TACTICALPAINTBALL.COM

[Lonegunm4n]

Is it possible? Sure. You can do it on any scenario field, at any producers game, anywhere in the world, and don't have to fight getting your ghille to match just right. It's one of the reasons why many people prefer just to shoot me on sight (even my own team) than try to see if I'm up to something.

Is it easy to do? Very easy, even easier if you have a bit of acting skills. You see, all it takes is to get the enemy players to not view you as a threat. If they don't see you as a threat, they aren't going to shoot at you and they will just filter you out of their mind.

Case in point, the 2009 Darkhorse Guns of Texas game. I was in the tower on the north side of the city. After a brief firefight, the red players were on the first story, forming up to rush up the stairs to shoot me and the other guy up there. I could hear them talking, so I very briefly hatched a quick plan. I put my Tac 8 in it's holster, let the LAW laucher I was carrying hang on it's sling, and shouted hey Blue coming down! Blue coming down! Blue coming down! I said it the entire way down. I got to the bottom floor, and there were a lot of red players there. I stood there chit chatting with them, when one of them (X-Ray) realized that I hadn't called myself out and I was still a live player. Fortunately for me, he only had a paint grenade and couldn't barrel tag me. When I realized he knew I wasn't dead, I quick drew my Tac 8, barrel tagged X-Ray and another player, and was bringing my Tac 8 up to shoot another red player (Cloak) when he shot me in the chest. I put my hand up and took the walk.

You see, I hid in plain sight. I even ID'd myself as an enemy player! But because they didn't view me as a threat, I didn't get shot right away. I could've easily said 'Great job guys!', walked out the building, called a ref and LAW'd the building several times and taken it back, or walked back to the command base, or whatever. I would've just been another happy elimination for them.

So, how do you get the enemy to not view you as a threat? Any number of ways. One particular paintball player I know says he loves to chat with the enemy players. You hold your marker in a non-threating way, walk by their bunker, see them, say hey guys, how's it going? Drinking plenty of water? Shake hands with them, then go about your way. You could then easily barrel tag'em, shoot them in the back, or if you have a mission or something else of value, just keep on walking.

Sometimes, you just stand up and take a walk. Seriously. Face away from the enemy players, stand up, and just walk away. You don't even have to walk to the net line, an insertion point, etc. I've stood up, walked in the opposite direction of the net line, and didn't even so much as have a few pot shots at me. I walked all the way back to the main base and delievered the prop I had to the general. It was really that easy.

Other times, dont carry a marker. If you've got a mission in a back corner of the field, and just can't get to that base, set your marker and all your gear down, grab a radio, turn it off, and take a walk. Heck, even stick to the main trails and paths. If someone asks "Are you out?", you can say any number of things, from "Hey I lost (insert paintball gear here) and I'm looking for it" to (my personal favorite) "Nah, I've got to go talk to a ref about something." Some people believe the former is "grey area play" and unsportsmanlike, which is why I like to flat tell the truth (talking to a ref). When you think about it, it is true. I have to talk to a ref to start/end the mission. I'm not lying, just saying the honest truth.

Depending on your gear, it can be easy to disappear in the middle of a firefight. At Viper's OZ game, I would carry my Tac 8, a spare mag, and 2 10 round tubes in my pocket. Enemy players would look right through me to that guy holding an Ego, or a DM, or a Mag, until I started whizzing paintballs past their head. Because they look right through me, they tend to play sloppy, foot sticking out, pack sticking out, etc. in their attempts to shoot that other guy. So, I take a breath, line up the sights, take into account distance, and fire 2 paintballs at them at a time. Generally, I'd get a hit out of one of those 2. If not, I'd hide behind the bunker, keep an eye on them, and when they start playing sloppy again, I'd give them another double tap. I got more than quite a few eliminations that way. I watched an entire 12 minute firefight at the 08 Entebbe game simply by holstering my pistol and standing in the middle of the road. At any point during the firefight, it would've been easy to move up through their side of the woods and pick them off one by one. But, since I only had a couple shots worth of air left, I just stayed back and watched.

Lastly, you may just have to act brashly and do something completely unexpected. No one expects a random enemy player to come from the general area of their insertion point. No one expects an enemy player to come up to them and say "I'm a spy for your side, that is why I'm taped an enemy color." No one expects a lone enemy player to walk through or near their base. Like I said earlier, no one expects you to tell them plainly what your doing. Giving a sarcastic answer is one way to do it. "Heh, no, I'm alive, I'm just going to steal all your props!" with a hearty laugh will put the enemy players at ease and give you a good chance to slip away.

Now, how do you defeat this? Simple. If you see someone who your not sure is out or not, ask them, are you out? It's a simple yes or no question. Dead players by golly want you to know their dead so they don't get shot again. Live players will give you any answer but yes. Anything to get you to leave them alone. If they don't give you a yes, give them one shot in a padded area (pack, hopper, etc) or barrel tag them.

Though, if they aren't dead, give them time to call themselves out. I've had new players stop me, question me, and when I tell my ruse isn't working, I just say hey, great job spotting me, I'm out now, and take the walk. I've seen more experienced players saying "Are you out?" then immediately after they finish their question light that player up. You see, while that might make you feel good, it's just going to piss whoever is on the receiving end off, and then you wind up with a bunch of mad players. Again, give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to call themselves out. If they don't, then feel free to light them up. Besides, you may accidently light up a player who is actually out but had their barrel sock fall off or stopped to take a sip from a bottle of water. Me personally? If someone calls me on my bluff, I'll be more than happy to say great job and call myself out.
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Yes, I'm still in the Academy. Too lazy to update this thing.

"The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, 'Baa.'" - On Combat, Lt Col Grossman

Team Black List!

[Helmet]

I hear what you're saying, Lone, my first game at tactical I observed players sticking to a strick code of shoot first, ask questions later. If they saw no berrel sock, it was "Put it on or we we will shoot!" or a direct question like 'are you out, player?... Why is your sock not on?" They would not accept any other answer.

Another event that took place was during the night game where some enemy players came by Wisky, "looking for a barrel" Really, they just scouted out wisky, reported how many we had in and around the base, and we were attacked afew minutes later.

Both of these have taught me to always mistrust any player of another color when I see them. I have had out players get pissed at me for shooting them after they were out. I always feel like a jerk, but I'm not taking any chances. Make sure they are out. If words fail you, take action.

The night game hosts an entirely different spectrum of play. Lying about your color is legal, and red and blue are hard to distinguish at night. The best way to defet this is to have a positive id on all those around you. other wise, the following can happen.

I remember Kiwi comming up ant talking to a group of guys and I by the tower during BHD. Before i realized it was him, he barrel tagged another player. I asked for a flashlight, and he ran off ,which is when I realized it was him. (How could I not have recognized his accent?)

I did the same two three blue players with a group from foxtrot. We crosse into the brush behind enemy lines, and snuck around several blue positions. Three blue aproched us, and I called them over claiming red was trying to sneak by. Then we barrel taged them when their gaurd was down.

Keeping positive id is hard, especially since in most cases, the situation involves multiple players comming and going from your position. When you're sneaking up on other players or just trying to keep a low profile, flashlights compromise your postion. in my limited experiance, I've learned to try to keep a positive id on any player near an important objective or position, and in any building I just so happen to be in.
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