Common Mistakes in Project Reality by Apheirox

[fuzzhead]

Common Mistakes in Project Reality by Apheirox

This is a list of basic errors I frequently notice even experienced players commit. Though this long list can seem daunting, I strongly encourage you to to read it through before even considering moving on to more advanced, specialized topics - it is much more important that you get these things right than knowing specific map strategies or being good with a sniper rifle. You can always start by reading the list of critical mistakes but even the minor mistakes are good to know about. Avoiding these mistakes can easily spell the difference between victory and defeat for your team and whether you personally are an asset to your team or not. The list of mistakes is divided into several sections going from most to least important.

Critical Mistakes

*Not being where you need to be. You need to follow the Advance and Secure (AAS) rules. From the perspective of effectiveness, a player at the wrong flag is worse than no player at all. There are exceptions on certain maps when its very beneficial to cut off flanks while other squads captures flags, creating ambushes and choke points a little ahead of the rest of the team, however if the whole team is doing this you will loose quickly.

* Not using the vehicles. Vehicles are generally much more powerful than infantry, featuring superior protection, firepower and speed and in some cases adding special abilities such as spawn points and limited kit request ability. Even a lowly unarmored jeep features both moderate protection, a very powerful and accurate 50cal cannon and a devastating mounted machinegun. Most importantly, it will also allow you to move around on the map very quickly - something that is very important as working with haste is of the essence. Helicopters will get you where you need to be in a hurry while delivering deadly fire support from above. A tank can seem almost invincible and can single-handedly destroy an entire squad in a single blow with a shell delivered from nearly beyond visual range from its mighty cannon. Infantry, while stealthy, is also vulnerable, under-gunned and slow. If armour finds you here you will not stand a chance. While vehicles require special weapons or at least concentrated, high-caliber fire to disable or destroy, infantry can be killed by a single shot to the head from any weapon in the game. Infantry relies on having good cover - you must '''never''' fight in the open, it is suicidal! To put it bluntly, therefore, insisting on moving and fighting on foot and ignoring the extremely powerful vehicles is downright insane, especially on open terrain where vehicles dominate.

Major Mistakes

* Not working as a squad. In Battlefield, alone, you are nothing - and this is even more true in Project Reality. You can be only one class at time so while you can combat infantry as a Rifleman you cannot deal with tanks - and while with a heavy anti-tank kit you can deal with armour you cannot defend yourself against infantry. With your squad, you are an able fighting machine able to deal with most threats, but the advantages do not end there. A squad is so much more than the sum of its parts. With a good variety of classes, you can heal and revive the fallen, resupply ammo, set up rally points and spawn right into the action using the Squad Leader. You can also coordinate attacks better, receive orders, intelligence and various types of support from the Commander and cover each others' backs. Remember, though, that simply joining a squad is not enough - you need to act like one. A squad not staying together is almost worse than not being in a squad in the first place. Also, while staying together in the squad is a giant leap in the right direction it is not enough. To truly become a successful player, you need to stop thinking of yourself as an individual and rather as part of a squad.

* Not taking control of the squad. It is in the name - Squad Leader. You need to take charge of your squad. As Squad Leader, it is much more important to ensure the squad is doing what it should be doing and fighting effectively than to fight effectively yourself - in fact, you should ''avoid'' combat, especially if you are running a large squad where others can do the fighting for you: Squad Leaders are too valuable to risk getting killed. Never lead the charge - ask your men to 'take point' and stay behind them. One of your main goals is to act as a forward spawn point so your squad can keep up the pressure on the enemy. You cannot do this if you are dead. Notice how the scoring system supports this by ranking a Squad Leader as a much higher priority target than regular soldiers. You need to be the 'brain' and let the squad members be the 'brawn'. As such it is also best if you as Squad Leader are using the built-in VOIP as typing during a heated firefight is not recommended. Leading without VOIP can be done but it is just not the same. Of course, the whole responsibility does not rest on your shoulders. The Squad Members should help you out and you should encourage them to do so - especially if you can tell they are more experienced than you. In the end, however, it is you who is the leader. You are the one with a direct connection to the Commander. If you do not want this responsibility let somebody else lead the squad. It also means it is you who must kick players who are for example not following orders from the squad. Leading a squad can be a highly rewarding experience, however: There is simply nothing better than being the leader when everything clicks and your squad is kicking some serious ass! I encourage you to step up and accept the challenge. Everybody can learn to become a good Squad Leader with some practice. Note that the points listed here are just the tip of the iceberg.

