Right now squad members essentially move around like restless cats, barely sticking to the marked defense point you put down. The same happens when setting formation types using alt.
Instead, I think there should be three ROE rule sets you can place on your squad.
Before I start, I think it is important to work on getting all squad members to follow your stance…prone, kneeling or standing.
Hold fire (unless fired on), hold position
This mode would require the squad members to avoid engaging the enemy unless engaged. They would also take a position and hold in place…no moving around unless fired on.
Hold fire and move
This mode would allow the soldiers to move around as they do now, but they would not engage the enemy unless engaged themselves. They would hold fire unless fired on.
Engage and move
This is the current mode of play. Squad members would move around and engage enemy when seen.
These modes are especially important for stealthy movement and snipers. Snipers are often given away by dancing squad members running around like they are getting attacked by ants.
If you would at least implement these kind of controls over general behavior I believe it would vastly improve the squad play experience.
I feel like it’s already gotten a bit better in the weeks since I started playing. I believe they’re trying to utilize some deep learning to train the bots, which is cool 'cause it’s making them much less predictable… Even though they do some weird shit sometimes.
I fully agree that better orders/responsiveness would be good. A major solution, to me, would be the ability to order troops around individually. Having them all in the same place is probably half the reason so many people use them as respawns, even though it’s bad. Watching your whole squad get baleeted in a single explosion feels very derpy.
Being able to set them up around the map as guards and sentries would be sick. I would also like to see something for individual classes affecting behaviour, beyond what already exists - Like flamethrowers using their flamethrowers, and snipers having increased engagement range or something. It’s a work in progress, hope they’re reading the forums!
it would be nice if bots would know what floors/levels are
It would also be nice to have the possibility to tell them to occupy a building and not get out of it.
By the way, I didn’t mention that Hold Fire Hold Position should be silent…meaning they do not speak. No sound, or very little sound. Perhaps add the animation that is the hand movement for “enemy spotted, this many, this direction”.
The more I play, the more I realize that squad mechanics, especially with respect to sniper squads needs to change. All too often my position is compromised by my squad.
The planeshooting they’ve started doing is a bit excessive. I don’t think that’s a feature that’ll stay in its current form.
I do have some squad tips if you’re interested - You are correct that your squad will tend to give away your position. That’s why you often wanna send them to a point, and go off solo towards another one. This makes it difficult for your enemy to stop both assaults, and either you or your squad will usually make it into cover, while enemies focus on the other.
Another tactic I like, is to gather my troops close to a point, near a good overwatch position for myself. Then I send them to assault it while I sit back, and pick off the defending enemies shooting my squad as it charges in.
It’s not perfect, but these are at least some squad strategies I’ve tried and tested in the current meta.
