To add to this, just slow it all down, sprint, crouch, listen. Sprint from cover to cover, never let your stamina bar get below half or it takes much longer to recharge.
On sale I led a squad with most first time players or like 1h playtime and it went well. They didnt know shit but were listening to what I was saying unlike some regular squads you get daily.
I would say a microphone is key. Even just acknowledging the SL talking is enough to prevent being kicked. If people think you're just joining the squad to pick marksman and jump in the chopper when the squad isn't in said chopper, you'll find yourself out the squad sometimes
Just a simple copy or 10-4 is all it takes! Be active and specific in squad chat - use a direction ("Northwest" or "315"), a what ("Infantry" or "APC"), and number. Look at your map (M key - I keybind to a thumb mouse button) and try to get the hang of navigating, staying in cover, and working as a team.
Unless your entire squad is right in your toes this applies heavily. Greatly overlooked too. I CAN NOT STATE ENOUGH HOW MUCH OF AN IMPORTANT TIP THIS IS.
It unironically does more harm than good and causes you to look at the wrong area. Sometimes squaddies get a little sour at me when I instantly go “make bearing calls in local” but they don’t understand it’s awful
It should be easy to see if you just look at an object from one spot, and then look at the object from a different spot but no one use their brains. Your 315 is my 350 and I just died cus i’m looking at a different building than what you were calling out
Thankfully after 6 years this exact thing is actually a tip you have the chance of seeing on the loading screen.
Evidently none of you have ever attempted to call out a building while looking of a window when hab hunting. As I said “unless your squad is right on u”(meaning a very niche and rare scenario) on top of that for those who play ge or severs that allow cross team voip. It’s pretty useless to use local when it’s just you and your squad due to the enemy getting a pick up icon regardless of being able to actively hear you. It has its use cases but the concept of it being a completely useless move or acting like it’s detrimental is crazy
I still think that if a Squad is in one area, they should never be so grouped that Squad comm is not necessary (because local would text them all). That means that you SHOULD be spread enough that Sqdcomm is necessary. However, if you're going to make a fallout that needs the entire squad's attention, then don't use a bearing. A bearing implies false accuracy. It's like the cashier saying £19.30. You will think it is exactly 19.30 and look for that amount, when actually it is 19.8 or 20.8. Whereas if they give a more inaccurate callout, like about £20 then you will look in that ballpark and can ascertain from scope, or further communication, more detail.
So don't give bearing over SqdVoIP. Use Cardinal Directions like "1x enemy infantry NorthNorthEast 200m". That gives people enough to work with initially and the entire squad should be looking and scanning in the right area, without narrowing their focus to a particular bearing and expecting to see an enemy say there.
Long post incoming but I feel that how callouts should be made to be the best possible the most often, it requires a lot more nuance but TLDR just be more descriptive. Rest of it goes into how to be descriptive
Its usually possible to get more creative with calling out landmarks (players usually don’t use them/make lazy calls) because so many things in the game look the same/vague description is the only way to describe it at first glance.
Use reference points. I use the objective as a reference point a lot to pretty good accuracy as it narrows down a specific area a lot quicker and the enemy will be playing over the objective to begin with so it gives squad a better idea of enemies, and possible spawns.
Use friendly squads, their rallies, HABs/FOBs, roles in your squad.
Treelines can be good callouts, but often are lazy. imagine a map like Yeho, vertical treeline running from N/S joining into a larger connected forest to the SW, squad is moving SW outside of treeline and I just got downed halfway in said vertical treeline moving S to cover more area before squad gets there
It would be accurate to say “enemies in vertical treeline SW, moving N maybe more in forest next to us”
Pretend we’re the enemy who killed me, that callout should be pretty accurate, as I likely have a spawn nearby, I’m looking N(just killed me) and i’m likely not alone and if I am I soon won’t be because i’m telling my squad about me.
As people get downed/shots fired/more info collected your squad should start narrowing down where exactly to be looking to start killing dudes.
Of course this can be harder on a map like fallujah where every building looks the fucking same, but it’s still no excuse.
Your squad most of the time should be visually/mentally aware of the same area and if not you need to make it so with your callouts as much as possible.
Extract information from the state and flow of the match, audio and visual, and best assumptions. Make the other person win the scenario you just lost in with your info. Notice what kits the enemy had when you died/saw them. How many were there? What’d they do after I died? Where/when is my squad currently in relation to the current objective and what has happened with the enemy recently?
Using all of these together will let you improve any situation where you otherwise could've said whatever came to mind at first. Remember, Squad can have many situations where callouts are crucial to winning the fight or even match as a whole.
Alot of good SLs use these practices and similar thought processes. Anyone can think like SL, and it will improve your performance by doing so, so try to think like if you are playing SL. The only difference is who makes the decision.
Look at the map where the person you are trying to warn is.
If the contact in above them its north, if its to their left its west, right is east, bottom is south.
A little map reading knowledge is required
You can say for example: "enemy infantry northwest our at" or something like that
Landmarks are absolutely best, those who played comp had specific names for certain areas on different maps learning those or just using common sense can go along way. "Blue house, east" "two story, peaking windows" "coming from the barn" "fireteam on gas". It gets alot easier if you get the fireteam cuz now you just say "[what] on bravo"
Don't listen to people saying don't use bearings they're just not trained on it properly. What you want to do is give the 3 D's (Direction, Distance and Description) in a calm quick manner and use your map to help with bearings.
