyone off. No risk of TK, and it allows your team to get kills before dying, Thus raising your team avrage, and allowing you to win, giving you the 2x bonus. Get your team an avrage score of 20, and a win....40 points and voila....Your command medel. Have fun.

[z2.Tex]

Should have made it an idiots guide to commander. Everything there is pretty basic and when you give squads commands they never listen so the commanders job is resupply, uav, and blow people up

[imported_Wilf]

I find that if you spot well off of the Scan, and use the uav's well, people go where you want them to anyways....generaly. And those that don't; oh well, the other team usualy has enough of them to balance out ; )

[BulletBob]

Something I noted yesterday that helped me as commander.

Many times I "miss" my supply drops when I try to repair my arty or radar if I use the master control map.

However, if you turn off the map, and run over to the damaged arty or radar, you can use the "T" key and command a supply drop.

This will drop it right where you stand, and eliminate the "miss" problem so that you repair faster.

[bigkev]

that 20 points and 2x bonus doesnt give u a commander badge
ive done that 3 or 4 times
i cant seem to get over 26 points in commander mode though

im supplying when supplies are needed
artillerying when 4 or 5 enemies are caping one of our bases
my team is winning
im just not gettin 40 points

[imported_Wilf]

20 points must be the team avrage, not your personal score. This does take a little luck 'cause if a person joins right at the end of the game, especialy in smaller games, it can drasticaly drop your team avrage. Also try for untimed games. Because of their longer length, your team will accumulate more points. When you lose though it can be frustrating because of the time invested in a longer game. Just keep trying though. I assure you, last night my highest score was as commander (38 x 2 = 76 which is quite respectable :cool: ) Just keep trying, but try not to take it too seriously. After all, it is just a game. Hope this helps

[MagicallyAdept]

i do not have time to read the whole thread so i do not know what has been said but commander score is not the average.
i played last night and scored 55 points (doubled to 111 which is odd)
i was second on my team before the end too.
i think you get points for caps/neutrals and also when you spot an enemy/uav and your team kills that person you also get a point. anyone agree?

i have just started being commander and i love this mode!

i always get over 40 points because i am constantly spotting enemies with scan/uav and ordering my leaders to postions. i find that by doing this i am always the winning commander because with the zoom feature you can help your team out big time.

just played another round and our average score was about 30 and our commander (for the whole round) scored 12 points! and he did not give me one order, repair his tools or from what i can remember spot any enemies!

Magic

[Dead_aim1986]

sick guide dude,

[JamesLoughran]

Can we get a accurate list of all the way you can gets points as commander if there is one out there, it would be great help and much appreciated, thanks in advance.

[bigkev]

by 55 points do u mean one the scoreboard
or the score in the command screen
cause its the one in the commander screen that gets u the badge
ive had 50 or more points on the scoreboard tons of times as commander
but it doesnt get me the badge

i wish someone would leak some info from EA as to how its scored

[imported_Wilf]

The reason his score was so low was due to the -8 when you team kill. that is taged strait on your final score, not avarged out. I can't stress enough, use arty to kill that anoying sniper on the hill. that is about all its good for. Too much changes in this game in 15 seconds. Snipers seem to be the only constant :D

[imported_Wilf]

i am constantly spotting enemies with scan/uav and ordering my leaders to postions. i find that by doing this i am always the winning commander because with the zoom feature you can help your team out big time.

Magic

AMEN brother! preach it!

[I-Kodiak-I]

dude this is an awesome guide cheers mate :D,
cause i never knew the button to press to activate the command console lol

[evilzucchini]

Wilf,

I kill an average of about 10 people per round with my arty and I RARELY get TKs. The only time I get TKs is when I am completely stupid and think that I can sneak it in. Basically, when I am doing well I will get a little cocky and think that I can control my arty with pinpoint percision and timing.

But if you see an enemy squad going for a flag, or you see a line with you and your enemy fighting on different sides, you can easily target and smash your opponents without getting your team. ALl you have to do is make sure that you yell and type that arty is coming down and ever since I have done that, people rarely run into my artys.

