Guide to squad formations.

[pwn3ge106]

Listen up, squad leaders. Squad formations are a good and great way to take on the enemy. Today, we'll be going over some formations that are great for different situations.
^=infantry.
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^
^
^ }Stay at constant distance(5-10m) and speed the whole way thru.
^
^
^
The standard column. This formation is not recommended at anytime, becuase if you encounter an enemy right in front of you, your whole squad will be gunned down in an instant.
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^
---^
^ }Stay at constant distance(5-10m) and speed.
---^
^
---^
The zig zag. This is great for rushing objectives, because the enemy wont know which side to gun down first. When they engage one side, the other side can quickly fire back.
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---^
-^---^ }Stay at constant distance(5-10m) and speed.
^-----^
---^
The point. This is great for running thru hostile forests/sand/dirt.
One in the back covers the rear, as the farthest back side covers the sides, while the front sides cover the front.
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ }Stay at constant distance (5-10m) and speed.
The line. Another objective runner, this is great becuase the enemy can only take down one enemy at a time, becuase of the deviation on PR, the weapon can't stay in auto and go across a line like that properly (unless an AR--Squad is going to have to take the risk)
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- ^
^---^--fire team 1
[10-20M break] }Constant speeds and distance.
^---^--Fire team 2
- ^
This works great all around. This is the formation recommended for everything. If you really want to advance it, split them into fire teams, as shown above.


I hope you enjoyed this guide. PM me for thanks and any suggestions. You will be cited here-
[none yet]
Best of luck, pwn3ge106.
The dashes mean nothing, they are there in place of spaces-- the forum didnt let me put spaces in, becuase it just reset everything to right justified.

[Z.Simpson]

A far better description: dslyecxi.com - enjoy your stay

[Sadist_Cain]

tis ok... but things like a staggered column shouldn't be used to "rush" objectives vbf2 style.
Consider the firing arcs that you have, you have 6 guns capable of firing either side but only 2 pointing in front (where the enemy is) which is never good...

Staggered columns (aka road clumns iirc) should be used as such, Whilest walking along roads or within valleys etc, places vulnerable to ambush from either side.

If you want to rush, try using a blunt wedge instead...
X__X__X
_X___X_
___X__

If the enemy is unaware to your presence this can hit them like a sledgehammer, If they know youre there then best use the spearhead (point) and fight your way through.

Good shout out on spacings, not a lot of folk bother listening to that and forget that even the prettiest formation can be wiped out with a single nade due to bad spacing.

Horseshoe shapes can be effective to partially surround an unaware enemy...


Here we had a recon dude working his way up quietly because the CO is pinned by the enemy.

What you can't see is the squad has been ordered to hold fire, we're wiggling into our positions, getting info from the recon, and then we all move together as one, otherwise there are no point to formations.

Another point, if you're holding fire then make sure you leapfrog your movements. This way if it all goes wrong then you have a chance and a leg up.

Edit:

A far better description: dslyecxi.com - enjoy your stay

Just read that, veeeery good! like it says, "formations are flexible creatures" use as many basics as you can find, analyse their strong, weak points and firing arcs/ From then on you can morph your formations to suit the situation.

Most important in keeping formation... DONT SPRINT!!! it isnt a 100m dash to the flag

[hx.bjoffe]

5-10m is too close, especially with the new grenade-radius. One lucky nade, and half the squad goes.

I can't believe this is the very first formations-thread posted... about time.
Formations have become even more important after .7 and the removal of minimap, as it is a very useful tool of keeping track of your SMs.

Good initiative, pwn3ge.

[Pain]

urban squad moving in hostile areas

- 360° covering till movement
- fireteams in visual range
- cover over cross
- fireteam mates close to each other, everyone with own cover sector

for open area or patrol in a safer area without confirmed enemy there they use all kinds of collum formations (depend on situation)

[Royal Marine StaffSgt Joe]

try the v formation for wood lands

[Danger_6]

Spacing in real life:

Day time, well lit areas: 15-25 metres
Night time, dark areas: 5-10 metres

Secondly i really detest placing a squad in formations like these were one man is at the back of a arrow head:

----X----
---X-X---
--X---X--
-X--X--X-

it reduces the fire power of the squad as the 1 man at the back can't fire without a possibility of friendly fire. However, you would only do so if the middle back X was a VIP or an officer. Alas, PR squads are too small to allow the officer to stay at the back and you are most likely leading player who know little of military knowledge therefore you must lead by example from the front. Therefore a simple arrow head is best when moving across open ground. Through a jungle always single file until you are fired upon. On roads staggered file:

X---
---X
X---
---X
x---

Extended line when you know the enemy position ,either from being fired upon or intel, therefore you don't need an arrow head to cover the ground on the left or right.

Also any 1 might try to argue agaisnt the arrow head with a man at the back because they might say it gives fire from the back. Irrelevent. If you have already passed that loctation then you know its clear, therefore, the only possible contact will be on the front or sides.

[PFunk]

Formations are all but impossible to pull off with anyone but a dedicated group of guys who will continue to train together.

For pub games just getting your men on-line is a task. On line is how you want to engage the enemy almost all the time so your formations become a matter of flexibility towards that goal and are decided by the intervening variables which come between you and contact with the enemy.

But for simplicity really you just want line and column in a pub game. Column lets you lead, then when point man makes contact your get everyone on line and engage. Also with on line its easier to send a flanking group. Column also works well for being attacked from the sides. You don't even have to reposition, you just pivot and you've got 6 guys firing at the targets.

But really, the hardest thing is getting them to do it fast and to then fire their guns. Usually I spend more time controlling the formation than thinking about the battle.

But tis all good tactics nonetheless.

[Poi_Medic]

Formations are all but impossible to pull off with anyone but a dedicated group of guys who will continue to train together.

For pub games just getting your men on-line is a task. On line is how you want to engage the enemy almost all the time so your formations become a matter of flexibility towards that goal and are decided by the intervening variables which come between you and contact with the enemy.

Thats true. In pub you just have to let it flow. Gota be a fast thinker. Formations are takes too much or too long to setup,.

[1GeKKo3]

The biggest problem with most conventional formations is that you have a limited field of view from a flat screen rather than your real eyes. The most obvious one is the lateral line which is all but impossible to maintain on a computer screen. In real life you can see someone is standing beside you, even behind you, but on a computer screen you can on see in front and even that is limited.

[KingKong.CCCP]

Fighting in a formation is, of course, something to look forward when playing combat simulator like PR.
But reaching that goal is a lot more difficult then pretty much any of you guys can imagine. Knowing infantry formations is just the first step in a marathon that lays ahead.

The real battle is to be won against your own squad members. For this you need to sharpen your people-handling skills to the max. You have to understand, every bit of formation/squad/unit is a real person, and you need to work your way with them, like they are a piece of sculpture. Sometimes you need to handle them with care, polishing the fine flaws, sometimes you need a sledge hammer to chop huge chunks (kick some guys).

... I could go on with this for hours... but, currently I'm on 75% of understanding these things completely. Soon, I'll get to 90%, and then I'll put all my knowledge on the subject in one thread.