Sunyjim's Paintball Club



Tactics and Strategies for winning

Tricks and lessons learned  
 


Newbie Paintball Tips
by Rooster

1.) This is the number one mistake that newbies and sometimes myself get into while playing paintball. The veterans and pro's call it "TUNNEL VISION" I can't express this enough when I say, When you play paintball LOOK AROUND. Tunnel vision is the main reason why flanking and counter-flanking (Which I'll talk about in a bit) works so well. Tunnel vision is when a player is concentrated on a VERY SMALL area of the field, probably because he is getting shot from that direction or is seeing someone in that area. Well, DON'T DO THIS!!!! While playing no matter what is going on.....look around....it doesn't take that long, believe it or not, and it will save you from wiping paint off your ass. So if your getting shot at, LOOK AROUND. If your guarding a position LOOK AROUND. This is the numero uno thing a paintball player should master.

2.) Pin and Flanking is the main strategy used by paintball pros all around the world. It's the oldest and most effective way (IF done correctly) to conquer your opponent. As in before you split your team into 2 groups. I would recommend putting the people that shoot a lot of paint fast as Group A. Then I would put your marksmen as Group B. Group A goes ahead and runs into opposition, when this happens they pin the opposition down with heavy fire. After they have them pinned, group B will pull a "Flank", that is they move to either the left of right (Or even behind) the enemy that is pinned down. After that Group B moves as close and fast as they can and lay waste. BUT Group B needs to also be aware of a "Counter-Flank" which is that the pinned enemy sends some fellow members back to flank the Flankers (Group B). This is an effective way to beat back good paintball players. So during group B's flanking move they need to stay aware and not get that "Tunnel Vision".

3.) Find a good buddy. A pair of paintballers make an excellent team. Find someone you can depend on. A veteran paintballer will ALWAYS (Well SOME of them do) buddy up with a newbie if asked. Jus be reminded that he will expect a lot out of you (That means watching his ass) and will not hesitate to give some criticism. So if its your first time out, just ask and watch closely. 

4.) Don't be intimidated. I've seen a lot of newbies and even myself intimidated during a game. (Trying running into a gauntlet of Cocker fire) Just because there marker is bigger and badder than yours doesn't mean they are better physically and mentally. There's always a rule of thumb to go by which I say CONSTANTLY. Paintball is 25% marker and 75% player. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've beaten a bragging cocker or shocker in a game. It doesn't matter what marker you have, it's the tactics and player. Some of the BEST players I've seen don't own expensive markers, most of them own pumps. Most of the time if a player is bragging, he's jus a snobby little rich kid with to much hormones. Jus watch out for the guy in the corner cleaning his spyder or pump, not saying anything

5.) Don't hug trees!!! Another mistake commonly found on a paintball field is players getting right up against a barricade or tree. I guess this is a natural instinct passed on through the world war years or something, I dunno. BUT, I recommend getting about 4 to 5 feet behind the barricade and kneel on one knee. The farther away you are from the barricade the less you have to move left and right to see what the enemy is up to. The goal is to be able to lean left/right maybe 5 to 6 inches quickly and still see the enemy. This also means it only takes a quick 5 to 6 inches to get cover again.

6.) Type of movement. If your playing woodball I recommend 2 things. Either move very fast and make a lot of noise. Or move very slow and make hardly any noise. There is no such thing as moving fast and making no noise. (Of course I've seen some people move very slow and still make a lot of noise) During paintball games the sense of sound and the sense of sight is the only 2 senses used. The sense of sound comes first. First a player picks up the sound (Leaves, twigs, shots, talking, etc.) he then turns his head and uses sight. The key to this is to prevent the sound from ever taking place, thus lowering the chance of him seeing you. I recommend during play (Esp. Woodball) that you crouch as LOW as you can. (Observe S.W.A.T. Teams) Move slowly and concentrate on everything around you. If you see or hear anything you can do three things. I recommend stopping and pinpointing the sound/sight then reacting accordingly. OR you can hit the dirt or find cover. Then there's the age old way to do it.....retreat 10 to 12 yards and do whatever

7.) Ok, newbies, I noticed that you ALWAYS, ALWAYS, (75% of newbies) will just SIT THERE, either behind the flag, or just in a bunker. And you shoot shoot shoot people from a mile away, most of the time without hitting a thing. Sure paintball is a really fun sport, it gets really fun when your hitting people. The thing is that ya need to get out of those bunkers and do a little offensive. Sure, the action is a little heavier and the odds of getting hit are a lot higher, but ITS A LOT more fun! A defense is a good thing. Ya need no more than 3 to 4 people guarding a flag (With a 12 man team, against a 12 man team) Yes, 3-4 people. A defense isn't there to stop and eliminate the other offensive team. Usually the defense is used to stop sneakers and stop the offense and hold them there. You will get a couple of eliminations but you will most likely just bunker a couple guys. The goal is to just hold them until either of two things happen. A. The time runs out the game or B. Your fellow offensive team-mates come and help you out. If the game time is unlimited and you have no more team-mates. All I can say is pray.

