Up until about 3 weeks ago I just used to run into battle with my AI set to wide and aggressive, hoping that they would at least stay alive for a short period while trying to use them after my first guy got killed. Now, though, I have been holding them up in houses, behind barns etc, and gradually bringing them forward with me as I move into battle. For sure my squads are lasting longer, but my worry with this is, that they are not contributing to the battle ie shooting at my marked targets while hold up. How do you guys use your AI to get the best performance from them?
Using your AI as additional sawnpoint by hiding them is arguably one of the best uses of AI in regular combat.
Alternative is to micro your AI and then they can achieve something but from my experience it’s a heavy RNG. Sometines basic rifleman can get 3 kills each and sometimes the whole squad just gets shot to pieces with maybe 2 kills total.
Also remember you can order your AI to use explosive packs against tanks. It’s a surprisingly good option.
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Interesting, how do you do that?
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Look at the enemy tank and you should get a notification in the bottom left “pres x to atack the tank” or sth like this.
The same way you can order your AI to build stuff. Look at a blueprint and press X. But you need hammer in your hand all the time, otherweise the order will be canceled.
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It depends on the squad type, and whether I’m on offense or defense.
Personally I tend to main Engineers (regardless of squad type) to attempt to support my fellow players.
OFFENSE:
Generally I use them as supporting fire while I go about what I need to. I’ll often set up some sandbags at a position for them to shoot from while I work on digging a trench or build a structure.
If you dig a trench 2x wide and have your AI soldiers set to close, they will usually stay pretty well in the trench behind you (AFTER you get it dug), so you can more safely move both your AI and teammates AI up with far less casualties.
This works especially well if you dig the space for a rally point near the start of the trench.
Additionally, I find myself using field guns quite often for supporting fire, both against tanks and infantry.
Fun Fact: if you don’t tell your soldiers to hang back when you jump on a field gun or AA, one of them will jump on it with you, and act as a loader, and help you move it more efficiently.
I have definitely had a couple times where I actually use a field gun as a push tool as well thanks to the AI.
Since your AI will follow you and the field gun is mobile, you can actually push it forward like a shield if the enemy is only using bullet weaponry. Since a lot of people don’t carry AT weapons, rather just explosive packs, your AI will shoot them fairly often when they go to throw the EP, or even sometimes run forward and throw it back!
DEFENSE:
You can command your AI to finish building structures that you have placed, and this is helpful especially with Engineer squads where you can have up to 6 engineers.
Additionally, depending on the campaign, I’ll use a Radio Operator squad equipped with AT mines to pull back and set up “gates” (Czech hedgehogs to narrow potential tank paths and AT mines between them.) and other fortifications such as trenched wire as well. It allows me to drop artillery for my teammates while simultaneously fortifying for the next objective.
Rifleman squads, and even some of my assaulter squads I’ll have equipped with AP mines, go through and set them all and tell my squad to go defend the objective afterwards. Since mines can only be carried 1 per soldier.
Lastly, similar to offense, I can build areas or tell them to sit in a good spot to cover me while I work on fortifications.
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Thanks for that VoyoMay 
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Very interesting stuff, thank you That’s one thing I do love about this game, you are always learning new things 
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I have just been in and tried it out on the tanks in practice and it works fine. One thing I did notice, was that the AI’s detpacks don’t bounce off the tanks, they stay on it. Hopefully that is the case in game
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That’s the fun part, you can’t
At best give them LMGs and see them laser your enemy in long range or Automatic Rifles, even Assault Rifles
Else just use them as extra life
On my personal experience MG squads are way more efficient than the others for some reason, had my MG bots get up to 12 kills each when in cover shooting at open enemies.
The usual rifleman for those melee kills is always nice too when invading a house occupied by enemies.
But, the most important point is, don’t tell them to face a enemy player, they just don’t have the reaction time to do it properly, kill the players yourself and leave the bots for them.
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I specialize in squad management, and what you mention is a good tactic. There are a lot of different ways to utilize them.
The most common is just telling your squad to hide somewhere and use them as extra live. But it leaves your whole squad vulnerable.
I personally like to leap frog my men forward so that they all dont get wiped at once. I leave medics, engineers behind, tell me infantry to move up to the point and my machine gunners and assaulters to cover. Then by the time you are too far from your medics and engineers, you tell them to take a new position in the area that you just cleared. Rinse and repeat and you have a strong offense movement
Defense is a bit simpler, just spread and position your men in the best way you can.
Overall, using individual orders instead of squad wide orders make them listen more often and overall more effect in my experience.
Glad you are enjoying squad management like I do
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Use them like meatbags. They are not really usefull in other roles
They are worth more than that if they are carrying some worthy firepower