Lead & Breed's

SWAT4 Tactics
written by Breed 2010

Foreword This is not a manual of how to play SWAT 4. This is not the holy bible for tactical gamers. And we are not the one and only professional team in this game. We do not understand the term "professional" as a rank that you achieve by gaining gaming experience. Being "professional" is more than this. It is a thinking. It is an attitude. The attitude to work on yourself and your methods. The willingness to change your approved ways in order to make it better. The endeavour to find other solutions and to develop new techniques. "It is not enough to form a special forces squad and lean back. You have to ask yourself 'How can we make it better? How can we improve?'" (U. Wegener, founder of the GSG9) And that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to perfect what we learned by playing with other people. We constantly question everything we do and work on every single movement we figured out. We change and add details if we think, that it could be done in any better way and go through it over and over again. Our aim is to strike a middle way between safety, realism, and fun without breaking the rules of the game itself. This tactical guide constitutes a snapshot of our work at a level where we believe, that it is worth being shared with other people. With people who are interested in new techniques. With people who do not want to stop at a certain point but move on to the next stage. We do not want to convince anybody of using these tactics. You are free to like or dislike them. The content of this document is what SWAT4 is all about in our opinion. And we are proud to present ourselves.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Positions & movements 1.1 Stacking 1.1.1 Single & double 1.1.2 Using tools 1.1.2.1 Communication Using tools 1.2 Room clearing 1.2.1 The Split 1.2.2 The Train 1.2.3 Communication Room clearing 1.2.4 Throwing grenades 1.3 Corners Scanning 1.3.1 Communication Corners 1.4 Hallways 1.4.1 General Movement 1.4.2 Turn-offs 1.4.3 Crossroads 1.4.4 Communication Hallways 1.5 Open doors Mirroring 1.5.1 Communication Open doors 1.6 Stairs 1.6.1 Communication Stairs 1.7 The basic essentials 2. Training scenarios 2.1 Room clearing 2.1.1 Straight in 2.1.2 Hostage situations 2.1.3 Throwing grenades 2.1.4 Hide & seek 2.1.5 Target identification 2.2 Hallways 2.2.1 Moving & cornering 2.2.2 Sudden contact 2.3Target practice Suicidal civilian

1. Positions & movements

referring to a team of 2 officers

1.1 Stacking 1.1.1 Stacking Single & double There are three possible stack up positions: a single stacking on the doorknob side, a single stacking on the hinge side, and the double stacking on both sides of the door. If the team reaches a door and the situation behind it is unknown, the most reasonable and safe stacking would be the single on the doorknob side. The team gets least exposed when it opens the door. It is the easiest position to drop a Flashbang for a dynamic Breach, Bang & Clear entry. If a contact would try to leave the room, both officers would immediately have a clear shot on him.

Once you mirrored the door, you might find reasons not to stack on the doorknob side (only).

For example a hostile contact, armed and ready to shoot, hiding behind the door. He might have a weapon that could pierce through the door and shoot you if you stack up in his line of fire. As a result, both officers should stack up on the hinge side.

The double stacking is useful in especially one case: Breaching with the BSG or C2. This will be explained in the following chapter. 1.1.2 Stacking Using tools When the team is about to enter a room, it has the options of using the optiwand, breaching charges, and grenades. In general: The officer using a tool, is the one who enters in second! As a result, he would always be behind the first officer in the single stackings. Example: The SWAT team reaches an unknown door. A stacks on the doorknob side, B mirrors the door, covered overhead by his fellow (Note: The first one reaching the door should be the one providing cover). If there is a suspect that can be stunned with a grenade, B (as the one who mirrored the door and knows the room) would stack behind his fellow and be in the best position to throw in a Flashbang.

Now, if you want to breach a door with the shotgun, you need to be close to the lock. But since you have a tool in your hands, you are not the first one to enter the room. Your fellow, who enters first, can not stack behind you (as in the single stacking on the doorknob side), because he would have to move around you and that is not acceptable. The solution is a double stacking: A, as the armed officer, positionates himself on the hinge side and B with the BSG on the lock side. Now B will be covered by the breached door and A has got a clear view and no obstacles when entering the room. If you want to use a C2 charge, you do not need to be close to the lock, but still a double stacking can be useful. By stacking on both sides of the door your teammate is always in your field of view. This way you can see him count down the seconds till the door is being blown up.

