MAG Guide - Player Roles

I did not write this, I saw it on the official MAG forum and thought it
would be a good idea to have it here as well as sometimes these things
tend to disappear over time and I know if it's here it won't go
anywhere.

All credit to oHIKARUo and Thagmor for writing/compiling this stuff.

LEADERSHIP
 Leadership
is learned from experience, a lot of trial and error.  Official
leadership positions such as SL, PL, and OIC only offer you more
communication options and several area of effect attacks.  It doesn't
mean you are an effective leader by any means.  A successful leader
doesn't even have to be a squad leader, just somebody that can direct
the unguided troops in a squad to something more effective.  This is
where my guide comes in as a self help guide to stay on task and
complete the objective in the absence of a leader, or in the presence
of bad leadership.  If you default to the guide I made you can help
your team much more than following bad commands. 
The heart
and soul of leadership comes from commanding your own 8 man squad.  I
also set up the strategy guide in such a way that if everybody reads it
then plays according to the guidelines I set forth the leadership roles
are put to the sidelines because each individual player is functioning
at their full effeciency, doing something useful for the
squad/platoon/company.

An effective leader will remind a
squad/platoon about what they should be doing. For example, if the
bunker lines are all destroyed, the leader should remind all
squads/squad members to search and kill any and all survivors on the
defensive line to prevent them from repairing their bunkers, then to
move on if it is clear.

Leadership isn't simply telling
people that they are doing a good job etc, that is nice to hear but
doesn't make that person a leader at all. A leader will redirect
ineffective squad members/squads/platoons to something that is
effective and will complete the mission.  If everybody is already doing
a good job without the leader saying anything then the leader isn't
needed because you are working with elite troops.

There
are a few things a leader can try to do but most of these attempts at
controlling the entire platoon/company should be done in the beginning
of the game to create shock and awe.  For example, on Sabotage I was
platoon leader of the attacking team and was able to get roughly 3/4
(21/28 players) of the company to all spawn on the spawn point going
towards objective A in a blitzkrieg knowing that the typical 2 squads
would be there to meet us.  We were able to over run objective A and
capture it, leaving 1 squad on Objective A, the next phase was to have
the other squads to move towards Objective B from the flank while the
last squad that didn't listen was struggling against two defending
squads in the front.  We were able to take Ojbective B and was barely
able to unlock C before A was overrun.  There was so much time after
that to get C that we won a landslide victory.

Plans like
this should be devised to make the game more interesting, and to throw
the enemy completely off balance.  Sabotage is one of the only modes
that I can think of that can accomodotate this type of plan quickly and
easily because there are only 2 spawn points.
COMMANDO 

Here is an example of a good Commando run, watch and take notes. All matches are recorded in 720p HD Enjoy!

Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzwy3XwdAZg&fmt=22

Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4iYPxLoNE&fmt=22 
MAG
offers one of the greatest opportunities in online gaming to engage in
commando infiltration and sabotage of the enemy defensive compound.
This is also one of the most lucrative ways to make EXP all by
yourself!  But the risks and rewards are fairly balanced out. First I
will outline the risks and the rewards, this will help you, the reader
see if this is the right thing for you.  This will also allow those who
hate when people go on commando runs or do not understand it, realize
what is going on and why it is an acceptable playstyle (play however
you like it is a game!).
RISKS
You are alone 99% of the time
It
is not always easy to get through the enemy's front lines without dying
(several times, and for the new commandos, MANY times)
If you
engage in combat with anybody while behind enemy lines, regardless of
whether you kill him in combat you will be hunted down and over run, it
will just be a matter of time.
Any future commando
infiltrations in that same match will be met with more resistance and
possibly defending players waiting for you.
REWARDS
Provides the best solo-troop experience once you are behind enemy lines sabotaging their infrastructure.
Provides
you with some of the BEST game play experience, the rush of andrenaline
while you are sneaking behind enemy lines makes for great stories of
achievements, and failure!
Teaches you infiltration skills
which will be useful for when you are on the defending team.  Some of
the best infiltrators make the best defensive players with their
specialized knowledge.
Teaches you discipline in not simply
killing everybody you encounter as it produces disastrous effects on
your commando infiltration.
Having
laid out the basic principles of commando infiltration playstyle. The
reason that this playstyle is beneficial to the team as a whole is that
once you are passed the enemy front lines, you can begin your attack at
nearly any point of their infrastructure.  This initiative in combat
puts you in charge of setting the pace of what will be your eventual
death.  When you set that first demo charge, you have to keep in mind
that YOU have now set the defensive team in motion against you.  The
enemy will be aware of the flashing infrastructure, go ahead, plant
another charge somewhere else.  Now the entire enemy team notices two
things flashing.  Since squads can only talk within each other, you may
gain the attention of anywhere between 1-5 players who will all, by
their own process of deduction try to intercept you before you arrive
at your next destination.
 Look
at everything that I just mentioned and break it down, one commando on
the attacking team getting the attention of 1-5 defending players who
now have to go BACKWARDS (no longer defending the front line
objectives/bunkers) and track down a single player in an undetermined
location.  This is great effeciency!  Now is the hard part.  Once you
notice people running around the previously abandoned compound, you
have to ask yourself how to stay alive for as long as possible, and
destroy as much infrastructure as possible?  Simple, do NOT engage in
combat with any of the defending players investigating your
whereabouts. 
 Do not mistaken
"do not engage" with "do not fight".  The difference is simple, if you
think the enemy saw you DO NOT FIRE, either get behind cover, lay down
quickly, or otherwise remove yourself from getting any more attention
from that player.  If the enemy did NOT FIRE at you then your cover
isn't officially blown, trust me on this.  It is a test of your nerves
and has got me by MANY insane situations in which I believe the enemy
saw me.  While you are avoiding further detection from the enemy you
thought had seen you, keep your gun aimed at him (if you couldn't go
behind cover, always try to hide in this situation!)  If the enemy
keeps moving along and seems to otherwise not care about you, or
perhaps not even see you then lower your weapon and continue on your
infiltration.  The situation is completely different if at any point in
time the enemy fires at you at ALL.  Two basic strategies are if the
enemy is a LONG distance from you and you are wearing light armor and
you have both sprinting skills unlocked then I would suggest that you
run away from the enemy, make a reasonable distance between you guys
then hide and listen for footsteps, if it is clear, continue
infiltrating and sabotaging the base.  If the enemy shoots at you in
medium-close range then you almost have no choice but to shoot him
since you can die within a matter of seconds.  Once you killed the
enemy you will have to spend a minute or two going as far away as
possible while staying behind enemy lines so that the enemy loses any
reference point of where you may possibily be.
 Once
you have spilled blood in the enemy compound, things change for the
worse quickly.  For every enemy you kill behind enemy lines, it is
almost guaranteed that you will have a dedicated hunter tracking you
down until they kill you.  The next time you plant a demo charge on
something you have much less time to run away as that will serve as
your hunter's reference point to search for you.  This is what I mean
by "your eventual death" as an infiltrator.  It is very difficult to go
all game without running into a kill or be killed situation.
There
is hope though.  As I mentioned, if you are successful in planting
numerous demo charges behind enemy lines, you will attract the enemy as
I mentioned.  However, if you can succesfully sneak around and not kill
ANYBODY (and not die yourself) then what you will end up doing is the
opposite effect of killing somebody looking for you.  You will
frustrate the enemy search party.  You can rely on your average player
psychology that they started searching for you because it might be easy
to find a single person running around blowing things up.  If you make
yourself impossible to find by adopting an ultra conservative method of
sabotaging once every minute, or minute and a half, the average player
will lose interest in you and move back to the front lines.  Keep in
mind that this is just for the average player psychology, it is VERY
possible that you have attracted the attention of a commando
infiltrator that is playing on defense in the current game.  This
player WILL NOT stop until you die because this is FUN for him, he
won't get bored doing this.  Most commando infiltrators are not as
interested in front line warfare as they are with the action behind
enemy lines, he will be your nemesis for this match, guaranteed.  This
is good since it keeps both you and your nemesis trained at the highest
level of competition possible.  It is amazing that we can enjoy small
scale skirmishes that test patience and stealth, rather than all out
brute force and enjoy the polar opposite, all in the same match!
Another
technique is to infiltration is to sabotage a several things at once,
then go dormant for 2 minutes, keep scouting for enemy search teams,
and go for another big run, then go dormant again, rinse repeat. 
Playing as a commando in MAG has so many different approaches to it
that it is hard to list them all here, but these basic concepts for one
of the most advanced forms of combat (1 against X) should get you
started on a path that you might never turn back from!

