Sniping + Paintball. A living reality! [Archive]

EvilAngel2001

06-14-2001, 03:38 PM

Alright. To all of you who think there is no such thing as a paintball sniper: read on! I am a paintball sniper. Yes, that's true. I am. You cannot say that their is no such thing, because there has to be. Yea, I'll admit the term sniper is not really all that true. Because the distance factor isn't all that great. But the mental conditioning and overall mentality are similar. To snipe, is an overused verb which is more often than not, used by newbs. But for some of us, the term snipe almost starts the blood flowing hotter than before. To be a true paintball sniper, is to be an upclose hunter. And for me, there is nothing like the hunt. It's a challenge, it's enjoyable. It's more than just intense. It's incredible. But sniping is not for everyone. A true sniper, paintball or not, needs discipline, natural marksmanship, stealth and overall instinct. Many, don't have these qualities and find being a sniper boring. Which is understandable. But don't bash those of us who enjoy it. And just because I don't get shot as much as you, yet still get a fair share amount of kills doesn't mean that I am afraid of getting shot. When you bash snipers, bash the newbs who claim to "snipe". Not those of us who are good at it, and enjoy it. Yea, the term sniper doesn't entirely pertain to paintball, but the concept is just similar enough to fit well. To those of you out there who are the skilled snipers, "Good luck, and good hunting". To the rest of you who say there is no place for us, "I have found that place, and am enjoying myself there. And I will for a long, long time."

[Edited by EvilAngel2001 on 06-15-2001 at 03:40 PM]

Blaster CA

06-14-2001, 08:41 PM

Sniping' can be fun & effective. You just gotta have some skill. An unskilled 'sniper' won't be very effective & won't have much fun. Same thing for an unskilled frontline player.

First people hafta realize what a paintball 'sniper' is (an aggressive player usin stealth & accuracy over firepower) Then what a 'sniper' is not (newbie or unskilled players hiding &/or lobbing paint). 'Sniper' doesn't mean defender. Stealthy doesn't mean slow or sit & hide.

It's a misconception that newbies & unskilled players that lob paint & hide are 'snipers'. Playin smart is a big part of being a good player ('sniper' or not).

Another misconception is that 'sniping' is passive. I'm very aggressive in my play. I'm always movin towards the other team. Always probing for a soft spot or blind spot in the line or defense. When there's a push for the flag, I join in. When my team is bein pushed back, I can usually backdoor the other team. Sometimes I can even steal the opponents the flag. I'm usually in the other teams half of the field. I'm always ahead of my team on the enemies flank. Workin my way into position to tag people from outta nowhere. If I'm not gettin my butt into position, I'm not helping my team!

DO NOT long ball. Other players shouldn't lob paint either. 'Snipers' don't need to long-ball if they can get into effective range without bein seen. And they shouldn't long-ball if they're not in effective range because it'll give away their position. Good players ('sniper' or not) get into effective range before firin.

The differences between a 'sniper' & frontline player is the way they get into a firing position & what they do once they get there. In general, frontline players go from point A to point B as fast as possible. No stealth involved. 'Snipers' use stealth to get into a good position. From there, a 'sniper' fires a minimum amount of paint in order to stay undetected as long as possible. They also, if they're smart, wait for an opportune moment to fire (unlike a frontline player who usually fires as much as possible). Good 'snipers' get as close as possible before shootin.

'Snipers' hafta be aggressive to get into effective range. Too cautious & they wind up lobbing paint. Too slow & they wind 'late to the party'. Lobbing paint & bein 'late' are not effective styles of play for any player. Finding the right balance between movin fast & moving quietly takes practice. You can get the job done once you get the balance right. Every field I've played at has had a time limit of 20 mins or less.

I'm still very effective despite the time limit. Timed games affect 'snipers' the same way it does the everyone. Short games mean you have to take more chances. Longer games mean you have more time to work your plan. A 10 minute game is a bigger challenge for every player than a 20 minute game is.

It's really challenging to go off by yourself TOWARDS the other team. Getting into a good position without being seen takes a lot of skill. Bein able to eliminate people & they never know where or who it came from is a lot of fun.

But, just because I'm a 'sniper', that doesn't mean I'm not workin with my teammates to get the flag. My friends know what I'm doin & they'll let the rest of our team know what's what. I'm not out just to get my 'kills'. I'm tryin to eliminate opponents in order to help my team get the flag. I'm also tryin to confuse, frustrate & distract the other team (for the same reason).

Most people focus on what's in front of them. The most immediate threat. A good 'sniper' only needs the normal amount of distraction/lack of focus that a bunch of opponents in front of the other team, shootin 'em up, provides. It's very common to develop tunnel vision in the midst of a big shootout. If my team is in front of them, shooting it out, that's all I should need. The rest is up to me.

Staying hidden is a lot easier than people think. Usin paint with a dark colored shell helps to keep people from tracking your shot back to you. (There used to be paint that was half olive drab, half medium brown. I had a hard time tracking those balls in flight & I knew where they were goin!) Also, factor in the limits goggles put on peripheral vision to tracking a paintball in flight, from a direction you don't expect & when you don't expect someone to be in that part of the field & you have several dozen balls a second comin at you from a different direction (the rest of the 'snipers' team) & it's pretty tough to see it comin. The noise of dozens of paintguns firing & dozens of paintballs 'splatting' every second make it almost imposssible to hear where a single shot came from.

When you do start tagging people, many times the other team assumes that their teammates were taken out by the people in front of them. It's a lot harder to determine, in the middle of a big firefight, where a shot came from than people believe. If the other team does realize they were 'sniped', they still have to spot you. That gives you another opportunity to tag a few more. Even if they spot you, you should have taken out at least one of them. If they don't spot you, you have the chance to take out more & more (dependin on how long you go unnoticed).

Sooner or later, they will detect you. (That's almost for sure.) Then you either can slug it out, fade away or lead any pursuers on a wild goose chase (as the situation dictates). When I stay put, it's rock-n-roll time. I'm not afraid to mix it up. I just prefer 'sniping' because it's a hard fight when I'm all by myself.

I know I don't use classic military sniper tactics. I don't use stylized sniper tactics you'd see in movies either. I use paintball 'sniper' tactics! People that know (or have seen) my style of play, almost to a man, call me a 'sniper'. Stealth, accuracy, surprise, a minimum amount of paint, flanking/backdooring the other team & doin it all alone...that's a paintball 'sniper'.