Formations

[Wodin]

I little change I'd like to see is being able to put your squads into different formations. At the moment I always wonder what move order to use. The move order they walk in single file which is not good moving towards combat. The quick and fast order I imagine they aren't as aware as you would want them. The assualt order is great for attacking buildings so the only one left is the hunt order. So is this the best order for moving towards combat?

If we could choose a formation whilst in the move order I feel it would add alot to the game. Even just the line or V formation would be great. Or if its to hard to impliment maybe the move order should default to a V formation rather than be single file.

[hcrof]

I think quite a lot of people would like to see infantry formations in the future, even if they are quite simple. Contact drills would be awesome too, although they might be harder to implement.

I can see it now, lines of infantry moving forward, formations getting ragged as they come under fire...

Yep, that would be awesome

[Wodin]

Yep it would indeed look awesome!

[DaveDash]

Yep it would indeed look awesome!

It all depends on terrain.

In general the assault command is probably the best command moving to contact IMO, not just in towns. Your guys will get taken out very quickly while moving (quick or fast) which makes assault quite good. Also, if there is a tank around that corner you're not going to lose your whole squad.

You can also split your teams, which I never used to do that often but I do it quite a bit now.

Hunt is good but it tires your guys out very quickly. Its useful in restricted terrain like forests where you want a 'line' of guys who can open fire, or its useful for scouting.

Moving your platoons you can make use of some real life formations, I probably use Wedge the most (two squads to the front, HQ and support elements in the middle, and one squad for manouver to the rear).

In real life most squads/sections move in fireteams (split teams or assault) so that is why there are no formations, and you should generally move your guys in fireteams as well.

[Wodin]

Its more a case of when you have a large open stretch of wilderness to cross. Doesn't assault tire your men out aswell quite quickly?

Thats where I have difficulty in choosing the right move order.

[vincere]

It all depends on terrain.

In general the assault command is probably the best command moving to contact IMO, not just in towns. Your guys will get taken out very quickly while moving (quick or fast) which makes assault quite good. Also, if there is a tank around that corner you're not going to lose your whole squad.

You can also split your teams, which I never used to do that often but I do it quite a bit now.

Hunt is good but it tires your guys out very quickly. Its useful in restricted terrain like forests where you want a 'line' of guys who can open fire, or its useful for scouting.

Moving your platoons you can make use of some real life formations, I probably use Wedge the most (two squads to the front, HQ and support elements in the middle, and one squad for manouver to the rear).

In real life most squads/sections move in fireteams (split teams or assault) so that is why there are no formations, and you should generally move your guys in fireteams as well.

Yep, maybe that would be a goo command to have that was a move version to save the hassle of splitting squads.

[Alan8325]

Its more a case of when you have a large open stretch of wilderness to cross. Doesn't assault tire your men out aswell quite quickly?

Thats where I have difficulty in choosing the right move order.

It seems to me that assault is actually the second easiest on exhaustion levels, next to "move", which is easiest. With "assault", half the squad is "quick" moving while the other half is resting. With Army MOUT and Marine squads, 1/3 moves while 2/3rds rests .

[hcrof]

Actually, half the squad does a fast move. If you have 3 fireteams that might be ok (if slow to cover the ground) but with 2 teams they tire very quickly. It is probably best to split the squad if you can and issue timed quick move orders. This is not really an option as the Syrians though.

[Wodin]

Vincere,

What? A say a move in fireteams order? So it automatically splits whilst moving in tandem, then auto reforms when you stop? Sounds good to me if thats what you ment. Similar to the assault move but one doesn't stay behind but both teams travel next to each other and not in single file.

[DaveDash]

Its more a case of when you have a large open stretch of wilderness to cross. Doesn't assault tire your men out aswell quite quickly?

Thats where I have difficulty in choosing the right move order.

Well the thing is its very circumstancial. The key to moving tactically is not just the orders you give your infantry, it's having your overwatch elements putting down surpressive fire so your guys can get from cover to cover without being pinned down.

In general though this is what I do with infantry (I play in RT and pause quite a bit):

Open Terrain:

Assault: I use this for advancing across ground where I know I will get fired at. A classic example is advancing your men across the open ground in the Marines campaign mission 'Milk Run'. Yes it is slow, but speed in this game will get your troops killed.

Hunt: I use this for moving through low visibility terrain such as forests, or I use this for scouting elements with a small cover arc.

Quick: I use this for moving through areas that have been cleared of the enemy, or across covered ground

Move: I almost never use this

Fast: I use this for moving across dangerous firing lines. Such as crossing a street. I will almost always use this in conjunction with smoke

Slow: I use this often when I have moved my squad up to the crest of a hill/berm/rooftop and I want to peak over it. I will usually split off my AT team (who have the Javelin CLU) and slow them up the last bit to have a look across.

Urban:

Now firstly onto splitting squads: I never used to do this because of two reasons, I felt that it limited my spotting and I felt I didn't have enough firepower (ie 4 guys running into a building are more likely to be overcome than 9). However I have learnt the hard way that splitting squads is almost essential in MOUT, because otherwise it's so easy to move your whole squad into an entire building and have them wiped out in one go.

I started splitting squads after played MikeyD's USMC scenario 'Streets of Hamas'. I feel this scenario more than any really punishes you for the use of 'lazy' tactics in MOUT. Now, what I tend to do is split squads, and have one fireteam run UP TO a building and area target it. Why don't I run IN the building you say? A) You don't know whats on the other side and you shouldn't generally assault a building where your troops can't safely stay outside, because if you do you're crossing an enemy firing lane.

When they get close they'll chuck grenades in and surpress whatever is in there. The other fireteam is using 'target light' on the building in order to maintain surpressive fire. This is usually sufficient to surpress any defenders inside.

If the building is adjacent to another building (ie behind it) and the scenario is made by one of the many evil bastards on this forum, then you can bet your bottom dollar there are bad guys in the back building and not the front (or a tank or AFV parked right behind it), so I usually HUNT my fireteam in through the front door. This way they have a chance of spotting the enemy in any adjacent building (or an IFV behind it) in time for me to either give them a HIDE command or pull them out. You have less guys and they are moving slowly, so the chances of YOU being spotted are less.

This has saved me a lot of casualties in MOUT scenarios, but be prepared to take casualties. It's just the nature of the beast. Always make sure you have overwatch elements supporting your advance so even if you do take casualties you'll make sure they do too.

Anyway, everybody has their different ways of playing and I'm sure there are much better ones than I have suggested, but over time of getting my ass kicked in this game I have found the above generally works well for me.

In short when moving around the key is to be cautious and expose as little as your guys as possible. Trying to be Delta Force High Speed will get your pixeltroops wasted.

[Wodin]

Thanks Davedash...very helpful indeed.

If someone has alot of time on their hands may be writing a tactical guidebook would be more than appreciated