* Not checking the squad menu. You need to know what your squad is going to be doing and what classes your squad mates are planning on using so you do not end up with three medics and two snipers in the same squad. By opening the squad menu you can see what classes the other players are using and will be able to choose your kit accordingly. It is a good idea to ask the Squad Leader what kits should be used. It is also helpful to say or type what class you intend to spawn with so others will not pick the same: 'Spawning Rifleman!' 'Spawning Medic!' Unless your squad is highly specialized or divided into fireteams you will want just one of each class, perhaps with a pair of vital classes like the Rifleman.

* Going solo in a vehicle that requires several players to be used effectively. Since the vehicles are much more powerful than infantry you should make the most of them. It is better that the vehicle is operating with maximum efficiency than to have an extra player on foot. The inability to move and fire simultaneously and the short delay before you are able to fire when switching to the gunner position in many vehicles is likely going to get you killed. You will therefore want at least two players operating any vehicle with the exception of the mobile AA vehicle which can be used effectively alone. The more powerful a vehicle is, the more crucially important it becomes to have multiple operators. Unless your team has Engineers supporting your vehicles with support vehicles you should also have an Engineer as third operator of powerful vehicles like APC's or tanks for the ability to efficiently handle repairs. This becomes especially important on maps where vehicles are scarce and therefore comparatively stronger and more valuable.

* Not waiting for reinforcements. You need to think of PR as not just a first-person shooter but also as a real-time strategy game. In other words, you need to consider strategy. Just as you would never send a sole tank to attack the enemy base in Command & Conquer, it is of no use trying to attack or defend one of two active CP's alone on a full 64-player server as you can expect the enemy to have around 16 enemies there. No matter how good a player you are, you cannot beat such an overwhelming force. You therefore crucially need to coordinate attack and defense with both your squad and the rest of the team. Even if your team has much better individual players than the enemy you will still lose if they organize and you do not.

* Not protecting your team's most valuable limited kits. Not only are these kits of crucial strategic importance - they are also hard to come by. Do not send your only Heavy AT troop up alone to deal with the tank, where he could easily be flanked and killed by enemy infantry, and now the enemy has YOUR Heavy AT kit. Use these kits wisely and in conjunction with the other kits.

* Not hitting targets because of not leading fire or not knowing about the zeroing in of weapons. There are several things to take into account when calculating where to fire to score a hit.

* Using Forward Outposts wrong - or not using them at all! Many Squad Leaders set up Forward Outposts in open locations or locations that do not provide a good tactical position. When you get close to an objective, try to place the a Forward Outpost as close to the objective as possible but still in a strategic position. '''Do not''' set up a Forward Outpost in open terrain like the desert!

* Abandoning vehicles. Never abandon anything more powerful than a jeep - if even that! The problem with abandoning vehicles is that your team is going to be missing them if you do. In Project Reality, abandoning vehicles is especially bad since it takes a very long time for them to self-destruct and respawn if the enemy is smart enough not to destroy them for you. It gets even worse if you are abandoning vehicles that are more valuable and precious to your team, like Tanks or helicopters! Never abandon APC's, Tanks, Helicopters, AAV's or other important vehicles in the field.

