Paintball

Paintball Field Positions: Back Player

2006-07-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Back Player has a very important role in assuring a win for his/her team. Its not as much of a physical position as the front player but could possible be the most important position on the field.

The Back Player has many roles including giving his front players cover, stopping opposing players from moving, always knowing where all oponents are at all times and communicating that information with the rest of his team. Off the break you wont go very far, generally back players stay in the back bunkers, usually back left, right, or middle bunkers. They barely ever move. At the start of the game as a back you have the least distance to go to your bunker so firing off the break is not really a bad idea, just make sure you dont hit one of your front players darting upfield while your on the run. While running to your bunker take note in your mind where your opposing players are going, once there scan the field, know the field, know where everybody is. You will be at one bunker not moving usually the whole game, and that bunker is in the back, usually this means you dont have to play as tight as a front player you do have a bit more room to pop your head over the top or sides. You need to be aware of what is going on and communicate that information. Know where the opposing players are and tell your team. When a player on the opposing team moves tell your team, when they are eleminated tell your team, when one of your team members is eleminated tell your team, know whats going on and communicate because YOU have the best field position YOU must see everything. Another main role is you must do your best to stop opposing front players from moving. This means you will be shooting a lot, Back players should have a gun that can fire long distances, a trigger happy finger, and a boat load of paint because you will be using a lot. Back players fire at bunkers not even intending to hit a player sometimes just to keep them behind their bunker so they dont come out and move. A back player must be able to aid their front and mid players by giving them cover when moving and constantly warning them which opposing players have what angle on them and where they are. A good back player can control the way the other team moves and plays allowing their team to function more effectivly leading to wins.

Back Players should:

Have a gun that can fire long distances
Money for a lot of paint
Not be afraid to yell out positions of opposing players
Must be observe and be aware of all situations going on

Back player routs and bunkers.

2006-07-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Awesome Paintball Video!

A very cool paintball video. Mainly agressive players making pretty cool looking moves, hopping over bunkers, sliding, hoppers falling all over the place. Its a cool video to watch!

Paintball Field Positions: Front Player

2006-07-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

So there are generally three different positions an organized paintball team should set their players up in. Those are front players, back players, and mid players. If all three positions are covered efficiently then you are almost guaranteed a win. A front player is very crucial to the team and does quite a bit of work, they require the most physical ability and are found right in the middle of all the action on field. On a 5 man team there are usually 2-3 front players.

Front:
As a front player you will get the most action. Chances are you will be very far up field, close to or even on you opponents side at most points in the game. As a front player you will be very active, moving a lot, speed is necessary especially off the break. As soon as the game starts front players MUST dart to a bunker far up field in or close to the center 50 (50 refers to mid field). Front players do get hit off the break more so than back or mid players but that bunker they grab far up field is almost nessasary for the win, especially if it is the snake. Since front players must run so far so fast right at the start of the game they should NOT fire off the break and focus on getting to where they must go. Let the back players fire off the break to give you cover. Front is a very hard position to play because it requires the most physical ability to play and also a very large amount of planning and making hard decisions very quickly. As a front, most likely you will get a lot of people out, and the biggest factor in achieving that goal is angle. Your angle on the opponent is possibly the most important factor in winning the game. Front players must be able to move constantly to always get a better angle on a particular target. This is not easy, as a front player, the opposing teams back players WILL be firing at your bunkers to keep you from moving, when you walk the field before the game try to predict where their back players will go, (usually the back left, right, or middle bunker) and try to keep stand up bunkers in between you and their line of fire to keep yourself safe from their constant streams of paint. Eliminating a player is crucial because it opens up another section of the field so your team can maneuver. Every move you make, it is necessary to check your 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock angles. When you have a horizontal angle on the opponent the use of their bunker is useless and they are sitting ducks. Front players must make that edgy move to the bunker right near an opponents to get a better angle. If you are at a bunker literally right next to him, his whole body will be open and it will be an easy out, ONLY if you make the initial attack, don't let him come to you or you will be done for.
To be a front player you must:

Have good to excelent running speed to run 40+ feet off the break with a few people shooting at you.
A smaller frame helps because this position is very physical and you will have to fit and move into very tight spaces and twist your body in different positions to get the best possible shot
Know how to crouch running (running while in a crouched position) is key to moving from bunker to bunker.
Have quick thinking
Rely on your teamates tremendously to move and plan your attack on a perticular opponent.
Never be afraid to get shot. Front player get shot A LOT if your shot out chances are not by one shot but usually three to four.
Play extremly tight in order to stay alive in the game. True front players are very agressive and offensive but unlike back players you are not behind a nice cozy bunker in the back you are mid field and almost everybody is targeting you play tight enough to stay alive.
Know WHEN to be agressive and WHEN to make that amazing move downfield that gets 2-3 opponents out.

