I have been reading Sun Zi's The Art of War during my long-haul flight from France to Canada and

back and I reali!ed that a numerous amount of "rinci"les could a""ly to #lanetside $% It is obvious
that &'vercome your enemy (ithout fighting any battle) can't be rendered in the game% *ut his
thoughts on leadershi" are I think a great basis to anyone (ho (ants to be a #latoon +eader or a
S,uad +eader in the game% -ven some of the comments he makes on the use of troo"s are
actually valuable In-.ame advices% /ere is a selection of his (ritings directly trans"osed to the In-
.ame meaning I dre( from it%
In addition to that read I (ill add my o(n "ersonal "ieces of thoughts based on my e0"eriences in
#lanetside leading% If you look at my battlerank I'll strike as a ne( "layer% /o(ever I actually have
over 122 hours of "laytime on the 3iller server and had the chance to do some s,uad and even a
bit of "latoon leading in the $4$
nd
and F5C outfits on 3iller% 6onetheless I can't say I am a
tremendous leader% I try to do my bit but I am for one ,uite rusty coming back to the game after a
long time off but most im"ortantly I doubt I am all that good% I never had the chance to do much of
leading (ith trained soldiers% The fe( times I did I believe I did okay but far from glorious% *ut
enough of useless &/ey this is my life) rubbish%
I am a(are that several members in the outfit have an actual real-life military training% A fair share
"robably also have a greater e0"erience (hen it comes to in-game leading and tactics% 3y
kno(ledge is far behind theirs% To these guys feel com"letely free to correct modify or add to this
"ost%
I (ill "ost three threads as I (rite them% First "art (ill be on "ure +eadershi" and 'rgani!ation the
second (ill be about the different Strategies and Tactics you may (ant to use and the third and
most "ersonal (ill be a handful of things (e could do to make the T5 overall better and not only
(ithin our organi!ed outfit%
The Series will be organized as follows :
Leadership From micro-management to global troop organization
The ways of the Battle Strategic and Tactical awareness
Look further ow to make the Terran !epublic better"
Leadership Making your troops victorious
There are really three paramount things you need to stri#e for as a leader" These are
knowledge$ communication and organization" %e&ll go o#er knowledge in the following
section of the series" 'n this first part$ we&ll see how to communicate and organize properly"
(nder the term &)ommunication&$ ' mean the way you handle the different communication
channels$ the way you e*press yourself to your troops$ and the way you beha#e"
Keep the channels clear.
Belie#e it or not$ but that is actually coming from something that Sun +i wrote" 't is crucial"
,nd it is for e#ery member of the outfit$ not only our leaders" -f course$ ' think nobody
would be opposed to blabbering while we are doing something lazy" But when we are
trying to get a little bit more serious$ channels should be kept for things that matter" ,lso$ '
ha#e not been in an actual -ps yet due to the timezone lag" owe#er$ ' am unsure
whether the outfit uses or not the Teamspeak option to make special links between people"
For instance$ a link allowing leaders to communicate only to other leaders" ' ha#e seen this
in use before$ and it really impro#es the .uality of the channel a#ailability" This way$ no
need for a s.uad member to talk to the whole platoon if he has intel to share" e&ll report
to his S.uad Leader$ who will inform other leaders"
Be a shepherd to your troops.
This is especially true for S.uad Leaders" , /latoon Leader has other important things to
do than keep the soldiers together" e needs to handle )ommand )ommunications$ make
the strategic decisions$ and the list goes on" %hen you are in charge of a s.uad$ you
ought to keep your men together at all time" 'f you see them spreading around$ going the
wrong way$ call them back" 't is really important that your men do as you say" 't gets e#en
more important when you are trying to pull a particular maneu#er" For instance$ say you
want to flank an enemy$ and draw his fire so the main forces are able to push forward" 0ou
need to run to co#er and start opening suppressi#e fire" 'f your guys charge right ahead to
the base$ your maneu#er is bound to fail"
A shepherd, not a tyrant.