8.) Ok, well this my not be a tactic, but I want to put this down just for the record esp. since newbies read this page a lot. WELL, all I want to say is that it is not cool to jump out of a bush and shoot someone point blank. It's not cool. If that's the only way a newbie can knock off a veteran, well it's a shame. There are rules to paintball and one of them is called a surrender. If you are closer than 15-20 to a person, all you have to do is say you are out. If he disagrees then all ya got to do is lit him up. I recently got shot point blank by some newbie, and ya know what I did, no I didn't shoot him back, I put my barrel plug in and called myself out. After the came I confronted him and showed him the bloody circle he left me and asked him if he wanted one like it. He decided to really piss me off and say, "It's the game man." I agreed and let me say the next game I really messed him and his son up pretty bad and I really pissed them off when I said, "It's just a game huh." as he was walking off the field. You don't realize how bad something like that hurts until it happens to you. All I'm saying is that I'd much rather get a surrender any day than a simple kill. Give's you a lot more bragging rights and gives the you and the field owner some respect that you play clean. After all, the more people you hurt, the less they play. Just think about people.

Getting low on paint? Worried that you are going to get over run? SHOOT BLANKS! This trick works really well. It's very simple to do to. All you have to do is turn your marker upside down and shoot. After one shot you will start shooting air. What this does is make the other team think you are out of ammo. But to their surprise all it takes is you to turn your marker right side up once again.

 

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STEALTH
The Secrets of a Paintball Sniper
by George "Mac The Knife" MacLean
A) When playing in numbers it is good to divide your forces with a larger number to attack from the front and a smaller force to flank and attack from the rear. The frontal assault should distract the other team thus allowing the smaller force to get around and into position for a surprise attack from the rear.
B) Move slowly with all your weight on your back leg, this will help you to move through the woods more quietly. Place your heal on the ground first, then shift your weight forward.
C) Hit and run tactics are very effective when you are out numbered. Fire one or two shots then move. When out numbered do not attack, remain in a defensive position. Attackers have to expose themselves to move against you, you can take them out one by one.
D) Do not expose yourself, when you are in a fire fight and you want to retreat do not run right or left, it is too easy to track you. Instead, run backwards keeping yourself low with a slight zig zag movement then veer to your left or right.
E) Rely on your partner 4 eyes are better then 2 and communicate clearly with each other. Stick together at about 10 to 15 feet apart any further or closer and you become ineffective. The other team may see your partner but have no clue that you are there thus allowing you to cache them in a cross fire.
F) Camo gear is always an asset. I choose the German style because of it's smaller patterns and it's colours are more faded to blend with the woods. I feel that a green pattern would be silhouetted in the woods where a green and brown would help to blend better. I have gotten great reviews from other players on my gear and have had great success at hiding and ambushing my fellow members.

Radio's help co-ordinate your team tactics, small FRS radios are small inexpensive and easy to use. Using a headset or throat mic complete the setup.
 

   

"Rush Them!" and other great paintball Tactics
by SunyJim

 Well I'm still fairly new to the sport, but here's what I've learned about paintball tactics. The game is about angles. Hunt your opponent in pairs. One keep him busy from the front and the other tries to move into a 90 degree angle to him to give him nowhere to hide. If he tries to run. Shoot him in the back. It's not really about camouflage as much as I though it was. Don't get me wrong. I wear camouflage and I'm glad I have it if I need to move slowly in the bush... but once you've been spotted. It just doesn't help. If your on the other side of the above technique and you can see them moving into position around you trying to get the angle. Retreat if you can't knock one of them out. It will reduce the angle and put them in the same direction from you... this will also give you time to regroup, reload if needed and attack them. Communication is also very important. Hand signals with your partner will allow you to communicate silently when sneaking up on someone. Of course once you've been spotted you may as well start yelling out info to your partner about where they are and what's going on. What are they going to do? See you again? Well then the next most important tactic is practice. When I first started I thought it would be equipment. But not really... an Angel can fire a lot of paint very fast, and a new $100 barrel looks really cool, but it's about accuracy... and your skill with the marker and the paint itself is the limiting factor there, not the barrel or the gun. Like Durty Dan says what can you expect from a paintball made from Gelatine and food colouring that only costs 5 cents? You need to practice with your marker. Once you know how far away you can hit something from you know you need to move closer or practice more to get the accuracy better at a further distance. What I have Learned from Paintball. I found that the game is safe when you take precautions and wear the correct safety gear. People get hooked on the sport because of the amazing adrenaline rush. The best lesson is that since that the only consequence to being hit is a mild sting, players are far more likely to take a risk and go for it, or run in and attack. Once the player learns that look out...
 
