HLL #6: Leadership Intro... Learning to Lead.
Get ready to be yelled at. But that's apart of the Hell Let Loose experience.
I have been dreading this blog. Not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy writing or Hell Let Loose or both, but because the topic of my next conversation with you is by far the hardest and most controversial topic I’ve come across: leadership. The fact remains, that no matter how many hours I put into the game, or how much XP I earn as a Squad Leader or Commander, I will never feel like I have the authority to speak on the topic. Despite this, I’m going to try.
If you dare take the time to look at the long list of HLL achievements on Steam, you’ll see one that sticks out to me: “Expert Office”. The description reads “Reach Officer Level 10”. How many players have achieved this? According to Steam, 0.9% of all players. This means that, on average, less than one player in a 100-player match has maxed out their officer class. Five out of every 100 players have reached Squad Leader Level 5. It is more likely to meet the following players: played 50 matches on Carentan, Utah Beach, Foy, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and Sainte-Mere-Eglise, kill 75 players without dying, and even win 250 Warfare battles.
In my opinion, it’s not that difficult to max out your Squad Leader class. Over my 350 hours playing the game, I easily maxed out the class. Any of my usual teammates will tell you I have complained more than once when I watch myself get over 1,000 XP for my SL role, yet it doesn’t progress my class, with the only being less useful for progression purposes being a Congressional subcommittee. This leads to only one logical conclusion: it’s not a matter of ability, but desire. Few people want to play as Squad Leader. No one wants to play Commander. It’s not a skill issue, it’s a desire issue to even try it and then subsequently put the hours on it.
Tell me if this is a familiar scenario: you and your friends are in a Discord VC and sitting in the squad creation menu, but everyone is talking because no one wants to create the squad. Finally, the same guy who always squad leads creates the squad, and the mass requests to join flood in. And then, the command chat fills with “we need a commander… does anyone want to jump in?”. Heck, half the times I’ve played Commander are the times I only meant to drop my team a supply drop or a tank and I end up being roped into playing the role the whole match. It’s extremely common. I don’t have any statistics to back up my claims, but I guarantee this happens every match to a certain level.
This beckons the question: why? What keeps people from wanting to step up and lead a squad or the whole team? My mind instantaneously fills with some thoughts:
The Command chat adds another level of complexity and can be extremely distracting at times.
The additional responsibilities of setting up Outposts and Garrisons can be a stressor.
Actually commanding a squad, directing your soldiers, telling them to take certain roles or actions, and constantly relaying pings from Command takes away from your reaction to contact.
No one in my squad has a mic or they're a random player, so what’s the point? There’s no teamwork.
I’ve heard some of these from friends in some manner or another. The common theme? It’s uncomfortable, and at the very least more uncomfortable than playing regular roles. Too much noise, additional tasks, and additional criticism, which is extremely common. “Why did my SL place his OP there?!?! I can’t get off of it now”. Either that or people want to play a very specific role, which you do see a lot of specialists in the game.
I have nothing against becoming extremely proficient at one role in the game. If anything, part of being a great leader in HLL is understanding the nuances, difficulties, and capabilities of all of the different roles and load-outs, which come with using them. If you’ve never used a satchel, you may not know how useful it would be in bringing down tanks and defenses, therefore when the time comes to attack a fortified point you may be missing one of the best tools you would have to get into the stronghold. For some things, this is extremely true, The same, however, goes the other way. Before one can criticize a Squad Leader for Outpost or Garrison placement, I would argue that the same would need to have tried to place one. There is more to it than one meets the eye. This is why we will discuss this in a future blog, so be on the lookout for that.
To grow as a player, you must get out of your comfort zone. From a military standpoint, they fail in practice and training so that they don’t when they’re in the field. For Hell Let Loose, it’s the same but different. The failure comes from trying it. Experiencing it. After all, how can you become better without trying and playing and grinding? The beautiful part about it is that you don’t have to be good at the beginning. Failure shows you how not to play. Moreover, the HLL community is extremely helpful when they know you’re new.
