Squad Communication Guide: Mic & Callouts

Squad without communication is a worse version of every other shooter. Squad with communication is unlike anything else. The difference is a handful of learnable habits — none of which require confidence, experience, or a radio-announcer voice.

Get the hardware right

• Any working microphone beats no microphone. A $20 headset mic is fine. What matters is that people can understand you and that you’re not broadcasting room noise.
• Use push-to-talk. Squad’s voice channels are busy; open mics cause chaos.
• Test before you play. Settings → Audio has a mic check. Do it once per session; “can anyone hear me?” as your opening line gets old for everyone.
• Balance your volumes so squad radio is clearly audible over gunfire.

Know your three channels

Channel	Who hears you	Use it for
Local (proximity)	Players physically near you	Quick coordination, helping nearby players, social chatter
Squad radio	Your 9-player squad	Contacts, movement, requests — your main channel
Command radio	SLs + Commander only	Inter-squad coordination (SLs only)

The most common new-player mistake is telling something important to local voice when the squad needed to hear it on radio. When in doubt: contacts and plans go to squad radio; everything casual stays local.

The callout formula

A useful callout answers three questions in under three seconds: what, where, how far.

“Infantry, northwest, 150.” “Vehicle — truck — east road, moving toward us.” “HAB, in the compound south of the point.”

Add cardinal directions from your compass (top of your screen), not “over there” or “by the tree.” If you have time, add what it’s doing. That’s the entire skill. Nobody expects military brevity codes — they expect direction and distance.

A few upgrades once the basics feel natural:

• Confirm what you heard. “Copy, holding east” tells the SL the message landed.
• Answer when named. If the SL says your name, any response beats silence — even “one sec.”
• Report your own status when it matters. “Down, no medic nearby” or “last mag” is information your squad can act on.

Radio discipline (the polite version)

Radio discipline sounds milsim; it’s really just conversational manners under pressure:

1. When the SL is talking, wait. Especially during contact or when they’re on command net.
2. Keep it short during fights. Storytime is for the drive to the objective.
3. Don’t relitigate orders mid-fight. Suggest once, briefly (“we could hit the flank instead?”) — then commit to whatever the SL calls.
4. No mic spam. Music, soundboards, and open-mic breathing are against the rules here, and worse, they get you muted by the whole squad.

Talking as a new player

You don’t need to earn the right to speak. These sentences are always welcome on a Command Squad server:

• “I’m new — what do you want me to do?”
• “Where should I spawn?”
• “Can someone mark that for me?”
• “What’s an HAB?” (Someone will explain. Possibly three people at once.)

Asking questions on comms is the single fastest way to learn the game, and our culture treats it that way.

For aspiring squad leaders

Communication is 80% of the SL job — the squad leading guide covers the command net, giving orders that stick, and keeping a squad informed without narrating constantly.

Command Squad specifics

On our servers, squad leaders are required to have a working microphone and communicate in English (Rule 5). For everyone else a mic is strongly recommended — if you can’t speak, say so in text chat and keep listening. Comms harassment of any kind falls under Rule 1 and is handled quickly.