[Sub_Saint]

BZ on the guide...it helped improve my game tremendously - playing BC is my favorite part of the game.

A few tips...may have already been mentioned but worth emphasizing...

Before any arty strike...zoom in all the way on the map in order to pinpoint your strike. A lot of times, you get that itchy trigger finger because you see so much red on the map...but if you had zoomed in, you would've noticed one of your teammates was hiding in that area and now you've TK'd him. Zooming also gives you a clearer picture what the enemy is doing...you don't want to launch if they're moving out.

Also, if you don't have a clear shot because your forces are in the area...run a scan and see if you can see any areas where there are any stationary enemies. You can usually figure out which one is the enemy BC...he's the one lying prone in the base and never moves... :D Or maybe you'll see a sniper on a tower. Use an arty attack on them...seldom do I ever let my arty sit around not getting used...launch it at something.

Finally, don't take it personally if some one starts a mutiny...ESPECIALLY if you're winning...I've found that in most situations where someone starts a mutiny it's because they want the job...not because you're not doing the job good enough...and if you're already winning the fight...and they can take over, then they'll get the score.

[EDGE-mont]

Don't know what else to call it but does anyone know how to stop the yellow box on the left to stop moving (scanning). I have played a few games where it has stopped and makes it really easy to zoom down on something in the larger map to the right. It is virtually impossible to drop supplies at a precise position ie: to fix artillery or UAV. Now in the games I've played that it wasn't scanning I don't know if I have hit a key to make it stop or it just stops by itself after while. Any help, if anyone can make sense out of what I just said
would be greatly appreciated.

[Bird Killer]

Don't know what else to call it but does anyone know how to stop the yellow box on the left to stop moving (scanning). I have played a few games where it has stopped and makes it really easy to zoom down on something in the larger map to the right. It is virtually impossible to drop supplies at a precise position ie: to fix artillery or UAV. Now in the games I've played that it wasn't scanning I don't know if I have hit a key to make it stop or it just stops by itself after while. Any help, if anyone can make sense out of what I just said
would be greatly appreciated.

Can you give me the screenshots of what you mean? I have a hard time comprehending of what you're trying to say here.

[ROGUNIT2]

great guide!

[baggygreen]

I love this guide. I read it, then went commander for the first time the other day, finished with a score of 78, but that wasnt important.

What was, was the way that when i asked for everyone to squad up, and told them i could help them better if they were in squads, they did. I told the SLs over voice that if they need anything at all, to just ask for it, they did and i delivered.

I always find that on oman 64, the MEC always seems to win, but not this time. We owned them, took base after base. In the end, we were defending the roads out of the airfield and owning there too, someone said this is getting boring, can we do anything else (yes he asked for permission!) and so in they went to camp and wreak havoc.

It was satisfying to win first up, for sure, especially to dominate them the way we did - on a 200 ticket server, we won 191-0 - but what was most satisfying was the banter going on between teams at the start of the next map, MEC ppl were going spare cos they were beaten by so much and asking how and calling us cheats, and one bloke on our team goes nah mate, we just had a commander who knew his sh!t - best comanding i've seen in a pub. What was even more satisfying was the way that people wanted me to go commander again, and mutinying against the bloke who was commander cos they wanted me, but i said nah give him a crack, its only fair etc.

In the end, i got teamswapped, right before we won again,, i was not happy and neither was anayone on the US side. the MEC team was cheering tho, shame i had to go to bed after that round!

I owe the best game of my BF2 history to bird-killer - you're a gmog (pro. gee-mog) which is the highest praise around here. I think you left 1 thing out tho, it should be essential to have a mike and to USE it to be a commander.

[EDGE-mont]

Can you give me the screenshots of what you mean? I have a hard time comprehending of what you're trying to say here.

I think I my have figured it out. It looks like my joystick isn't calibrated properly and it is allowing the orange box (I said yellow earlier) with the X in the middle to drift on the map.

[Bird Killer]

I think I my have figured it out. It looks like my joystick isn't calibrated properly and it is allowing the orange box (I said yellow earlier) with the X in the middle to drift on the map.