 


 

 

THE WAY OF THE SPECIAL OPS TEAM
The special ops tactics involve good communication, great tactics, and specialization of Bushball or woodsball paintball players into a specialized role.  So instead of every man for himself, the team becomes a unit attacking as one.

Here's how coordinated teams spank walk-on players:

  • Tight tactics such as suppressive fire, flanking and leap-frogging.

  • Constant communication and leadership that laser-focuses the team's striking power.

  • Slick game plans that provide each player a clear objective.

  • Specialized paintball positions with specialized objectives.


SQUAD COMMANDER http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/sco.asp
·  Get your team in the habit of relaying the "add" count. Each time a team member takes someone out, he radios you and says "add one." The Commander then keeps a running tally of every elimination on the other team. Knowing how many enemy there are running around becomes crucial as the game goes on.
·  Make sure you know every time you loose a team member. When someone gets taken out, they need to give you a "down" notice, such as "Parker is down." Or the squad leader can radio back, "Squad A is down one."
·  When you arrive at a new field, give yourself time to walk the fields. Sketch a small map, complete with defensive fortifications, woods, bunkers and open areas. Your playbook will shift significantly depending on the terrain of a new field.
·  Gentle, but detailed, after-action reviews are life-and-death important to a team. When all the smack-talk is done, later at the burger joint, get the team talking about each play. What went right and what went wrong.
·  You MUST master radio communications (it's harder than it sounds.) Without perfect radio communication, you will never rock as a woodsball or a scenarioball team.
·  NEVER forget to run radio checks before beginning a game. It's a real bitch to start a game only to find out that you don't have contact with one of your squads.
·  Always appoint a second and third-in-command in case you are eliminated. 

DAGGER  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/dl.asp
·
  You're probably the most aggressive player on the team and that can be a huge problem. You do your team absolutely no good in the dead man hut, so constantly remind yourself to play conservatively. Stay alive!
·  If you're getting taken out most games, then you're putting your butt out there too far. Tighten up and be ready to dart back in a quick retreat whenever you come under fire.
·  Every time you get taken out, take a few minutes to figure out why. Pick apart the situation and determine what you did to get your butt blown off. Then, figure out what you can do in the same situation next time to stay alive. If you're having trouble figuring it out, go ask your Squad or Team Commander what he thinks you should've done differently.
·  Remember, great Daggers aren't judged by how many people they take out. Great Daggers are judged by how many games they survive. Play quick, but stay alive. That is the Dagger motto.

SABRE  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/sm.asp
·
  Don't count on any ONE player to suppress any more than ONE angle. In other words, your suppression dude can cover one small bunker or one window of a pillbox. If you're taking fire from more angles than you have suppression men, then don't make the move. This also applies to enemy shooters who are across the field. When you move in, you have no way of knowing beforehand the angles you're giving enemy players. Make reasonably sure that you've limited the number of enemy players who have a shot at you before you charge in.
·
  One handy form of suppressive fire is the leapfrog. A two or three man team can trade off hammering a fixed position with suppressive fire while one guy runs past. As soon as the runner is five yards ahead of the suppressive fire guy, he drops and starts his own suppression fire thing while his buddy picks up and runs five yards past him. This routine keeps going – fire, run past, fire, run past – until cover is reached or the bunker is overrun. Leapfrogging is a great way to attack an enclosed pillbox.
·
  When your pointman encounters enemy, your squad will respond by building a base of fire and sending flankers. As soon as your pointman hits resistance, you should hustle up and join him. Begin trading fire (it's not important that you make a kill at this point) with any known enemy.

BROADSWORD  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/bh.asp
·
  The use of suppressive fire is one of the greatest advantages that an organized team has over walk-on players. The militaries of the world rely on suppressive fire to advance their squads and to put enemy heads down. Paintball can work exactly the same way.
·  But, when he gets into position, he provides a hefty base of fire that carves a path for his buddies who will be assaulting. Heavy Riflemen don't always score the most kills, but they are crucial to attacks on entrenched defences – the same defences that can cause a squad to bog down in a frustrating stalemate.
Longballing: ·  Bracket your arcing shots to dial them in on the enemy. Begin shooting low and raise your aim steadily until your barrage passes over top of the clustered players. You probably won't be able to see the point of impact, but bracketing is your best way to walk in your barrage. One way or another, it will probably force them to abandon their position (giving your team the open space.)