1.1.2.1 Communication Using tools Voice commands: "On it", "I'll cover you" Whenever you are about to use a tool and put your gun in its holster, you should let your teammate know with a short "On it". It does not matter if you are about to mirror a door, use a grenade, or even just to handcuff a contact. If you are unarmed and need to be covered, your fellow has got to know that. Same thing the other way round: If you want your teammate to use any kind of tool, tell him by saying "I'll cover you". This voice command means, that you will stay where you are, providing cover, and that it is safe for your wingman to equip a tool.

We are now stacked up on the door and ready to enter and clear it. At this we have two possibilities:

1.2 Room clearing 1.2.1 Room clearing The Split A enters first and moves in to the open side of the room, meaning away from the door. For two reasons: The "open" side carries its demand in the name. Enemies on this side of the room have clear sight on the opening and are most dangerous for the entry team in the moment of passing the door. So it should be covered first. Another reason would be, that Officer A is covered by the open door itself if he stays very close to the wall. And that is what he should do. As he moves in, he sticks to the wall immediately and holds right beneath, providing cover from 12:00 to 09:00 (the open side in this example). B moves in and should not even waste one glimpse at the open side of the room. His responsibility is the area from 12:00 to 03:00. While he passes the opening, he checks 12:00. If making contact, he should deal with it without moving into the room any further. After 12:00 is clear, he proceeds by checking the area behind the door and sticks to the wall immediately.

Close the door or leave it open? Depends. If there are more officers waiting to enter, B should of course leave the door open. If not and the area behind the door is 100% clear and does not hide any threats for Officer A, he may aswell close it. Now both officers move along their walls, either till the room is reported to be clear or till they stop at the next door/opening. Note: In case that your team consists of more than two officers, the following ones would enter the room in an alternate manner. So the 3rd follows the 1st, the 4th follows the 2nd, and so on. You might find rooms where there is no "open side" due to confined space conditions. Officer A would have to move straight at 12:00, not covered by the door, and interfere in Officer B's sector. That would somehow be possible in some situations, but it would overrule our basic tactics. The solution is that A does not enter first. He just checks 12:00 while staying in the door and his fellow moves around him and into his sector. So Officer A is the first to act, but not the first to enter.

1.2.2 Room clearing - The Train This movement is very useful when entering a narrow area or a room, where it is too dangerous for Officer B to expose himself by moving around the door. There is not a big difference for Officer A but him leaving some space between the door and his holding position. B moves in, still checking 12:00 while passing the door. But now he would not move around the door as in the Split. He moves backwards in A's direction in a back-to-back postition with his teammate. Now he is able to close the door, clear the area behind it, and either move in the direction he is facing or stay with A in his back-to-back position. He may also open the door again for more officers to come in. They would follow the same path as their point men.

Then move along your walls and clear it. Note: By closing the door to clear the area behind it, B takes away A's cover at 03:00. He provides cover with his own body though, but be aware. During room clearings in general, the last man of the team should stay at the door to make sure that his comrades will not get shot from behind. But only if the rest of the team can do it without him!

1.2.3 Communication Room clearing Voice commands: "With you", "Stay close", "Let's move", "Clear" Train or Split? Who decides? And how to tell your fellow? It is always Officer B, the second one in the row, who mirrored the door and knows the situation. Therefore, he decides what to do. His movement differentiates the most so it is his choice which way is possible and most safe for him in this specific room. If he wants to do the Split, he says "With you" while stacked up on the door. If he wants to do the Train, the voice command would be "Stay close". Each officer reports his side to be "Clear" when all threats are neutralized.

Note: Do not forget about the communication when using breaching charges or grenades. You still need to make clear which way you want to go. Additionally, Officer A could give his teammate a "Let's move" to tell him when he has got to blow his C2 or to use his grenade. Example for a dialogue before and after a room clearing: B: "On it" (mirroring) A: "I'll cover you" B: 2 hostile contacts: at 03:00, at 09:00 B: "On it" (equipping Flashbang) B: "With you" (the Split) A: "Let's move" ... A: "Clear" B: "Clear" 1.2.4 Room clearing - Throwing grenades No matter which kind of grenade you use, try to drop it as close to the door as possible, as long as the suspect is in the area of effect. Why? It is important that the area around the door gets effected in case that you overlooked a contact close by. Additionally, it is easy and fast to bounce a grenade off the door to place it 12:00 close (since you don't have to aim carefully). And even safer since you do not expose yourself.