MEDIC
This
is one of the most overlooked support roles available in MAG.  The
requirements to technically be a medic is the Medical Kit gear unlock
which costs 2 points.  Once you unlocked the Medical Kit be sure to go
to the Armory screen and include the Medical Kit in your load out.  The
medical kit is 1,000 CC so it won't limit you terribly on what else you
can include in your load out but when you decide to use a repair kit
you will feel the bite on your primary weapon choices, as well as your
armor choices, more on this later.
To
be the most effective medic possible it is absolutely required to have
a mic when you are playing.  The first thing you need to do is
introduce yourself to the squad as a medic.  Let them know that you
will communicate with your squad and let them know when it is possible
and not possible for you to resuscitate them when needed.  Just
remember that as a medic, you will have to realize that at this stage
in the game people will still bleed out immediately because they don't
believe medics exist (kinda like Santa and the Easter Bunny).  Patience
is very important if you want to be known as a medic beyond this game
and build a reputation.  You will have to continuously assure those who
bleed out that you will resuscitate them when you say that you will.  
Do not forget that if a squad member has a mic and asks if you can
resuscitate him, you need to respond and let him know whether you can
or not so he can bleed out.  If you screw up and make a promise to
resuscitate but for some reason forget to do it, apologize to the squad
member so he doesn't start automatically bleeding out.  An apology goes
a long way and will often be met with a kind response and understanding
from the player.  Most people do not expect an apology so remember this.
The
actual duties you will perform will be high risk resuscitations to your
run of the mill healing.  The best position on the map as a medic is
near your squad members in the rear of them.  If you concentrate on
fighting alongside your squadmates, you won't be able to focus on
healing them and keep them in the fight.  If a squad member gets taken
down, attempt to get him back in the fight asap.  Before resuscitating
your squadmate the important thing to watch out for is explosions,
incoming fire, and any threats that may cause you to die immediately
after resuscitating your squadmate.  If you are the last man standing
and you have an opportunity to resuscitate a member while you are
taking fire, go for it.  The reasoning behind this suicidal move is
that, although it will most likely result in your death, the chances of
your squadmate killing the enemy is good since most people have a
terrible habit of immediately reloading after a kill.  If you can
maintain safe minimum distance with your squad throughout the game and
you remember that being a good medic is about communication then you
will earn the experience you deserve performing your duty on the
battlefield.
 Back to the
loadout as a medic.  1,000 cc will be spent on the medical kit alone,
if you want to take the most advantage of being a support character you
will want to pack a repair kit as well which will set you back another
1,000 cc.  Looking at this setup and taking the bare minimums in mind
you have a total of 3,000 cc spent with 400 cc left to spare (basic
primary weapon 600cc, side arm 200cc, light armor 200cc, medical kit
1000cc, repair kit 1000cc).  This full support setup is viable on both
the attacking and defending teams.  If you want your focus to be on
support, then keep your weapon unmodified and use the remaining 400cc
to upgrade to medium armor.
 While
playing on the defensive team you will be able to perform every support
duty possible at maximum effeciency.  The amount of points you gain for
this non combat role is great considering you are the backbone of your
teams infrastructure.
 During
the attacking campaign this dedicated support role is most effective
while you are in control driving an APC.  You are a mobile spawn point,
capable of repairing your own APC and if a teammate is taken down, you
can drive up to their body park alongside it using the APC as cover
then revive them and hop back into your APC and continue on the attack.
This is a very satisfying position to play as and everybody should try it once.
**UPDATE**
: If you are playing as a medic and you are guarding an objective,
area, and you have a chance to revive another medic or shoot the player
that killed him, I would always recommend reviving the medic first. 
This way you can increase your odds and rest assured that the medic you
revived will revive you if you die.  I can't count the number of times
reviving first has got me the foothold on a tough to hold enemy
position.  

