SWAT 4

A short guide to tactical online co-op v2


Preliminary Notes

The main goal of this guide is to help new players become better teammates in co-op games on public servers. It is by no means comprehensive, but it provides all the basic instructions needed to get started with tactical co-op. It aims to be pretty neutral; while it tries to follow conventional wisdom, keep in mind that a particular team you're playing with might have a different opinion on how some of the techniques described here should be performed.

If you don't have the time to read every section in order, go over the Glossary first, and then jump to Miscellaneous Tips.

This guide assumes you have SWAT 4, The Stetchkov Syndicate expansion and the SEF mod installed. If you don't have it yet, use the following links:

Make sure to join the official SEF discord server: SWAT4 CO-OP. If you encounter any difficulties, that's the best place to ask for help; it's also the place to find partners for co-op games.

To check what games are currently available without launching the game use the excellent swat4stats.com website.

See also:

Leave any feedback on this guide here or in the official SEF discord.

Glossary

Term Explanation
rambo a newbie player who ignores the team and rushes to clear the map all by himself
CQC or CQB close quarters combat/battle
RoE rules of engagement
LoF line of fire
a/b alpha/bravo
bsg breaching shotgun
LL less lethal
mask or resp gas mask, aka respirator
rgr roger
10-4 same as "understood", "roger"
nvs no suspects visible
res restart (referring to the current mission)
r depending on the context, may mean either "ready" or "restart"
scan aka "slicing the pie"; not to be confused with mirroring via optiwand
opti optiwand; mirror the door/corner using optiwand
pep pepper spray
dry enter the room without grenades or c2
hugger a suspect that is blocking the door
form formation
point 1st man in the formation
cover 2nd man in the formation

Basic Tactics

Working in pairs

This is probably the most essential teamwork technique you need to master. The idea is simple: two officers operate together as a single unit, thereby doubling their firepower and vastly increasing their effectiveness.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The 1st man in the pair, also known as the pointman, is responsible for leading the way, checking the sides along the pathway for any hidden threats, deploying less lethal equipment (if any), checking the doors and unlocking them if necessary.

The 2nd man in the pair, also known as the coverman, is responsible for covering the forward direction, utilizing lethal force if pointman's less lethal measures turned out to be ineffective, and covering the doorway while the pointman operates on the door; 2nd man also deploys grenades.

When the pair is on the move, the 2nd man is to follow the 1st man closely, maintaining enough distance not to bump into his partner if the movement halts abruptly. The 2nd man should never go past the 1st man; crossing your teammate's line of fire is a no-go.

Most importantly, the 1st man is to crouch any time he's engaging a threat, in order to allow the 2nd man to shoot in the same direction. The 1st man should also crouch while operating on a door, and he might choose to remain crouched while moving if a threat is expected ahead and slow movement is advised. The 2nd man never crouches.

If the 1st man isn't in the crouching position, the 2nd man should move slightly to the side (approximately to 5 or 7 o'clock position) in order to maintain a clear forward field of view.

Stacking up

Upon receiving the STACK UP command, the 1st man in the formation quickly positions himself beside the wall on the door knob side of the door, making sure he's covered by the wall; the 2nd man follows him and stands right behind him, covering the door. Once positioned, the 1st man checks the door and reports if it's locked, while the 2nd man stands prepared to fire if the door opens and a suspect walks in.

  • Do not mirror the door via optiwand when ordered to stack up. There's a separate command for mirroring. The lead will be explicit about it if he wants you to use the optiwand.
  • When possible, always stack up on the door knob side, unless the lead specifically asks to do otherwise.
  • In general, the 1st man should crouch once stacked up. However, some teams prefer everyone to stand up; then the 2nd man should move slightly to the side, so as to keep the clear view of the door.

In the meantime, the rest of the team position themselves around the area, covering all directions which might pose a potential threat. The key here is to minimize exposure: cover such as walls should be used so that no officer would be in a direct line of fire of a possible suspect in the next room once the door opens. Also, the spot at the opposite side of the doorway should be kept clear, since it might be used when breaching the door or performing a visual scan (see the next sections).