If you are sure, that the area behind the door is clear and you have to throw it far to get him blinded/coughing, you should of course do that. But assuming that the radius of the effected area using Flashbangs is around eight meters, you will hardly find rooms where you have to throw them far. 1.3 Corners Scanning At corners in general, the team should perform a short scan. The first officer stops at the edge, staying close to the wall. The second one checks the area around the corner by moving sideways till he can see all the way down the wall. If making contact, he deals with it whereby it is his decision to use his weapon or a grenade. If it is clear, he falls in on Officer A and they move on.

Note: The SWAT team may aswell decide to go dynamic and not spend any time on a scan (for example if there are indications for a hostage situation nearby). In this case, they just move around the corner, Officer A in the lead, B following. 1.3.1 Communication Corners Voice commands: "I'll cover you", "Clear", "Let's move" Actually, the scan itself does not necessarily need any kind of voice command. If Officer A stops at the corner, B should know what he has to do. But to make it more clear, the one in the lead should say "I'll cover you", which means that he will hold his position. More important is the "Clear"-command once the scan is done. Do NOT rely on the helmet camera only! Officer B might have seen something you could have overlooked on the small screen. Wait for his "Clear" under all circumstances!

Also pretty important is the command "Let's move" to tell your fellow, that you want to go dynamic around the corner. Otherwise, there could be crossings of firelines and even dead officers. Note: Officer A has the veto in this situation! He is the one who could end up in friendly fire so it is his decision whether to scan or to move dynamic. 1.4 Hallways 1.4.1 Hallways General movement Especially in wide hallways it is important that you stay close to eachother and do not split up on the opposite walls. Now, the problem is that the second in the row can not assist his fellow covering 12:00 if he sticks to the wall. Solution #1 would be that Officer B moves slightly sideways from Officer A who is "leaning" against the wall all the time. But only so far, that his haircross is right beneath his leader. This way he is covered by A at the 12:00 but can fire some shots in this direction at the same time.

But moving along the wall in a straight line can be difficult if there are obstacles such as lamps and plants. Therefore, solution #2 provides that the point man would duck down immediately in case of a hostile visual to ensure that his fellow has a clear line of fire. Note: Use accurate weapons here! The first in the row may take out his assault rifle, but the following one should use his most accurate option to avoid friendly fire. 1.4.2 Hallways Turn-offs While moving down a hallway, you might reach a point where another way opens to one of the sides. You could either follow your path ahead or go on around the corner. In the latter case, just act as a if it was a normal corner. Perform a short scan and move, but make sure that A always covers the hallway at 12:00 during B's scan.

If you decide to go straight, do the scan aswell. Now, after Officer B reported the turnoff to be clear, his fellow would take on the task of a bodyguard by moving sideways across the opening, always covering down the scanned area. Simultaneously, B goes straight ahead and stays in close touch with his wingman who provides cover with his body and gun.

Note: Once they reached the other side, they automatically switch positions. Officer A would now be the second in the row. 1.4.3 Hallways Crossroads A hallway may also end up in a situation where you have to decide whether to go left or right. Depending on the distance of the walls, you can either do a "Split"-like or a "Train"-like move. If the hallway you moved along is narrow, split up on both walls and move as close to the corner as possible without exposing yourself. Now you and your teammate can check the close area behind the corners for threats and move around at one go, covering eachother's backs. One of you will have to regroup with his buddy but this does not mean, that he has to give up covering. Move backwards until you are in close touch again and go on.

In a wide hallway, we recommend to stay close. Move as described above in the chapter '1.4.1 Hallways General movement' until you reach a corner. The point man would now check the opposite side (without exposing himself) before he moves around his corner. The task of Officer B would be to follow him in a back-to-back position as his rear-guard.