RESPECing YOUR CHARACTER
This
is a new feature introduced to us on the 9/17 beta build.  This new
feature allows you to respecify your character's skill points once you
earn enough respec points.  The respec points appear at the top of the
Barracks > Skill window.  The first respec opportunity is available
once you earn 5,000 respec points.  The next opportunity is available
at a total of 10,000 respec points.  If you make a mistake on your
character's skill choice decision this feature is a great opportunity
to fix these mistakes (sometimes make another mistake ;])  But for the
sake of beta this feature is great feature to have. Once you are level
40 you can continue to play that character and accumulate respec points
to give your character a new specialization.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SQUAD?

One
good squad can make the difference between victory or defeat.  One good
squad can hold an objective longer than three inferior squads.  One
good squads can punch through the defense of an entire platoon.  The
key to this game is the proper management of each individual squad.
What makes a good squad?

Each member of the squad understands and is on task performing the mission objective at hand.
Each member of the squad has the ability to revive one another.
Each member of the squad has microphones to keep contact with each other regarding the status of the objective.
Each member of the squad lets each other know who they are reviving. (Read the medic section above.)
Each member of the squad brings to the squad, their own dynamic way of performing the mission objective.

I will now explain what each point means in detail so you all can enjoy the benefits of being a integral part of YOUR squad. 

Each
member of the squad is required to understand the objective.  If you
have a microphone (as you should) and you are not sure whether or not
your squad knows the objective, you must take the initiative and
explain to the entire squad what the objective is.  If you see
squadmates that are in a forest far away from the objective, let them
know specifically by calling out there name and telling them where they
should be.  You have to assume, unless you already know them, that they
are new and do not yet understand what the objective(s) are.  Try your
best to guide these players.  Educating players to what the objectives
are is crucial for your team to succeed.  The experience benefits for
staying on task are more than worth it.  The true reward is that you
are playing as a cohesive unit.

Each member of the squad
must have revive in order to be a "good squad."  A good squad is hard
to kill, not because they are good at shooting, but because they are
difficult to KEEP down once you do manage to wound a player.  A good
squad always makes sure that each and every squad member and those
around them are at 100% health at ALL times.  Reviving another player
as soon as they get taken down is another sign of a good squad.  A good
squad will easily break the morale of enemy players attempting to take
you on if you show them you have the will, as a group to maintain an
area with extreme effeciency, reviving one another regardless of the
fighting going on.

Each member of the squad needs a
microphone.  You need a microphone to let your squad know what you see,
what killed you, and what is about to kill them.  You also need a
microphone to let your squad medics know where you are, if enemies are
near your body, and how close you are to dying.  Conversely, since you
would be a medic (as you should) you need a microphone to let your
squadmates know where you are, if you can make it to them, and to ask
them what dangers they should expect when they revive you.  A
microphone is also required to make dynamic plans and spur of the
moment decisions as a group.  You also need microphones to keep
everybody on task at the objective.