* Getting out of vehicles in a dangerous situation. Do not do this! Engineers are the only way to get repairs done, risking getting them killed is effectively abandoning the vehicle. You must be like a captain: going down with the sinking ship! It is fine however to get out when the warning signal starts ringing. That means the vehicle is on fire and that destruction is imminent. At this point the enemy cannot prevent the vehicle from respawning. Just remember to slow down the vehicle before getting out or you will die all the same!

* Using an unneeded kit. Use the right kit for the task at hand. Do not request extremely valuable kits like heavy anti-tank if you just want to use it against infantry and have no intention of destroying armor with it, or you could seriously hamper your entire team.

* Not using suppression fire. Suppression fire is an essential part of infantry combat and very useful both in real life and in the game. It will pin an enemy down allowing an assault team to move up and kill whatever you are suppressing. Too few players use suppression, it can be the difference between life and death many times.

Average Mistakes

* Using the Sniper kit as a regular combat kit. The Sniper kit is intended for special purposes in Project Reality, mainly for reconnaissance behind enemy lines. Alot of players choose these kits solely because of the weapon, this hinders the teams ability to have effective tools. A Rifleman's weapon can be used perfectly well in close combat or long range, too - just shoot from the hip without using the scope. These special kits have no special abilities like healing, resupplying, repairing or building commander assets so they are best used independently and not inside an infantry squad. '''Do not''' use this class in a main combat role.

* Using mixed element squads. Having both infantry and other units such as tanks, mobile AA, helicopters, jets and even snipers in the same squad is not a good idea for a multitude of reasons. Main reasons being: overflow of radio comms on VOIP, inability for others to deal move at the same speed or to the same locations, inability to properly support other squads, inability for a squad leader to effectively lead the squad, inability for the commander to direct the appropriate forces to the right areas, etc. If you MUST have a mixed squad at least make sure your squad mates are competent to use the vehicles/kits appropriately.

* Moving a vehicle while your gunner is firing. It becomes almost impossible to hit anything if the vehicle is moving. When the Gunner starts firing it is your cue to stop moving so he can eliminate the target. To avoid confusing the Driver or Pilot it is therefore best to hold your fire unless you want the driver to stop if it is not obvious you want to keep going.

* Giving gunners a bad firing angle. The Gunner's view is not the same as the Driver's. Make sure the Gunner is able to fire at the target. Its also the Gunner's job to let the driver know when you don't have an angle. Communication is the key to success in a Gunner/Driver setup. Also in the Blackhawk, remember that the gunners cannot fire straight ahead of or directly below the vehicle.

* Not covering different directions. When several players are holding a position (for example when capturing a CP) they will often all be looking in the same one direction while ignoring the other routes of enemy approach or frantically look around, each trying to cover all directions at once. Obviously, this is not very effective. What they should do is to divide up firing sectors between them to efficiently cover as many enemy approach routes as possible: One player looking at the staircase, one looking at the doorway, one looking at the hole in the ceiling and one looking out the window. Of course, the problem is that a such operation requires disciplined players exhibiting a great deal of teamwork and communication. It can be done, though, even without VOIP! If you do have VOIP, however, have one player - usually the squad leader - divide up the firing sectors. If you do not have VOIP you must rely on the minimap: Zoom it all the way in so you can see what directions the other players are facing. Now, pick a direction yourself and stick with it. It is important that you do not start looking around or the other players (who are also watching their minimaps) will not trust you to cover your part and will start looking around themselves. You must avoid this domino effect! As you can probably tell, using firing sectors is something that requires a great deal of both trust, discipline and practice. The reward, however, is well worth it so it is definitely something you should think about when playing. Also, when you get really good at it you can start thinking about using it on the move as well.

* Setting out before you are ready.

* Not timing assaults with other squads or the rest of the team.