Don't stand in front of the door to an uncleared room. Treat any door as if it was about to be open and there was an armed suspect facing your way behind it.

Some leaders prefer the whole team, however large it is, to line up one behind another in a tight formation on a STACK UP; while this doesn't necessarily always makes the most sense from the tactical perspective, it emulates the formation some real-world special units would use when employing a ballistic shield. It also makes it easier for newer players to position themselves properly.

See also: 1

Slicing the pie (visual scan)

Not to be confused with mirroring via optiwand.

Usually performed by the 2nd man in the formation.

Possible order wordings: scan the doorway, scan, slice the pie, or simply STACK UP followed by PROCEED.

  • Stack up at the door; that's the initial position.
  • 1st man: open the door and hold.
  • 2nd man: start slowly walking sideways in a slight arch, gradually revealing the interior of the next room.
  • Visually scan for threats while moving sideways; keep your weapon ready to fire.
  • Keep moving sideways until you position yourself at the other side of the doorway.
  • If you noticed a suspect and he didn't notice you:
    • immediately hold and report suspect contact
    • return to your initial position
    • await further orders
  • If a suspect notices you:
    • return fire if necessary in accordance with the RoE
    • if the threat can't be effectively neutralized (e.g. there are numerous suspects), quickly retreat to the initial position
    • if a hostage's life is endangered however, take any means necessary to neutralize the threat
  • If you've scanned the entire visible area without encountering any threats, report CLEAR and standby for further orders in your current position.

Don't shout for compliance unless a suspect noticed you.

The same technique can be used with a corner in place of a doorway, especially in corridors; then 2nd man moves sideways as far as needed to reveal the area around the corner.

  • Some teams prefer that 2nd man returns to the initial position after reporting CLEAR.
  • Sometimes both 1st and 2nd man do the scan synchronously.
  • Rarely the team might stack up on both sides of the door and perform the scan simultaneously from opposite directions.

See also: 1, 2, 3, etc

Deploying grenades

Grenades are usually deployed by the 2nd man in the formation. The 1st man provides cover while the 2nd man has his main weapon down.

  • Stack up at the door.
  • 1st man: make sure the door is unlocked and hold; be ready to open fire if a suspect appears.
  • 2nd man: pick the grenade; make sure the correct grenade type is selected (flash, gas or stinger).
  • 2nd man: pull the pin of the grenade (press and hold left mouse button); the sound it makes will signal your teammate that you are ready to throw.
  • 1st man: once you hear the clicking sound, open the door.
  • 2nd man: when the door is open just enough to let the grenade into the room, quickly throw the grenade.
  • Enter the room (see the next sections).

Note that unless ordered otherwise, the 2nd man should throw the grenade from his initial position, so as not to expose himself to the suspects in the next room; the grenade should ricochet off the door or a wall. If it is ordered to throw the grenade at far distance, which renders the ricochet throw impossible, the thrower should minimize exposure by leaning into the throwing position and quickly retreating to the initial position once the grenade is airborne.

One common mistake is to throw the grenade prematurely. The door may be blocked by a suspect standing on the other side of the door; therefore, the thrower should wait until the door is at least half-open before performing the throw. If a premature throw occurs and the grenade ricochets back to the current room, the team should hold and wait for lead's further orders instead of trying to enter the next room.

Sometimes more than one grenade is used on entry. Depending on the tactical situation, the grenades may be deployed simultaneously in opposite directions (to cover a big room) or in a quick succession, usually one at close distance followed by one at far distance. In some cases a combination of grenades of different types may be used as well.

In some situations the 1st man deploys a grenade, usually when stealth is paramount and there's not enough space to safely position the 2nd man in his spot. When possible, the 1st man should retreat to the back of the line after performing the throw, allowing his teammates to move forward while he switches back to his main weapon.

Same procedures are applied when deploying a grenade around the corner or down/up the stairs.

Breaching the door TODO

Entering the room TODO

See also: 1

Using optiwand

Don't deploy the optiwand without an order.

