Tips and Tricks

Moving

Basics:

Move quick, move short distances, from cover to cover, checking yourself as you go. If you decide to move, be prepared to follow through and go all the way, cause once you commit, your stuck. So if you are gonna make a move, don’t stop, even when you have good cover. If you see an advantage open up as your are moving DON’T STOP. Keep moving, head low. BEFORE YOU MOVE: have a clear idea of where you are headed. If you just head in a vague direction ’cause you think you can flank someone, you’ll get trapped, seen, stuck, shot or all of the above. Have a goal and move as fast as you can towards it.

A common mistake of newbie is when you decide to make move, you move cautiously. Now, while this does appeal to your common sense, it will inevitably end up in your victim having enough to time to react. In the end it won’t matter if you went slowly or too fast, if it was bad move, you’ll get shot either way. But, if you do move, and very quickly, you will have an enormous advantage, regardless if it it’s a bad move or not. Move fast from cover to cover.

The Flanking Maneuver:

This is without a doubt the most useful, time honored trick in the book. If fact, it is part of the very basis of combat tactics and strategy. Whoever gains the flank on their opponent has a winning advantage.

Flanking is when you move from the regular head-on firing lanes, and sweep to the left or right side of your opponent(s) position. In theory, a person’s or a defensive line’s side is twice a vulnerable as their front side and it is easier to get to than their rear.

As you see in the picture, The red team engaged the blue ‘Fixing Force’ team in a head-on lane. The blue team’s ‘Envelopment force’ swung over to the left (flanked) the red team and gain the advantage of a horizontal firing lane. In theory, you either eliminate their force, OR they are forced to retreat, even in a direction of your choosing.

[Diagram a courtesy of www.thinktankpaintball.com]

–Mr. Crunch & John Da Host

Sneaky Stuff

The Right Gear

Alright, if you have decided that you are one of those “sniper” tipes, sneaky, silent, and above all PATIENT…you can’t just run around in normal gear or you are at a disadvantage. You sacrifice speed and agility for concealment and a few perfect shots. The first thing you need is…

THE GHILLE SUIT <Trumpets>

The ghille suit isn’t just for hunters. US Marine Corps and the Army use these for tactical potency. And really, a good ghille suit isn’t that hard to make. The object is to use a material that isn’t flashy, is very dull, and has no definate shape. The human eye is basically trained to find silhouettes and outlines and other recognizable aspect of the human shape.

When your opponent scans over his surroundings he looks for three things. One, colors and irregular flashes of it. Two, he looks for movement. And three, he is subconsciously registering anything that looks familiar to the shape or silhouette you would presumably make against this back drop. He is looking for the human shape.

These things are very simply countered. One, uses material that matches typical surrounding (may vary according to the place you typically play) green, browns, tans, dull colors. Two, move slowly, or not at all, and calculate you movements. Make fast moves when your opponent ins’t looking, move only little bits, etc. And three, your ghille suit must be ragged, shaggy, and cut to disguise the human shape as much as possible. The more you look like a bush or a tree, the better.

Considering doing the same for your gun. It probably won’t do a lot if you have a great suit…but your gun just happens to be sticking out of the “bush” you are trying to pretended to be…

In ghille suits, there are basic do’s and dont’s. DON’T turn the thing into a winter coat, give yourself some air. Use light material and cut air holes if you have to. DON’T wear the thing, then play like a normal baller, running around and shooting a lot. If someone sees a running bush, they are going to shoot it. You are just wear a blaring siren now.  DO learn to hold still and get comfortable as easily as possible. DO make your ghille suit thoroughly and spend some time if you aren’t going to spend money. If you do a half-assed job, you have basically wasted your time, you won’t blend in, and now you are a walking bull’s-eyes.