Battlefield 2 - is communication online important?

I'm almost ready to take myself into online battles with BF2 - I have had it a few days now to practice.

Now, here comes the crunch part. Is it important to communicate to play this game? I know you can use VOIP headsets and stuff like that, but is it important? Is it important to communicate with your fellow team members at all?

To make this simple to answer: I intend to play by just joining a team and running around doing my own objectives (capturing outposts/holding outposts) and stuff like that, as I see fit, without communicating with other team members. Is that going to annoy people or is that okay?

Do you have to acknowledge orders and stuff like that?

It's just that BF2 seems to emphasise the communication side of things.

It's going to annoy members, the whole point of joining a team is so the main commander can issue orders to your squad leader, and you all do your best to complete said orders.

If you dont on a server that takes the game seriously like it should be, you may get booted.

Hard to have good teamwork when you cant communicate, I dont even bother typing text messages, the system for that is horrible imo, VoIP is a bit of a must if you're going to get deep and dirty into the game.

As for the opposite oppinion. Simply don't worry about it, log in to a server and have fun. :) You're not likely to get booted or anything, and the VoIP I found to be kind of annoying, so you don't need that. It's a different story if you're playing in a clan....but you don't seem like you want to.

Personally, I still prefer BF1942...it's just less realistic and more fun!

Mmm, I was worried that BF2 might be a bit too much for me. I got it for free though. It's just there are so few single player maps to play and a lot of the community made maps don't work after you patch your game.

I haven't yet played online - I'm worried I'll be hated straight away. Previously my problem was always killing my team mates in other games - in BF2 (single-player) I seem to be better at not doing that. In this game I will be hated for my silence and single-minded approach to what I am doing.

Maybe we should have our own Blitz server for BF2?

You don't need to join a squad, you can go lone wolf and doesn't really seem to upset people unless there is very few players on the team.

I've played mostly lone wolf, though some medals are only given based on your team score and time.

I never talk to anyone and don't seem to have a problem. All the servers I have played on did not have any cooperation at all - those with clans are most likely locked I guess. Oh yeah, most of the talking consists of kids using foul language...

Or use the voice thing but when your team members start discussing what to do, only say things like "Grrmmmblbl... waaah aaargh TO THE PUUUUKIIIII" followed by a mad rush into the enemy lines! Maybe some team members will pick up this strategy and you'll be the new squad leader.

I switched on the voice option in Delta Force 2 once, I didn't have a mic but somebody started talking to me, it was quite scary... :) All the voices sound like "Bwaa bwww hullo foppy bbwww owowow".

I was the leader of a BF1942 clan called Dirty Bastards back in 2002. Communication helped us out a great deal. Playing with teamwork on a public server never works out because even though you're trying, you never know who you're playing with. Imho the only time voice communication is important is if you're playing with people you know.

It can be a lot of fun though! I have quite a few fond memories of blowing @$^% up with my teammates. We used to jump onto the plane's wings and parachute off.

You'll find it alot easier to do things on your own.

Join a deaf (or mute) team - problem solved.

> Imho the only time voice communication is important is if you're playing with people you know.

true. I have a group of Joint Operations players I game with and we use voice chat there.

I'm going to reinstall and not install the patches. I want to play all of the TotalBF2 maps that don't work when you patch the game. The Alcatraz one looks most exciting.

I've decided to stay single player.

It's my decision and it is no use anyone trying to convince me to change it back.

Wuss. :)

Seriously... Get on a 64 player server and play. No one cares what anyone thinks. The only players that are "hated" are the ones that go out of their way to BE hated. They spam enemy sighted, acknowledged, etc or they kill their own players.

Now... Is voice comm needed? Only if you want to be the best. The best squads are the ones that communicate and do it often. They work together and communicate what's going on around them effectively. When you get into one of those squads, you'll know it because your score will go up and go up quickly. It's easy to see which ones are using comm because they invariably have the highest scores.

Squads that don't communicate, you'll usually find scattered all over the map with each doing their own thing... They never fare well in the squad scoring at the end of the game.

However, lone-wolves sometimes can be QUITE effective if they know the maps well and know what needs to be done. My highest score was lone-wolf on a map that I consider one of my favorites. I took 116 points and was more than double my nearest point competitor.

The trick to being a good online player is the following:

-Communication within a squad (if you choose to join a squad)
-Following orders (if you choose to join a squad)
-Issuing concise and well planned orders (if you choose to command a squad)
-KNOW YOUR WEAPONS. You HAVE to know what each and every weapon can do. Effective range, stopping power, etc.
-KNOW THE MAPS. You can know everything else, but if you constantly walk around a corner into a popular enemy hidey hole you are gonna die a LOT.
-Keep moving. Never stop moving. If you are a sniper, get a kill or two and move. Never let them know exactly where you are. Never become a fixed target. Ever.
-Do everything you gotta do fast and get it done. Then move on. There's always more to do. Holding a base is important, but taking those other flags is just as important.
-Be diverse. Never get into a rut where you ALWAYS play a sniper, or AT, or Infantry. Each map is different and can require different skills. Kharkan for instance is a medic's dream. A lot of people dying in close quarters can get you MASSIVE points for ressurects, and the L86 is awesome in the urban areas. Other maps are great for pilots. Other maps are superior for armor (kubra dam) and AT players. Don't be afraid to switch up weapons mid-map. Need a heal and can't find anyone to do it? Find a dead medic and pick up his pack long enough to heal yourself.
-LEARN TO PILOT PLANES AND CHOPPERS. The battlefield games have ALWAYS favored pilots. A good pilot can dominate a map and turn the tide for the entire team. But never become a chopper/plane whore. Standing around on the tarmac waiting for a plane to spawn so you can steal it from another pilot helps no one. If a plane isn't available, pick up an M249 and forget flying. Be a ground pounder.

Hope that helps.
Master Sergeant Kanati :)

Good stuff Kanati.

I really, really love playing BF2 - I am downloading tons of single-player maps.

I actually think the single-player AI is actually very realistic - a bit stupid at times - but it is almost like playing with real people. Sometimes when you get in a vehicle where there is already an AI driver, they can drive like girls - but then I found you can take control of the vehicle even when the AI blokie is driving and Large-it your way.

Now if only I knew how to aim correctly with grenades, I've had situations where I be camping on a ruined 3-4 story building, and some dude in a tank comes along, manages to somehow spot me when I'm hiding in the shadows, and shoves a big round shell up my....

One tactic of mine is to get a fast vehicle (jeep/buggy) and race around running the enemy troops over - at certain chokepoints this can rake in the kills.

'Nades are my specialty. I can use the launchers or toss em like nobody I know. I've tossed them to the limits of their range to have them land right at the feet of people. It becomes hilarious to suddenly hear "H4X!!!" and such because I am so accurate. :)

I remember in BF Vietnam taking running jumps with the launchers and hitting people that just KNEW they were out of range. That REALLY ticked people off. :)

Puki - Go spec ops and whip out your C4's when you find a jeep and chuck a few on the front, then switch to the detonator and jump in, then drive it till you find a pack of people or a tank and drive very fast, then ditch it before you get to close and it will roll towards then , then you pull the trigger. It takes a while to get the hang of it but c4's can be hours of endless fun

Here is a list of BF2 single-player maps for sneaky sausages like me.

I've still not played online yet.

I think you forgot something... wuss. :)