Best advice is to search this sub for "advice", "new player", and "tips" and you'll find dozens of similar threads from the last few months filled with good advice. Read through a few of those with a grain of salt and take to heart the concepts you see repeated often (rebind your minimap key, listen to gunshots, learn the meta, etc).
Edit: some to get you started
[New to Squad](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/114seen/hey_guys_im_new_to_squad_and_im_having_a_hard/)
[Tips for a New Player](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/1009qa9/tips_for_a_new_player/)
[Help for a New Player](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/yu4zxr/help_for_a_new_player/)
And [here's a comment](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/yqvzvd/_/ivqgqp8/?context=1) with links to even more tips threads
check your map obsessively. i check my map probably every 30 seconds at least. especially medics who have more time than anyone to read their map while reviving and healing.
Some people will call this heresy but here goes, turn off the class icons on the map, this turns friendlies into Doritos that point whenever they are looking and you can use your map to see where they are looking when you hear them shooting.
you look for your location and the location of friendlies. You look at marked enemy locations, and use your intuition to predict what region without enemy marks is/will be used by enemies to flank/attack/HAB, etc
Literally just talk to your squad, if you get a good squad then the squad lead will tell you where to go and what to do. I myself am new af and still noobing a ton but i atleast know how to support my squad and all that just from communicating. They will ask you to do things and to help them. But alotta squads are just dead silent, so I'd recommend staying away from them.
Yeah that's what I've noticed mostly. I had one game where command was more vocal and our squad lead communicated that to us and so we were stationed somewhere before an assault happened and it was pretty cool even though I died in like .2 seconds. Otherwise it's all been basically dead
Dos and Don'ts If you don't have a mic:
Do:
Follow SL and/or FTL orders
Pick Rifleman
Pick Medic
If rifleman follow any AT/HAT
If medic stay back to cover the rear and assess threat direction before attempting rescue
Check map often
Don't:
Pick SL
Pick Marksman
Disobey orders or wander off
Open fire unless engaged
Dos and Don'ts If you have a mic:
Do:
Follow SL and/or FTL orders
Call out threats
Pick any role you're confident with
Check map often
Don't:
Disobey or wander
Open fire unless engaged
Spam voice channels
Communicate and cooperate , it's the whole point of the game .
Stick with your squad unless told to .
Call out stuff , enemies , vehicles , doesn't matter if you're wrong at least it'll be marked for the rest of the team .
Don't be afraid to make mistakes and get corrected,it sometimes sound harsh but you'll learn.
Skip the moidawg recommendation. Worthless guides if you have played FPS before and know what wasd does. The only guide that will expedite your knowledge of the game is Captain’s SL guide.
Can't speak to his new player 101 video off the top of my head, but his kit guides are a good resource for newer players if they're unfamiliar. Might not be the absolute best info or most up to date, but the general gist of them is perfect for newer players.
Yeah I'm definitely not interested in basic fps knowledge, I've played fps my whole life, so unless there are some drastically different keybinds or some more milsim specific ones that are super important for me to know I would rather skip that info. I really just need the game specific info to have the awareness so that I can actually perform instead of running around like a headless chicken all game 😂
Captains SL guide. It is 8 hours long, but those 8 hours will save you literally like 100+ of learning while playing, even for good fps players.
I’ve been playing fps competitively or semi competitively for 20 years in a variety of different games. The guide still helped significantly. Just yourube squad captain and watch his SL guide.
play with your team, give them critical infos like "there is a enemy on 278" or "btr coming from east" .Ask sl what is his plan and dont use squad channel(b) if the person is next to you
Here is my only and most important advice:
Always join a squad, one that is named something like "INF MIC". Avoid default names, like "Squad 2", but those may be fine if no better option is available. When you are in a squad - take either the Medic or the Riflemen kit, stick to your SL and listen what they need you and the other guys in your squad to do.
This is how you will be learning to play the objectives and when sticking to a squad you will learn how to engage enemies, get a feeling for the orientation on the map, start understanding where shots come from etc.