First, You will never need to ever use that map. You're better off using the larger map on the right screen as it obviously has a bigger 2-D picture of the area and you can accurately pinpoint the area you want to target by left-clicking over the area with the mouse.

If you already knew this and just had trouble with the joystick, then this problem is beyond my knowledge.

[Bird Killer]

I love this guide. I read it, then went commander for the first time the other day, finished with a score of 78, but that wasnt important.

What was, was the way that when i asked for everyone to squad up, and told them i could help them better if they were in squads, they did. I told the SLs over voice that if they need anything at all, to just ask for it, they did and i delivered.

I always find that on oman 64, the MEC always seems to win, but not this time. We owned them, took base after base. In the end, we were defending the roads out of the airfield and owning there too, someone said this is getting boring, can we do anything else (yes he asked for permission!) and so in they went to camp and wreak havoc.

It was satisfying to win first up, for sure, especially to dominate them the way we did - on a 200 ticket server, we won 191-0 - but what was most satisfying was the banter going on between teams at the start of the next map, MEC ppl were going spare cos they were beaten by so much and asking how and calling us cheats, and one bloke on our team goes nah mate, we just had a commander who knew his sh!t - best comanding i've seen in a pub. What was even more satisfying was the way that people wanted me to go commander again, and mutinying against the bloke who was commander cos they wanted me, but i said nah give him a crack, its only fair etc.

In the end, i got teamswapped, right before we won again,, i was not happy and neither was anayone on the US side. the MEC team was cheering tho, shame i had to go to bed after that round!

I owe the best game of my BF2 history to bird-killer - you're a gmog (pro. gee-mog) which is the highest praise around here. I think you left 1 thing out tho, it should be essential to have a mike and to USE it to be a commander.

Thanks, I really appreciate it. As for the Mic suggestion. Yes, using a mic will make commander more simple, easier, and better and also bring more depth to the game. However, my guide was more directed to the whole BF2 players, most who do not have mics. But I may add it in when I have full understanding of how the commander's mic works. I'm still a bit uncertain of how it works. Specifically if i'm talking to the selected squad or the whole squad or if i'm talking just to the squad leader(s) or the entire squad(s).

[omgudied2]

i dont know i just got my commander badge today i played a long game spotting and resupley also telling my men where to go had a score of 69 at the end of the round but got no badge however the next game it was later i played commander on some sh*t team and wtf i had no points no bases no main base with arty uav trail everything was knocked out from the moment i became commander and the badge just poped up u got your basic commander badge i am still like wtf was that and at the end of that round i got the commander ribbon wtf

[omgudied2]

humm but its not showing up here

[Bird Killer]

BF2s.com no longer updates the stats.

Edit: BF2s.com currently updates stats but it takes a long time for a player's stats and portfolio to update as it only updates very few people every few seconds.

[snoogins355]

nice guide, hope it helps my commanding skill

[Muttmonsta]

Someone asked earlier - and I haven't seen a reply to his question:
If someone requests a resupply but you don't see the little icon with the parachute on it in time - is there any way to find the person who requested it - or do you just have to wait until they request it again (providing they haven't run out of ammo and died by then)?

[davespil]

By right clicking on the map you can use the zoom command. There are 3 levels of zoom. The 3rd one lets you look at terrian and troops real close, you can use this to put supply drops exactly where you need them, like on a piece of artillery or UAV trailer.

[Hella_Bacon]

Always zoom in all the way to place crates and artillary. This is very important for accuracy and can get you lots of points. I usually find that the snipers are the ones asking for supply drops, and you need to zoom in to give it too them. When placing a supply drop you must aim a few feet south of where you want the supplies to drop in order for it to go directly on a roof for a sniper. You get points if people heal and repair and resupply on your boxes so use them wisely. People get resuplied faster if more than one box is present. try to land 2 boxes together near a large concentration of your army or even on top of each other. Be careful not to crush anyone with the boxes.