As we start a new series on leadership in Hell Let Loose, here is the first pieces of advice I have:
When new, tell people that you are: I can’t tell you how nice and helpful squad leaders can be when they know that someone is new. I’ve even heard Command chat be filled with instructions on how to change key binds or even something as simple as placing OPs. If the SLs or commanders don’t know what they’re doing, it hurts the entire time. Yet that shouldn’t discourage you from trying. After all, everyone at some point starts out as a new SL or Commander. If you want to make it as painless as possible, let people know you may need help or advice.
Listen: Whether it be your squad mates, the other squad leaders or the Commander, be willing to take advice, no matter how many hours you have on the game. Obviously, you still have to make the decision, but there are often things you can’t see or haven’t experienced. They aren’t trying to make you fail. They want the team to succeed as well. It’s a team effort, and pride has no place in leadership.
Be willing to do anything needed: No, I don’t mean anything unethical. Please don’t go on the other team and give away the Garrison locations or TK a bunch of the enemy. As I told one Commander the other day; nothing is beneath you as a leader. Whether that be setting up back garrisons, being on defense, or having your squad set up nodes, many times the best squads and leaders are the ones doing boring tasks. Yet they are so necessary for the success of the team.
A lot of being an SL or Commander is just looking for good OP or Garrison spots. Communicate concisely, effectively, and directly: Regardless of what leadership role you have in the game, you are often having to relay information up and down. It’s so important. For example, if your team spots a tank, and you have a friendly tank rolling in behind you 400 meters away, they may have no idea about the enemy tank. Not only the location but also the type. For armor squads, the more information they have about enemy armor or potential enemy infantry with AT or satchels, the longer they will stay alive. Conversely, the longer their life, the more support they can give you. Pings and comms can make the difference, not just in the short term but in the long term in a match’s outlook.
Anticipate and Embrace the chaos: Everything that you’ve heard about Command chat? It’s real. It can be loud, disorienting, and give you a headache. It gets better. Part of it is adjusting your settings, but that only helps so much. You’re going to hear so much talking. It’s ok to have people repeat. Your team will understand. Don’t panic, breathe, and try to take everything in. After a while, you will learn to filter. Just stay calm.
Practice Situational Awareness: Just as it’s important to relay information up and down the flag pole, it’s also critical to collect that information. As other squad leaders and the commander place pings on the map, or even as Garrisons and OPs light up, they are critical indicators as to where enemies are moving from and to. Not just your map, but even keeping your eyes up in the sky for potential enemy supply drops and airheads (even if it’s just the general direction and not the specific position) will allow the Commander the ability to be able to make decisions and delegate. Information in HLL is king.
Anticipate Criticism and Be Decisive: Yes, what I said in the first point is true. Despite this, not everyone is a nice and patient person. At some point in time, you will be criticized, berated, and ridiculed for your choices. As a leader, though, you need to not only make decisions, but many times make the quickly and stick with them. Indecisiveness can kill your team. Don’t be afraid of your team being angry with you. Concentrate, make decisions, stick with them and if they’re mistakes learn and move on. You and your team will be better for it.
Take Ownership: You’re going to make mistakes. If your squad fails, you failed. If your team fails, then as Commander you failed. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s yours. Part of being a leader is gaining the respect of your troops. Sure, being a competent leader helps a ton, but the only way you get there is by making mistakes and learning from there. Did you set a bad OP spot? Next time, place it in a better spot and with more frequency. But acknowledge that you made a bad decision. It’ll hurt, but not as much as you would if you keep screwing your guys over with bad, repetitive decisions. Otherwise, why would they take your orders? They have to know you have their best interest at the heart.
Read my future blogs: I’m somewhat joking, but reading the basics before you get into the role can be helpful. A lot of playing leadership, just like in other roles, is understanding how the game works and is placed. This is what we’re here for making this as painless for you as possible by providing the information that isn’t readily apparent in the Hell Let Loose community.
Playing the roles for the first time can be extremely scary at first. Yet it can be less painful than pulling off a bandaid. In fact, it can be an incredible and memorable experience. My first match as commander is still to this day one of my favorite games. Bloodbath? Absolutely. Yet some of the favorites I’ve played with were fellow officers or commanders. To me, the people willing to put themselves out there, try a new challenge, and expand themselves are the exact embodiment of the kind of people we want in the Hell Let Loose community: selfless, kind, passionate, and ambitious.
If you have any questions about being a leader in HLL, or have any additional advice, we would love to hear it. And as always, see you on the battlefield.