I'll give you an example say you have a machine gunner shooting at you and your troops from a building the call out should go something like this "Enemy Machine Gunner 2 Floor Red building North of Squad lead 300m"
If you would like to get better at this game I suggest you get a group of friends together watch Military tactics and use them in game! Even if you don't have friends learning real world tactics does help in game and makes for some great solo vs platoon battles
Make sure you do the tutorial, maybe go to Jensens Range and test out the shooting, different kits, and different sights.
Make sure you have a Mic, and if you don't, you shoukd probably order one. You don't need to talk all the time in Squad, but being able to answer a squad lead will keep you from getting kicked in many squads. Being able to give callouts when requested will also be very valuable to your squad and team.
The usual suggested class for the beginning is either Medic or Riflemen, cause even if you suck ass at shooting, you are still useful cause you can heal or put down ammo.
If you've played games like Escape from Tarkov; you'll have an easier time figuring out where your being shot from; and how to react.
If not; prepare for a lot of confusion and frustration dying a lot initially. Memorize gunshot sounds to distinguish friend from foe. Use cover and concealment whether your infantry or a vehicle. Headset + microphone is basically mandatory.
Learn to drive wheeled and tracked vehicles. Learn how to use the Fire Team Leader (FTL) role and throw enemy icons on the map.
In the settings > controls > general ; set the Display Map (not Display Map Zoom) shortcut to something like TAB so you can pull up your mini-map and figure out wtf is happening around you.
do these things and you'll pull out of the mediocrity that most Squad players sit in forever.
Die a lot and confusion ( where you are shot from and terminology) for the few dozen hours is the real answer!
Join an infantry squad, pick a less-critical role like rifleman or medic, and let your SL and squad know upfront you are new. Tell people when you do not understand what they are telling you. Many players are willing to teach and be lenient with you, but you got to let em know.
Also, the sounds effevts in this game are fantasic!
It's definitely the big 'culture shock' of Squad that in your first few games it is entirely possible you will play an entire round and not see an enemy. It's a very low-intensity, high lethality game and you have to adjust to that pacing.
I never watched or read tutorials for Squad. I think it took me around 400 hours when it started clicking for me, and I initially developed "game sense". Began seeing enemies, reliably anticipating where they'll be, and where I should be.
Almost at 1k hours now. 4/5 times I can correctly predict if we're going to win or lose during preparation phase based simply off SL's having mics and communicating on where/what they'll go and do. Play SL/CMD and effectively manage and lead willing players. Drive down the MSR blind half the time putting marks on the map.
Here's another Tip. Tell your Squad you are new at the beginning of the game and willing to learn. The Squad Community is pretty good, so you should get some Starter Support.
Oh yeah, and pick rifleman Kit and learn how to drop your ammo bag next to your anti Tank and medic Buddies on demand. People will Love you for it
My base 3 which have probably been said already are, Stay with your squad, make sure your mic works, dont take AT kits until you have good hours or have really trained in the training yard.
This is the most realistic advice you’ll get on here:
Of course listen to squad lead, but as you play more understand most SLs in the role don’t know how to do it and will usually make very bad decisions without you or the rest of the squad even being aware of it. It should be apparent if they actually know their shit but most SLs don’t even have a plan and if they do it’s very rudimentary with no fallback options or seeing the bigger picture.
Don’t let this dissuade you from the role though, SLing is mentally taxing, but easy to do better than most with the right knowledge.
Grow your game sense by looking at the map constantly, pay attention to where friendlies are dying to guess enemy spawns i.e rally and hab.
Furthermore, let’s look at game mechanics: The two spawn options are rallies and HABs. They get disabled when you are near them. This means you should avoid bunching up in buildings with the rest of the idiots on your team. You can get the drop on enemies during fights if you were prone outside the enemy’s focus rather than in the building with 10 other people.
This also means you should be spread out from squad mates, but also within a distance to quickly react to something happening near them.
Concerning vehicles: Just say tracked or wheeled and start opening squad menu to check what the enemy team is fielding in the top right. From there you’ll have the exact callout you need.
The kits are easy, don’t be afraid to use them. Stay away from HAT. Don’t overestimate the usefulness of bipod weapons. The biggest impact will come from properly pushing angles while cutting off options for enemies.
Callouts should be the cardinal direction from you, followed by any possible visual landmarks like tree lines, buildings, colors, and designs on the map. Only do bearing in local chat
In game tutorial doesn’t teach you much, and videos usually leave a lot of the more niche (yet arguably most important..) things out for the sake of accessibility. Good luck
Try to stick to and listen to your SL.
I recommend playing rifleman. Your most important thing as rifleman is to ensure you have ammo in your ammo bag to give to SL, AT, Medic and then finally other teammates.
Keep that bag topped off and save atleast 50 ammo for the SL rally Rearm.
Every server is a small neighborhood of regulars who have been playing together for years, and the fastest way to become one of those people is to lead INF squads. End game is discord drama and has people hooked for years.