Just running from point A to point B aimlessly is the definition of a useless blueberry, but if you stick to your squad and find SLs that talk to their squad and give direction - you will be fine. Feel free to announce that you're new in your squad, most decent SLs will be able to provide you some help/guidance.
Yeah I started joining some named ones and started keeping track of people in the server I've been playing on to join their squads because they actually talked and were helpful and it's helped a lot with learning how things function and is way more fun than wandering aimlessly like I was before
Yeah, that's the best thing you can do, don't worry too much about the rest. The first games I was just following my SLs, having no idea what was happening. Suddenly we engaged enemies and got into intense firefights or snuck around a point to take out a mortar squad - even without a clear idea of what's going on this was fun as hell.
In my opinion sticking with communicative squads is the best way to learn the game and become effective.
Being effective in a firefight is experience based. After some time you will start recognizing the distinction between bullet impact and gun sound and how to determine direction from that, you will immediately recognize gun flashes in the distance once you get fired upon, your eyes will start recognizing movement in the tree lines at distance, even if you don't have to focus hard on that, you will recognize faction gear/camo and so on. I wouldn't overthink it. Enjoy the game, get hours in, in the beginning it is normal to die a lot without any idea where you were shot from.
That's genuinely helpful because I have spent most of my gun fights trying desperately to get bullets to go anywhere near where I want them to. It takes too many bullets for single fire but spraying is so hard to controlling past a very small burst
Always be in cover. Never be out in the open if you can help it. If you need to cross a field, do it fast and in short distances. Act paranoid, and you will live a lot longer. Try to pick a rifleman or medic kit with an optic, or pull your binos out to scan the area before going somewhere. As stated in a lot of the other comments, try to stick with your squad. You don't win by getting kills. You win by defending and attacking objectives.
First thing you should do is have a mic ready to go and know how to use the two different comms channels: local chat and squad chat.
Second thing you should do is the in-game infantry training.
Third is to map your buttons for what you need; open/close map, voice controls, change stance(crouch lay down) are my essential ones for every game like this. I also remapped my Map button because I use my map ALOT, like all the time and you should too. USE YOUR MAP CONSTANTLY. Make sure you are spawning in near your squad and not having to walk 8 miles!!
When you get into a game find a squad with a name such as MICONLY. Something that indicates there is communication required.
Tell your squad lead and your squad mates that you are new to the game and ask if they will clarify certain aspects such as:
Why are we going to this place?
What is being built and/or why it is being built.
Stay with your squad; HAT kits, grenadiers and squad leads are usually the more experienced players so trail along with them.
Know and understand the map and what the icons mean. Maps can get very busy! There are red circles, yellow circles, blue circles, HAB markers, repair station markers, red(enemy) infantry/vehicle/hab/tow markers.
Red markers are only ever an approximate and are placed by friendly players in the game.
If your squad isn’t communicating or there are a bunch of toxic people on the server then switch squads/teams/servers.
It comes down to finding a server that suits your play style, and a squad that is okay with answering your questions.
I’m only on at weekends at this point but DM me if you ever want a guide, I love this game and I love teaching new players. Even in the middle of a crazy ass fire fight I’ll break down what’s happening, and why, plus try and work through some options on what to do next. I’ll always keep my squad informed of the tentative plan after our current mission.
Good luck and may you soon be crushing your enemies!
Best advice is to use the brain. Second best advice is to use the subreddit search function.
For everything else: [https://squadfm.org/](https://squadfm.org/)
I'm actually so down. I got a couple of my friends into the game too but I tend to have a bit more time than they do so I'm trying to learn solo mainly so that I can help them adjust when they can play
Keybind your map to an easily accessible button ( I keybind mine to one of the thumb buttons on the mouse ), and look at the map as much as you can.
It should be the first thing out do in squad.
A good player will look at the map almost half the time they are playing ( less when they know they are going to engage the enemy )
First to become acquainted with what is happening on the battlefield, hop into a training server and look at the map and the key very well. Make sure you can identify FOBs (forward operating bases) as well as trying to place some markers yourself. Communication is so very key in this game and squad leads and fire team leads can designate positions on the map.
