OK, probably a dumb question but basically, I was invited to a squad and then ended up as the squad leader. It was interesting to play around with leadership for a bit (never done that before) and I found it easy enough to work out how to set way points, invite new members and create additional squads. But when starting with a new toon I cannot work out how to create a squad to start with.
If you don't know anyone in-game, you create a squad by holding your Q key on a friendly target. A radial menu will open and you can use your mouse to select "Invite to Squad." If they are already in a squad, you will be unable to use this option. Other such options include requesting ammo, requesting a ride, sending a message, ignoring them, etc. If you changed your spot key from Q to something else, then that something else is the button you need to be holding down. Alternatively, if you have friends or members in your outfit you want to invite to your squad, simply click the arrow next to their name in your Friend/Outfit list and click "Invite to squad." If you want people to join on their own, make sure you change the squad from being private to open by unchecking the 'private squad' box. You can also set a description for your squad by typing something into the description box and hitting OK.
Just to add, if I recall, in order to unlock anything from the Squad Leader certification line you need to be a minimum of BR 10.
That was for the beacon. My friends tell me that it has since become a global unlock for new characters, but I've yet to test this out myself due to character slot limitations. But yes, if it turns out to be untrue, level 10 is the minimum to unlock beacon and other such things. I'm fairly certain anyone can start a squad from the beginning, though.
This BR1 Squad leader but unlocking the beacon first at BR10 thing, exist since years now. Probably some kind of SOE/DayBreak logic?
Thanks everyone So, I have unlocked first level of squad spawn beacon. Am I right in thinking I can place it like a waypoint marker or will it appear in my tools slot? Sorry to be a bore but I don't have access to the game atm so I can't explore for myself
when you are squadleader the beacon just appears in your new last slot (except for engi where it pushes back the ammo pack to 7th and turns up in the 6th
A squad beacon deploys like the medic's shield recharger and needs to have upwards line of sight with the sky, if that makes sense. The cooldown on placing it as well as spawning on it is very long, so plan wisely. If you pass squad lead to someone else, your beacon will die. However, it's common practice to pass lead to someone to else to bypass the cooldown when it gets destroyed by an enemy.
Perhaps I should have made myself a little more clear. I was not specifically referencing the spawn beacon itself, but was referring to the tools players can unlock from the Squad Leadership certification line as a whole. In the past, players had to be a minimum of BR10 in order to gain access to the Communication, Logistics and Coordination sections which grant players access to the orders/leadership chat command channel, the ability to place attack/defend markers and so on. I hope this clears things up.
You can also add invite people to join a squad by using the map screen which you activate by pressing M. Right click over a friendly arrow (which is obviously one of your factions players in your general area) and it will give you the option to invite to squad or send a whisper (or to platoon if you have the squad size for it). I find this is actually a much faster and easier way to invite people across a larger distance with more people to offer quick invites.