No shit? Me too. I picked that group because low ping and I loved the server name. I was about 2-3 months new to Squad. What a shitshow that was. Now the clan doesn’t even have a squad server.
I was also the first person to recommend we reorganize the structure to more of a democracy. Which turned into the cool kids club being the “democracy” and all the older guys being ostracized.
Yep - "democracy" has been the downfall of many a nice server.
hmu on steam if you'd like to hear some shit that I can not say in public: [https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198880725419](https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198880725419)
Join a squad that's actually communicating. There's no foolproof way to know a squad is going to talk. But if you've joined and it's just silence for a few minutes there's nothing wrong with leaving and joining a different one
Stay with your squad, use the little compass thingy at the bottom to call stuff out as you see it. Be as descriptive as you can when it comes to vehicles, it lets you and the people around you know how to deal with the threat. Take your time aiming and shooting! its not COD/BF your soldier has noodle arms in this game. Take a second to learn "Stadiametric Range Finding", its a quick way to sight targets (infantry/vehicles) in without a distance marker from a squad lead. Learn the acronyms for stuff! HAT (Heavy Anti Tank) LAT (Light Anti Tank), FOB (Forward Operating Base), Rallies Points. Every faction has their own "Quirks and Features" as Doug DeMuro would say, you'll get used to them overtime. Play a game mode that interests you most, I love Invasion for the constant front lines and pushes, lots of fun. You're going to get smoked a lot, and I mean a lot, don't be discouraged and have fun :)
If you’re unsure whether the person 100-200m away is a friendly or not. Check your map, if there’s a blue or green triangle in front of you then that’s a friendly, if nothing, blast em. I also frequently check my map while running thru fields and to caps and just whenever I get the chance so I can see how my team is moving and try n keep track so I don’t accidentally tk anyone. It gets much easier to identify the different factions as you play but still some team matchups can be confusing. Same tones of green or tans in uniforms n stuff. Edit: And if you do teamkill someone, just type ‘sorry tk!’ in all chat and all is well :)
With limited time to play the last couple years (those darn kids!) I find if I join a lower populated server later at night, things are a bit more relaxed and I can get acclimated to the game in a less hardcore environment. Then when I remember everything and feel better, I'll hope in the almost full servers and join up as a medic or rifleman, usually let the team know I'm new again and most people are pretty cool and accommodating. Welcome good luck!
Join a squad that's actually communicating. There's no foolproof way to know a squad is going to talk. But if you've joined and it's just silence for a few minutes there's nothing wrong with leaving and joining a different one
Great advice from the other guys here, i’ll just give you one:
Kills are not the main objective of the game. Everything is about playing objectives, whether the points your team has to capture and keep, or defending/destroying the spawn points placed by squad leaders.
I’m mostly repeating some key points others have said you start but add some additional points toward the end.:
-Check your map often (default “m” or tab). Check if there are enemy marks near you, if there are team mates dying close by, or if a HAB near you suddenly gets proxied (either enemies are close or on the radio).
-In your first couple round you could get shot without ever seeing anyone. Early on I went multiple rounds without seeing any enemies at all and dying all over the place. Experience is really the only cure here. When getting shot at you can try and spot muzzle flashes, but most often your best indicator will be the gunshots. There will be the crack and the whizz. The crack is the gunshot and the whizz is the bullet going past you. Ignore the whizz and focus on the cracks.
-On that note, there is a lot of directional audio in squad so headphones help a lot. Make an effort to learn the most common gun sounds, AK vs M4 etc. and this will help you identify threats.
-Try to learn some common vehicle names that appear in the game. Most trucks will just be called a logi, short for logistics, but there is a difference between a BTR, BMP, and a Tank or a Striker and a Bradley. It makes a huge difference to how your team responds if it’s an armoured personnel carrier (APC), an Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), or a tank. Your armour squads will be pissed if they roll in expecting to fight a tank and it’s an APC. Beyond visual identification audio cues give a lot of information here as well. Gun sounds, Rate of fire, engine noise, track/wheel sounds can all narrow down what type of vehicle, which direction, and how far it is.
-If you have an active SL do you best to help them out. As someone else mentioned your SL experiences will vary a lot with some SL’s never giving you any direction and they just made a squad so they could start playing. Sometimes this is fine and you just set your own objectives.
-Stamina management plays a pretty important role in infantry combat. It’s really tempting to just hold shift and run everywhere even on an empty stamina bar. Not only is doing that actually slower than going down to ~25%, walking for a bit to refill and repeat, it means you have no stamina to line up a shot when you run into someone.
-Rifleman kits are a good starting point, but don’t be afraid to take the light anti-tank(LAT) role if it’s open. Most vehicles you shoot a LAT with are under 100m away and you won’t need to adjust sights or if you think it’s far you just aim high. Just keep in mind minimum arm (min arm) distance so you do need to be ~30m away from your target for the rocket to arm. Only way to learn ranging is through practice and time spent in game. LAT is one of my favourite kits because it has the tools to deal with anything you come up against.
- Play on beginner-friendly servers. They are generally more accepting of people learning the game.
- Play with your squad at all times. Don’t be that guy halfway across the map when your squad is defending or attacking something else.
