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(For this guide I will be using Muttrah City as a reference)
With the new asset rules in 0.8 a vast range of asset strategies have opened up. Gone is the old Bunker/Firebase system, in exchange for a much more malleable asset structure. Any aspiring CO/SL must take care to familiarize himself/herself with these new rules and strategies.
Forward Outposts(Hereby referred to as FOP/FOPs) are now no longer limited by flags and as such a CO/SL must turn away from the pre-0.8 asset construction. All four FOPs can now be constructed from the start and are not limited to flag range, the only restriction rule being that they must be spaced 400m from each other(Could I get confirmation on this? It says 300m in the guide but I think it's actually 400m). FOP based assets(AA, .50 cal deployable, barb wire, sandbags) can be placed within a 200m area of the FOP. Do take note of this change; 200m.
Release yourself from the flag
With 0.8 still being just a few days old I still see that people are restricted in their thinking to flags. On Muttrah you usually see FOPs deployed on the flags, usually within a 50m radius of the flag. This is an error for the following reasons: 1) Flags are usually located at locations difficult to defend, such as North City or Muttrah Docks. 2) If the FOP is placed on the flag then it is hard to reinforce the flag if it is under attack or going down.
1) Flags are usually hard to defend because they are in built up areas with buildings obstructing your view. Because of this any defensive assets are inefficient and the enemy can move up on the position easily, pinning you down with grenades and suppressive fire. You lose the advantage of defense to your environment.
2) Any flag that is under attack is a very hostile area to spawn into and your forces are likely to die during shortly after spawning because they have no idea where the enemy is or due to random shelling from grenades, APCs, attack choppers, etc. Not to mention spawnraping.
For these reasons it is important that you do not just place FOPs at some random location close to or on the flag; you have to take the deployable assets into account, as well as the surrounding area.
Efficient FOP placement
Using Muttrah as a reference, playing the MEC side, the below image shows three strong FOP locations:
(Red Cross=FOP(NOTE! Red Crosses do not mark an exact FOP location) Yellow Dot=.50 Cal Green Dot=AA)
The first thing to note is that these locations are nowhere near the flags, the one in the city center being closest, because of the aforementioned reasons. Lets examine these three locations.
The top left FOP location seems a little out of place, there's nothing going on up in those hills and it seems to be far away from any flags. However, if you explore the marked area you will quickly find that it is relatively close to the Docks and the North City, and that there is shelter close by for troops advancing on both flags. The FOP is a little exposed to attack choppers but as long as you have someone manning the AA it should do fine. There's also a small trench where the FOP itself will be safe from APCs firing at range, though the assets might be compromised. These minor disadvantages are more than balanced out by the fact that you can cover the entire Docks area with a .50 to the east and parts of the streets leading to North City to the south. An AA will also cover almost the entire northern part of the map. From this position, with .50 cals and AA mounted you can hold back large amounts of enemies moving out from the Docks.
The lower left FOP is located between all three city flags and as such is ideal for reinforcing them quickly. But once again it's positioning is mostly due to the placement of .50 cals and AA. From this position you can cover the parking ground to the north with a .50 cal and the center from choppers with AA. The second .50 cal can be placed anywhere but should preferably defend the western area.
The third position is only valid if the USMC is reduced to the Docks or Carrier and is mainly to take out any incoming choppers. The reason it's not built at the pier furthest to the east is because it's susceptible to APC fire if placed there and the surrounding containers makes it hard to defend. You can find other locations but I like this one for it's defensibility.
The purpose of the FOP
The FOP is not an insta-spawn onto the front lines or a resupply area, it's purpose is to get soldiers close to the front lines in a safe area that maintains dominance over a larger area of the battlefield. For quick reinforcements to the front line you should use rally points as FOP are valuable assets that can decide the fate of the game. The FOP itself should be concealed with other assets being deployed in a more offensive or defensive role at suitable locations. Forget the pre-0.8 restrictions and think outside the box.
200 METERS!
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