 

AMBUSH SNIPER    http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/asn.asp
Oh yes, there is most certainly snipers in paintball. Those that don't think so are destined to be shot by a mysterious shooter, who's stealth and cunning allows them to sneak within easy shooting distance and never be spotted. Next time you find yourself out and never find out who shot you. You too, will believe.
Really the idea of paintball sniper started way back in the beginning of paintball in the mid 1980s, and nobody would argue the position of sniper didn't exist when faced with an opponent with a long barrel and a SILENCER on the end. Yep back then everybody started building silencers for their marker, and they worked really well. Shooting undetected the sniper stalked the woods with their silenced markers. The position of sniper is not about shooting further than other players, that doesn't work. What does work is the undetected movement of a sniper, the one shot elimination, and the ghillie suits. Unfortunately for all of us the A.T.F. put an end to the silencers in the early 1990s saying that they could be used to silence a real firearm. But the position of sniper is not gone!
·  Your gear kit needs to be tuned for just one thing: stealth and concealment. If you can't make one-shot kills consistently at thirty yards, you've got no business being a sniper. So, you can get away with carrying very little paint and few other pieces of gear. A ghillie suit is a great idea and you'll probably need at least a partial ghillie before you can call yourself an expert sniper.
·  You'll need an ultra-light sniping gun. Heavy guns make it too hard to low-crawl so you will want to stay away from the heavier guns. Remember, you won't be taking a lot of super long shots. Rather, you're an ace at one-shot kills within the normal range of paintballs (thirty to fifty yards.)
·  Again, paintball snipers don't take very long shots because paintball guns don't shoot very far (regardless of your barrel, gun, etc..) Paintball sniping is the art of ambush, concealment and stealthy movement. You take few shots and you do it from a hidden position.
·  Use a sight or scope. Nothing will give you more accuracy on first-shot kills than a decent sight or scope. No barrel comes close to giving that kind of advantage. As a Sniper, "instinct shooting" or "walking the shot in" are not an option. Buy a sight and practice with it often.
·  Buy premium paint. Paint quality makes a big difference to a sharpshooter. Save money by shooting less and plough those savings into the best paint you can find.
·  Become a master of estimating range. All paintballs arc drastically over distance and that makes range estimation one of the keys to one-shot accuracy. Buy a range finder and practice guessing ranges between sixty and twenty yards. You can even find small range finders that can mount to a paintball gun (they're made for bow hunting and they will add a little weight to your gun.) Learn your gun's drop at 280 fps (or at your field's maximum fps) and hold over to get your shot to drop right into target. Click here for a more complete discussion of range estimation and hold.
·  Keep your barrel impeccably clean. Carry a squeegee and a swab and if you break a ball, clean the barrel until it's spotlessly clean. Even a small amount of moisture in your barrel will blow your accuracy all to hell.
·  Use compressed air (nitro) instead of CO2. This sucks because CO2 can be used in lighter packages than air. However, air is way, way more consistent than CO2 and it's worth it to shoot air, even if you have to carry your air tank remote on your hip (recommended.)
·  Dial your gun in to EXACTLY your field maximum fps. The faster you shoot, the flatter your shots will be. Flatter shots equal more accurate, longer shots. Set your range estimation, your sights and your drop estimates to this maximum fps.
·  Build up a light paintball gun. A light gun will be easier to aim and easier to tote around the field on your belly. Think hard before you add heavy accessories to your paintgun.
·  Buy a good barrel. Okay, fine. We know you want to do it, so buy a fourteen to eighteen-inch barrel. Tests do show that barrels over fourteen-inches long out-perform shorter barrels.

SPECIAL OPS TACTICS MANUAL
INDIVIDUAL
Newbie Tips
Never look over an obstacle when you can look around it.
Never stick you head out the same place twice in a row
Take Quick Peeks, Not long Gazes
Tuck your body in,
If they are still shooting, they probably have an angle on you. Tuck or Duck, If they’re still shooting, back off a little.
Try Crawling, it’s not normally expected. You’ll kick some butt

INDIVIDUAL ANGLES
Don’t get sucked into a one on one paintball fight, It’s called 50/50, because no matter how good you think you are, you’ll get taken out 50% of the time. Instead back up and sneak around to a different angle and attack again. If it becomes another 50/50 fight, back up and keep working the angles, this is the basics of flanking.