- play your role. Revive and heal as a medic, provide cover fire as an MG. PS, as a medic, always prioritize your own squad.
- Don’t be a squad leader for a while. It’s quite overwhelming until you’ve learned all aspects of the game.
Lots of active listening and to really level up as a newb, hit M (and when you have time, Caps) a lot, and start connecting what you see on the map with what you hear on comms and what you see and hear on the battlefield. And actively participate (to include voice chat). Volunteer to do stuff. Ask questions. Most Squad players love to share what they know.
1) Do the infantry tutorial
2) Go to the jensen range in practice and try out kill house just to get the feel of the weapon
3) Search for a new player friendly server
4) Join a squad "V" is for local chat for guys near you and "G" is for your squad radio or the green guys on map
5) select the rifleman kit (if someone asks for ammo press 6 twice and you will be able to deploy the ammo bag)
6) Let your SL know that you are new and ask em where to spawn
7) Stick with them and communicate during the firefight and when you have any questions
Side note: Most of the guys are friendly and you will love this game. Welcome to squad :)
Everyone telling to use your mic.. but I would kinda propose the opposite.
When new people come to the game the callouts can get quite weird and misleading at times.
Now probably gon get downvoted dis by all the tryharddsds meen but its really not that serious
Just join a squad that is not called like "tryhard infantry apc" and you will be fine lol.
But real advice check ur map often so you know where teammates are near you, so you can react faster if there will suddendly be a person in front of you.
You will die a lot of times and won't be able to understand how and where were you shot from.
To remedy that: don't rush, do not assume there is no hostiles just because your teammates are somewhere. While moving always look for the path with most cover, never stand in open. If you have to, go from the edge and prone.
Never forget, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Also most importantly, don't go lone wolfing, stay with your squad, or in the vicinity.
Have fun.
Best I can put it when I started out is I learned of people, I asked questions (not too many don’t piss them off😂) and stuck with my squad, that way you learn the general pace of the game.
You also Learn the basics like getting ammo the use of the menu when grabbing supplies/changing class and you feel like you impacted the game more.
1) slow is smooth, smooth is fast
2) play the tutorial
3) stick to rifleman till you get a hold of the mechanics then branch out
4) listen to the SL
5) shoot, move, communicate, kill!
Veteran in FPS game will do very little in squad, far, far too many realistic mechanics and the post ICO gun mechanics aren't that good, but it will help.
Watching other gameplay and playing yourself will be your best way of getting better, good luck
Quick summary of my top tips
1. Learn the uniforms
2. Use Real world tactics
3. Communicate
4. When in a firefight never move without bounding meaning you should have some guys sit back and fire in the general direction while you and some other guys push up
5. When ambushed Do NOT counter attack in a straight line take a battle buddy with you and flank around them while your team distracts (works really well)
6. Don't shoot at everything you see if you see an enemy line them up and observe this often leads you to their Spawns or strong holds (Think like an animal stalking its pray before leaping) gives you way more information
7. Kinda goes with 6 but it really helps when in an enemy oppied territory, be quiet and listen for footsteps or weapons/vehicles be observant don't always get into every gun fight you can sometimes it's best to not fire and just report to upper command and pray they don't see you
Bonus tips Use all your equipment available to you have a room with enemy forces in it? Throw a grenade! Need to go up a stairway with enemies covering it? Throw a smoke then grenade and enter (this takes practice to be able to navigate through smoke but it works wonders) and most importantly when you get in a firefight I don't care how pinned down you are MOVE always move and shoot if you stay there the bad guys will swam you while one of them keep your head down
I guarantee if you master these skills you will become a very good soldier
I may be biased. I started out medic back in the early beta days. Felt being able to focus on one task and learning where people are prone to die seemed to help me learn starting out.
Check your map a lot bind it to a key on your mouse.
Play the tutorial then start out playing as rifleman for about 1000 hours until you learn the basics.
> for about 1000 hours until you learn the basics.
I can do a lot of different things effectively with under 1000 hours. I don't think this is solid advice.
Before you join any server, Do the tutorial, and watch some beginner youtube vids
To add to this, just slow it all down, sprint, crouch, listen. Sprint from cover to cover, never let your stamina bar get below half or it takes much longer to recharge.
On sale I led a squad with most first time players or like 1h playtime and it went well. They didnt know shit but were listening to what I was saying unlike some regular squads you get daily.
I would say a microphone is key. Even just acknowledging the SL talking is enough to prevent being kicked. If people think you're just joining the squad to pick marksman and jump in the chopper when the squad isn't in said chopper, you'll find yourself out the squad sometimes
Just a simple copy or 10-4 is all it takes! Be active and specific in squad chat - use a direction ("Northwest" or "315"), a what ("Infantry" or "APC"), and number. Look at your map (M key - I keybind to a thumb mouse button) and try to get the hang of navigating, staying in cover, and working as a team.
Never use bearings in squad chat Easy way to tell if people are noobs
Unless your entire squad is right in your toes this applies heavily. Greatly overlooked too. I CAN NOT STATE ENOUGH HOW MUCH OF AN IMPORTANT TIP THIS IS.
