Preferred style of deployment?

[Renomaki]

Back in the old days, you only had a dropship and a drop pod, and it was pretty basic: The drop pod was mainly for getting things like power online with a single squad, while the dropship was the main transport for the rest of the marines, to and fro.

But nowadays, what with how dropships evolved over the years, now there is a trio of new ways to deploy the troops and get the party started, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. Such as...

Single Mass Deployment:

Also known as the Clown Car deployment, it is one of the most popular forms of deployment for most captains and commanders, mainly because it gets everyone down at the same time and at the same place. Very basic, but also very dangerous.

It is not uncommon for marines to start fights and bicker with each other as they are all CRAMMED into a single tight space with limited seating, and upon landing on the field, it is very easy for squads to rapidly get unorganized as a flood of marines try to fight their way off the ship, shoving and pushing everyone out of their way and making a mess of things. It is even worse when Comms are not available at round start, meaning rallying your squad is difficult due to everyone getting mixed up and confused in the chaos.

And if an MP tries to get on to arrest a marine? Expect a full scale riot to happen.

Despite all the issues that come with this, it is still, to this day, the most common form of deployment.


Two stage deployment:

One of my own personal creations, and very uncommon, if not rare. Two stage deployments are when a single dropship takes two trips to deploy two squads at a time, each pair of squads having certain objectives to accomplish upon landing (for instance, one group focusing on defensive preparations, while another focuses on recon and offense) that create a "flow" of sorts, keeping the marines a bit more organized and making first landing a lot less chaotic.

While this helps keep squads more organized and focused upon landing, it also requires patience, and if there is one thing I learned about the marines, it is that some marines really hate the idea of having to wait an extra minute to deploy. It is not uncommon to see some marines sneaking aboard due to either refusal to cooperate or plain ignorance, and sometimes you could even have whole squads just flip you the bird because they don't want to have to wait to get to the action (even if chances are they'll die seconds into it anyways, so why rush?).

On the flipside, though, those are are willing to await the oftentimes swift return of the dropship (average wait time for the second wave is 2-3 minutes, tops) can take advantage of the extra valuable seconds of prep time to gather some extra supplies from prep and/or cargo. Knowing how common it is for marines to not fully be ready for deployment after briefing, this can be quite a nifty, if minor, benefit.

Obviously, the biggest drawback is that, at least during the first few minutes on the field, marines won't be at full strength on the field, so if a squad does something stupid and rushes the xenos, or if the xenos decide to mount a surprise attack, it can get mighty stressful.. But then again, it might also be used to your advantage, provided the xenos get cocky and overestimate their advantage, at least until a sudden reinforcement wave 2 squads strong suddenly appear and wreck their dookie.


Double Deployment:

In a way, this is a spiritual rebirth of the old deployment tactic of the past, where all 4 squads would deploy, but not all on the same craft. In this case, however, it is with 2 dropships, capable of bringing 2 squads each. Another somewhat uncommon deployment style, but one that requires less waiting.

Similar to two stage deployment, two squads deploy on each ship (although sometimes commanders/captains decide to put 3 squads to a single ship while another has one all to themselves). Depending on their objectives, the select squads will deploy on dropships closet to their objective, reducing travel times and allowing them to complete more in a short time, while also keeping out of each other's way due to the fact that they aren't climbing over other marines upon reaching the surface and deploying. Things just get done this way.

HOWEVER, depending on the map, sometimes having everyone deploy at separate areas can be risky. Big Red, for instance, is INFAMOUS for how common it is for the LZ2 squads to rapidly enter combat with xenos long before everyone is ready, forcing command to make reckless decisions in order to desperately keep in the fight and not lose an entire squad or two moments into deployment. the objectives you set might not even get done because of marines at another drop zone getting engaged way too early, while marines at another dropzone are still getting things set up. Distraction is a hell of a drug, lemme tell you.

Of course, knowing a lot of players here, they would probably consider this the best of both worlds. You hit the ground without much waiting, and you have room in your dropship to MOVE AROUND, instead of tripping over everyone.



So, out of curiosity... What is your preferred deployment style out of the lot? And why?

[MasterShakeEZ]

I miss the dropod it was fun attacking it and slaughtering all the marines that were trying to get out in it.

[DefinitelyAlone0309]

Imagine upvoting your own deployment idea.

This post was made by the Reno gang.

Duel deployment is the best

Prove me wrong suckers

[Heraclitus]

1. Dual deployment
2. Two stage deployment
3. Everyone on Alamo

Dual deployment feels the most realistic, covers the most ground, and really doesn't require that much coordination. It should be the standard instead of mass deployment on one DS.

[Heckenshutze]

Dual deployment.

For the old days

[Wibble]

Dual deployment was awesome. I remember having two LZs being way better.

[nerocavalier]

Dual deployment because now it means one or two squad doesn't have to walk across the map to set power up. I'm looking at you Big Red.

[Dreven]

dual drop and dual fob for 4x the unga

[Krosk]

honestly as much as i enjoy dual deployments the single mass deployment is the most effective way of deployment able to deploy all marines in the same area is very useful and the minor chaos of trying to find your squad isn't difficult.

but honestly i wouldn't mind seeing the drop pod return since it be useful to getting troops to the front alot easier.

[Forst]

Back when the dropship had a rear hatch that you could ride on, I'd fall off and hope I survived.