[yuliang01]

Someone asked earlier - and I haven't seen a reply to his question:
If someone requests a resupply but you don't see the little icon with the parachute on it in time - is there any way to find the person who requested it - or do you just have to wait until they request it again (providing they haven't run out of ammo and died by then)?

non-squad leader's resupply request doesn't show that para icon. it appears to be a flashing yellow dot(for infantry) or vehicle icon.

[elucivity]

Nice, thnx... 2 questions... ONE... why did I just frag 60 plus guys as Commander and only get six points? It doesn't seem to have logged my artillery score, only my gun. 2. After I give a squadleader an order, how do I take the silly line off my screen between him and the target. The only thing I've found is how to move to a new target, not erase the order.

[Bird Killer]

Nice, thnx... 2 questions... ONE... why did I just frag 60 plus guys as Commander and only get six points? It doesn't seem to have logged my artillery score, only my gun. 2. After I give a squadleader an order, how do I take the silly line off my screen between him and the target. The only thing I've found is how to move to a new target, not erase the order.

1. That's how the commander scoring works. You only get points by the average number of points your team EARNED* or by directly killing someone with your weapon other than Artillery.

2. As of now I have no idea to get rid of that lines.

*The way commanders get commander points is still unconfirmed, but so far after reading several theories, I find the theory I mentioned to explain the best and very reliable thus far.

[Dunwa]

Evil Commander Tip Number 1 :drevil:

Fed up with calling in an artillery strike and only hitting one or two people then try this.

Select your target and call in an artillery strike.
Now drop a supply create on the same spot.
Laugh as the enemy leave their hiding positions and gather round the crate praising their commander for the nice supplies.
Laugh even louder as the artillery hit and they go flying through the air.

On the reverse if a create drops in your vicinity and you DONT hear the "Supplies your area" command, run like hell and find cover.

[imported_Skeezer12]

Evil Commander Tip Number 1 :drevil:

Fed up with calling in an artillery strike and only hitting one or two people then try this.

Select your target and call in an artillery strike.
Now drop a supply create on the same spot.
Laugh as the enemy leave their hiding positions and gather round the crate praising their commander for the nice supplies.
Laugh even louder as the artillery hit and they go flying through the air.

On the reverse if a create drops in your vicinity and you DONT hear the "Supplies your area" command, run like hell and find cover.


That is evil. I like it!:D

[adonis]

how do i become squade leader?

[imported_Skeezer12]

Create your own squad or wait in a squad until you are the highest ranking member after the leader leaves your squad.

[god.ELiTEdRuNk-]

Commanding for the 15s you are dead:

as soon as you die, click CAPS LOCK thenright click twice, this will bring up your commander screen.
Although, you can only do this until its time to spawn.;)

[Beerman]

:) very nice guide

[Bird Killer]

Commanding for the 15s you are dead:

as soon as you die, click CAPS LOCK thenright click twice, this will bring up your commander screen.
Although, you can only do this until its time to spawn.;)

Yup, I found that out too, but I can't add it in since now this forum has restrictions of how many images you can put in per post. My post which was created before the forum change has well over 10 images so I can't edit it in.

[=WTE=MasteRMatty]

this thread rox, with the help here im now racking up gold stars like there peanuts:) one thing which im not sure about tho-does the artillery barage acutualy do damage to the oppositions artillery/uav/scanner? i've tried zooming right in and pinpointing and letting rip with a barrage-but then when i zoom in after it looks undamaged this could be on of a few things-
*the targets are actualy destroyed-but it doesn't show like that when you zoom in on them.
*the targets are only damaged and still work as normal(multiple barrages are needed to take them down)
*the targets are undamaged and require only c4 to take them out.

Can any one shed any light on this because it could be really handy at the start of a round, to gain an early advantage.

Cheers for any info...

[Bird Killer]

Artillery do damage commander assets, but are not an effective way to destroy them. It would take you entire round just to destroy one asset. Let the Spec Ops or Aircraft's bombs handle the destruction of these assests.

[HeLLsBeLLs]

Great guide!

I took my first shot at commander today after reading your guide. I picked a small game because i didn't want to become overwhelmed trying commander for my first time. I joined a 16 player server and i'm rather happy with the results.