Each member of the
squad brings with them a different background and set of skills, and
weapon(s) of choice.  For example, if you are playing defense on
Sabotage and you ARE the sniper on the squad.  You can still have the
fun you have playing as sniper, but if you want to help your squad that
is all assault and at the objective, you can position yourself in such
a way that you have a clear shot at the entry points into the
objective.  This way you ONLY shot at players going to the objective
entry, and bring less attention to yourself.  Most importantly you
would be assisting your squad while you are using the weapons/tactics
of choice.  If you prefer to use AP mines, let everybody know that you
have them and where they are planted, all this will culminate into a
victory, most of the time, a land slide victory for your team.

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WOPR-1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Administrator Joined: 10 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 498	Topic: MAG Guide - Player Roles Posted: 23 Jan 2010 at 2:27pm
	I did not write this, I saw it on the official MAG forum and thought it would be a good idea to have it here as well as sometimes these things tend to disappear over time and I know if it's here it won't go anywhere. All credit to oHIKARUo and Thagmor for writing/compiling this stuff. LEADERSHIP Leadership is learned from experience, a lot of trial and error. Official leadership positions such as SL, PL, and OIC only offer you more communication options and several area of effect attacks. It doesn't mean you are an effective leader by any means. A successful leader doesn't even have to be a squad leader, just somebody that can direct the unguided troops in a squad to something more effective. This is where my guide comes in as a self help guide to stay on task and complete the objective in the absence of a leader, or in the presence of bad leadership. If you default to the guide I made you can help your team much more than following bad commands. The heart and soul of leadership comes from commanding your own 8 man squad. I also set up the strategy guide in such a way that if everybody reads it then plays according to the guidelines I set forth the leadership roles are put to the sidelines because each individual player is functioning at their full effeciency, doing something useful for the squad/platoon/company. An effective leader will remind a squad/platoon about what they should be doing. For example, if the bunker lines are all destroyed, the leader should remind all squads/squad members to search and kill any and all survivors on the defensive line to prevent them from repairing their bunkers, then to move on if it is clear. Leadership isn't simply telling people that they are doing a good job etc, that is nice to hear but doesn't make that person a leader at all. A leader will redirect ineffective squad members/squads/platoons to something that is effective and will complete the mission. If everybody is already doing a good job without the leader saying anything then the leader isn't needed because you are working with elite troops. There are a few things a leader can try to do but most of these attempts at controlling the entire platoon/company should be done in the beginning of the game to create shock and awe. For example, on Sabotage I was platoon leader of the attacking team and was able to get roughly 3/4 (21/28 players) of the company to all spawn on the spawn point going towards objective A in a blitzkrieg knowing that the typical 2 squads would be there to meet us. We were able to over run objective A and capture it, leaving 1 squad on Objective A, the next phase was to have the other squads to move towards Objective B from the flank while the last squad that didn't listen was struggling against two defending squads in the front. We were able to take Ojbective B and was barely able to unlock C before A was overrun. There was so much time after that to get C that we won a landslide victory. Plans like this should be devised to make the game more interesting, and to throw the enemy completely off balance. Sabotage is one of the only modes that I can think of that can accomodotate this type of plan quickly and easily because there are only 2 spawn points. COMMANDO Here is an example of a good Commando run, watch and take notes. All matches are recorded in 720p HD Enjoy! Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzwy3XwdAZg&fmt=22 Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4iYPxLoNE&fmt=22 MAG offers one of the greatest opportunities in online gaming to engage in commando infiltration and sabotage of the enemy defensive compound. This is also one of the most lucrative ways to make EXP all by yourself! But the risks and rewards are fairly balanced out. First I will outline the risks and the rewards, this will help you, the reader see if this is the right thing for you. This will also allow those who hate when people go on commando runs or do not understand it, realize what is going on and why it is an acceptable playstyle (play however you like it is a game!). RISKS You are alone 99% of the time It is not always easy to get through the enemy's front lines without dying (several times, and for the new commandos, MANY times) If you engage in combat