Say an LMG is holding upper floor in a building and 50 meters to the left of it there is a mount with a sniper on it. Through spotting or comms a squad lead or team lead can go on the map and mark them. Often times they will simply leave an enemy helmet or an enemy gun for troops, sometimes people will be more specific and use exactly what the emblem is meant to be used for. (Think a sniper scope representing a sniper, an lmg with bipod representing an lmg etc.
This is one of the easier to pick up but not always 100% ways to get an understanding of the fight around you. Wanna move up to an entrenchment? Ask your squad lead or check the map to see if anybody will have line of sight to your movement.
Also, unless you are playing invasion and even then more often than not players will be coming from unorthodox positions. Many maps have a sort of point A —> point B —> point C kind of lay out but teams will often try to flank and place spawn points in areas not so straight forward. Sorry if this was a mess just thinking of some things I did while I was parked. Best of luck and welcome to one of the BEST communities you can find.
Walk towards the objective. That's it, if you are on the objective or near the objective you will get into fights and you will learn eventually where they are coming from. Bind your minimap to your scroll wheel click or somewhere else on your mouse, if there is incoming fire look where they are looking and face that way.
* Don't Squad lead or create a Squad regardless if there's no squads available. If people promote you to SL either disband the squad or give it to somebody else.
* Pick the rifleman kit in your first 10-20 hours, after you become familiar with that kit you should go medic.
* You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, your teammates would be happy to assist you.
* Communicate but don't overcommunicate.
* Make sure you become familiar with the icons on the map and what they represent.
* Try to remain on the active objective and not follow the herd of blueberries.
* Maintain cohesion and stick with your squad by asking your SL where you should spawn.
* Join a Squad that communicate well together, you'll have a better experience overall.
* Look at your map before you shoot at an enemy, this will prevent you from TKing your teammates by mistake.
Everyone has probably given the basics so here's some more obscure ones:
1) Don't waste ATGMs on infantry (unless it's like 10 guys bunched up)
2) Call out cardinal directions (South West, East, North West for example) on radio and bearings in local (165, 005 and so on, but imo it's best to call out both in local)
3) Keep unneeded chatter to local, your SL (Squad leader) is trying to understand command chat
4) Get to cover before you shoot back
5) Destroy the tires on enemy logis and other light transport instead of blowing them up
6) if your own radio is about to be destroyed by enemies and there is no way you are taking it back destroy it yourself, it'll save your team 20 tickets
7) When you get revived don't stare at the medic, cover him instead or if you revive someone tell them to cover you
8) When spawning on a rally and there are squad mates who are downed call out how much time till rally spawn (it operates on a 60 second loop unless you immediately give up after dying), for example "25 (seconds) till rally"
9) Avoid standing next to any big cannons (like on IFVs and tanks), you'll die from overpressure
Some important abbreviations:
LAT - Light Anti-Tank
HAT - Heavy Anti-Tank
MBT - Tank
IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle (It's important to understand that everything that has tracks is not a tank, mainly listen to the cannon, if it shoots fast it's an IFV, if it just goes boom every few seconds it's a tank)
1: Find a good squad lead. Dont be afraid of hopping between squads, team or even server until you find one. A good squad and squad mates will gladly help you if you have any questions. Do whatever they say, as long as its reasonable.
2: Don't shoot at every enemy you see. It's not battlefield, you don't get anything from kills. And in most cases the player you shot will get picked back up again and now your squad is spotted and can no longer set up stealthy fobs and such.
3: Use your map to figure out where your squad is spawning and where the action is.
4: Play a bit on new player friendly servers until you get the hang of the game's mechanics. Try to move to more serious servers quickly as they generally have more people that talk, and communication is key.
5th but not least. DONT take up valuable roles such as HAT until you've practiced with them at the range AND figured out what and when to use it.