* Not letting the grunts do the fighting. Always let classes designed for combat do the fighting. These grunt classes are the Riflemen, Rifleman AT, Grenadiers, Support Gunners and Marksmen. All the other classes are for some kind of support and should remember their job priority when directly engaging enemy infantry. Of course there will be many situations where confronting the enemy will be unavoidable or even wise, for example when covering the grunts advance on enemy positions with suppression fire. It's good to avoid direct close combat though. Note that even though the officer has almost the same loadout as a Rifleman, officers are not grunts and should direct the squad onto the targets rather than rushing in, since you are far too valuable to risk getting killed.

* Using too low of a stance. This typically happens in close combat inside buildings. At point blank range, the ability to move quickly - both for dodging enemy fire and for avoiding grenades and flashbangs - is more important than the higher accuracy and lower profile of the prone stance. You should therefore stand or crouch, at most. There are also other situations where you should use a higher stance: If your view is blocked by for example grass you need to sit up. Having an undistorted view is normally more important than the increased accuracy and better cover of a lower stance. Using the right stance is a major part of conducting infantry combat right.

* Not protecting the Medic while being healed. Do not just throw yourself on the ground and take a nice break while the Medic risks his life to heal you - protect him! Even if you are on the brink of death you can still fight enemies at point blank range. If that means getting up to higher stance then so be it! If you are healing somebody yourself and they are not guarding you you should seriously consider not healing them.

* Not maintaining radio discipline. If everybody is talking at the same time nobody can understand each other. Wait till the others finish speaking before saying your piece unless what you have to say is absolutely urgent ('Tank behind us, get down!'). Also, break off to give way to your superiors. What your Squad Leader has to say is more important and what the Commander has to say is more important still. In general, keep the chatter to a minimum and save the lenghty philosophical debates for after the match. Less chatter will also make it easier to hear game sounds which is very important. Try learning some basic military commands to minimize the chatter.


Minor Mistakes

* Using smoke on yourself or teammates. This often occurs when capturing a CP. Never do this! All this does is prevent you from seeing the enemy coming meaning he will be able to sneak right up on you undetected. It also acts like a huge beacon saying, 'Throw grenades here for free kills!' Smoke is extremely useful but using it on yourself will only get you killed.

* Using explosives to destroy forward outposts. This often results in blowing up teammates and giving away your position. The easiest way to destroy a forward outpost is with the knife(two hits) or incendiary grenade! This method is swift, safe, silent and conserves ammo.

* Infantry fighting tanks head-on. As infantry, you must never fight tanks head-on - even when using the Heavy AT kit! Chances are the tank's heavy front armor will shrug off your rocket and proceed to slaughter you now that he knows where are you are - and he is going to be concentrating on you since you are a threat and an easy and very valuable target. Also, even if the tank driver does not see you he will know there is a threat and will start looking for you or retreat. The only time it is wise to fire head-on at a tank is if you are absolutely certain you can destroy it in one it. In all other cases you must be patient and wait for the tank to move into a position where you have the advantage. Even if you are behind the tank and can hit its lightly armored rear it can still be a good idea to hold your fire - the tank is so powerful it can actually survive this and destroy you. Do not engage unless you are certain you will survive. You must not jeopardize your precious heavy AT kit! Also, even if you are in a tank yourself it can sometimes be wise not to engage head-on: If you can flank the enemy tank you will have a major advantage.

* Needlessly giving away your position. It is often more valuable to remain undetected than to fire at an enemy, particularly if your chances of scoring a kill are low. Wait for the right moment to strike and do not take unneeded potshots at enemies. Make as little noise as possible - avoid throwing grenades! Also, keep in mind that the enemy can hear your local voice when using the commo rose commands - asking for ammo can get you killed! Being stealthy is particularly important on offense: When attacking, you generally want to get as close to or even on the flag before fighting the enemy. With a bit of luck you can neutralize the CP from right under their noses before they even become aware of your presence.

* Ignoring requests. You need to pay attention to requests for ammo, healing, repairs or even backup from other players. These request markers show both on top of the player name in the game world and on the map.