with anybody while behind enemy lines, regardless of whether you kill him in combat you will be hunted down and over run, it will just be a matter of time. Any future commando infiltrations in that same match will be met with more resistance and possibly defending players waiting for you. REWARDS Provides the best solo-troop experience once you are behind enemy lines sabotaging their infrastructure. Provides you with some of the BEST game play experience, the rush of andrenaline while you are sneaking behind enemy lines makes for great stories of achievements, and failure! Teaches you infiltration skills which will be useful for when you are on the defending team. Some of the best infiltrators make the best defensive players with their specialized knowledge. Teaches you discipline in not simply killing everybody you encounter as it produces disastrous effects on your commando infiltration. Having laid out the basic principles of commando infiltration playstyle. The reason that this playstyle is beneficial to the team as a whole is that once you are passed the enemy front lines, you can begin your attack at nearly any point of their infrastructure. This initiative in combat puts you in charge of setting the pace of what will be your eventual death. When you set that first demo charge, you have to keep in mind that YOU have now set the defensive team in motion against you. The enemy will be aware of the flashing infrastructure, go ahead, plant another charge somewhere else. Now the entire enemy team notices two things flashing. Since squads can only talk within each other, you may gain the attention of anywhere between 1-5 players who will all, by their own process of deduction try to intercept you before you arrive at your next destination. Look at everything that I just mentioned and break it down, one commando on the attacking team getting the attention of 1-5 defending players who now have to go BACKWARDS (no longer defending the front line objectives/bunkers) and track down a single player in an undetermined location. This is great effeciency! Now is the hard part. Once you notice people running around the previously abandoned compound, you have to ask yourself how to stay alive for as long as possible, and destroy as much infrastructure as possible? Simple, do NOT engage in combat with any of the defending players investigating your whereabouts. Do not mistaken "do not engage" with "do not fight". The difference is simple, if you think the enemy saw you DO NOT FIRE, either get behind cover, lay down quickly, or otherwise remove yourself from getting any more attention from that player. If the enemy did NOT FIRE at you then your cover isn't officially blown, trust me on this. It is a test of your nerves and has got me by MANY insane situations in which I believe the enemy saw me. While you are avoiding further detection from the enemy you thought had seen you, keep your gun aimed at him (if you couldn't go behind cover, always try to hide in this situation!) If the enemy keeps moving along and seems to otherwise not care about you, or perhaps not even see you then lower your weapon and continue on your infiltration. The situation is completely different if at any point in time the enemy fires at you at ALL. Two basic strategies are if the enemy is a LONG distance from you and you are wearing light armor and you have both sprinting skills unlocked then I would suggest that you run away from the enemy, make a reasonable distance between you guys then hide and listen for footsteps, if it is clear, continue infiltrating and sabotaging the base. If the enemy shoots at you in medium-close range then you almost have no choice but to shoot him since you can die within a matter of seconds. Once you killed the enemy you will have to spend a minute or two going as far away as possible while staying behind enemy lines so that the enemy loses any reference point of where you may possibily be. Once you have spilled blood in the enemy compound, things change for the worse quickly. For every enemy you kill behind enemy lines, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a dedicated hunter tracking you down until they kill you. The next time you plant a demo charge on something you have much less time to run away as that will serve as your hunter's reference point to search for you. This is what I mean by "your eventual death" as an infiltrator. It is very difficult to go all game without running into a kill or be killed situation. There is hope though. As I mentioned, if you are successful in planting numerous demo charges behind enemy lines, you will attract the enemy as I mentioned. However, if you can succesfully sneak around and not kill ANYBODY (and not die yourself) then what you will end up doing is the opposite effect of killing somebody looking for you. You will frustrate the enemy search party. You can rely on your average player psychology that they started searching for you because it might be easy to find a single person running around blowing things up. If you make yourself impossible to find by adopting an ultra conservative method of sabotaging once every minute, or minute and a half, the average player will lose interest in you and move back to the front lines. Keep in mind that this is just for the average player psychology, it is VERY