SL Help, for Those That Need it/Are Interested.

[Renomaki]

Sure but you have to realize that drill sergeants aren't dicks to be dicks, they have purpose. As such, being a hard-ass dick to your men for no good reason is going to result in them hating you.

I agree that trying to emulate a Drill Sargent is going to damage the bond between you and your troops more than reinforce it.

However, you also need to know when to be stern. There will be times when you gotta yell, and while I myself don't like to yell at people for being dumbasses, sometimes you need to get that point across that not being a team player is bad and you should feel bad.

A good SL isn't a friend to marines, nor is he a hardass. A good SL is a Father to his men.

You treat your troops like you treat your kids: You try and play nice, but don't be afraid to scold them for being idiots. After all, nothing hurts an SL more than losing good men and women under his command. It is why I do what I do as an SL, and why I take failure so hard, because your troops depend on you to take care of them, and if you aren't taking care of em, you aren't doing a good job...

[NoahKirchner]

I agree that trying to emulate a Drill Sargent is going to damage the bond between you and your troops more than reinforce it.

However, you also need to know when to be stern. There will be times when you gotta yell, and while I myself don't like to yell at people for being dumbasses, sometimes you need to get that point across that not being a team player is bad and you should feel bad.

A good SL isn't a friend to marines, nor is he a hardass. A good SL is a Father to his men.

You treat your troops like you treat your kids: You try and play nice, but don't be afraid to scold them for being idiots. After all, nothing hurts an SL more than losing good men and women under his command. It is why I do what I do as an SL, and why I take failure so hard, because your troops depend on you to take care of them, and if you aren't taking care of em, you aren't doing a good job...

Sure, like I said, you don't do it without reason. Sometimes the situation calls for you to call baldie joe a fucking dumbass, but it shouldn't be a mindless and repetitive thing.

[SpaceFarer]

many times marines don't see your orders as they are currently in rambo mode with huge adrenaline shooting through their veins.

assume at least 50% of your squad will go Rambo aka silent and disappear

baldie joe

Holy shit this thread is a gold mine of comedic material.

My main tip to SL's? MOVE SLOW. Too many SL's far too often get their orders and sprint their ass off the ship, leaving 75-100% of the squad behind, then bitching at them and blaming then when a xeno drags them off alone. Squads should move slow and always maintain a headcount.

[NoahKirchner]

Holy shit this thread is a gold mine of comedic material.

My main tip to SL's? MOVE SLOW. Too many SL's far too often get their orders and sprint their ass off the ship, leaving 75-100% of the squad behind, then bitching at them and blaming then when a xeno drags them off alone. Squads should move slow and always maintain a headcount.

Being slow at the start is a really big help, but as you start to get closer to the fighting, a lot of times you'll have marine lose interest as you're trying to consolidate your forces and fuck off to the frontline, and then you lose your entire force. I've found that progressively increasing the speed at which you start to execute orders as the round goes on is the best way to keep the most amount of men with you at the same time.

[SpaceFarer]

Being slow at the start is a really big help, but as you start to get closer to the fighting, a lot of times you'll have marine lose interest as you're trying to consolidate your forces and fuck off to the frontline, and then you lose your entire force. I've found that progressively increasing the speed at which you start to execute orders as the round goes on is the best way to keep the most amount of men with you at the same time.

Yeah, I agree you gotta keep the Unga Dungas' attention by giving them something to do as much as possible, I just mean when moving to a new objective to move slowly. Once tangos are engaged obviously the pace will switch up.

[Renomaki]

Holy shit this thread is a gold mine of comedic material.

My main tip to SL's? MOVE SLOW. Too many SL's far too often get their orders and sprint their ass off the ship, leaving 75-100% of the squad behind, then bitching at them and blaming then when a xeno drags them off alone. Squads should move slow and always maintain a headcount.

This is what I myself try to do as an SL.

People tend to forget how fast marines are able to move, so having your SL go sanic fast from the squad and expect everyone to catch up with him is excessive.

I always try to waddle a bit, sometimes stopping and backtracking a bit to make sure everyone is following me, and at the very least I'd tell people where to rally so stragglers can catch up. On planets without comms, this is INSANELY vital to keeping everyone together.

[Marcus Jackson]

So I feel this is as good a place as any to post this: viewtopic.php?f=129&t=13417

Any of the SL's or marine players who would like to not deal with some of the CM bull for awhile are more than welcome to join.

[Tidomann]

It would be nice if there was a moment to have a squad meetup after gearing up and slapping eachother in line for Unga Dunga attachments before briefing. Sadly there is such a rush to get down before T3 aliens this doesn't usually happen.


That being said I always tell my squad to disembark on the nearest exit of the dropship, and have everyone regroup on one side of the landing pad before I tell my fireteams to go out on their own objectives. This way your squad stays semi cohesive, you can do a headcount, and you won't sprint off leaving someone unfamiliar with the map behind.


Also please activate your squad tracking beacon.

[solidfury7]

I'm holiday at the moment but I'll make a short and brief point.

Make a bond with your squad and they'll follow you in to hell.

[Symbiosis]

But what if I want to go Rambo? Arnie 1v1'ed the Pred, what's the point of the strong SL armor if I don't take out the queen Solo?

[Swagile]

Pretty sure SL armor really doesn't do shit.

And even if the armor value's are higher, most xenos aim for the head and or limbs; chest is usually the last place they aim.

[RedOktober12]

The SL armour isn't really there for xeno proofing, though it does soften it. It's much better at stopping FF, even allowing you to shrug off a (very) limited amount of AP. It's good for keeping you in the game for longer while you lead from the front.

Also because I've seen this more and more recently, I may as well mention; FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEAR YOUR HELMET. Not only does it stop you dying, but it links you with overwatch and vastly increases the utility of CIC. You're hurting your squad massively by leaving that in your locker.

[Swagile]

Put your squad above all else...

Even if it sometimes contradicts your orders.

Or you won't have a squad left to lead, as they will all be dead or ignoring your orders.

It might seem dumb to ignore Commands orders, but you can't follow Commands orders if no one in your squad is listening to you or they are dead.

[Kazuko_myu]

As someone who never played SL but SO quite a few times, I can just give you that advice..

ALWAYS appoint a second in command (usually your Specialist or medic/engineer, worst case Smartgunner) to take over your position if you have fallen. It's happened so often, and what I usually do is: when I overwatch a squad and the SL has been KIA'd, I either withdraw the second highest Marine following CoC and give him SL access, plus the spare helmet camera in the SL locker and the required headset, OR, when they have no time to return to the Almayer, I send the stuff they need down and do the technical ID shit later. Usually works very well if your Staff Officer listens and does his job appropriately, but also when the SL and his units are functioning the way they are supposed to (aka obedient, abiding by orders etc.)

[Skimmy2]

While im far from being a "veteran" SL to give advise, what I can say is that combat is very loud, and loud things spam your chat which you do not want.

Its very important that you observe the battlefield and leave firing your weapon as a secondary task.

Likewise do not be afraid to repeat an order 2 or 3 times, especially if your squad is engaged. Odds are your poor PFCs are too busy clicking on xenos and spamming bright red text across everyone's screens with gunfire to notice that somebody is talking to them.