A. Wrong positions
Choose your first shelter before the game starts. A good shelter is one
that will provide you with reasonable cover, while allowing you to look
and shoot around.
B. They can't look
C. They Don't Move!
D. Not enough Communication!
E. They don't shoot
A beginners first concern is usually to protect themselves rather than
being a threat to their opponents. They choose the thickest bush or the
deepest hole available and settle down right in the middle of it. They
don't see anything and are unable to provide information or cover fire.
But thay think they're in a great ambush position.
Those who go further go too far and have to dive behind a tree which
roots they decide to closely examine. They don't even shoot back to
improve their situation, nor ask for help.
And when hit, they'll wait
for the incoming paint to stop pouring before they stand up and walk
away, which means they'll get out wearing two or three layers of bright
colors.
So you must be within range of your opponents, but not
too close so you can still move behind your tree/barricade. If the
shelter you're behind is so small that you can't stick your head out,
make sure you'll have a teammate behind you to pin down your opponents at
times, so you'll have openings.
Usually, if you see your opponent before he spots you, you've won. But
beginners think that if they stick their head out, they'll be an easy
target. So they never look around.
Those who decide to use their eyes
focus them in one single direction. To concentrate on such a wide area,
they close their ears to all noises, especially those coming from their
sides.
Don't be afraid to look around. You need as much information as you can
get. Of course your head will be a target, so look by the side of your
barricade rather than above the top of it.
If you decide to look above
the top, don't do it for more than one or two seconds. It'll take that
long for your opponents to: 1-spot you, 2-aim at you, 3-shoot at you and
have the paint travel.
They don't move enough. If you're not useful where you are, don't stay
there. For instance, deciding to stay behind to "protect" your base is
ALWAYS a mistake: if the rest of your team breaks through, it means they
would have done better with you among them and anyway, there are no
opponents left to protect your station against.
If the rest of your
teams gets beaten, it means they'd have done better with you among them,
and when your opponents arrive to your base, boy will you feel alone...
Another example. Look at a newbie who's being shot at. He's trying to
make himself as flat as possible. As flat and useless as a flat tire.
When you're in a position where you are easily pinned down, with no
close help at hand, there are only three things you should think of
doing:
1. Going away as fast as possible
2. shooting back
3. Yelling for help and indicating your opponent's location. Yell, if
they're shooting at you, it means they've spotted you, so don't be
affraid to give your position away.
Another wrong -or lack of- move. When a beginner spots you, he focuses
on you and become blind and deaf to anything else. Most of the time, he
won't even imagine that you, sly as you are, have moved to a place where
you'll shoot from a different angle.
When you are spotted (when you shoot at someone, you usually are), be
prepared to move so your opponent won't know even where you are nor
from where your next shot will come from.
Beginners very seldom talk too much. Most of the time, a beginner who
talks is a) drunk b) in the dead zone.
A beginner keeps his problems to
himself (he doesn't ask for help when needed) and doesn't brag about his
knowledge (he doesn't tell you about the opponents he's spotted).
The only good reason to be quiet is to remain stealthy. But once you're
spotted, there's no reason not to yell, scream. You'll get the help you
need, and give your teamates the information they need to kick in.
Only
exception: be careful when asking for paint, unless it's in your face
you want it.
Usually, beginners are very accurate and seldom miss a player who's 10
feet away, aspecially if he is on the same team (told you, they can't
look).
They imagin that a marker is a gun, and try to nail targets 100
yards away (thus giving away their position). They shoot too soon, and
at averything that moves.
The opponent who doesn't shoot (yet) will know
where to find them (they never move), and will pick them out when
wanted.
If you haven't been spotted, your first shot must take your target out.
Wait until the flight path is clear, or until the opponent sees you.
Be patient, especially when you're defending.
The price of paint being what it is, they think that a ball that doesn't
end on an opponent's camouflage is lost, so they never provide cover or
intimidating fire.
Sometimes, you have to shoot at opponents you can't see. To help a
teamate out of a dear situation, to make an opponent nervous behind his
tree, to keep his head down while one of your teamates is closing in on
him, to make noise to distract their attention...
In my team, we all
share the cost of paint because we know that our front players (who use
less paint) can only play if someone behind them throws paint, but you
need a team to do so.
Now you have a marker and feel an urge for shooting some paint. Be
patient. It's a wild horse and you need to know it before the ride.
Check the inside of the barrel, it must be clean and dry, otherwise your
paintballs will fly like superman after too many whiskies.
[NEVER look down the barrel of a gun, unless the barrel has been removed
or unless you have removed the C02 source. If it is dirty, borrow
a squeegie to help clean out the barrel.
If the marker is a pump gun, try out the pump a few times so you'll know
the strength require to cock it.
Pull the pump all the way back, push
the pump all the way forward, and shoot.
Don't try to shoot too fast,
the ball won't have enough time to drop into the barrel, or the marker won't
cock well.
Shoot a few rounds to different targets to check out the how the
paint flies, to see how fast it dives and which parts of the marker you
should look at to aim.
Don't hold the marker as if it were a pistol.
Let the tank rest against your soulder. [if it is a bottom line setup.]
B. Walk the field
C. Be friendly
You came on your own and know nobody. Trouble is, you won't win the
game by yourself. You need teamates, you want teamwork.
D. Switch to stealth/dangerous mode
E. Don't play lonewolf
F. Stay calm
There you are. Some careless ignorants are begging you to change their
outfit's color. Don't miss your move.
Closing Remarks
You don't need to sketch a map, nor to have a satellite take a picture
of the surroundings. Look where the stations are, and where the central
line is.