Usually performed by the 1st man in the formation or by the 3rd one (breacher or lead).

Note that visual scan ("slicing the pie", see above) is a different thing that doesn't involve the use of optiwand. Also note that the command STACK UP, which is sometimes voiced as "stack up and check the door", doesn't imply the use of optiwand either (see the corresponding section).

  • Before starting to mirror the door, switch to optiwand by pressing 9 in order to avoid misclicks and accidental shots.
  • In multiplayer, click the left mouse button in quick succession several times to engage the optiwand; it's a workaround for a known bug.
  • Report any suspects you see. For each suspect, report their o'clock position and their distance (close/medium/far) to the door.
  • If you don't see any suspects, report "nvs" or CLEAR.
  • Report if a suspect is facing the doorway, especially if he's close to the door.
  • If a suspect is behind cover, report that as well.
  • If your team is using gas, then report if a suspect is wearing a gas mask.
  • Report any civilians you see, including their positions and distance to the door.
  • If a suspect or a civilian is in close proximity to the door, make it explicit that breaching the door with C2 is not advised.
  • In particular, if a suspect is blocking the door (so called "hugger"), make sure to report that.
  • If you see any open doors, report that together with their positions.
  • If some parts of your view field are obstructed, report that as well.
  • If the map you're playing on includes traps, then look up at the door knob and report if the door is trapped.
  • If your team doesn't know the map, report if you see any explosives; also, give a brief overview of the next room (big/small, wide/narrow, corridor, etc).
  • Once you're done, quickly retreat to your initial position and be ready to proceed.

To speed things up, consider adding custom commands for reporting the mirroring results to your config file (see below).

If you don't have the custom commands set up, consider compressing your report to the bare minimum; for example, instead of:

SUSPECT
AT 9 O'CLOCK
CIVILIAN
AT 9 O'CLOCK
AT FAR DISTANCE
SUSPECT
AT 12 O'CLOCK
AT FAR DISTANCE
BEHIND COVER

Simply report:

sus 9 12

Which would read: "suspects at 9 o'clock (left) and 12 o'clock (forward)".

Formations TODO

Roles
Splitting up & double entries
Trailers
Strict and Fluid

Quick Messages (Config File Customizations)

In order for the team to communicate more effectively, custom orders and responses can be added to the game via config files. Basically, these are simply predefined chat messages that can be invoked with a single key press.

Using the preconfigured file

The configuration file you need to modify is located at <gamedir>/SEF/System/User.ini; for example, on Windows (with the default installation location) that would be:

C:\Program Files\SWAT 4\SEF\System\User.ini

To get started, simply download this file and save it as User.ini in the specified location, overwriting the old file. It includes the essential responses you need in order to play with other people online. You can use it as a basic template and extend it from there as you see fit, or you can simply use it as it is if you don't want to mess with the config files. Once you've downloaded and saved it in the correct location, you're good to go; it includes the following changes:

  • Alt key bound to "suspect contact"
  • J/U keys bound to "door is locked/unlocked"
  • camera controls moved to comma (cycle blue cams), dot (cycle red cams), slash (hide cams)
  • numpad keys bound to o'clock positions + "door is blocked" (by a sus) on 5
  • "close/far distance" on minus/plus
  • equipping a nade notifies the teammates

Modifying the default file

Before creating your own config file from scratch, take the following into consideration:

  • Don't spam the chat. If you bind a message to every action (e.g. reloading, switching to the primary/secondary weapons, arresting, etc), then you will annoy the hell out of your teammates. Everyone's gonna ask you to make your config less noisy.
  • Don't overdo it. You can apply all kinds of formatting and coloring to your message, but consider carefully if you really need it. Flamboyant formatting makes the messages harder to read and distracts other players.
  • Default color SWAT 4 uses for commands and responses such as "FALL IN" and "ROGER" is FFC500.
  • Consider color-coding the most important messages with red (e.g. "SUSPECT IS VISIBLE"), while keeping other messages default color: yellow (FFC500) or grey.