The Red lines are the possible front man routs off the break. The dots are the possible bunkers front players should go to off the break. This is an official NPPL field layout. It doesnt seem far but all of those bunkers are located 40-50 feet away from the break. Along with that you must run around other bunkers to get to where you need to go upfield. Its a long run with 2-4 enemy back and mid players shooting at you.

Diablo Wrath Review!

2006-07-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Diablo Wrath:

Diablo, one of the most respeced companies when it comes to paintballs. This is one of their three markers available. The Diablo Wrath offers you a very good marker for a great price. It can range from around $200-$260 depending on weather you buy the LTD and where you buy it. Compared to its main comptetitor the Ion, this is much faster. The wraths board is capable of 20bps at the most. So for what you pay you get a pretty fast gun. The eye is nice, Dual Break Beam Eyes are very good to have. It does a nice job of not breaking paint. The Diablo Wrath is absolutely AMAZING on air, possibly one of the best. It will opperate on anything, low pressure HPA, high pressure HPA, and Co2. One tank will last longer on this gun than most others. It also comes with a nice regulater that works very well and it has a guage. I suggest using HPA in a tournament game because ripping this thing at about 12-14 bps in a game may end up freezing up the regulater. I was supprised that this gun is pretty accurate out of the box. I do like the stock barrel, its pretty long and is better than the Ion stock barrel, thoug barrel upgrades are nice to have but if your low on cash, you can get by with the stock barrel, its pretty accurate. The feedneck is nice as well. It really holds your hopper down well and I like it better than most. I do have a problem with the bolt on this gun, it is not derlin therefore it is a little heavy and it does kick quite a bit, more so than the Ion. It too comes in different colors.

Pros:

-Very fast

-Accurate

-Works GREAT on air

-Good eye

-Great Feedneck

Cons:

-Aluminum bolt, not derlin

-Uncomfortable Kick

Specs:

-UP TO 20 SHOTS PER SECOND
-AIR RAM OPERATING SYSTEM
-LCD TRIGGER FRAME WITH SHOT COUNTER, TIMER & MORE
-ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED FORE GRIP REGULATOR
-STATE-OF-THE-ART LOW PRESSURE REGULATOR
-QUICK STRIP BOLT
-CUSTOM VERTICAL CLAMP FEED PORT
-NEW STYLE BALL DETENT
-ADJUSTABLE DOUBLE TRIGGER WITH ELECTRONIC SAFETY
-CUSTOM FADE ANODIZING AVAILABLE
-MICRO POLISHED CUSTOM PORTED BARREL
-DUAL BEAM BREAK EYES

Smart Parts Ion Review!

2006-07-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Smart Parts Ion:

The Ion gives you a lot for you money. Now I listed this in my initial post as a beginner marker. The reason for this is because of the price. With the price of a beginner marker, but the performance of a high-end marker, it is definitely a good buy for people who are serious about improving their game, but are low on cash. The Ion itself is black but many different body kits are available to change the color of your marker, 11 different colors are available. You may hear people complain about the Ion that it is week and made of plastic. It is actually polymer and isn't as week as people say it is. Out of the box it is fast and somewhat accurate and with some cheap upgrades can be turned into a tournament level marker. This marker almost never chops paint, the electric eye performs very well and does a supurb job of timing the bolt so it doesn't break the paintball. It also performs decently on air, your looking at about 1000-1400 shots on a 68ci 4500psi air tank. Ion is very light at only 2.2 pounds. It is very comfortable to hold and shoot with its light weight. The ramping board on this marker allows 17 bps with rebound which is pretty good for the price. The accuracy of this gun is quite impressive. Even with the stock barrel it performed very nicely. The feel of this gun would be perfect if it wasn't for the fact that it has a slight kick. Though very nice to hold and run with, when firing the kick of the gun can be annoying. Another problem I have with this gun is the fact that it is EVERYWHERE. Every field you go on you will find people playing with an Ion. Some people buy it as their first gun while others upgrade to it from their first gun. But performance wise it is a great gun for its price. The Ion is constantly compared to the Diablo Wrath ever since it went down in price. The Diablo Wrath can range from about $40-$60 more and is comparable to the Ion. The debate on which one is better for the money is a question that many Wrath fans and Ion fans argue about.