1.4.4 Communication Hallways Voice commands: "I'll cover you", "Clear", "Take point", "Let's move", "Stay close" The communication when you turn matches the voice commands at a corner at 100% due to it being the same movement. We have one addition when passing a turn-off. Still there is the scan with the "I'll cover you" and the "Clear", but now the first in the row has got to announce, that he wants to go straight ahead and will cover his fellow's flank. He should do that with the voice command "Take point". It includes the switching of positions that this movement possesses. For the simultaneous move at a narrow crossroad the team needs that one go. Anybody of the team (or even both officers) should just say "Let's move" and check there sides. To turn around a corner at a wide crossroad, we use the same commands like in the Train at a door. Officer B tells his fellow that he is ready to go with a "Stay close" and the team moves. 1.5 Open doors Mirroring Open doors to uncleared areas should always be closed if possible. "Possible" means that you are not exposing yourself to the contacts inside the room. If you could not avoid getting spotted, leave it open and mirror it as explained below. When mirroring an open door two things are essential: Crouch all the time. Stay at the wall, not infront of the opening. This is necessary if you want your teammate to be able to provide cover. He needs a clear shot over your head and not you as a human shield between his gun and the enemy.

You might only be able to mirror the area to one side and at 12:00, but it should be enough to decide if it is safe to close it and mirror under the door. If it is not, find a way to clear the area with the information you already got. 1.5.1 Communication - Open doors Voice commands: "On it", "I'll cover you" The voice commands for this action are equivalent to the ones you use, when you are mirroring a closed door. 1.6 Stairs We only use a particular move on a two-flight staircase, especially if there is a door half way up. Now, as the point man you would have a big security gap if you move backwards along the wall and cover the upper floor. Someone needs to face the door and protect you from any threat coming through there. Therefore you and your fellow cover eachother. Remember the bodyguard-move in chapter '1.4.2 Hallways Turn-offs'. We do a similar thing here. Officer A's path leads along the inside of the stairs, covering up, parallel to Officer B who moves along the wall straight to the door. If there is no door to take care of, Officer A may still move like described above. By doing this, it is safe for his teammate to run a few steps until he reaches a point from where he can cover Officer A. This approach speeds up the team's movement on staircases.

1.6.1 Communication Stairs Voice commands: "Take point" Again I am referring to the 'Turn-off'-chapter. We used the voice command "Take point" for the one who provides cover with his body in motion. And we do the same thing in this case aswell. The talking Officer would be Officer A.

The basic essentials

"There arent that many different situations in life, and there arent that many different ways of dealing with them have a few, simple principles, and, when in doubt, refer to them." (P. Blaber, ex-Delta Force)

1. Put mind in gear before opening fire aim, ID, shoot! 2. Only move as fast as your weapon remains accurate! 3. Go along walls and avoid central positions! 4. Do not skip unsecured doors! 5. Never act alone in any situation! 6. Be disciplined, pay attention, and trust your teammates!

2. Training scenarios
referring to the SSF Trainingcenter

General advices: - Enable "Arrest only" when setting up a server. - Always use the helmet-cameras. - Always pretend that you are in a uncleared area and keep covering. - Do not fear to spam the radio. It is the best way to make your fellow know what you are doing.

2.1 Room Clearing 2.1.1 Room clearing Straight in Includes: Stacking, movement, reaction, communication A very good opportunity to practice the movements we figured out are the first rooms in Sector A of the 'SSF Trainingcenter'-map. Choose one of the empty rooms with the red crosses on the walls and see if you and your wingman can rely on eachother by practicing a Breach & Clear: Mirror the door, decide if you want to do the Train or the Split, and move in. Respect eachother's sectors of responsibility and fire single shots on the red crosses, pretending them to be aiming hostiles. When you are done with your side, report it to be "Clear". Note: Do NOT interfere in a firefight in your wingman's sector! If you do, you do not trust him. And that is unacceptable. The empty rooms might seem boring but in our opinion it is a great thing to warm up. And if you move on, the rooms will have more obstacles and get little more complicated anyway. Make sure that you never forget to check any corner! 2.1.2 Room clearing - Hostage situations Includes: Stacking, movement, reaction, identification, accuracy, communication We all love them and the creators of the SSF Trainingcenter gave us the chance to exercise.