I scored my highest game to date: 123

I got my Command Badge AND my Staff Officer ribbon.

And we won the 2 maps i held the commander roll.....

Not too bad for my first time trying out commander....I think i'm addicted now!

Thanks

[j4k3]

BirdKiller, any new commander tips?

i seem to be getting around 30-40 commander points only each round and about 10-20 kills but i know a lot of you guys can do better. tips?

also, whenever i'm commander, i make sure i RESIGN whenever a side's ticket reaches 15 so i can have those scores added to my GLOBAL score instead of the COMMANDER score.


EDIT: this is only good in karkand i think 'cos a round lasts only about 10-15 minutes so you get an easy 40 points added to your global score. and before you resign, drop arty THEN resign and you'll get x2 points everytime arty kills someone.

[Quick009]

Thx ;) It will help me alot...

Nice of you to spend so much time in this post :P

Quick009.

[Bird Killer]

BirdKiller, any new commander tips?

i seem to be getting around 30-40 commander points only each round and about 10-20 kills but i know a lot of you guys can do better. tips?

30-40 commander points in each round is pretty much the average points a commander will get. One way to increase your score is to stop killing your enemies unless if it is the upmost emergency, as in being able to change the tide of the round. This is so that your team gets to kill them and thefore get a higher score which means your own score will also increase. Stealing flag captures and kills will ironically rob you of commander points. So don't be active in the battlefield, don't kill unnecessary enemies, and command from the beginning to the end.

also, whenever i'm commander, i make sure i RESIGN whenever a side's ticket reaches 15 so i can have those scores added to my GLOBAL score instead of the COMMANDER score.

You're shooting yourself in the foot if you resign before the game ends. Global score is made up by: Combat, Teamwork, and Commander score so when your commander score increases, your global score also increases at almost the same rate. Not to mention that you'll lose the x2 bonus commanders get if his team wins the round.

EDIT: this is only good in karkand i think 'cos a round lasts only about 10-15 minutes so you get an easy 40 points added to your global score. and before you resign, drop arty THEN resign and you'll get x2 points everytime arty kills someone.

Despite the short term benefits this method will yield, I find this method to hurt the commander's score in the long term:

1. You will steal kills from your teammates which will like I said, hurt your overall score as commander.

2. During the time of not being commander, you may miss out commander points as your team's score increases. It's common for the commander score a person missed outnumbering the number of scores a person got by artillery kills.

3. When you resign, you run the risk of either not getting any kills making your loss of possible commander points even worse, and being taken over by another player that has a higher rank.

4. Your team won't have a commander for a short period of time, and that time could be when your team needs the commander the most.

All these reasons I've listed are not rare as getting 3 or more artillery kills. These are bound to happen to you certainly more than once in a round.

[Sub_Saint]

My tip for playing Commander...

Play to win the round for the team...do whatever it takes to annihilate the enemy as quickly and completely as possible.

If you're worried about points and awards...and you're letting the enemy live to increase your points, you're not being a commander...you're being a very discreet stat padder.

[ubiiman]

deleted...

[Bird Killer]

Just for notice: I can no longer edit the guide since now the forum has a rule where users can only post 10 images per post. My guide has well over 10 images and so when I try to edit-post; the forum won't let me.

[Sub_Saint]

I haven't seen this tip mentioned yet...and with the proposed changes associated patch 1.03, this may be one Commanders will find kind of useful on some maps where all the Commander Assets are relatively close together. (works well on Gulf of Oman for the MEC)

Problem:

1) Spec Ops blow up all your Commander assests.

2) Engineer Repair - 50/50 chance you (a) have an Engineer on your team (b) Engineer will actually follow your orders and repair the items

3) Supply crate can't repair multiple items unless they're close together.

---

Solution:

1) First, you're obviously going to have to kill the Spec Ops solider.

2) Either you (as Commander) or a willing team mate needs to hop in a vehicle.

3) Drop a supply crate near a damaged item. After it is repaired, use the vehicle to push the crate to the next item. After it is repaired, move to the next. Keep moving until all items are repaired. I'm not sure how long supply crates are available once they're on the ground...but should be plenty of time to fix all or nearly all of your assets.