Pros:
-Awesome eye that times the bolt perfectly to never break paint.
-Very lightweight
-Ok on air
-Fairly fast
-Fairly accurate
-Very good marker for the price
-With upgrads can perform as well as $600 guns

Cons:
-The gun kicks
-Competes with the Diablo Wrath
-A lot of people have it

Specs:

-Break-beam Vision Anti-Chop System
-Low weight (2.2 pounds)
-Custom marker casing (black/black, black/blue, black/red, black/yellow)
-Electronic LED grip
-Rebound, full auto, 3 round burst, and semi-automatic firing options
-Magnetic trigger
-Bottom-line adapter

No paintball =(

2006-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hurt my leg recently, so I wont be going to paintball this week. I hope its only a muscle pull but oh well. Anyways more info coming including gun reviews and tips to improve your game.

Paintball Video!

2006-07-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Huge paintball tourney!

Tippmann Upgrades

2006-07-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tippmann Werks Barrels in 3 different sizes

Tippmann Pathfinder Barrel

Tippmann Response trigger

Expansion Chamber

Drop Forward

Double Trigger

How to upgrade your Tippmann

2006-07-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Ok lets face it, stock Tippmann's aren't that great. So if you find yourself buying a Tippmann 98 Custom then chances are you are going to upgrade it. A lot of people feel that the Tippmann 98 is the most upgradable gun out there. So if your a new player and you have a Tippmann you are probably wondering, how should I upgrade this thing?!?! Well after youve gone through all the upgrades below then you will find yourself with an AWESOME paintball gun, with the right upgrades Tippmann's can be amazing.

1. The very first thing you should do to your brand new stock Tippmann is buy a new barrel. The stock barrel is horrible and upgrading to maybe a 14" barrel would be your best choice, and it will most likely increase your accuracy. With a decent price range of about $20-$40, I would suggest a Werks or a Pathfinder barrel.

2. Response Trigger is another great upgrade for a Tippmann. These triggers are AMAZING. A response trigger will increace your rate of fire tremendously. It is a little button that is installed behind your trigger and when you pull off a shot, the trigger hits the "button" then firing off about 3-4 rounds depending on how long you hold the trigger and how much pressure you apply when pulling the trigger.

3. The double trigger is another upgrade. Basically you can have two fingers (your index and middle finger) on the trigger instead of one. Since the Tippmann isn't electric you cannot walk it but with your response trigger behind it you will still have a decent rate of fire. In this situation, a double or single trigger is MOSTLY a personal preference.

4. An expansion chamber is another suggested upgrade for your gun. Basically an expansion chamber will allow the liquid co2 in your tank to expand into a gas before entering your gun. This will increase the accuracy of your gun and the consistency of your shots, It is very nice to have espicially when shooting from afar.

5. A drop forward is not necessary but nice to have. It doen't really improve the performance of your gun. It is just a personal preference. All it does is drop the air tank (which is mounted on the back of your gun) forward so you can keep your gun closer to your shoulder when playing.

6. Electric hoppers aren't a must but with the fast firing response trigger I would suggest an electric hopper. They are like normal hoppers but have a little wheel that cycles your paintballs into your gun. With regular hoppers, there is nothing to feed your paintballs into your gun except for gravity therefore it may not be able to feed the paintballs as fast as you can fire but an electric hopper usually will.

7. Yes ive seen scopes on Tippmann's. They aren't really necessary but they are an upgrade. They are pretty pointless in speedball, but do sometimes help in woodsball. Again a personal preference.

So that covers the most important upgrades you should get for your tippmann. Before anything else, BUY A NEW BARREL. The stock is horrible and that should be the very first thing you buy. After that the order doesn't really matter, the respons trigger is nice to have so I suggest buying that second if you can.

Cleaning your paintball gun.

2006-06-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

As a paintball you should get into the habit of cleaning your gun after every time you play. After today i had to clean mine. Here I will explain how.

1. Take off your: hopper, air tank, and barrel. Make sure safety is on. Never work on a paintball gun with the air attached!!!!

2. Disassemble gun removing the bolt and striker. (how this is done varies on what kind of gun you have, refer to your instruction manual).

3. Lightly wet a paper towel and clean off the bolt and the striker along with any other parts that you had to remove from the gun.

4. Dry wet parts.

5. Run your squeegee through your barrel. (I prefer to just put my barrel under the sink and dry it off).

6. Clan your disassembled gun, run your squeegee through the gun. (you cannot do this on some guns).

7. Lube the o-rings on your bolt and striker with paintball lubricant. 8. Reassemble gun and your good to go!

1v1 paintball challenge.

