Friendly fire, isn’t

The following might sound like a venting rant but it is not completely so. I genuinely am trying to find a way to communicate to newer players that battlefield awareness and communication, are essential tools at avoiding killing your own team mates.

Game 1: USMC VS insurgents (my team) While deploying, miles away from the frontlines and positioning towards a flanking maneuver, a trigger happy blueberry wipes out a third of my squad including myself, because while running around a corner, he got startled and emptied a magazine on us. We all look like Jihadists ready to get those 40 virgins in heaven my boy, not Americans. It’s not that tough.

Game 2: USMC vs Russian ground forces (me): ok fair, desert camo for both teams is way closer in this case. But the whole squad is pushing through the tiny streets and covering each other until one of them turns around, asks “are you friendly” and before I can say “duh of course I am, I’m covering you from the counter attacking infantry in front of you” I am blessed with the equivalent of ten tons of lead from a guy who can’t tell a Russian from an American uniform or is not bothered to open a map.

Game 3: Russian airborne (me) vs Canadian armed forces: Working as a spotter for my marksman squad fire team lead, we are covering a staging area for an attacking thrust into the enemy point. A friendly squad leader on a building 100 metres away decides to turn and snipe at the entire staging area including us. Hits me and my marksman and he makes the sensible call to put him down like a rabid dog. Well deserved.

For the love of god. Open your maps, communicate with your team, learn your uniforms and understand map positions in relation to you and your team members. Don’t get me wrong I think the friendly fire feature is FANTASTIC, and dying from a friendly air strike or rushing into a room and die by a friendly grenade adds a lot of realism to the game.

But let’s not abuse it shall we? Please new player, a policy of precision and communication, helps the team more over a policy of shoot first, ask questions later.

TL;DR: don’t kill your friends, use the map and your microphone. Help me help you to win the match.