*I pushed the crate in a tank...making sure to keep the speed as slow as possible to not cause the crate to explode. I managed to repair all of my arty and was on the way to repairing my UAV when the round ended. I suppose I could've repaired the UAV...just didn't have time.

The obvious benefits are you can repair your items quicker (you're not waiting for Supply Asset to recharge) and you can use a single crate to repair all of your assets, which frees up the next Supply drop for the squads in the field.

The only negative point I can figure is...it's my understanding that when the crate explodes it can cause a lot of damage...so if you're in a jeep or standing nearby...not sure how bad it would hurt you. Still have to try that. This is easily avoidable by just moving the crate at a slow pace.

[evilzucchini]

Another tip.
Don't have drop a UAV and arty on the same place. If you are going to arty somewhere, wait for the arty to finish and then bring in the UAV.

This way friendly soldiers are less likely to be draw to the area. On top of that, the arty clears out the bulk of enemy troops and then the UAV is put in place for clean-up duty.

Works wonders.

[JUDGE_RELIC]

Birdkiller, if you dont mind please come over to my website and add your cmdr tutorial, simply adding it will not give you the justice you deserve for this tutorials creation.

www.judgecentral.com (http://www.judgecentral.com)

JUDGE RELIC

[imported_Psycho]

I have 10 hours as a commander and 100 overall and i didn't know about all the stuff, like that if you click the buttons at the bottom it will select the kits and how to send the extra messages like your a great squad.

It would be good if you added about how the commander gets points.

[Sub_Saint]

BASIC TIP:

Awards and Commanders.

Interested in Awards...read on. Not interested...disregard.

With the exception of the G/S/B Award for high score...awards (badges/medals/ribbons) can be difficult for the Commander to achieve. Even moreso with the artillery rule change (which I'm a huge fan of). Here is a simple little tip to help that I wouldn't think would need mentioning but since I see so many Commanders laying in the weeds in a secure place...maybe it does.

Several of the badges have what I consider unrealistic time expectations...30 hours on a TOW seems a bit extreme. 50 hours in a transport vehicle...sheesh...does Dice realize that the average single player quest type game usually takes gamers 12-15 hours of game play to complete...but yet they expect us to sit in a vehicle for 3 to 4 times that...and in many cases more...

I've learned to live with it...heh heh...cause I love the game so much...but I definitely watch my activity now when I play...here's what I mean.

Commander's Job...manage teams...win the battle. Generally accepted and expected for the Commander to hole up somewhere safe. Most do. But I say...if you're Commander...pay close attention to:

1) Classes. If you plan to get the badges for all the classes...mix up the time you spend in each class...since as Commander it doesn't really matter what class you are. Also, if you play Commander - use the capabilities of the of the class to score some easy points - without impacting your ability to command. In the long run, it will help you work to certain awards.

-Medic or Support...throw ammo/med bags everywhere you go. I always enjoy when I spawn at a base and litter the area with bags and run off to hide in a safe place...minutes later you get the heal/ammo assist point...in the long run...these add up.
-Spec Ops...use C4 to protect your ASSets. There are some hungry Spec Ops out there who love nothing more than blowing up your gear. Give them a taste of their own medicine and plant C4 far enough away you don't damage your stuff but close enough when they sneek in you can blast them. Zooming in the command map will show you right where they are.
-Engineer...see above...only now you get to fix it yourself.

2) Vehicles. If you're just sitting at base...sit in a vehicle, helo, tank...etc etc. Just give it up when a team member comes along and wants it. For most vehicles or helos...I sit in the gunner chair, that way it is available if someone comes up and I have the command map up. Manning vehicles in your own bases also prevents the baddies from hijacking them.

3) Stationary Weapons. Man an AT or AA and do your commander job from there. You'd be surprised how many kills you can get and how many defend points you can get by just manning the guns.

4) Misc. If you're going to hoof it across the map...ride in a vehicle. If you're waiting for a vehicle to spawn...man a gun or sit in a jeep. If you stumble upon a sniper perched on a hill and you can chuck a grenade on him or knife him in the back...knife him...because expert badge parameters requires a whole lotta knifings...so you need to take them when you can get them.