2006-06-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just got home from an awesome day on the paintball field. One of the games was a 1 on 1 against a respected competitor. It was a blast! Our field is set up like most speedball fields. So it was 1v1, I ran to the top of the snake off the break. He ran to the right dorito on his side. At first I didn't have a view of him nor did he have a view of me. I moved up to the second part of the snake and saw him in the dorito, I let off about two shots before he peeked inside his bunker. I waited a few seconds and saw him snap shoot out the other side we exchanged shots but he was faster, forcing me to lay down and take cover in the snake. I make my way up to the far end of the snake and peak out, he is no longer at the dorito, then a few more shots came from behind me, clearly missing. He was at the center 50 on my side. I popped up sprayed at his bunker and darted to the stand up can (usually located in the center.) By then I had to refill my hopper with one of my pods. From the center I darted to the dorito that he was originally in but realized he wasn't at the center 50 anymore he moved up to a bunker right in front of it. Seeing his head I fired on my way to the dorito. When I got to the dorito I popped out and fired more running to another bunker to get a better angle on him. That is when he snap shot over the top of his bunker and hit me. It was a good game with a lot of running and changing bunkers. I would have had him many times but he played very conservative while I played aggressive, moving much more than him. A lot of times being aggressive is good but this time I made the wrong move. Before making that last move I SHOULD have fired a few shots at his bunker to keep him down then run like hell.

This diagram isn't exactly like our field but it is close enough. The triangle bunkers are doritos while that long bunker on the bottom side of the diagram is the snake. The red line represents my path, the red dots represent where I took cover. The purple line represents his path while the purple dots represents where he took cover. The black line and dot is where I was hit.

Paintball Basics

2006-06-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

So you want to play paintball. If you've never really played before and are starting to become interested in the sport than you are probably wondering a lot about it. Ive played quite a bit. I am into the game and have invested some good time and money into it, with leagues and tournaments etc.

A few commenly asked questions:

What is paintball?
Paintball is a sport where players use markers to shoot small .68 caliber paintballs at their opponents. There are many different game types you can play with paintball such as large scenarios, capture the flag, and just plain old elimination of the opposing team. A player is out when they are hit with a paintball.

Woodsball vs. Speedball?
Speedball and woodsball are the two variations in which you can play paintball. Speedball is usually played on an enclosed field, about the size of maybe 2 basketball courts, with about 20 or so bunkers on the field. These can be anything from inflatable bunkers to tires, or cans. Woodsball is a form of paintball where basically you just play in the woods where nature is the only thing between you and your opponent. Trees, bushes and logs all can be used for cover. Speedball is generally more fast paced with a lot of shooting everywhere, it is the most popular of the two and most high-end guns are designed around speedball. Woodsball is where you can have larger games some with towers, trucks and all other things to make a large war-like scenario.

For the parents:
A lot of parents are very sceptical about paintball mainly because a paintball marker is a gun and it does shoot a projectile. Well all I have to say is paintball is one of the safest sports out there. All professional fields have safety precautions that all players MUST follow. As long as your child plays at the field the refs and employee's will enforce the safety rules and everything will be fine. You have probably heard stories of people shooting cars with their paintball guns. That is not the way a paintball gun should be used. As long as your child uses it for the sport he/she will be fine.

Does it hurt?
I am not going to lie here getting shot with a paintball will hurt to an extent. The first time I played I was worried about getting hurt so I wore a hooded sweatshirt on top of my t-shirt and baggy jeans. When I was hit it wasn't that bad, I had felt the shot but it didn't really hurt until about 10-20 seconds later I felt a slight sting but nothing that bad. Now if you are playing with just a t-shirt sometimes getting hit can hurt. You will feel a sting and usually there will be a welt but the sting goes away very quickly, and for the welts they make good stories! Getting hit with paintball is not really that bad. Usually you are so into the game that when you get hit your are more upset that you are out of the game then actually realizing the slight sting of getting shot. The adrenaline usually washes away the pain, but if you focus on the fear of getting shot and let that affects the way you play then the shot will hurt more. My advice is to just play the game don't worry about getting shot and when it actually happens you will barely realize it.

How much will this sport cost?
That all depends on how far you are willing to get into it. Hardcore tournament players spend hundreds of dollars on paint because they play so much. They also have top of the line guns that can sometimes value over $1000. Casual players will not spend as much. Usually your first gun will range from $100-$200. Casual players tend to keep their first gun for a long time playing only once or twice a month or sometimes even less.