The central line is the place where the opposing teams will
most probably meet, the farthest you can run on the whistle before
looking like an ice cream cone. Check the main shelters such as big
rocks, big trees, barricades, ditches and rigs, and crawlers paths.
This
will give you an idea of where to look for hostile aliens from
outertown.
A good shelter is not a underground bunker complete with cushions and
stereo. It must protect you from your opponent's paint while allowing you to
look around.
Because if your main concern is only to stay clean, you
might as well stay in the club house listening to heavy bubble gum music
on your radio.
Look for a series of shelters that will allow you to move forward.
You are going to move forward, aren't you?
Go and talk to
the other players. Ask them if they've already played, if they know each
other, if they know where they are going to on the whistle, where do
they come from, what are we here for and what is the meaning of all
this.
Ask them if they've split into sub-groups and about what they want
to do. Then try to fit in.
If they have no plan nor organization, try to spot who has come with
who, and assign each group to a portion of the field. [with an objective?]
"Would you like to go on the right side, all four of you? Great. Tom and
Jerry, do you want to go behing those big rocks and watch the center?
Perfect. You'll be protecting the four musketeers left side then,
remember to tell them about anything you see.
And you, do you mind if I
join in? Thanks, we'll go on the left side. You two more to the center,
and me and you by the tape. What's your name? Cindy? Nice, same as my
goldfish. Ok Cindy, we stick together..."
That's it. It didn't look like you were, but you gave orders and set up
a structure that is not perfect, but way better than the messy bunch
you'd have been without.
Everyone knows where to go, what to do, and
thus feels more confident. Easy, isn't it?
Now you've organized the team, Cindy's looking at you starting to find
you attractive, show yourself trustworthy. You're a cold blooded gremlin
remover.
When moving, novices make two common mistakes. First one is
going behind a shelter and staying there for the rest of the game,
sometimes the end of the day when they're deaf.
Second one is walking at
a steady pace, never stopping but to frantically shooting distant
opponents, but besides from creating new breeds of colorful birds, the
results of such shooting are otherwise very limited.
To move properly, you must go from shelter to shelter. Go to the one you
spotted before the beginning of the game. Look around, try to see where
the closest opponents are.
If you don't see any, look for another
shelter further along, rush behind it, and start looking around again.
See, you don't move and look at the same time. You look, move, look
again, move again.
If you do both at the same time, chances are you'll
imprint the shape of your ear on an innocent tree that wasn't fast
enough to get out of your way.
Within a group, there must always be at least someone looking around.
Don't switch off altogether your anti-hostile radars. The first shot
would take you by surprise, changing your pack of hounds into a bunch of
fleeing chickens.
Those of you who are in front look around, then
signal to the others they can move on. By the way, they musn't come
behind the same shelters. You'd make a bigger target while still
covering the same angles.
This technique is very easy to learn, and very efficient.
Try to find the balance between your hunting instinct and the
uncomfortable feeling of smelling like fresh ham. Feel at ease, Cindy's
by your side, and so are Tom and Jerry.
You know the principle:
"concentrate your forces". Move or have your wingmen move if you are too
close or too far from them. If you are going to crawl and won't be able
to answer their calls, let them know.
And when you meet a prey, share
it! Give information about spotted opponents, eliminated teamates or
gremlins.
You spot an alien? Let your teamates know about it, and organize the
removal.
It doesn't mean you have to sit down and deliberate for hours
about the best way to do it neatly. It comes very easily. You spot a
lone rabbit, some of you pin him down, the others move sideways to get
better shooting angles, or if he's really isolated, rush to his shelter
and nail him at close range.
Look at your teamates through the whole
process, so you'll be able to signal them to provide cover fire or to
shift or to charge.
If you stumble upon more than one sprite at a time, don't focus each of
you on each of them.
It will be like that at the beginning, but what you
should do fast is determine which one is the easiest target (or the most
threatening -- you want to eliminate them first), protect yourselves from his
teammates shots, maybe leave one of you to entertain them, and
concentrate on the former.
You have better chances of winning three a 3 on
1 than 1 on 1.
Concentrate your forces!
You'll be surprised to see how many of their first shots will miss their
targets. You make them nervous (yes, they think that poor you is
intimidating) and they'll fire back in panic. Don't make the same
mistake. Aim each of your shots, for at least half a second. Remember to
be precise if you use a pump gun.
Pull, push, aim, shoot, pull, push,
aim, shoot... Don't try to go faster than you pronounce the words.
Believe me, the first opponent who'll see you will miss you because
he'll try to empty his loader in the same burst. But if you take the
time to aim, he'll have to lower his head, or to clean it.
If you shoot from behind a shelter, very well. But if you took the risk
to stand (and sometimes you should), please realize how provoking you
look to the primitive barbarians ahead.
Pretty soon, let's say in less
than 3 seconds, they are going to react and shoot at you. Don't try to
impersonate the invincible hero. Get down again and keep on asking for
information.
If you get pinned down and the opponents are redecorating the right side
of your barricade, aim at them through your shelter, then keeping your
barrel in their direction, stick it out and start firing, then throw a
quick look.
Nine times out of ten, your opponent will have put his head
and marker back behind his shelter. I know it's surprising, but that's
the way it goes.
If you're the one whose head is out, you have the advantage.
So if an
opponent uses the technique I just described, stay out. Lucky shots
happen, but they are rare. Aim at your opponent's marker/hopper/head,
and calmly dispose of him.
Be organized, be calm, feel confident. You're dangerous. You're a serial
painter, a natural born paintballer, a pump fiction hero.
Just remember to be humble enough to acknowledge and analyze your
mistakes.
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