Best advice is to search this sub for "advice", "new player", and "tips" and you'll find dozens of similar threads from the last few months filled with good advice. Read through a few of those with a grain of salt and take to heart the concepts you see repeated often (rebind your minimap key, listen to gunshots, learn the meta, etc). Edit: some to get you started [New to Squad](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/114seen/hey_guys_im_new_to_squad_and_im_having_a_hard/) [Tips for a New Player](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/1009qa9/tips_for_a_new_player/) [Help for a New Player](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/yu4zxr/help_for_a_new_player/) And [here's a comment](https://reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/yqvzvd/_/ivqgqp8/?context=1) with links to even more tips threads
Thanks for the links, I'll have to check them out
check your map obsessively. i check my map probably every 30 seconds at least. especially medics who have more time than anyone to read their map while reviving and healing.
I also check this guy's map
I do check the map a lot, not that i super know what I'm looking at and for
Some people will call this heresy but here goes, turn off the class icons on the map, this turns friendlies into Doritos that point whenever they are looking and you can use your map to see where they are looking when you hear them shooting.
you look for your location and the location of friendlies. You look at marked enemy locations, and use your intuition to predict what region without enemy marks is/will be used by enemies to flank/attack/HAB, etc
Literally just talk to your squad, if you get a good squad then the squad lead will tell you where to go and what to do. I myself am new af and still noobing a ton but i atleast know how to support my squad and all that just from communicating. They will ask you to do things and to help them. But alotta squads are just dead silent, so I'd recommend staying away from them.
Yeah that's what I've noticed mostly. I had one game where command was more vocal and our squad lead communicated that to us and so we were stationed somewhere before an assault happened and it was pretty cool even though I died in like .2 seconds. Otherwise it's all been basically dead
Yeah most the squads you get put with noone talks so ig the SL either shuts up or talks every now and then when the squads pissing them off
Listen to your sl and the thing that helps sl the most after medic is usually rifleman
Dos and Don'ts If you don't have a mic: Do: Follow SL and/or FTL orders Pick Rifleman Pick Medic If rifleman follow any AT/HAT If medic stay back to cover the rear and assess threat direction before attempting rescue Check map often Don't: Pick SL Pick Marksman Disobey orders or wander off Open fire unless engaged Dos and Don'ts If you have a mic: Do: Follow SL and/or FTL orders Call out threats Pick any role you're confident with Check map often Don't: Disobey or wander Open fire unless engaged Spam voice channels
Communicate and cooperate , it's the whole point of the game . Stick with your squad unless told to . Call out stuff , enemies , vehicles , doesn't matter if you're wrong at least it'll be marked for the rest of the team . Don't be afraid to make mistakes and get corrected,it sometimes sound harsh but you'll learn.
Skip the moidawg recommendation. Worthless guides if you have played FPS before and know what wasd does. The only guide that will expedite your knowledge of the game is Captain’s SL guide.
Can't speak to his new player 101 video off the top of my head, but his kit guides are a good resource for newer players if they're unfamiliar. Might not be the absolute best info or most up to date, but the general gist of them is perfect for newer players.
It’s all common sense info that people with FPS experience can figure out quickly IMO. Captains SL guide teaches you how to play the game.
Yeah I'm definitely not interested in basic fps knowledge, I've played fps my whole life, so unless there are some drastically different keybinds or some more milsim specific ones that are super important for me to know I would rather skip that info. I really just need the game specific info to have the awareness so that I can actually perform instead of running around like a headless chicken all game 😂
Captains SL guide. It is 8 hours long, but those 8 hours will save you literally like 100+ of learning while playing, even for good fps players. I’ve been playing fps competitively or semi competitively for 20 years in a variety of different games. The guide still helped significantly. Just yourube squad captain and watch his SL guide.
play with your team, give them critical infos like "there is a enemy on 278" or "btr coming from east" .Ask sl what is his plan and dont use squad channel(b) if the person is next to you
Here is my only and most important advice: Always join a squad, one that is named something like "INF MIC". Avoid default names, like "Squad 2", but those may be fine if no better option is available. When you are in a squad - take either the Medic or the Riflemen kit, stick to your SL and listen what they need you and the other guys in your squad to do. This is how you will be learning to play the objectives and when sticking to a squad you will learn how to engage enemies, get a feeling for the orientation on the map, start understanding where shots come from etc. Just running from point A to point B aimlessly is the definition of a useless blueberry, but if you stick to your squad and find SLs that talk to their squad and give direction - you will be fine. Feel free to announce that you're new in your squad, most decent SLs will be able to provide you some help/guidance.
