* Teams - Formations
By: iSoaker.com
When moving through the playing field, it is usually wiser to travel with a Teammate rather than alone (unless one is a sniper, scout or lure). However, when travelling unknown terrain with two or more people, one must arrange the group to best handle possible encounters with opponents. The following is a short overview of some suggested formations depending on the number of people. For most formations to work, the Players should be no more than 2-3 metres (5'-10') from their nearest Teammate.
Two-Player formations are the simplest and quietest. Stealth and speed can be easily achieved but having only two makes guarding one's blindspots harder.
- Side-by-side travelling allows both to fire on oncoming targets, but leaves the back open to surprise attacks.
- Staggered lines allows the one following to better guard the rear, but also reduces forward fire power.
- One facing forward & one facing back covers both sides, but movement pace is reduced since it is more difficult for the one in rear to walk backwards
Three-Player formations allow for a little more coverage and flexibility, but reduce the group's ability to travel unnoticed.
- Standard vanguard formation when doing a frontal assault allows all members for fire forward while the two flanking members can also easily cover the sides.
- In unknown regions or tighter passageways, a staggered line formation may be used. Sides are covered and the person in the rear is also responsible for suppressing any rear attacks.
- Spread out formation to cover all-sides is sometimes recommended when an attack from the enemy is imminent, but the direction from which they are approaching is unknown. This covers all angles, but also spreads out the fire power the most
Four-Player formations offer even more flexibility than the three person ones, but further reduce the group's ability to perform any sort of covert operation.
- Vanguard attack pattern good choice for frontal assaults, but leaves the back open to surprises.
- Two by two formation still gives good firing power forward while allowing the two in back to guard the rear. Good for travelling in unknown territory.
- The staggered line formation works best for traversing tight areas or when the direction of attack by oppoents is in question
Five or more Player formations begin getting more complicated simply due to the number of members in the group. Large groups are usually better divided into smaller ones. The more Players in a given area, the easier it is for opposing Players to hit any one. The figures above suggest some possible group formations which can be extended for greater numbers of Players.
This formation takes advantage of various blasters' Fan-nozzle setting (i.e. the SC Power Pak, SC Big Trouble, Monster, Monster XL, etc.) The formation itself is rather simple with allies spread apart around 3 to 5 feet in a row with all blasters set on Fan. Attacking a larger group in this formation is simple since the area of water coverage that can be achieved is very high. As well, since all members of the attack squad are relatively close, the sprays from individual blasters will overlap, resulting in a more thorough soak than would be achieved if only one individual were present. The main drawbacks to thise attack formation is that overall range of attacks is limited. Also, since blasters are on their fan settings, individual opponent targets cannot be isolated.
While some may argue differently, most people when under attack, even if only from a fan nozzle spray, tend to duck, block, or attempt to defend. With this in mind, the idea behind this offensive formation is to make use of a fan attack to suppress opposing counterfire while having an ally with a good-sized blaster to identify and saturate the most threatening opponents. The fan-spray user has more limited range, thus must get in closer to opposing Players. The saturator can be a few steps back making use of his blaster's range and power to soak any those have not turn and run. The most difficult part of achieving the desired outcome is finding someone willing to go in and suppress return streams using a fan-spray since that user must get closer than usual to the opposing forces. (Note: A CPS 1-3-5 or a Helix work particularly well as suppression blasters.)
"Divide and conquer!" Sometimes to break apart an opposing Team's formation, one's own group should concentrate their offensive maneuver against a middle Player. This will often cause the opposing Team to fan out, but if done quickly enough, means that the Team on the offense can go about eliminating one Player at a time as opposed to facing Team-to-Team. This maneuver, however, only works well if the opposing Team is not as well trained to deal with such an play. This is not recommendable if facing a skilled Team as this bunches one's own Team together and restricts individual Player movement. 
Flanking simply involves avoiding doing a frontal offensive play and instead, opting to attempt to charge from a more vulnerable angle. Successful flanking requires both speed and quick assessment of the Team to be flanked. The idea here is to turn a broad defensive formation into a line in which those farther back in the line make less effective defenders. Optimally, the Team on the offense wants to head quickly towards the side with the weaker opposing Player in order to increase the chance of a successful flank maneuver.
Circling can be an effective tactic if used well. The idea here is to trap the opposing Team in a more restricted area while giving one's own Teammates room to move, aim, and dodge without fear of cross-fire. The encircled Team ends up bunched together with a much more limited movement options. While quite effective, this maneuver tends to only work against non-coordinated teams or novice players. The main drawback to this formation is that it divides up one's own Team's soaker-power. 