possible that you have attracted the attention of a commando infiltrator that is playing on defense in the current game. This player WILL NOT stop until you die because this is FUN for him, he won't get bored doing this. Most commando infiltrators are not as interested in front line warfare as they are with the action behind enemy lines, he will be your nemesis for this match, guaranteed. This is good since it keeps both you and your nemesis trained at the highest level of competition possible. It is amazing that we can enjoy small scale skirmishes that test patience and stealth, rather than all out brute force and enjoy the polar opposite, all in the same match! Another technique is to infiltration is to sabotage a several things at once, then go dormant for 2 minutes, keep scouting for enemy search teams, and go for another big run, then go dormant again, rinse repeat. Playing as a commando in MAG has so many different approaches to it that it is hard to list them all here, but these basic concepts for one of the most advanced forms of combat (1 against X) should get you started on a path that you might never turn back from! MEDIC This is one of the most overlooked support roles available in MAG. The requirements to technically be a medic is the Medical Kit gear unlock which costs 2 points. Once you unlocked the Medical Kit be sure to go to the Armory screen and include the Medical Kit in your load out. The medical kit is 1,000 CC so it won't limit you terribly on what else you can include in your load out but when you decide to use a repair kit you will feel the bite on your primary weapon choices, as well as your armor choices, more on this later. To be the most effective medic possible it is absolutely required to have a mic when you are playing. The first thing you need to do is introduce yourself to the squad as a medic. Let them know that you will communicate with your squad and let them know when it is possible and not possible for you to resuscitate them when needed. Just remember that as a medic, you will have to realize that at this stage in the game people will still bleed out immediately because they don't believe medics exist (kinda like Santa and the Easter Bunny). Patience is very important if you want to be known as a medic beyond this game and build a reputation. You will have to continuously assure those who bleed out that you will resuscitate them when you say that you will. Do not forget that if a squad member has a mic and asks if you can resuscitate him, you need to respond and let him know whether you can or not so he can bleed out. If you screw up and make a promise to resuscitate but for some reason forget to do it, apologize to the squad member so he doesn't start automatically bleeding out. An apology goes a long way and will often be met with a kind response and understanding from the player. Most people do not expect an apology so remember this. The actual duties you will perform will be high risk resuscitations to your run of the mill healing. The best position on the map as a medic is near your squad members in the rear of them. If you concentrate on fighting alongside your squadmates, you won't be able to focus on healing them and keep them in the fight. If a squad member gets taken down, attempt to get him back in the fight asap. Before resuscitating your squadmate the important thing to watch out for is explosions, incoming fire, and any threats that may cause you to die immediately after resuscitating your squadmate. If you are the last man standing and you have an opportunity to resuscitate a member while you are taking fire, go for it. The reasoning behind this suicidal move is that, although it will most likely result in your death, the chances of your squadmate killing the enemy is good since most people have a terrible habit of immediately reloading after a kill. If you can maintain safe minimum distance with your squad throughout the game and you remember that being a good medic is about communication then you will earn the experience you deserve performing your duty on the battlefield. Back to the loadout as a medic. 1,000 cc will be spent on the medical kit alone, if you want to take the most advantage of being a support character you will want to pack a repair kit as well which will set you back another 1,000 cc. Looking at this setup and taking the bare minimums in mind you have a total of 3,000 cc spent with 400 cc left to spare (basic primary weapon 600cc, side arm 200cc, light armor 200cc, medical kit 1000cc, repair kit 1000cc). This full support setup is viable on both the attacking and defending teams. If you want your focus to be on support, then keep your weapon unmodified and use the remaining 400cc to upgrade to medium armor. While playing on the defensive team you will be able to perform every support duty possible at maximum effeciency. The amount of points you gain for this non combat role is great considering you are the backbone of your teams infrastructure. During the attacking campaign this dedicated support role is most effective while you are in control driving an APC. You are a mobile spawn point, capable of repairing your own APC and if a teammate is taken down, you can drive up to their body park alongside it using the APC as cover then revive them and hop back into your APC and continue