Just about everything you do in the game is tracked...and a lot of these are tied to the awards. That's why I always chuckle at those lone wolfs who have hours and hours of time logged on...yeah...try and get that distinguished service medal as a lone wolf...

Doing these few simple things will help meet the time requirement for a lot of the awards. Then, once you have the required time...you can be a squad member/leader and go out and work on getting the necessary kills/support points for the remaining requirements.

*Disclaimer* I know there are still going to be people who say this is a bad thing...that you're not earning the points and blah blah blah...whatevah...enjoy scooting around in a jeep for days to meet the time...

Oh yeah...final word...if you want any shot at getting the War College Ribbon...you need to seriously fight to win every single battle...take it from me...overcoming from a .7 W/L record is very difficult...(I'm currently at a 1.2 - which means realistically I might be better off starting over or win the next 300+ matches). Don't take losses lightly. It'll haunt you down the road when you decide you want that ribbon.

[Bird Killer]

And i thought this thread was dead <_<;

Also, I have added in a major update to the commander guide. This addition talks about How commanders get their points and how the commander bonus works. I can safely say that most people who already know how to use commanders will be surprised.

For those who are too lazy, here is the update:

October 25, 2005: Commander Points and Commander Bonus

COMMANDER'S POINTS

The forumula for commander points is:

Total score earned by the team / # of players = Commander score.

Back in the days when BF2 players were still trying to figure out the forumula, many believed it was the average score per player in the team, even the crappy BF2 manual stated this theory. However, many pointed out several flaws in this theory, either by testing it or giving a counter scenario such as: "Why won't commander's score drop if the average score of each player decreases?"

The word that was missing in the theory that the commander score is based on the average score per player was EARN. This word drastically changes how the commander earns its points and explains various causes that lead to commanders getting points.

Again, I shall remind you:
Commander score formula: Total points earned by team / # of players in the team.

You see, when the average points earned by player goes up, the commander's score also increases. What's so unique about this formula compared to others is that commanders are immune to point reduction if their team's average score decreases due to TKs or other similar acts. Also, it safegaurds commanders from losing points or being delayed from earning their points if one or few of their teammates, especially players that gained high # of points, leaves the server hence dropping the average points per player.

This formula also explains why commanders get points if a player kills a spotted enemy either by commander's spot command or UAV and why commanders earn points if their teammates captures the flag.

In addition, it encourages the commander to keep supporting their team to earn more points via UAV, Spots, and Supplies. Furthermore, since commanders do not get any points from artillery, they steal kill points (1 Kill = 2 points) from thier teammates and thus commanders must carefully decide whether to use artillery against its foes that could be dealt with by friendlies. After all, friendlies get points for killing, but you do not (CMDR achieving 1 Kill/Assist/Capture = 0 points).

Do you see the irony? Killing enemies or capturing flags alone as commander will make you steal points from your teammates and therefore, by the formula, you will also be robbed of potential commander points.

Example of the forumula in the works: In the first half of the match, your team consists of 20 players who earn a total of 400 points. However, due to Teamkills and other related incidents, your team has an overall total score of 325. In the 2nd half, 10 players from your team disconnects the server and thus you have a total of 10 players in your team. They earn a total of 300 points but due to TKs and other related incidents, your team has an overall total score of 250.

So with the given information, what's the total possible score a commander would get before the 2x bonus? Lets see:

1st half: 400 points earned / 20 players = 20 points per players
= 20+ for commander

2nd half: 300 points earned / 10 players = 30 points earned per player
= 30+ for commander

The total score a commander could have before 2x bonus is 50.

COMMANDER BONUS

As you know, only Commanders get 2x bonus if his team wins. However, it's not actually a 2x bonus but it's good enough to describe it generally. In truth, the game doesn't actually double your score, but actually adds the commander points you earned to your total score. The significant effect of this rule is

-Even if somehow, such as teamkill, you lose points, the bonus will still account for that point

-No one can double their points simply b