There are two different kinds of targets: The red crosses and the black/white figures. Decide which kind stands for the suspects and which for the civilians (for example: b/w figure = suspect --> They drop, so you can see if you really hit them). Again practice Breach & Clear. And watch your fire! Note: You might also use grenades and C2 to get the right feeling. Make clear who throws the grenade and in which position he is. Challenge: Once you are done you might want to do it again without mirroring. 2.1.3 Room Clearing Throwing grenades Includes: Stacking, grenades, movements If you are not sure where to throw a grenade to achieve a good result, get one of your wingmen in a room and let him be a suspect for a moment. He positionates somewhere in there (you might wanna choose one of the more complex rooms with some nasty spots --> Sector B, SSF Trainingcenter), you mirror the door, and decide where to stack to be out of harm and where to throw your grenade. Breach, Bang & Clear! If the "suspect" gets effected, punch him or use any kind of less lethal option on him and report the room to be "Clear". If you dropped the grenade in a bad place and he does not get effected, he shoots you to show that you failed. Note: Use different kinds of head protection, depending on the grenades you use, to stun your wingman. If you are alone on the SWAT side of the door, just act as if you were the officer in the 2nd stacking position. In a live situation you should be as the nading one. Also clear your sector first and pretend that there is an Officer A going for his sector of responsibility. If the hostile contact is not in your sector, don't worry. The stunning effect on players is pretty long. Once your checked your sector switch to Officer A and get that guy. 2.1.4 Room clearing Hide & seek Includes: Movement, reaction, completeness Again your wingman changes sides and hides somewhere in a more complex environment as a steady suspect. When he found a proper hide-out he gives you a "Go!" and the SWAT team enters and clears the area. Once you spotted him, shoot him before he can shoot you. Whoever gets hit should make this clear with a "Roger". Note: Go stealth as if you would do in a live situation just knowing that there is someone around but not where. If you find him with his back on you, you could aswell use less lethal options or even grenades. Challenge: To make it more dangerous for the SWAT officer, the "suspect" could also be patroling around.

2.1.5 Room clearing Target identification Includes: Movement, reaction, accuracy, completeness This exercise is pretty much the same as "Room clearing Hide & seek" but with one crucial difference: The suspect is not necessarily a hostile contact. The one hiding inside has the possibility of equipping a weapon to present himself as an armed suspect or to equip his handcuffs to show that he is a civilian. You, as the SWAT officer, have to identify him very quickly. Decide whether he is dangerous or not and shoot him or just report "Clear". Note: You must be 100 % SURE about the identity of your target before you pull the trigger! If he has turned his back on you or is covered by an object and you are not sure, make him turn or expose himself before you shoot him. If you play versus bots, the shouts may differentiate between suspect and civilian and you have got some other hints that you might not have here. But it still is a great exercise and schools your attention. Challenge: Integrate hostage situations! The one hiding inside could positionate himself close to a b/w figure. If your wingman is armed, the figure is the civilian that needs to be rescued. If he has his handcuffs equipped, shoot down the figure immediately and report "Clear". 2.2 Hallways 2.2.1 Hallways Moving & cornering Includes: Movement, communication Move down hallways and around their corners for a while. You might meet problems of different kinds that need to be solved. Examples: Doors (opened or closed), crossing hallways that need to be passed, covering your teammate, etc. If you do this from time to time, you will recognize some routine in your movements. 2.2.2 Hallways Sudden contact Includes: Movement, reaction, accuracy Once in a while when you move along a hallway, you or your wingman may pretend, that you suddenly have a suspect in sight, aiming, and ready to shoot. See if both of you would be able to deal with him and are not in eachothers firelines. Fire a few shots, report "Clear", and move on. Note: In this case, keybindings can help to simulate the visual.

2.3 Target practice Suicidal civilian Includes: Accuracy To perform this exercise, you need a small shooting gallery with targets in different positions and one fellow officer. Your teammate gets out his handcuffs and simulates a frightened civilian that runs around and always seems to cross your fireline. The task of you, as the SWAT officer, is to take out all of the targets without hitting the "civilian" once. Your fellow should of course try to get in your way on purpose. Note: This is also a very good opportunity to check which weapons are reliable and which not, talking about accuracy. Challenge: Try this exercise aswell when you are moving and toggle crouch sometimes to get a feeling for your gun.

This is it. This is what we do. This is what we are. But there will be more to write about what we become.

Special thanks go out to the members of the former Pro Coop Squad who helped us eleborating the details, and gave us the opportunity to test and train these tactics in the field. Respectfully, Lead and Breed

For it is about teamwork.