How to start:

The first thing you should do is ask yourself if paintball is something you really want to do. You should go to your local field and play a game or two with rental equipment. I strongly suggest playing with rental equipment before you go out and buy your own, just to get used to the game. Keep in mind paintball can be a very expensive sport if you really want to get into it, especially if you plan on being a tournament player. But forget about that for now and just get used to the game. You can find a paintball field/pro shop near you here http://www.pbreview.com/, just put in your zip code.

OK, you've played a few games and your probably getting excited to buy your own gun. The first thing you should actually get is your mask. No field will allow you to play without a mask. Sure you can rent, but rental masks aren't that great. Usually they fog. Think about getting a reliable mask, maybe a shaded one so on warm days the bright sun wont hinder your vision. It is very difficult to play with a fogged up mask or the sun in your eyes.

Now you want to buy a gun. This question boggles rookies to no end, "What kind of gun should I get?" First you must consider your price range. For your first gun expect to spend $100-$200. There are three guns that are in my opinion the best choices for a beginner. Everything else out there is not really worth it. You may find cheap guns at Wal-Mart or something for under $100 but USUALLY they are not worth it to buy.

Prices vary:

1. Tippmann 98 Custom
http://www.tippmann.com/product_guide/markerDetails.aspx?categoryid=3: This marker is a very good beginners gun mainly because of its durability. Out of the three I mention here this can take the most beating, you can throw this thing off a roof and it will still work. It is not electric and it only comes with a single trigger so don't expect fast firing. Though this gun can be upgraded very easily. You can keep a Tippmann for awhile and upgrade it into a very good gun. Not the best for speedball, great for woodsball though. Price varies usually $130-$150.

2. Spyder Imagine http://www.spyder.tv/section/products/emarkers/markers/imagine.html: This marker is another great beginner marker. It is electric and has a two finger trigger so you can expect faster fireing than the Tippmann. It is a spyder therefore it is EXTREMELY easy to take apart and clean. A good all around gun for speedball and woodsball. This is lighter than the Tippman but not as durable, and they are both usually the same price. Price varies usually $120-$140.

3. Smart Parts Ion
http://www.smartparts.com/Products/Ion.aspx: The Ion by far is the best gun you can get as a beginner. It is electric and you can expect super fast firing. Though the priciest of the three you definitely get what you pay for. It is a great gun for beginners or even intermediate players. Most people usually buy a Spyder or a Tippman as their first and upgrade to an Ion but if you have the extra $60-$70 definitely get the Ion. The only reason I have it as a beginner gun is because it retails at only $200 but compares up to $300 guns. You can also change its color with different body kits.

Now when buying your gun keep in mind your price range because don't forget you have to buy paint, air, a mask, and a hopper if it doesn't come with your gun. The Ion is great for its price. The spyder is like a cheaper version of the Ion, its somewhat fast, good for speedball. The Tippmann is built like a brick, slow fire out of box but very upgradable. I myself don't like Tippmann's to much. Just a personal opinion mainly because I prefer speedball and an electric two finger trigger is nice to have.

Note: The stock barrels on the Tippmann and the Spyder are incredibly inaccurate. I strongly suggest that if you have a Tippmann or a Spyder make the barrel the very first thing that you upgrade. (stock means that a particular part is the part that came with the gun out of the box. Example, the stock barrel is the barrel that comes with the gun out of the box.)

Common safty rules:

Keep a barrel plug on your gun at all times when not playing.

Keep uncocked and on safe mode when not playing.

Masks are ALWAYS on when walking on a playing field.

Do not point your gun at people off the field.

If you are going to use your paintball gun outside of an organized field on private property be sure to follow these rules. They are enforced at organized fields.

What NOT to do while playing paintball:

Don't wipe. Do not wipe the splatter off if you are hit. If you are hit then you are hit wiping the splatter so the ref doesnt see it is cheating and if you are caught you usually will be kicked out.

Do not play without a mask.

Do not fire your gun outside of the playing field.

Do not overshoot anybody. This is when you shoot somebody out and then continue shooting them as they walk off the field. When the ref calls him/her out stop shooting them.

Do not argue with the refs.

What to do while playing paintball:

Always check your air before a game, refill if needed.

Always refill your hopper and pods with paint after a game so you are ready for the next one.

Always walk off the field or to the dead box if you are shot out. DO NOT WIPE.

Always turn the saefty off and cock your gun when entering field to play.

Always turn the saefty on and uncock your gun when leaving the field.

Always wear a mask when playing.

Have fun!