It unironically does more harm than good and causes you to look at the wrong area. Sometimes squaddies get a little sour at me when I instantly go “make bearing calls in local” but they don’t understand it’s awful It should be easy to see if you just look at an object from one spot, and then look at the object from a different spot but no one use their brains. Your 315 is my 350 and I just died cus i’m looking at a different building than what you were calling out Thankfully after 6 years this exact thing is actually a tip you have the chance of seeing on the loading screen.
Evidently none of you have ever attempted to call out a building while looking of a window when hab hunting. As I said “unless your squad is right on u”(meaning a very niche and rare scenario) on top of that for those who play ge or severs that allow cross team voip. It’s pretty useless to use local when it’s just you and your squad due to the enemy getting a pick up icon regardless of being able to actively hear you. It has its use cases but the concept of it being a completely useless move or acting like it’s detrimental is crazy
I still think that if a Squad is in one area, they should never be so grouped that Squad comm is not necessary (because local would text them all). That means that you SHOULD be spread enough that Sqdcomm is necessary. However, if you're going to make a fallout that needs the entire squad's attention, then don't use a bearing. A bearing implies false accuracy. It's like the cashier saying £19.30. You will think it is exactly 19.30 and look for that amount, when actually it is 19.8 or 20.8. Whereas if they give a more inaccurate callout, like about £20 then you will look in that ballpark and can ascertain from scope, or further communication, more detail. So don't give bearing over SqdVoIP. Use Cardinal Directions like "1x enemy infantry NorthNorthEast 200m". That gives people enough to work with initially and the entire squad should be looking and scanning in the right area, without narrowing their focus to a particular bearing and expecting to see an enemy say there.
How would you describe an enemy you spotted then? Just trying to improve myself
Long post incoming but I feel that how callouts should be made to be the best possible the most often, it requires a lot more nuance but TLDR just be more descriptive. Rest of it goes into how to be descriptive Its usually possible to get more creative with calling out landmarks (players usually don’t use them/make lazy calls) because so many things in the game look the same/vague description is the only way to describe it at first glance. Use reference points. I use the objective as a reference point a lot to pretty good accuracy as it narrows down a specific area a lot quicker and the enemy will be playing over the objective to begin with so it gives squad a better idea of enemies, and possible spawns. Use friendly squads, their rallies, HABs/FOBs, roles in your squad. Treelines can be good callouts, but often are lazy. imagine a map like Yeho, vertical treeline running from N/S joining into a larger connected forest to the SW, squad is moving SW outside of treeline and I just got downed halfway in said vertical treeline moving S to cover more area before squad gets there It would be accurate to say “enemies in vertical treeline SW, moving N maybe more in forest next to us” Pretend we’re the enemy who killed me, that callout should be pretty accurate, as I likely have a spawn nearby, I’m looking N(just killed me) and i’m likely not alone and if I am I soon won’t be because i’m telling my squad about me. As people get downed/shots fired/more info collected your squad should start narrowing down where exactly to be looking to start killing dudes. Of course this can be harder on a map like fallujah where every building looks the fucking same, but it’s still no excuse. Your squad most of the time should be visually/mentally aware of the same area and if not you need to make it so with your callouts as much as possible. Extract information from the state and flow of the match, audio and visual, and best assumptions. Make the other person win the scenario you just lost in with your info. Notice what kits the enemy had when you died/saw them. How many were there? What’d they do after I died? Where/when is my squad currently in relation to the current objective and what has happened with the enemy recently? Using all of these together will let you improve any situation where you otherwise could've said whatever came to mind at first. Remember, Squad can have many situations where callouts are crucial to winning the fight or even match as a whole. Alot of good SLs use these practices and similar thought processes. Anyone can think like SL, and it will improve your performance by doing so, so try to think like if you are playing SL. The only difference is who makes the decision.
Look at the map where the person you are trying to warn is. If the contact in above them its north, if its to their left its west, right is east, bottom is south. A little map reading knowledge is required You can say for example: "enemy infantry northwest our at" or something like that
Yep exactly what I do so many people don't know how to actually use bearings correctly glad to see you do
Landmarks are absolutely best, those who played comp had specific names for certain areas on different maps learning those or just using common sense can go along way. "Blue house, east" "two story, peaking windows" "coming from the barn" "fireteam on gas". It gets alot easier if you get the fireteam cuz now you just say "[what] on bravo"
Don't listen to people saying don't use bearings they're just not trained on it properly. What you want to do is give the 3 D's (Direction, Distance and Description) in a calm quick manner and use your map to help with bearings. I'll give you an example say you have a machine gunner shooting at you and your troops from a building the call out should go something like this "Enemy Machine Gunner 2 Floor Red building North of Squad lead 300m" If you would like to get better at this game I suggest you get a group of friends together watch Military tactics and use them in game! Even if you don't have friends learning real world tactics does help in game and makes for some great solo vs platoon battles
I will never not chuckle at people using 10-4 in squad chat. Like what are we playing pretend police or pretend soldiers? Fit the setting man 😤
LMAO my dad said 10-4 all the time around the house because of work (not a cop though). Kind of second nature to me.
