Squad Lead Fatigue

[Not Your Huckleberry]

TLDR: Can we think of a good solution for teaching new players and keeping veteran players interested in the game?

Coming up on 1500 hours in Squad I find myself becoming fatigued at being squad lead.

I still have fun playing the game and find myself recently joining squads instead of leading them more often out of the fatigue. I don't critizize a squad leads decisions but do try to offer suggestions like, "Do you think we should...?" when something is happening on map that isnt being addressed. If I find the squad is not functioning properly, I quitely leave and make a solo or small squad on servers that allow them.

But I feel guilty because I know how best to flank and spot enemy spawn areas and position squad members for different tasks and all these things but I lack the enthusiasm anymore because I always seem to be repating myself endlessly.

I know the commuities attrition rate is about as much as its growing so the Squad community is quite precarious. So when I get fatigued and short tempered I realize I may be turning off people to this game so I've been just joining squads instead of leading them. Maybe this is just what happens in this game. Maybe all these quiet experienced players we all want in our squads are just squad leads that don't care to put the effort in anymore. I just don't know.

I don't want to quit this game because I really enjoy the experiences I get from it but I can see these train wreck games coming from a mile away and am becoming apathetic.

I've been considering possible solutions to this problem of needing to constatly educate new players, players with sub 100 hours in game lets say and becoming fatigued from the energy required to lead. Maybe I wouldn't like the game if everyone was a machine veteran player but I think there could be some balance. Maybe its just time for me to try competitive play, I don't know.

I know developers have alot on their plate with adding promised features and continuing to optimize the game for offical release but I think adding some kind of tutorial simulation match against bots or somthing like that would be useful for new players and players wanting to try out squad leading. I think this could lead to improved match play and squad communication. I don't know how difficult it would be to make this program but it might go a long way to improving the longevity of veteran players and the replay value for new players that find learning the gameplay mechanics difficult and the demands of more experienced players a barrier.

Does anyone think this is an issue? Am I just crazy? Let me know thanks.

[Lxcer]

I only have 200 hours but I sort of understand what you are saying. Squad leading is extremely tiring. People don't always listen and they're just there to have fun and not neccessarily win the game. And a big part of that fun comes from having someone making decisions for them.

When I tried squad leading for the first time, I found it way too overwhelming simply because of the amount of responsibilities I had and the short time frame I had to make decisions. With that said, I think a solution to players who are tired of squad leading and wants to play a grunt role is to make squad leading easier. If you take away tasks from squad leaders more people will qualify to squad lead in a shorter time frame because the learning curve isn't as steep. And to take tasks away from the squad lead we need a new role,you probably guessed it: commander role. It's been proposed and it's a listed feature so it all depends on how the devs will implement it. It will definitely keep vets like you interested while increasing the depth of the game.

[RedXIII]

I have to use another indie game (Guns of Icarus) as an example. It was a niche game that required the captain of the ship to constantly be giving orders on priorties while hitting the hotkey map over and over. Whenever a novice came into the ship the process started over again. 2500 hours in that game. Only 100 or so in Squad and I can tell you right out the gate, you sir, are not crazy. Its a legit thing. Legit issue. But I cant even remotely tell you how to fix it. Because it is the nature of the game.

Teamwork focused games like this will always be low pop because you can't soldier on yourself and get those wonderous kill streaks. Teamwork or die. On top of everyone new will always need instruction. Which means repetition. That's gaming. Not gonna stop no matter how intricate the game is.

However I disagree with MDaxus here. Do NOT take away responsibility from the Squad lead. Because that responsibility of a quality Squad lead imo makes or breaks the game. He doesnt have THAT much control and the team members need to be focused on the job at hand. Theres a reason one guy is always dictating. So the soldiers can do their job focused. Now some Squad leads are quieter and rely on just the brains of the members too. I would just change up how you Squad lead. Or start crewing more for sure. Communities like this one will die if the Veteran Squad leads give up. It did for Goio. Training within communities is the best in this game.

If a vet like yourself needs a push, you defintely should be in comp play. And saving your SLing for those times and crew in between.