Squad Play

If you’ve played past installments of Battlefield, you know the benefits of joining a squad. A squad is a four-player unit that can communicate with each other over headsets.

Being able to talk to the other players in your squad allows you to discuss each situation and respond as a single, unified fighting force. Beyond the obvious tactical advantages, being in a squad allows you to earn the squad bonus points that boost your score and fast-track promotions. But if you’re new to Battlefield and the squad system, let’s take a look at how they work.

Joining a Squad

You can join a random squad while a multiplayer map is loading .

At the start of any match, while the map is loading, you’re asked if you want to join a squad. Always choose yes. In this instance, you’ll be automatically assigned a squad randomly. Chances are your new squad mates are complete strangers, so say hi and ask what kit they will use before spawning into the game.

If you prefer playing with friends, you can create a squad from your friend’s list before even joining a game. Choose the Invite a Friend option from the multiplayer Quickmatch menu and send invitations to anyone on your friend’s list who is online. You don’t need four players to form a squad, so feel free to join a game once you have at least one friend on your side.

However, if you have less than four players in your squad, the extra slots could be filled by strangers. When your squad is formed and ready for action, choose the Find a Game option to begin a match.

Squad Spawn

If you spawn on a squad mate who is prone, you’ll enter the game prone as well .

One of the huge benefits of playing in a squad is the ability to spawn on any squad mate. In the spawn screen you can see a number of spawning options, including your team’s base and control points.

If you don’t want to spawn at one of those static locations, select the name of one of your squad members. As you select their name, a blue circle icon appears on the map and the camera view switches, showing exactly where they are.

Before spawning on a squad member, make sure they’re in a safe location. The last thing you want to do is spawn in the middle of an enemy kill zone. You can also spawn on any squad member who is in a vehicle with unoccupied seats.

New to Battlefield 3 are Radio Beacons, which are deployed by recon troops. Radio Beacons can be placed almost anywhere on the map and serve as forward spawn points for your squad.

This is a great way for attackers to maintain a presence close to an objective, especially in Rush matches. But don’t let enemies see where your Radio Beacon is placed, otherwise they may camp nearby and pick off your squad mates as they enter the game.

Teamwork

Issuing and following squad orders is a simple way to boost your score .

Once in the game, you can identify your squad mates by the green name tags above their heads accompanied by their kit icon—they also show up as green triangles on the minimap.

Other teammates have blue name tags above their head while enemies appear as red. Stay close to your squad so you can support one another. But don’t cluster around each other too tightly or else all four of you can be eliminated by an explosive attack.

Instead, try to stay within each others’ line of sight. By simply communicating and working together you can gain a huge advantage over your opponents, especially those that wander off by themselves.

In addition to talking to each other over your headsets, use the target spotting system to tag enemies and issue attack/defend orders. Only the squad leader can issue orders so watch for blinking boxes around objectives like M-COM stations and control points.

If no order has been issued, ask your squad leader to place an order on an objective. Kills performed within close proximity of an objective marked with an attack/defend order result in a Squad Attack Order (20 points) or Squad Defend Order (20 points) bonuses.

So if you’re the squad leader, don’t forget to issue orders to help your squad’s scores.