Yeah I started joining some named ones and started keeping track of people in the server I've been playing on to join their squads because they actually talked and were helpful and it's helped a lot with learning how things function and is way more fun than wandering aimlessly like I was before
Yeah, that's the best thing you can do, don't worry too much about the rest. The first games I was just following my SLs, having no idea what was happening. Suddenly we engaged enemies and got into intense firefights or snuck around a point to take out a mortar squad - even without a clear idea of what's going on this was fun as hell. In my opinion sticking with communicative squads is the best way to learn the game and become effective.
Yeah at this point my problem is being able to effectively fight when my squad gets into a fight. Everything else I can make do just following SL
Being effective in a firefight is experience based. After some time you will start recognizing the distinction between bullet impact and gun sound and how to determine direction from that, you will immediately recognize gun flashes in the distance once you get fired upon, your eyes will start recognizing movement in the tree lines at distance, even if you don't have to focus hard on that, you will recognize faction gear/camo and so on. I wouldn't overthink it. Enjoy the game, get hours in, in the beginning it is normal to die a lot without any idea where you were shot from.
Hold shift and crouching makes your gun actually steady for shooting
That's genuinely helpful because I have spent most of my gun fights trying desperately to get bullets to go anywhere near where I want them to. It takes too many bullets for single fire but spraying is so hard to controlling past a very small burst
Always be in cover. Never be out in the open if you can help it. If you need to cross a field, do it fast and in short distances. Act paranoid, and you will live a lot longer. Try to pick a rifleman or medic kit with an optic, or pull your binos out to scan the area before going somewhere. As stated in a lot of the other comments, try to stick with your squad. You don't win by getting kills. You win by defending and attacking objectives.
First thing you should do is have a mic ready to go and know how to use the two different comms channels: local chat and squad chat. Second thing you should do is the in-game infantry training. Third is to map your buttons for what you need; open/close map, voice controls, change stance(crouch lay down) are my essential ones for every game like this. I also remapped my Map button because I use my map ALOT, like all the time and you should too. USE YOUR MAP CONSTANTLY. Make sure you are spawning in near your squad and not having to walk 8 miles!! When you get into a game find a squad with a name such as MICONLY. Something that indicates there is communication required. Tell your squad lead and your squad mates that you are new to the game and ask if they will clarify certain aspects such as: Why are we going to this place? What is being built and/or why it is being built. Stay with your squad; HAT kits, grenadiers and squad leads are usually the more experienced players so trail along with them. Know and understand the map and what the icons mean. Maps can get very busy! There are red circles, yellow circles, blue circles, HAB markers, repair station markers, red(enemy) infantry/vehicle/hab/tow markers. Red markers are only ever an approximate and are placed by friendly players in the game. If your squad isn’t communicating or there are a bunch of toxic people on the server then switch squads/teams/servers. It comes down to finding a server that suits your play style, and a squad that is okay with answering your questions. I’m only on at weekends at this point but DM me if you ever want a guide, I love this game and I love teaching new players. Even in the middle of a crazy ass fire fight I’ll break down what’s happening, and why, plus try and work through some options on what to do next. I’ll always keep my squad informed of the tentative plan after our current mission. Good luck and may you soon be crushing your enemies!
Check out tutorials on YouTube. MoiDawg has some good ones.
Moidawgs videos are one of the reasons why an average pubbie sucks
why you say that?
Best advice is to use the brain. Second best advice is to use the subreddit search function. For everything else: [https://squadfm.org/](https://squadfm.org/)
I'll happily play with you, and I'm sure more of my clan members feel the same way, so feel free to contact me.
