Real Commanders

So many of the squad-based games we currently play offer Commander or Officer positions without actually giving the players who apply for them the necessary tools to be successful.We'd like to see a shift in this game mechanic by giving those people tasked with leadership roles the ability to truly command. The early indications are that Dust 514 is one of those games and the people privileged with leading us will have the abilities they need. A few of our writers chimed in with a few ideas for a few things we'd like to see.


Plan & Inform - Warfare is about more than shooting & dying. It's also about preparing the people under our command by telling them our tactics and Where they need to be and When they need to be there. We'd like to see War Room Social Areas with detailed layouts of our targets where we can outline our battle plans.

Communicate -While having the ability to communicate with everyone at your command is a given, commanders also the need the ability to address their officers, the enemy or even a specific squad under their command. MAG for PS3 had a wonderful chat system based on its command ladder. We'd like to see something at that level or better.

Reinforce - If we truly want leaders in our online shooters, lets really give them the perks they'll need to do their jobs. Asking a squad to spawn in a certain area vulnerable to enemy attack is one thing, having the ability to spawn them there is another. Sometimes victory just needs the cavalry to reinforce or attack a weak point on the map. Give leaders the ability to get troops where they need to be, as quickly as possible.

Supply - Soldiers need ammunition and gear while their leaders need ways to be able to quickly get them what they need for victory. Supply lines can also be cut off.

Objectives - There will always be changes to what our initial plans. Give leaders ability to change mission objectives in real time so that the HUDs and User Interfaces of our subordinates reflect new objectives, targets or areas that need to be cleared, secured and controlled.


Discipline - Too many times our leaders are leaders in name only without the ability to punish those who aren't obeying the chain of command. While they'll certainly have the ability to withhold payment from those who didn't fulfill their contract, they also need a tool to deal with incompetence and insubordination.

Retreat/Surrender - While some may laugh and scoff at our final entry, and in truth we've only seen in happen once (when AIR forced PRO's ContraBanJoe to fly the white flag) maybe this should be an option that we can employ. With the cost of war in Dust 514, sometimes giving up and retreating may be the best option to save a corporation a large amount of ISK that would otherwise be wasted on a losing cause. In this case, a fast get-away vehicle will be a priority.

These are just a few of the things we think Commanders will need to be successful, while we have no doubt that CCP will give us the tools necessary to dominate the battlefield, more ideas are never a bad thing.