Black Mamba wrote:Poctalon
A1 Grenadier, Indyfor
We were slow, we knew the enemy had landed and was retrieving the data, yet we still were slow. We lost (but I almost took out the tail rotor, by the looks of the above video. That was a close one).
That loss was partly based on bad luck (the enemy's LZ was almost right on top of the downed chopper), partly based on our lack of reaction. We could hear the chopper landing close to us, yet still made a long detour before being able to engage them as they were taking of for the last time.
Broney
Third Pupeteer in the name of Che Guevara's puppet
As usual, playing a puppeteer role is lots of fun, as you get to see the FA platoon at work from the outside. As usual, it's a great learning experience, as you get to see the FA platoon at work from the outside. I'd encourage any player that doesn't want a kill streak, but wants to better is commanding abilities, to jump in a puppeteer slot next time we play one.
The plan was pretty simple, and I dispatched 8 of my dudes in forward positions, ordered them to take cover and let them get murdered. I sent my medic back a hundred meters, and set myself up with a PM in a bush, along a small stone wall, about in the middle of the AO.
From my perspective, I mostly watched Bravo Squad move along the ridges. What do we learn here? Something we should already know: skylining is bad. Really bad. I mean, virtually, about the entirety of Bravo was dead as soon as they got to the derricks.
This is something we often forget, it seems, especially because the AI doesn't really make a difference between people skylining and people being careful: they either see you, or they don't. They also aim with the same accuracy. On the other hand, a player who's even just vaguely looking in the direction of a whole squad of people nicely silhouetting themselves cannot miss them, and it's a very easy shot to range.
So I proceeded to wound about half the squad (I might have killed one, namely Zenzos, in the process? Sorry 'bout that). I did take some bits of inaccurate return fire, but nothing that'd worry me, really, and guess what? People just kept skylining themselves.
The other point here would be this: although high ground is generally considered to be a good option, it doesn't mean it is always the case. In that particular situation, you're clearing a "green zone", that not only offers many cover and concealment opportunities at ground level, but also has a pretty nice foliage layer above. This means that spotting anything in it from above is nigh impossible, while any ridge around it is most likely clutter-free, thus making you very easy to spot. Case in point: I was firing tracers from a bush at a full squad, yet nobody was able to pinpoint my location precisely, and I was still able to move around.
The CO made a good move by sending the IFV on the ridge: it did worry me, as its optics could make a difference, and there ain't no resisting that big gun. Small mistake: the Commander was turned out, and a small PKM burst was enough to make it retreat. Turning out from a vehicle in a hot zone is asking for trouble.
In the end, though, the assault by Alpha Squad inside the green zone proved to be well executed (still somewhat lacking rear security, but hey), and I found myself 20 meters away from the enmy, as I hadn't realized they had moved so close. Took a few potshots at them, being all sneaky behind my little wall, but got killed quite fast.
Then respawned in my medic (all my other AIs were long dead), and found myself right in front of the IFV. I was looking at the map when I hear voices, and woke up in the middle of a fireteam. I slightly panicked and shot Spitnam repeatedly in the face while Satire did the same to me.
Oops.
Some good observations here Black Mamba. Thanks for the taking the time to capture them in the AAR. Good stuff.