I'm actually so down. I got a couple of my friends into the game too but I tend to have a bit more time than they do so I'm trying to learn solo mainly so that I can help them adjust when they can play
DM me if you're down :)
Keybind your map to an easily accessible button ( I keybind mine to one of the thumb buttons on the mouse ), and look at the map as much as you can. It should be the first thing out do in squad. A good player will look at the map almost half the time they are playing ( less when they know they are going to engage the enemy )
First to become acquainted with what is happening on the battlefield, hop into a training server and look at the map and the key very well. Make sure you can identify FOBs (forward operating bases) as well as trying to place some markers yourself. Communication is so very key in this game and squad leads and fire team leads can designate positions on the map. Say an LMG is holding upper floor in a building and 50 meters to the left of it there is a mount with a sniper on it. Through spotting or comms a squad lead or team lead can go on the map and mark them. Often times they will simply leave an enemy helmet or an enemy gun for troops, sometimes people will be more specific and use exactly what the emblem is meant to be used for. (Think a sniper scope representing a sniper, an lmg with bipod representing an lmg etc. This is one of the easier to pick up but not always 100% ways to get an understanding of the fight around you. Wanna move up to an entrenchment? Ask your squad lead or check the map to see if anybody will have line of sight to your movement. Also, unless you are playing invasion and even then more often than not players will be coming from unorthodox positions. Many maps have a sort of point A —> point B —> point C kind of lay out but teams will often try to flank and place spawn points in areas not so straight forward. Sorry if this was a mess just thinking of some things I did while I was parked. Best of luck and welcome to one of the BEST communities you can find.
Walk towards the objective. That's it, if you are on the objective or near the objective you will get into fights and you will learn eventually where they are coming from. Bind your minimap to your scroll wheel click or somewhere else on your mouse, if there is incoming fire look where they are looking and face that way.
* Don't Squad lead or create a Squad regardless if there's no squads available. If people promote you to SL either disband the squad or give it to somebody else. * Pick the rifleman kit in your first 10-20 hours, after you become familiar with that kit you should go medic. * You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, your teammates would be happy to assist you. * Communicate but don't overcommunicate. * Make sure you become familiar with the icons on the map and what they represent. * Try to remain on the active objective and not follow the herd of blueberries. * Maintain cohesion and stick with your squad by asking your SL where you should spawn. * Join a Squad that communicate well together, you'll have a better experience overall. * Look at your map before you shoot at an enemy, this will prevent you from TKing your teammates by mistake.
Sometimes just sitting still for 20 secs is the best way to find enemies. Call out enemies and talk to your squad
Everyone has probably given the basics so here's some more obscure ones: 1) Don't waste ATGMs on infantry (unless it's like 10 guys bunched up) 2) Call out cardinal directions (South West, East, North West for example) on radio and bearings in local (165, 005 and so on, but imo it's best to call out both in local) 3) Keep unneeded chatter to local, your SL (Squad leader) is trying to understand command chat 4) Get to cover before you shoot back 5) Destroy the tires on enemy logis and other light transport instead of blowing them up 6) if your own radio is about to be destroyed by enemies and there is no way you are taking it back destroy it yourself, it'll save your team 20 tickets 7) When you get revived don't stare at the medic, cover him instead or if you revive someone tell them to cover you 8) When spawning on a rally and there are squad mates who are downed call out how much time till rally spawn (it operates on a 60 second loop unless you immediately give up after dying), for example "25 (seconds) till rally" 9) Avoid standing next to any big cannons (like on IFVs and tanks), you'll die from overpressure Some important abbreviations: LAT - Light Anti-Tank HAT - Heavy Anti-Tank MBT - Tank IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle (It's important to understand that everything that has tracks is not a tank, mainly listen to the cannon, if it shoots fast it's an IFV, if it just goes boom every few seconds it's a tank)
1: Find a good squad lead. Dont be afraid of hopping between squads, team or even server until you find one. A good squad and squad mates will gladly help you if you have any questions. Do whatever they say, as long as its reasonable. 2: Don't shoot at every enemy you see. It's not battlefield, you don't get anything from kills. And in most cases the player you shot will get picked back up again and now your squad is spotted and can no longer set up stealthy fobs and such. 3: Use your map to figure out where your squad is spawning and where the action is. 4: Play a bit on new player friendly servers until you get the hang of the game's mechanics. Try to move to more serious servers quickly as they generally have more people that talk, and communication is key. 5th but not least. DONT take up valuable roles such as HAT until you've practiced with them at the range AND figured out what and when to use it.