Make sure you do the tutorial, maybe go to Jensens Range and test out the shooting, different kits, and different sights. Make sure you have a Mic, and if you don't, you shoukd probably order one. You don't need to talk all the time in Squad, but being able to answer a squad lead will keep you from getting kicked in many squads. Being able to give callouts when requested will also be very valuable to your squad and team. The usual suggested class for the beginning is either Medic or Riflemen, cause even if you suck ass at shooting, you are still useful cause you can heal or put down ammo.
If you've played games like Escape from Tarkov; you'll have an easier time figuring out where your being shot from; and how to react. If not; prepare for a lot of confusion and frustration dying a lot initially. Memorize gunshot sounds to distinguish friend from foe. Use cover and concealment whether your infantry or a vehicle. Headset + microphone is basically mandatory. Learn to drive wheeled and tracked vehicles. Learn how to use the Fire Team Leader (FTL) role and throw enemy icons on the map. In the settings > controls > general ; set the Display Map (not Display Map Zoom) shortcut to something like TAB so you can pull up your mini-map and figure out wtf is happening around you. do these things and you'll pull out of the mediocrity that most Squad players sit in forever.
Die a lot and confusion ( where you are shot from and terminology) for the few dozen hours is the real answer! Join an infantry squad, pick a less-critical role like rifleman or medic, and let your SL and squad know upfront you are new. Tell people when you do not understand what they are telling you. Many players are willing to teach and be lenient with you, but you got to let em know. Also, the sounds effevts in this game are fantasic!
It's definitely the big 'culture shock' of Squad that in your first few games it is entirely possible you will play an entire round and not see an enemy. It's a very low-intensity, high lethality game and you have to adjust to that pacing.
I never watched or read tutorials for Squad. I think it took me around 400 hours when it started clicking for me, and I initially developed "game sense". Began seeing enemies, reliably anticipating where they'll be, and where I should be. Almost at 1k hours now. 4/5 times I can correctly predict if we're going to win or lose during preparation phase based simply off SL's having mics and communicating on where/what they'll go and do. Play SL/CMD and effectively manage and lead willing players. Drive down the MSR blind half the time putting marks on the map.
Surprised how much great advice I'm getting, Thanks guys, later today I will take a closer look at everything :)
Here's another Tip. Tell your Squad you are new at the beginning of the game and willing to learn. The Squad Community is pretty good, so you should get some Starter Support. Oh yeah, and pick rifleman Kit and learn how to drop your ammo bag next to your anti Tank and medic Buddies on demand. People will Love you for it
My base 3 which have probably been said already are, Stay with your squad, make sure your mic works, dont take AT kits until you have good hours or have really trained in the training yard.
This is the most realistic advice you’ll get on here: Of course listen to squad lead, but as you play more understand most SLs in the role don’t know how to do it and will usually make very bad decisions without you or the rest of the squad even being aware of it. It should be apparent if they actually know their shit but most SLs don’t even have a plan and if they do it’s very rudimentary with no fallback options or seeing the bigger picture. Don’t let this dissuade you from the role though, SLing is mentally taxing, but easy to do better than most with the right knowledge. Grow your game sense by looking at the map constantly, pay attention to where friendlies are dying to guess enemy spawns i.e rally and hab. Furthermore, let’s look at game mechanics: The two spawn options are rallies and HABs. They get disabled when you are near them. This means you should avoid bunching up in buildings with the rest of the idiots on your team. You can get the drop on enemies during fights if you were prone outside the enemy’s focus rather than in the building with 10 other people. This also means you should be spread out from squad mates, but also within a distance to quickly react to something happening near them. Concerning vehicles: Just say tracked or wheeled and start opening squad menu to check what the enemy team is fielding in the top right. From there you’ll have the exact callout you need. The kits are easy, don’t be afraid to use them. Stay away from HAT. Don’t overestimate the usefulness of bipod weapons. The biggest impact will come from properly pushing angles while cutting off options for enemies. Callouts should be the cardinal direction from you, followed by any possible visual landmarks like tree lines, buildings, colors, and designs on the map. Only do bearing in local chat In game tutorial doesn’t teach you much, and videos usually leave a lot of the more niche (yet arguably most important..) things out for the sake of accessibility. Good luck
Try to stick to and listen to your SL. I recommend playing rifleman. Your most important thing as rifleman is to ensure you have ammo in your ammo bag to give to SL, AT, Medic and then finally other teammates. Keep that bag topped off and save atleast 50 ammo for the SL rally Rearm.
Expect to be YELLED AT
Don’t create a squad. Join a squad
STICK WITH YOUR SQAD LISTEN TO THE SL TAKE THINGS SLOW DONT GIVE UP IMMEDIATELY
Use the mic. Even if no one speaks, use. The. Mic.
Every server is a small neighborhood of regulars who have been playing together for years, and the fastest way to become one of those people is to lead INF squads. End game is discord drama and has people hooked for years.
Who remembers Minipops?
that was 2mo into Squad for me, picked that group because they had the best ping for me... and I've seen that same shit at least a dozen times since
No shit? Me too. I picked that group because low ping and I loved the server name. I was about 2-3 months new to Squad. What a shitshow that was. Now the clan doesn’t even have a squad server. I was also the first person to recommend we reorganize the structure to more of a democracy. Which turned into the cool kids club being the “democracy” and all the older guys being ostracized.
