Squad Leader

The Squad Leader role is that which is given to the leader of a Squad, giving them a wide range of abilities through which they can more effectively command their squad and influence their faction.

Squad leadership can be earned either by creating a squad or by being promoted to the role by the previous squad leader, who can do so either through the squad menu, through the  command, or by accepting squadmate's   request.

Squad leaders gain access to five additional squad-specific waypoints (one squad waypoint, and four fire-team waypoints), the ability to organize the fire-team layout of their squad, and will be able to use squad certifications, if they have them unlocked. Additionally, squad leaders automatically join the command channel.

Map Options
Map Options are available on the map and minimap if the user right clicks in a space not occupied by a friendly player, and allows them to place a variety of waypoints and other tactical icons and deployables. Squad leaders gain access to an expanded arsenal of map options to choose from.

Waypoint
Squad leaders have access to an expanded selection of Waypoints to place on the map.

Squad leaders, alongside their personal waypoint still only visible to them, also have access to a Squad waypoint, as well as squad-specific fireteam waypoints, one for each individual fireteam—Diamonds, Spades, Hearts, and Clubs—which the leader can place at any time. The squad waypoint is visible to the entire platoon whereas fireteam waypoints only the appropriate squad, if the squad is in a platoon.

The squad leader's waypoints are not unique. The platoon leader can also place and move that squad's waypoint at any time, and the fireteam leader appropriate to the given waypoint can do the same to their fireteam's waypoint. However, the squad leader is the only player with access to these specific five waypoints at once.

The squad leader does not need to place members into a fireteam to have access to its waypoint. If the squad is inside a platoon, the squad's waypoint will become a squad-colored waypoint labelled appropriate to that squad (such as 'Alpha Squad Waypoint' or 'Bravo Squad Waypoint'), and all fireteam waypoints will also have their colors changed to the squad's color.

War Assets
Though most war assets can be used by any players with the requisite permissions in their outfits at any time, squad leaders are uniquely the only players able to call down a Steel Rain.

Steel Rain is a global war asset available to outfits. Calling a Steel Rain begins a 30 second timer after which all squad members, beside those in vehicles, are immediately placed into Drop Pods above the designated location as their current class, even if they are MAXes.

Unlike all other war assets, Steel Rain is limited not only by outfit permissions, but also by the role of the player inside a squad or platoon. Only squad leaders are able to command a Steel Rain, and it will only ever affect their squad. Normal squad members, and platoon leaders where applicable, cannot use a Steel Rain.

Certifications
The Squad Certs certification tree, available under the Social tab in the menu, allows players to unlock a selection of squad-leader specific abilities to aid them in directing their forces. Unlike all other certifications, squad certifications require the character to be at least Battle Rank 10 to be unlocked.

Unlockable squad certs are only available to squad leaders. No other role in a squad or platoon can make use of their effects.

Request Reinforcements
Request Reinforcements allows squad leaders to place Offensive Requests and Defensive Requests on the map.

Requests can be seen by all members of the squad leader's faction on a given continent, no matter their distance from the marker, and are either displayed as a bullseye with rolling red arrows pointing at it, or a shield with rolling red arrows pointing at it, depending on whether or not the request is offensive or defensive respectively.

Requests remain on the map for 5 minutes, and a squad leader can only place one of each request every two and a half minutes. Requests do not have any effects other than their temporary appearance on the map. Unlike waypoints, requests cannot be altered once they are placed, and their timer must elapse before they are removed from the map.

Rally Points
Rally Point certifications allow squad leaders to lay down columns of smoke at a target area on the map.

There are four separate rally point certifications—green, orange, purple, and yellow—each allowing a separate column of the appropriately colored smoke to be placed at any given time. Rally points are visible both in the world, as colored smoke rising a couple dozen meters into the air from the rally point, and as an icon on the minimap and map.

Rally points remain on the map and in the field for five minutes, and a squad leader can only place one of each color every two and a half minutes. The smoke produced by a rally point does not have any non-visual effects on gameplay. Unlike waypoints, rally points cannot be altered once they are placed, and their timer must elapse before they, and the smoke they produce, are removed from the map.

Rally Points as well as Request Reinforcements can be bought from the Squad Certs menu, available for all factions (including NSO).

Hidden Abilities
Though typically previously unlocked and, where it was applicable, upgraded using Certification Points, the following certifications and abilities are now automatically unlocked and hidden from the certification tree, although their benefits are still fully accessible.

Command Comm. Channel
The Command Communications Channel allows squad leaders to access a faction-wide, continent-specific channel seen by and accessible only by other squad leaders and platoon leaders.

This channel, often referred to as Command Chat or the Command Channel, is comprised of two channels; Squad leaders are in both of these channels at all times. Leader voice has its own settings that can be changed the same as any other voice channel, under Social, then Voice and Chat.
 * Leader Voice ( by default)
 * Leader Text

Sitrep
Squad leaders gain access to the Sitrep command, allowing them to broadcast a premade faction-wide, continent-specific message to all allied forces.

By using the sitrep slash command while in a squad of two or more members, the squad leader will broadcast a message to all allied forces on-continent informing them of their current location. If they are in a territory where the squad leader's faction is the minor population and/or the faction is close to losing the base, the broadcast additionally states a request for help.

Sitrep has a moderate cooldown between uses.

Spawn Beacon
The Spawn Beacon is a unique deployable available to all players. It is unlocked by default.

Spawn beacons are automatically placed into the inventory of all players within a squad of two or more members, and can be placed where direct line-of-sight to the sky above is available to present a spawn option to all squad members allowing them to spawn via drop pod above the beacon. Spawn beacons are not necessarily tied to squad leadership, however squad leaders have the ability to control the usage of spawn beacons within their squad. Squad leaders can manually disable the ability for their entire squad to place beacons, or that of individual fire teams to place beacons. While beacons are disabled for a fireteam or squad, the applicable squad members are unable to equip their spawn beacon and, if they respawn or resupply, will have the beacon removed from their loadout.

Squad Objectives
Squad leaders can designate objectives in the world as Squad Objectives, playing a sound prompt and highlighting the objective to all squad members.

If the squad leader points their crosshair at an objective, such as a control terminal or generator, and presses their Spot Enemy hotkey ( by default), they can designate it as a squad objective. This will play a brief beeping sound and embolden the objective's icon with an extra ring around it.

Squad objectives are visual only, and do not confer any benefits to squad members that complete them nor do they aid squad members in doing so. The squad objective can be updated as often as the leader pleases with no cooldown, and only one objective can be designated at a time.

Tactical Overlay
The Tactical Overlay allows players to draw on their map. Squad leaders can publish their drawings that they may be seen by their entire squad.

Related Slash Commands
The following commands are those which are most often useful, although there are a larger amount of commands available and these commands are also possible through the in-game interface.
 * — Invites the target player to the squad, if eligible.
 * — Removes the target player from the squad.
 * — Removes all players from the squad, including the leader, and deletes it.
 * — Sets the target player as the squad leader, and gives the former squad leader their number.
 * — Only available to non-leaders. Sends a request to the squad leader which, if accepted, sets the player as the squad leader.
 * — Available to leaders of a lone squad, as well as platoon leaders. If in an eligible role, allows the leader to invite a squad lead by the target player to the platoon, or create a platoon with that squad if the inviting leader is that of a lone squad.