on the attack. This is a very satisfying position to play as and everybody should try it once. UPDATE : If you are playing as a medic and you are guarding an objective, area, and you have a chance to revive another medic or shoot the player that killed him, I would always recommend reviving the medic first. This way you can increase your odds and rest assured that the medic you revived will revive you if you die. I can't count the number of times reviving first has got me the foothold on a tough to hold enemy position. RESPECing YOUR CHARACTER This is a new feature introduced to us on the 9/17 beta build. This new feature allows you to respecify your character's skill points once you earn enough respec points. The respec points appear at the top of the Barracks > Skill window. The first respec opportunity is available once you earn 5,000 respec points. The next opportunity is available at a total of 10,000 respec points. If you make a mistake on your character's skill choice decision this feature is a great opportunity to fix these mistakes (sometimes make another mistake ;]) But for the sake of beta this feature is great feature to have. Once you are level 40 you can continue to play that character and accumulate respec points to give your character a new specialization. WHAT MAKES A GOOD SQUAD? One good squad can make the difference between victory or defeat. One good squad can hold an objective longer than three inferior squads. One good squads can punch through the defense of an entire platoon. The key to this game is the proper management of each individual squad. What makes a good squad? Each member of the squad understands and is on task performing the mission objective at hand. Each member of the squad has the ability to revive one another. Each member of the squad has microphones to keep contact with each other regarding the status of the objective. Each member of the squad lets each other know who they are reviving. (Read the medic section above.) Each member of the squad brings to the squad, their own dynamic way of performing the mission objective. I will now explain what each point means in detail so you all can enjoy the benefits of being a integral part of YOUR squad. Each member of the squad is required to understand the objective. If you have a microphone (as you should) and you are not sure whether or not your squad knows the objective, you must take the initiative and explain to the entire squad what the objective is. If you see squadmates that are in a forest far away from the objective, let them know specifically by calling out there name and telling them where they should be. You have to assume, unless you already know them, that they are new and do not yet understand what the objective(s) are. Try your best to guide these players. Educating players to what the objectives are is crucial for your team to succeed. The experience benefits for staying on task are more than worth it. The true reward is that you are playing as a cohesive unit. Each member of the squad must have revive in order to be a "good squad." A good squad is hard to kill, not because they are good at shooting, but because they are difficult to KEEP down once you do manage to wound a player. A good squad always makes sure that each and every squad member and those around them are at 100% health at ALL times. Reviving another player as soon as they get taken down is another sign of a good squad. A good squad will easily break the morale of enemy players attempting to take you on if you show them you have the will, as a group to maintain an area with extreme effeciency, reviving one another regardless of the fighting going on. Each member of the squad needs a microphone. You need a microphone to let your squad know what you see, what killed you, and what is about to kill them. You also need a microphone to let your squad medics know where you are, if enemies are near your body, and how close you are to dying. Conversely, since you would be a medic (as you should) you need a microphone to let your squadmates know where you are, if you can make it to them, and to ask them what dangers they should expect when they revive you. A microphone is also required to make dynamic plans and spur of the moment decisions as a group. You also need microphones to keep everybody on task at the objective. Each member of the squad brings with them a different background and set of skills, and weapon(s) of choice. For example, if you are playing defense on Sabotage and you ARE the sniper on the squad. You can still have the fun you have playing as sniper, but if you want to help your squad that is all assault and at the objective, you can position yourself in such a way that you have a clear shot at the entry points into the objective. This way you ONLY shot at players going to the objective entry, and bring less attention to yourself. Most importantly you would be assisting your squad while you are using the weapons/tactics of choice. If you prefer to use AP mines, let everybody know that you have them and where they are planted, all this will culminate into a victory, most of the time, a land slide victory for your team.
	None of you seem to understand...I'm not locked in here with you, YOU'RE locked in here with ME!!--Rorschach


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