As an example, we will add the "DOOR IS LOCKED" response and bind it to the J key.

Make sure you exit SWAT 4 before proceeding.

Open the User.ini file (see above) with a text editor. Locate the section titled [Engine.Input] in the said file. You only need to modify the text between the lines [Engine.Input] and [SwatGui.SwatInputReset]; everything below [SwatGui.SwatInputReset] is to be ignored. Scroll down until you see the lines of the following format: key=command. In particular, you should see the following lines:

1
2
3
4
5
F=IssueComplianceOrInteract
i=
j=
K=
R=Reload

That means R and F keys are bound to their respectful commands, while the keys I, J and K are not bound to anything. Let's change that: bind the J key to the command Teamsay [c=FFC500][b]DOOR IS LOCKED, so that the lines now read as following:

1
2
3
4
5
F=IssueComplianceOrInteract
i=
j=Teamsay [c=FFC500][b]DOOR IS LOCKED
K=
R=Reload

Here, Teamsay is a command that sends a message in the team chat, while the [c=FFC500] and [b] bits change the text color and make it bold, respectively. Next time you join a multiplayer game, press J; the message will appear in the teamchat.

Make sure there are no extra spaces around the = sign.

Note that you can invoke several commands with a single key by using the | symbol. For example, the following line:

3=CommandOrEquip Row_NumberKeys 3 | Teamsay deploying flashbang

Will both equip the grenade and send a message to the team chat, letting your teammates know about it.

See also: 1, 2, 3

Game Modes

Some of these make the game more realistic, while others make it utterly silly. In any case, try to get the maximum possible score using only the equipment that is allowed by the challenge rules!

No Gas challenge

The name speaks for itself: cs gas grenades are disallowed. Especially interesting on Tenement (Children of Tarronne), Hospital (St. Michael's Medical Center) and DNA (Mount Threshold Research Center), as well as some custom maps.

Note that a good chunk of online community prefers not to use gas grenades in general, unless deemed absolutely necessary.

SOBR challenge

  • no less lethal weapons (that includes tazers and pepper spray)
  • no flashbangs
  • no cs gas
  • no wedges
  • no optiwand (unless required to check for traps)

Basically, only stingers and C2 are allowed as tactical aids (pepper spray is allowed for uncomplying civilians, but not for suspects), and only lethal weapons are allowed. Extra care is required to finish the mission without unauthorized force penalties; deploy grenades only when you are sure the hostages won't be affected.

Extra points for using AKM and AKS-74U.

Regular Cop challenge

This challenge entails using only the gear a regular patrol cop in LA would have in his car. Specifically, any gear is disallowed except for the following:

  • common pistols (the standard glock is preferrable; no silencers, no Eagle/Python)
  • tazers
  • pepper spray
  • one shotgun per team; i.e. one person in a team can bring a shotgun
  • either no head gear or riot helmet
  • kevlar armor

Riot Control challenge

Everything is disallowed except for pepper spray. Bring kevlar armor, riot helmet and as much pepper spray as you can take. You will need your fists (and great teamwork!) to take down suspects with gas masks. Try it, it's fun!

Note: in the current version (SEF v7), you have to equip at least one gun; otherwise the game will glitch. Take something light, but remember that you aren't allowed to use it.

10 kg challenge

Any gear is allowed - as long as your weight is under 10 kg! Whatever it is that you take, make sure it has enough ammo to last through the mission. Good luck!

