Commander (South Vietnam)
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The Commander calls in support abilities through radios scattered around the map and coordinates the movements of the team to capture or defend objectives. They should know where their Radiomen are, the location of the closest static radio, and communicate with their Squad Leaders to place artillery marks. If all of their radio abilities are on cooldown, they should enter the fight.
Gameplay Details
The South Vietnam Commander has access to a variety of commander abilities involving conventional warfare compared to their counterparts, and have the power to lead their team as well as direct and advise them. The Commander although, is not effective independently and must learn how to communicate with their team and cooperate to achieve the best results from battle. During a game, the Commander's actions can reflect the outcome of the battle, both his leadership and how effectively he executes his commander abilities; an effective Commander knows how to lead his team as well as perfectly timing and positioning their attacks. A poor Commander will likely have a lack of communication with his team and will likely conducts mistakes that result in the loss of a battle. Other forms of communication are not just limited to infantry, but to helicopter pilots as well, allowing him to coordinate certain events and actions; the Commander has the ability to respawn into the Loach, giving him more freedom to place artillery marks as well as giving him an open view of the battlefield. The Loach recon is vital to the Commander as it can provide recon when aerial recon support is not available.
The Commander has a variety of abilities, such as marking artillery, marking a Landing Zone for helicopters, suggesting objectives to defend or attack, and calling in support. The commander can call for support using a stationary radio or a radioman nearby. When using the radio or checking the map, any artillery marks placed by a Squad Leader or the Commander will appear on the map, allowing the Commander to select an artillery mark in which they desire to use; the support the Commander can request include artillery, a Spooky, napalm, aerial reconnaissance, and force respawn. Each of these support commands can turn the tides of the battle depending on how effectively used and timed they are.
One of the most important abilities a Commander has access to is cancelling a support command; when situations involving support occur in which friendly casualties will or are occurring, or preventing progression, cancelling is important as it can prevent any further injuries towards the team. Any active artillery or Spooky will be cancelled on the next salvo upon request, although napalm must be cancelled immediately before they drop their canisters. If there is a careless or unattended support command, it has the possibility to kill friendlies or prevent the team from progressing such as attempting to defend or capture an objective.
Understanding Commander Abilities
Uses like artillery and Spooky can temporarily cut off the reinforcements to a certain objective, preventing them from capturing of defending it, forcing them to wait or find another way around it, while uses like napalm can be used to quickly wipe out an area of enemies, especially when trying to push infantry into an enemy-infested area. Support uses like these are not mainly purposed to kill the enemy, but prevent them from achieving their objectives, so such requests should be used wisely.
Aerial Recon is a recon plane that can be requested onto the battlefield and provide overhead info of enemy locations on the map. When calling in recon, the Commander can use this to request artillery on certain locations of exposed enemies; the team can also take advantage of the opportunity when checking their maps, by attacking suspected areas infested with enemies, or allowing Squad Leaders to provide good artillery marks for their commander. The Commander should always be next to a radio when calling recon, as it will not appear on the map if they are too far away from the radio. Disadvantaged compared to their Northern counterpart, the South's recon plane can be shot down with firearms.
Force respawn immediately respawns every dead player to their selected spawns. This should be used frequently when many players are dead or during emergencies when an objective is being contested. Be aware as this can drain tickets very quickly if used at the wrong time.
Commander Abilities
| Support | Type | Duration | Cooldown | Salvos/Bursts | Radius |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artillery | M101 Howitzer Battery
Five airburst salvos are fired on the selected target area, killing anything within it and denying access to the enemy during the duration. |
N/A | Map Dependent | 5 Salvos | 25 Meters |
| “Spooky” | AC-47 Gunship (United States and ARVN Exclusive)
AC-47 “Spooky” gunship will orbit your selected target, firing bursts of its Miniguns and providing area denial for a long duration. |
60 - 180 seconds, depending on the map. | Map Dependent | Multiple Bursts | ? |
| Napalm | F4 Phantom Napalm Run
F4 Phantom drops two canisters of Napalm on the selected target, instantly killing all enemies caught in the blast. |
N/A | Map Dependent | 1 Strike - 2 Canisters | ? |
| Cancel | Cancels all active fire support on the battlefield, reducing the cooldown as well. | ||||
| Aerial Recon | Piper L4 Cub Recon
Reconnaissance aircraft that will automatically spot enemies that are on the move or in the open. Stay near the radio to receive position updates. |
Map Dependent | Map Dependent | N/A | Entire Map |
| Force Respawn | Respawn Dead Teammates
Instantly deploys all dead team members at their selected deployment points. |
N/A | Map Dependent | N/A | Selected Spawns |
Characteristics
United States
The Commander wears a rucksack along with two other canteens on it. A few ammo pouches with two grenades on them are worn as well as a pistol holster. A pair of dog tags are seen worn when shirtless.
Australian Forces
The Commander carries a rucksack features a shovel in its sheath and a buttpack along with four canteens. He carries two ammo pouches and a pistol holster.
Equipment
United States Army
| Primaries (Slot 1) | Secondaries (Slot 2) | Equipment (Slot 3) | Equipment (Slot 4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M14 | M1911A1 | M8 Smoke | Binoculars |
| M3A1 | M1917 | M18 Smoke | Binoculars |
| M16A1 |
United States Marines
| Primaries (Slot 1) | Secondaries (Slot 2) | Equipment (Slot 3) | Equipment (Slot 4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M14 | M1911A1 (Squad Leader) | M8 Smoke | M18 Smoke |
| M3A1 | M1917 (Squad Leader) | Binoculars | |
| M16A1 |
Australian Army
| Primaries (Slot 1) | Secondaries (Slot 2) | Equipment (Slot 3) | Equipment (Slot 4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placeholder | Placeholder | Placeholder | Placeholder |
| Placeholder | Placeholder | Placeholder | Placeholder |
Trivia
- The Commander provides an additional 1.25% speed boost when on an objective.