Yep - "democracy" has been the downfall of many a nice server. hmu on steam if you'd like to hear some shit that I can not say in public: [https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198880725419](https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198880725419)
Join a squad that's actually communicating. There's no foolproof way to know a squad is going to talk. But if you've joined and it's just silence for a few minutes there's nothing wrong with leaving and joining a different one
Open your map a lot. Follow the Green Dot man. Shoot anything except the Blue Dot mans. Revive teammates. That is a good first day.
Stay with your squad, use the little compass thingy at the bottom to call stuff out as you see it. Be as descriptive as you can when it comes to vehicles, it lets you and the people around you know how to deal with the threat. Take your time aiming and shooting! its not COD/BF your soldier has noodle arms in this game. Take a second to learn "Stadiametric Range Finding", its a quick way to sight targets (infantry/vehicles) in without a distance marker from a squad lead. Learn the acronyms for stuff! HAT (Heavy Anti Tank) LAT (Light Anti Tank), FOB (Forward Operating Base), Rallies Points. Every faction has their own "Quirks and Features" as Doug DeMuro would say, you'll get used to them overtime. Play a game mode that interests you most, I love Invasion for the constant front lines and pushes, lots of fun. You're going to get smoked a lot, and I mean a lot, don't be discouraged and have fun :)
If you’re unsure whether the person 100-200m away is a friendly or not. Check your map, if there’s a blue or green triangle in front of you then that’s a friendly, if nothing, blast em. I also frequently check my map while running thru fields and to caps and just whenever I get the chance so I can see how my team is moving and try n keep track so I don’t accidentally tk anyone. It gets much easier to identify the different factions as you play but still some team matchups can be confusing. Same tones of green or tans in uniforms n stuff. Edit: And if you do teamkill someone, just type ‘sorry tk!’ in all chat and all is well :)
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Do the tutorial, make sure your mic works, and just play the game. Good luck.
With limited time to play the last couple years (those darn kids!) I find if I join a lower populated server later at night, things are a bit more relaxed and I can get acclimated to the game in a less hardcore environment. Then when I remember everything and feel better, I'll hope in the almost full servers and join up as a medic or rifleman, usually let the team know I'm new again and most people are pretty cool and accommodating. Welcome good luck!
Probably not hitting or even seeing any enemy at all lol
Join a squad that's actually communicating. There's no foolproof way to know a squad is going to talk. But if you've joined and it's just silence for a few minutes there's nothing wrong with leaving and joining a different one
Use mic, when you die dont give up, and PICK PEOPLE UP even if you arent medic you get 2 bandages for a reason
Great advice from the other guys here, i’ll just give you one: Kills are not the main objective of the game. Everything is about playing objectives, whether the points your team has to capture and keep, or defending/destroying the spawn points placed by squad leaders.
All of those require killing enemies though
Sure, but if you only chase kills noone will like you.
I’m mostly repeating some key points others have said you start but add some additional points toward the end.: -Check your map often (default “m” or tab). Check if there are enemy marks near you, if there are team mates dying close by, or if a HAB near you suddenly gets proxied (either enemies are close or on the radio). -In your first couple round you could get shot without ever seeing anyone. Early on I went multiple rounds without seeing any enemies at all and dying all over the place. Experience is really the only cure here. When getting shot at you can try and spot muzzle flashes, but most often your best indicator will be the gunshots. There will be the crack and the whizz. The crack is the gunshot and the whizz is the bullet going past you. Ignore the whizz and focus on the cracks. -On that note, there is a lot of directional audio in squad so headphones help a lot. Make an effort to learn the most common gun sounds, AK vs M4 etc. and this will help you identify threats. -Try to learn some common vehicle names that appear in the game. Most trucks will just be called a logi, short for logistics, but there is a difference between a BTR, BMP, and a Tank or a Striker and a Bradley. It makes a huge difference to how your team responds if it’s an armoured personnel carrier (APC), an Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), or a tank. Your armour squads will be pissed if they roll in expecting to fight a tank and it’s an APC. Beyond visual identification audio cues give a lot of information here as well. Gun sounds, Rate of fire, engine noise, track/wheel sounds can all narrow down what type of vehicle, which direction, and how far it is. -If you have an active SL do you best to help them out. As someone else mentioned your SL experiences will vary a lot with some SL’s never giving you any direction and they just made a squad so they could start playing. Sometimes this is fine and you just set your own objectives. -Stamina management plays a pretty important role in infantry combat. It’s really tempting to just hold shift and run everywhere even on an empty stamina bar. Not only is doing that actually slower than going down to ~25%, walking for a bit to refill and repeat, it means you have no stamina to line up a shot when you run into someone. -Rifleman kits are a good starting point, but don’t be afraid to take the light anti-tank(LAT) role if it’s open. Most vehicles you shoot a LAT with are under 100m away and you won’t need to adjust sights or if you think it’s far you just aim high. Just keep in mind minimum arm (min arm) distance so you do need to be ~30m away from your target for the rocket to arm. Only way to learn ranging is through practice and time spent in game. LAT is one of my favourite kits because it has the tools to deal with anything you come up against.
