Tempo and Momentum

Tempo is a term I learned back when I played Hearthstone and it has stuck in my head since then. In simple terms, it describes which way the momentum of the round is going, and the control the player/squad/team has over the round. When you enter a round of Squad, you are constantly and subconsciously using tempo albeit some players better than others. Your goal as a game-aware infantry player is to always keep the tempo on the side of your squad, and your team in order to win.

During the rollout / opener of your squad round before your initial skirmish, the tempo is neutral. Neither team has map control yet and the tempo is close to even. As you kill enemies and they are in the downed state, they will be getting revived or resetting off a spawn… you are gaining tempo. If you die, you lose your tempo. Get it?

Now for an example from a common scenario found in a match on Chora AAS v2. You are on Chora AAS v2 Hemp Farm as the US during the first engagement of the game. The Russians have put a FOB in the “Saddam’s Compound” (the cheese grater building west of Hemp Farm). You push through Hemp Farm killing two enemies, increasing your tempo. The more your tempo increases, the more confidence you achieve to motivate you to push across the street to the enemy HAB with your teammates (who were also killing enemies - SL could be the one monitoring tempo at the squad level). This quick gain of tempo at the start allows you to win the first engagement, stomp the enemy HAB and make them hard reset on the flag before.

Apply this concrete scenario to most firefights you will encounter as an individual infantry player in Squad. You will often be fighting 0 to 3 enemies (applies for most situations, will obviously change with proximity to enemy spawn). Squads are usually very spread out so it is rare you will be fighting 1v8 (you also have your teammates to help you). The table below dissects common firefight scenarios where there are enemies present, and the tempo you could gain when your reaction is to push through.

Aggressive action taken	Potential tempo
Kill no one and push ahead By far the riskiest option as you know there are enemies ahead but you take a calculated risk by pushing through the front line (abusing a gap). Consider this when you hear gunshots in front of you that aren’t directed at your general direction. This tells you the enemies are shooting at friendlies and are scoped in / distracted meaning it could be possible to push past them and abuse a gap to find a spawn or shoot them in the back. It’s a feeling thing and one of the hardest parts of lurking or aggressive playstyles. Note: You must be decisive when pulling this off, if you are not gaining ground you MUST peek and help your allies that are getting shot at (especially when you aren’t getting shot at).	You gain free tempo by abusing the gap and gaining ground, becoming undetected behind enemy lines. The possibilities are endless now: locate HABS, stomp rallies, shoot enemies in the back, etc. Remember to be decisive and always play for the common goal of your squad.
Kill one player and push ahead You see a player ahead and he is very close to you and you are fighting him. You win the fight and kill him (poking holes). You decide to assume he has no buddies around him and you push through.	After pulling off this move and deciding to push off of it, you need to decide if you slightly flank around the body or push straight through (depending on opponent style, map, etc.). When poking holes you gain tempo (usually not as much as abusing a free gap), if the enemies don’t refrag you after the kill (lose track of you), they will know you made it past them and will likely chase you.
Kill two+ players and push ahead You fight a couple people, you kill all of them. You decide to push through off of it (creating huge gaps)	This is the most amount of tempo you can gain for your team as an infantry player in a firefight (other than stomping rallies or killing radios). Killing a lot of people is an instant tempo gain and a lot of the time, this specific situation is what gets you the flag or the fob take.