1eep in mind that the players you ha#e under your command are humans abo#e it all" 2ot
machines" ,lso$ remember that all in all$ we&re playing a game" '&#e heard in my pre#ious
/lanetside e*perience some leaders being really hard on their troops" That&s not the way it
should be done" 0ou should punish when it is needed$ but do it wisely" 3ost of the time$
there is no need for insults$ loud talking or anything of that kind"
-n the other hand$ know to reward your troops" But always remember these words :
Too frequent reards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources! too frequent
punish"ents that he is in acute distress.#
)ongratulating your boys after capping an empty base$ or cracking a nut with a
sledgehammer is not a good thing to do" 't may be great to hear when you&re below B! 45$
but from there onward$ it will either make them want to fight too easy battles$ if at all$ or
6ust making them disappointed to be rewarded when they&re fully aware of not ha#ing done
anything grand"
7Treat your "en as you ould your on $eloved sons. And they ill follo you into the deepest
valley.#
%ersonal advices on co""unication.
ere are some things ' would do myself$ or that ' heard around and that ' find satisfying"
%hen you are gi#ing orders that contradicts themsel#es in a short lapse of time$ or that
demand too much of a great deal$ don&t apologize for it" But 6ustify it" 'n real life$ it&s a
soldier&s duty to listen to their officer" There is no need to 6ustify anything" But in a game$ if
people feel like they&re going in circles$ they&ll grow bored and be less fierce$ will
disconnect and so on" /latoon Leaders should not do that" 't is the S.uad Leader duty"
The /latoon Leader is 8od$ and he can&t demean himself" 9on&t hesitate though$ as a
S.uad Leader$ to blame it softly on your superior" 0our guys will feel closer to you$ and it
will be easier to command them that way" !emember$ it&s a game" 't&s easier to take
directi#es from a friend that from your boss" ,ctually$ you should always try to e*plain the
meaning of your orders$ when you ha#e the occasion" 'f you&re facing an enemy ma*
crash$ it&s ob#ious that you don&t need to e*plain your path of actions" But when things are
going a little bit slower$ when you want to go around the enemy$ ' think it is good to
enlighten the troops
,lso$ remember to be really clear when you are transmitting orders" That&s tremendously
important"
7&f ords of co""and are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general
is to $la"e.#
,nother thing is to always take point when going somewhere" Tactical communications are
limited" 0ou must show the way" 'n real life$ the officer doesn&t take point" But ' think it must
be that way in the game$ so you can show the way to your guys" (nless you split your
s.uad in fireteams$ in which case there should be a fireteam leader"
A leader leads $y e'a"ple, not $y force.#
The last thing ' ha#e to say is that : Stri#e to be a good /lanetside soldier yourself" 't&s cool
to shout orders around$ but you need to always make sure that you$ to some e*tent$ could
do it yourself" That&s how French -fficers are trained" To be able to do anything they would
ask their troops to do"
,nd of course$ try your best to enforce these rules"
(andling the )rgani*ation of your troops.
2ow$ to handle your s.uads or your s.uad members" There is but few things you need to
keep in mind" The first is to always be on the edge" ,re you capping an empty base: 3ake
your troopers take their position in order to be able to push back an enemy attack" 'f your
soldiers are shooting each others$ 6umping around$ you&re doing it wrong" ;#en if there is
no enemy" 't sounds .uite boring$ but letting your guard down$ letting your guys soften and
go back to &lazy mode& is how you won&t be able to accomplish anything once you&re facing
a true obstacle" 1eep e#erybody ready to mo#e" Speed$ in the game e#en more than in
real life$ is the essence"
Moving fast.
0ou need to react and respond .uickly$ whether it&s to your Leader orders or your enemy
mo#ements" /latoon Leaders should always lea#e some margin to their S.uad Leaders"
S.uad Leader should be autonomous enough to take basic decisions on the behalf of their
/latoon Leader" 'nitiati#e is a good thing" owe#er$ if you&re a soldier without any leading
power$ it is not a good thing" 9on&t go alone$ your own way$ unless instructed otherwise"
3ost of the time$ you&ll get yourself or the group in a crappy situation$ like getting the
sundy spot$ or dying out of the range of medics"""
A$out span points.
Since the latest updates$ you can spawn on a 8ala*y$ a Sunderer or on a beacon" 0ou
should always instruct the men you command to wait for a medic in the first place" 'f they
are out of reach$ then should they deploy on the nearest gala*y or sunderer unless told
otherwise" But the beacon should not be used to the will of the soldier" Beacon is the most
effecti#e when used to deploy a whole s.uad back in$ in no time" So always remind people
that the s.uad beacon is usable$ only on command"
This is a first draft$ ' ha#e not re-read nor did ' finish it" 't still ha#e a few bits of interesting
intel in my opinion"
9on&t reproduce without The%ildboar direct agreement