Firing Commands

By J.N. Cobb

Playing Full Spectrum Warrior™ for Xbox® and Xbox Live™ requires strong leadership, both in terms of moving your troops across hostile territory and engaging any enemies therein. You can’t win a battle without firing a few shots, and as the man in charge it’s up to you to determine when, where, and how your soldiers shoot.

Taking fire.

Your squads will always fire to defend themselves or if they spot an enemy, but you can’t rely on their discretion. You’re ultimately in charge, and it’s your call. First, you need to choose a target area for them to aim at (called a fire sector). You do this by tapping the X key, which opens up a flickering circle that outlines the fire sector. Once it’s there, you should position it so that all of the enemies nearby are within the circle—this means they are all viable targets and that your soldiers will be able to hit them. If there are more enemies than will fit in the fire sector, or if they’re too spread out, you should back off and try another angle or attempt to flank them or engage them with your other fire team.

The actual order to fire comes after you’ve established a fire sector. Tapping the A key orders your men to fire at will until all enemies are neutralized, or you issue another order. You can rely on your soldiers’ training after the fire command is given—for example, they will first attempt to take out uncovered targets, to quickly whittle down opposition. They will also attempt to engage as many enemies as possible. (By definition, an engaged enemy is under fire and likely focused on units firing at them. However, they will shoot at any unit if convenient.) After one fire team engages the enemy, you can reposition your other fire team to outmaneuver them.

Pin down the enemy.

The other basic fire command is suppression fire, which is the Army’s way of saying, “Use steady stream of fire to keep the enemy down.” With one team laying down suppression fire, your other team has a window of opportunity to move to a superior position without fear of catching opportunity fire en route. Suppression fire uses up ammunition very quickly, so once you issue the order, be sure you move the second team into place as quickly as possible. If you run out of ammo, you’re out of luck, unless you can reach a CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) site to restock your supplies. This is difficult to do while in a firefight.

Also, when using the suppression fire command, keep an eye on the icons above your enemies’ heads. The icons will indicate if they are engaged (exchanging fire with a team) or pinned (under such heavy fire that returning fire is difficult), so you can adjust your tactics accordingly.

Frag-tastic.

Finally, you can also opt to throw frag and smoke grenades by hand, use the powerful M203 grenade launcher, or call in an indirect fire mortar strike (for use against heavily armored unit, like tanks). Grenades are as scarce as bullets on the battlefield and CASEVAC sites won’t restock those, so use them wisely. When the situation is right, there’s nothing more effective or rewarding than blowing your enemies to kingdom come.

Full Spectrum Warrior is immensely challenging and rewarding, teaching players the U.S. Army’s way of applying enough precision force to get the job done. Once you master the basic commands, the real test of your leadership skills in true-to-life combat situations can begin.

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