SQUAD
AMBUSH
Don’t move up the field in a single file, it takes away most of the shooting angles of the rest of the squad. Instead spread out left and right in a wedge formation and move down the field like that. If the pointman encounters the enemy, the squads outside of the wedge flare out to get killer angles on the opponent.

SPOOKING THE AMBUSH
There’s not much you can do to defend yourself from a sniper willing to hide perfectly still and wait for their target, but most snipers get excited and try and engage the enemy before the target is really within the trap range. You can use this to your advantage by moving from one piece of safe cover, and using it to examine the next piece of cover to confirm it’s also safe. Working from cover to cover you ‘spook’ the ambush into shooting a marginal shot where you have an established safe escape route so your squad can then flank the spook snipers position.

TEAM
STRONG SIDE
Most walk-ons play the field by dividing into 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 and move up the field to engage the other team in a similar tactic 50/50 gunfight. Dumb!!
Instead leave three players on defence and the rest go on one side, and vastly outnumber the 1/3 of the opposite squad, and then while your heavy gunner defence holds off the attack, the squad moves in for the flag for the win.

LAZY D
When vastly outnumbered, or just to whittle down the enemy, place 25% of the team on permanent defence. The rest choose a side to be your strong side and set up a trap, snipers up field and the rest further in, as the opponent moves up the field the snipers call the trigger, waiting until the opposition is well within the kill area. Once eliminated. The 75% moves up the now cleared side and captures the flag, then swings around behind the other flank for the cleanup.






 


Playing Paintball with a Pump
 in a Semi and Electro World
by Jeremy "Wraith" Van Barneveld
So you've got yourself a pump-marker and you're not sure how you will fair against the semi's, not to mention the fully automatic's.  Well, have no fear...it's not all about hordes of paint flying from the tip of your barrel.  A little patience, stealth and accuracy go a long way.

My first and only paintball marker (so far) is a PMI Trracer Pump which I only paid $75 for.  To this day, I have never played with a semi, only because I have way too much fun playing pump.  There's something about having both hands on that gun, slithering through the bush and hunting down my prey that gives me a rush I don't think I would get from a semi.  It's especially gratifying at the end of the day when I've capped half the guys I'm playing with who are all using high end markers.

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Admittedly, when I first started playing, I got smoked over and over until one day things came together and my barrel was smokn'!  That's not to say that every outing is filled with the screams of my enemies but I can hold my own in a world of semi's.  All the same general rules apply to a pump marker as with any other marker when it comes to the strategy of the hunt.  It's all about cutting down the angles.  The difference being firepower.  Ideally with a pump you only want to take one shot and be sure that it hits it's target.  The Trracer is a very accurate marker and I imagine most pumps are.  Take your time and get good with your aim. Practice with your marker before you go out and play just to get to know how your particular marker reacts. Also, try different types of paint.  Some paint flies to the left, some to the right or up or down. Find a paint that works well with your marker.

Back to the making one shot count idea.  The one thing you really do not want is for your target, or his/her team-mates to discover your position.  By firing multiple shots, you make it very easy for them to home in on you.  Once this happens you need to get the hell outta dodge and reposition yourself because they will find you.  The other thing you don't want to do (especially with a pump) is to get into an open field shoot-out with a semi (or fully auto).  YOU WILL LOOSE 99% of the time!  A pump just can't compete with that kind of fire power.  Sure, you can learn to let the paint fly, but the faster you pump, the more your barrel will move and your accuracy is gone.  About the only time I would recommend cranking up the number of shots is when you are laying down some cover fire or just trying to flush out your enemy.  In my case, the pump is somewhat loud, which can be a little disconcerting to the mild mannered player.  You just may make him/her a little jittery and cause him to move or give his position away.

Recently, I acquired a scope but haven't yet had the opportunity to try it.  I have heard, and I expect, that it will increase my accuracy greatly, therefore reducing the number of shots I take, therefore reducing my chances of being located!  All in all, consider yourself a sniper.  Be prepared to get down on your belly and get dirty because what you really need to do is get into a good position and wait.  Learn to be a one shot wonder.  Be focussed and be aware.  Aware of your enemies and aware of what you are doing.  Silence is important.  In my experience with bush ball, I usually hear my victims before I see them. And remember, just because you see your next victim, doesn't mean you have to take the shot.  Wait for the right shot because more than one shot and you will have more than one guy swooping down on you with a hail of paint.  You don't have the luxury of changing the weather to raining paintballs.

Patience, stealth, and accuracy...these are a pump markers greatest assets
 

 



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Paintball, we came we saw... and SPLAT!