Planetside 2: The Ideal Squad Composition

Dave, are you still writing posts about a game that is 5 years old? Yes, yes I am XD

At any rate, I've given quite some thought over the past 4 years to what the ideal squad composition in Planetside is, and I'm finally ready to start articulating it. I always dreamed of having a squad where everyone could specialize into roles and know their place, and with 6 members in the Arkansas Rangers all approaching level 20, I can start doing that.

To be clear, this is a general squad comp, aimed at being able to deal with a wide variety of situations. Primarily though, this is an all infantry squad composition aimed at being able to take or hold a point, and as such this squad comp doesn't call for any maxes or vehicle support.


Fireteam Diamonds - Command Section

1. Squad Lead
    Class: Any
    Equipment: Squad Beacon

For the time being, this will generally be the role I will fill, and as such, it requires a great deal of flexibility in contrast to other roles. Indeed a decent amount of the time I will need to be an infil to hack a terminal and pull a cloaked sundy for the squad, or a light assault so I can put the beacon in a good place. The main skill for a squad lead is being able to read a map, and about 40% of your time will be spent with the map screen open and making sure you're in a winnable fight and everyone is where they need to be.

2. Pathfinder
    Class: Infiltrator
    Equipment: Sniper Rifle/DMR and Sidearm you are comfortable with, Upgraded Cloak, Squad Beacon.

The eyes and ears of the squad. The pathfinder will be typically called upon to pull a Flash or Valk and go ahead to the next prospective base to scope out the opposition. As such, this role requires a level of independence and self-sufficiency. If called upon to scout out an enemy base, in the time between scouting out a base and the squad arriving, the Pathfinder should try to hack turrets, vehicle terminals, and pull a sundy is necessary. The Pathfinder will also be responsible for placing a beacon so the squad can drop in when there are not other spawns available. When the squad arrives/in the event it is a friendly base you are trying to defend, the Pathfinder should find high ground overlooking the point. Once their, their primary role is to call out threats approaching the point and attempt to thin them out with their sniper rifle. Finally, if the point has been held and the squad is starting to push out, the Pathfinder should scout around the base and attempt to find and mark any enemy Sunderers. In sum, the role of the Pathfinder is to be the first in, and to vector the squad towards targets/alert them to threats.


Fireteam Clubs - Assault Section

Both fireteams will have five members are be similar in a lot of ways. However, Spades will include a couple specialists and for that reason, Clubs is the fireteam charged with being the front line. If there is a point hold and a close range knife-fight to be had at a pair of doors, this is the fireteam that will be charged with holding it.

3. Assault
    Class: Heavy Assault
    Equipment: Jackhammer, Crow

To really deal with a given situation, the squad requires at least one shotgun. To that end, the assault will be the tip of the sperk for Fireteam Clubs. If there is a door, the assault is the first one in.

4. Gunner 1
    Class: Heavy Assault
    Equipment: LMG, Hawk

While the Assault will sit in the front of the squad, the Gunner will hold the mid-field and lay down suppressive fire. They're also the one charged with combating air should it appear.

5. Combat Engineer 1
    Class: Engineer
    Equipment: Auto-Turret, Hardlight Barrier

The assault engineer is charged with supplying ammunition to Fireteam Clubs, and setting up their hardlight barrier and auto-turret in an advantageous location to help with the hold. Intelligent hardlight barrier placement is the key to a hold, as it impedes enemy movement and protects the Assault.

6. Combat Medic 1
    Class: Medic
    Equipment: Upgraded Medic Tool, Revive Grenade, Fully Upgraded Grenade Bandolier, Shield R egen, C4

The most important member of the squad in any fight, the combat medic is charged with staying in the back, providing covering fire and keeping the squad healthy and on their feet. Revive grenades are essential to this end, alongside a fully upgraded bandolier so you can carry 4 of them. Combat medics should also place their shield regen devices in advantageous spots, one near the door to support the Assault, the other near the middle of the zone to cover the other squad members. Finally, Combat Medics are charged with carrying C4 for the squad, for countering maxes in a knife fight and taking out enemy vehicles and hardpoints.

7. Combat Medic 2
    Class: Medic
    Equipment: Ditto to Combat Medic 1

Ditto to Combat Medic 1


Fireteam Spades - Support Section

In contrast to Clubs, Spades contains a number of specialists and consequently has less raw firepower at their disposal. In the classic example of an indoor point hold, Spades will be charged with covering "Long Stairs" and "Short Stairs" while Clubs protects the "Double Back" and the point itself.

8. Gunner 2
    Class: Heavy Assault
    Equipment: LMG/SMG, Hawk

Without an Assault in the Squad, Gunner 2 is the focal point of Spades, and will serve as the squads front line. For this reason, they have a bit of flexibility in their loadout and can take an SMG if it fits their playstyle better.

9. Scout
    Class: Infil
    Equipment: SMG, Upgraded Motion Darts, Upgraded Cloak, Flash Bang

To supplement the spotting of the Pathfinder, the Scout will continually fire motion dart trackers around the combat zone (resupplied by Combat Engineer 2). They will generally play on the edges of the combat zone, using their cloak and SMG to surprise and flank opponents. However, they should not wander so far as to be unrevivable. Their flash bang should be used in conjuction with the main push into an enemy held point, or in response to a major enemy push. Their primary purpose, however, is to keep the squad updated on threats and incoming enemy waves through use of motion darts.

10. Archer
      Class: Engineer
      Equipment: Archer, Sidearm you are comfortable with, MANA Turret, Hardlight Barrier

The Archer (Anti-Material Rifle that is very strong versus MAXes) generally has limited usefulness. But when you need one, you need one. To that end, the primary purpose of the Archer is to combat enemy MAX threats, and should be called up whenever an enemy MAX is encountered. On a point hold, their secondary purpose is to set up their Hardlight Barrier and MANA Turret in advantageous positions (preferably the latter with a long avenue of fire), and serve as a base of suppressive fire for Fireteam Spades. Since they will be likely sniped quite a bit on their turret, Combat Medic 3 should keep a close eye on them.

11. Combat Engineer 2
      Class: Engineer
      Equipment: Ditto to Combat Engineer 1

Ditto to Combat Engineer 1

12. Combat Medic 3
      Class: Medic
      Equipment: Ditto to Combat Medic 1

Ditto to Combat Medic 1, but with the added note that as the only medic in Spades, you have quite a bit more pressure on you. Moreover, you should pay special attention to the Scout so that they aren't wandering outside where you can revive them, and to the Archer to keep them off the ground.


In sum, this squad setup has:

3 Heavy Assault
3 Medics
3 Engineers
2 Infiltrators
1 Flex

And in terms of equipment has:

1 Sniper Rifle/DMR
1 Shotgun
1-2 LMGs
1 Anti-Material Rifle
2 Auto-Turrets
1 MANA turret
3 Hardlight Barriers
1 Crow
2 Hawks
2 Beacons
3-12 Revive Grenades
3 C4's

While this squad isn't specialized and is not the best at punching into a room, it can handle a variety of situations well and is very well-rounded. Whether it needs to attack a point, defend a point, face MAXes, chase off air, fight in close quarters, or suppress at 100 meters, it has tools at its disposal to tackle the situation.