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A commanding officer or commander (CMDR) is an officer placed in charge of a military unit. The commander may have various administrative subordinates assisting with his duty, including executive officers (XO) and staff officers.
A field commander is responsible for representing military command in the field of battle. Field commanders are typically supported by non-battlefield assets that provide crucial information, and the ability to coordinate with other units (e.g. artillery missions, airstrikes).
In the Battlefield series, a commander has special abilities for turning the tide of a battle, and is tasked solely with victory for his team.
Battlefield 2
The Commander role first appears in Battlefield 2, along with squads, comprising a chain-of-command. Players are still free to do as they wish, but earn bonus points for following objectives set forth by the commander and squad leaders. A star icon identifies the team's commander on the map.
At the start of a round, players can apply for the commander position. The senior-most applicant (in terms of experience) is offered command, which can be accepted or denied. A player who accepts command gains the ability to use Commander view, commander assets, voice chat with other squad leaders, and issue orders. Successful commanders make the most of these tools, and the extra intelligence afforded.
Commanders can resign their role at any time, and resume play as a regular player. Other players can also call a vote to mutiny against the current commander; a successful vote demotes the commander, opening the role for applications.
Commanders need to take extra care, since assets cannot be used while the commander is critically wounded or dead.
Scoring
The commander continues to earn credit for various actions, but only earns points based on how many members are on the team. Whenever a number of success points equal to the size of the team is earned by subordinates, the commander earns one point. Should the team win the round, the winning commander earns a 2× multiplier.
No other points are earned by the commander in any way, though actions contributing to global score still apply.
Players do not earn commander points if they are not commander at the end of the round. Players who resign regain the ability to earn points for kills and other actions at round's end.
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Battlefield 2142
The commander role remains mostly unchanged, with the commander having access to two different strike options, and the "Move Titan" command replacing the "Orbital Strike" option in Titan mode.
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Battlefield 4
The Commander view as seen in Battlefield 4.
The Commander functions being used through a touch-screen tablet.
The Commander role returns in Battlefield 4, similar to previous installments. Resources that used to be housed at the team's deployment are now tied to each control point, and must be captured by the team in order to be utilized by the commander.
Introduced is the ability for the player to use mobile devices such as a tablet computer, allowing a commander to organize squads, use abilities and resources, and navigate them where needed on the map.
Unlike in previous games, the Commander is not a normal player on the battlefield. Servers have two slots for commanders (one per team), in addition to the player count and separate spectator count.
Players that have reached rank 10 can apply to be a Commander.[1] The role is offered first-come first-served. PC players apply from Battlelog, while console players join from the in-game menu, jumping directly into the role.
Commanders can be removed from their position by a successful Mutiny vote, initiated by a squad leader. Unlike previous games, players can change their vote depending on the commander's response. The new commander cannot be voted out for a period of time thereafter however.
Commanders can join matches of Conquest, Rush, Obliteration, and Carrier Assault.
Mobile devices
An app was released for tablets and smart phones for free on November 14th, 2013. The app has most of the same capabilities for the commander mode as it does on PC or console, with points gained counting towards progression on a players soldier for their respective platform. The 3D overhead map and the squad leader video feed are not available in the tablet app versions, instead commanders can see when a player is firing by rings appearing around the soldiers arrow tag.
It requires the user to have at least one active soldier in Battlefield 4 and be at least rank 10.
Support for the app was discontinued on August 11th, 2015.[2]
Resources
Default Assets
Default Assets are Commander resources that are always available for use by the Commander. These include UAV and EMP.
Main Assets Loop
The Main Assets Loop holds commander resources that are more impact-heavy than default resources and become available once a specific objective has been obtained and will be lost when that objective has been taken or the asset is destroyed by the opposing team.
Squad Assets Loop
The Squad Loop holds commander resources that can be purchased by the commander and then issued to squads. They are purchased by spending "segments" on the progression bar with assets higher up on the bar costing more segments. Segments in the progression bar are obtained by squads successfully carrying out orders that the Commander has issued.
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Battlefield Hardline
- Main article: Hacker
Hacker Mode is a feature of Battlefield Hardline. Similar to the normal Commander mode, it allows players to support their teams through a variety of actions. More emphasis is placed on controlling small-scale devices in the field that affect the players onfield. The hackers on each team directly compete with each other for control over assets. Players can stymie the hackers by damaging the assets.
Trivia
General
- An unseen female adjutant keeps each commander apprised on the status of assets.
Battlefield 2/2142
- If the same commander has been active the entire round, a player must earn over twice the average points of the team to beat the commander's score.
- It is a good idea for the commander to find cover to avoid attack and strikes. A commander can often be identified from satellite scans as the lone blip at a main base. In Titan, it is best for the commander to never leave the hangar.
- Some servers forbid commanders from fighting on foot or operating vehicles. Commanding while using an air vehicle in particular is very difficult.
Battlefield 4
- The voice-over announcer of the U.S Marines team's commander is the voice of Roland Garrison. It is only audible to friendly ground infantry and not the commander (who is voiced by a female).
References
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