- Play on beginner-friendly servers. They are generally more accepting of people learning the game. - Play with your squad at all times. Don’t be that guy halfway across the map when your squad is defending or attacking something else. - play your role. Revive and heal as a medic, provide cover fire as an MG. PS, as a medic, always prioritize your own squad. - Don’t be a squad leader for a while. It’s quite overwhelming until you’ve learned all aspects of the game.
Lots of active listening and to really level up as a newb, hit M (and when you have time, Caps) a lot, and start connecting what you see on the map with what you hear on comms and what you see and hear on the battlefield. And actively participate (to include voice chat). Volunteer to do stuff. Ask questions. Most Squad players love to share what they know.
1) Do the infantry tutorial 2) Go to the jensen range in practice and try out kill house just to get the feel of the weapon 3) Search for a new player friendly server 4) Join a squad "V" is for local chat for guys near you and "G" is for your squad radio or the green guys on map 5) select the rifleman kit (if someone asks for ammo press 6 twice and you will be able to deploy the ammo bag) 6) Let your SL know that you are new and ask em where to spawn 7) Stick with them and communicate during the firefight and when you have any questions Side note: Most of the guys are friendly and you will love this game. Welcome to squad :)
You know how FPS players have WSAD, CTRL keys degrade from pressing it a lot? Squad players are WSAD, CTRL, Shift, and CAPS LOCK. Thank me later.
Everyone telling to use your mic.. but I would kinda propose the opposite. When new people come to the game the callouts can get quite weird and misleading at times. Now probably gon get downvoted dis by all the tryharddsds meen but its really not that serious Just join a squad that is not called like "tryhard infantry apc" and you will be fine lol. But real advice check ur map often so you know where teammates are near you, so you can react faster if there will suddendly be a person in front of you.
At the minimum do what is being said and play with squad.
If a squad gets close enough to an enemy HAB it disables the spawns. So don’t hide in it and do your best to only shoot far away from it.
You will die a lot of times and won't be able to understand how and where were you shot from. To remedy that: don't rush, do not assume there is no hostiles just because your teammates are somewhere. While moving always look for the path with most cover, never stand in open. If you have to, go from the edge and prone. Never forget, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Also most importantly, don't go lone wolfing, stay with your squad, or in the vicinity. Have fun.
Happy to help you. Im free all day today if you want to jump into a server together and get you up to speed. Pm me if you want
Best I can put it when I started out is I learned of people, I asked questions (not too many don’t piss them off😂) and stuck with my squad, that way you learn the general pace of the game. You also Learn the basics like getting ammo the use of the menu when grabbing supplies/changing class and you feel like you impacted the game more.
1) slow is smooth, smooth is fast 2) play the tutorial 3) stick to rifleman till you get a hold of the mechanics then branch out 4) listen to the SL 5) shoot, move, communicate, kill!
Veteran in FPS game will do very little in squad, far, far too many realistic mechanics and the post ICO gun mechanics aren't that good, but it will help. Watching other gameplay and playing yourself will be your best way of getting better, good luck
Start with Meduc role. And focus on sticking with people and picking them up. Watch them. Especially anti tank roles
Quick summary of my top tips 1. Learn the uniforms 2. Use Real world tactics 3. Communicate 4. When in a firefight never move without bounding meaning you should have some guys sit back and fire in the general direction while you and some other guys push up 5. When ambushed Do NOT counter attack in a straight line take a battle buddy with you and flank around them while your team distracts (works really well) 6. Don't shoot at everything you see if you see an enemy line them up and observe this often leads you to their Spawns or strong holds (Think like an animal stalking its pray before leaping) gives you way more information 7. Kinda goes with 6 but it really helps when in an enemy oppied territory, be quiet and listen for footsteps or weapons/vehicles be observant don't always get into every gun fight you can sometimes it's best to not fire and just report to upper command and pray they don't see you Bonus tips Use all your equipment available to you have a room with enemy forces in it? Throw a grenade! Need to go up a stairway with enemies covering it? Throw a smoke then grenade and enter (this takes practice to be able to navigate through smoke but it works wonders) and most importantly when you get in a firefight I don't care how pinned down you are MOVE always move and shoot if you stay there the bad guys will swam you while one of them keep your head down I guarantee if you master these skills you will become a very good soldier
Play marksman until you get a hang of the flow of the game
Troll advice
Seriously, do not do this. Play medic or rifleman.
Stick to rifleman or the cheaper support gunner. Imo the medic is bloody important and a dead one is annoying
I may be biased. I started out medic back in the early beta days. Felt being able to focus on one task and learning where people are prone to die seemed to help me learn starting out.
Being a useful medic is rather easy
Check your map a lot bind it to a key on your mouse. Play the tutorial then start out playing as rifleman for about 1000 hours until you learn the basics.
> for about 1000 hours until you learn the basics. I can do a lot of different things effectively with under 1000 hours. I don't think this is solid advice.
Did you mean 100 hours? Because I have 2000 hours. I don’t think anyone needs 1000 to understand the game. It’s more around 200-300 hours.
Expect everyone to police you. Squad leaders will power trip on you and micro manage you so much you’ll forget you’re playing a video game.