Miscellaneous Tips

  • Don't rambo. Follow lead's orders and stick with the team. Don't run around the map alone, killing everything that moves. You will look like a complete noob. Don't embarrass yourself and play tactically.
  • Don't use optiwand without an order. At best, you might slow down the team by mirroring the door that doesn't need to be mirrored. At worst, you can get yourself or one of your teammates killed because the lead was counting on you to cover your area.
  • Don't deploy grenades without an order. At best, you'll needlessly spend a tactical aid which your team has a limited number of. At worst, your nade may take fellow officer by surprise and render him temporary incapable, which might as well get him (or you) killed.
  • Watch for the red rotating thingy. For example, when the lead gives an order to STACK UP on the door, a red rotating thingy appears on that door. If you don't see the red thingy, chances are you're at a wrong door.
  • Stack at the door knob's side. This way if a patrolling suspect suddenly enters the room, your field of view won't be blocked by the opened door.
  • Always check if the door is locked. Upon stacking up, if you're the man closest to the door you should always check the door (default key: B, same as punch). If it's locked, report that immediately by saying "locked" or "NEGATIVE".
  • Don't unlock the doors at will. The lead might as well choose to breach the door with BSG or C2. Report the locked door and wait for further directions. Important exception: if the team is preparing for a double entry, you might as well unlock the door you're at while you have time.
  • NEVER open doors without an order. Also don't enter rooms and don't peek out the doorways by yourself. Wait for the lead's signal.
  • Pause at the corners. Treat corners the same way you treat doorways. Don't go around the corners (unless that's required to clear your part of the room) and don't peek corners, especially in hallways. Lead might want to mirror the corner first, and you peeking out might trigger the suspect and make him flee or shoot a hostage.
  • Cover all angles. Upon clearing a room, the team should fan out and try to cover all directions which pose a possible threat: doors, corners, stairs, and other pathways (including the ones you entered from). Don't start arresting until all angles are covered.
  • Don't cross your teammates' line of fire. If you need to cross from side to side past a teammate who's covering a direction, walk behind him, not in front of him. If that's impossible, crouch when crossing his angle.
  • Don't get stuck in the doors. Respect the formation and don't try to rush into a doorway pass a teammate that is in front of you. You two will get stuck in the doorway, slow the whole team down and possibly get yourself killed. Besides, you will look incredibly stupid.
  • Don't use pepperball gun or less lethal shotgun. These weapons can make the game boringly easy, and thus their use is often discouraged in public servers. Consider thinking of the pepper gun as a cheatcode.
  • Keep your weight low. Don't try to take every single piece of equipment with you. The higher your weight, the slower your movement; do you really need those 10 magazines of ammo and a dozen of grenades? In general, try to keep your weight at least under 20 kg. Some teams prefer 15 kg limit.
  • Consider using semi-automatic firing mode. This will preserve ammo and allow you to apply lethal force more selectively, leading to less suspect deaths and more arrests.
  • Use the standard skin in public servers. If one of your fellow officers shoots you because your skin looks just like one of the suspects', then it's your fault too.
  • Use 'toggle crouch' instead of 'crouch'. You might have to stay crouched for prolonged periods of time. Instead of using the default 'crouch' binding, it's much more convenient to bind the same key to 'toggle crouch', since that way you won't have to keep the key pressed. Same goes for switching between walking and running.
  • Use your flashlight to communicate with your team. You can draw attention of your teammates by pointing your flashlight in a particular direction and switching it on and off a couple of times. Also, you can use this to let a teammate know you're right behind him.
  • Press 'ready' at the debrief screen. If you're going afk after the mission is finished, don't forget to press 'ready' first so that the server can load the next map in the meantime.
  • Vote 'end mission' instead of 'go to the next map'. Debrief screen shows what the next map will be; the team might want to vote another map, or maybe some people might want to say goodbye and leave. Thus it's considered good tone to go to the debrief screen first - even when you know your score sucks.
  • Disable TOC dispatch. Go to settings -> audio and mark 'disable dispatch' checkbox. That will prevent you from being frozen for 10-15 seconds at the start of each mission.
  • Disable crosshairs. Come on. You're not playing CS:GO. Make the game more realistic by using iron sights and point shooting technique.
  • Most importantly, have fun. Great teamwork can feel extremely rewarding, and SWAT 4 offers a unique co-op experience supported by dozens of dedicated players willing to share their knowledge and passion for tactical gameplay. Let's keep it that way. Good luck!
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Pub: 19 Jun 2020 20:15 UTC
Edit: 19 Jun 2020 20:21 UTC
Views: 333