The start of every game can be crucial and can mean the difference between winning and losing in the first minute. In a typical capture the flag game for instance, the team that sits back to defend will often lose. In fact the old saying that “The best defence is a good offense” is true. The more aggressive team that pushes out from the start to gain ground will get more options to move around the field and get into better positions and get more firing angles. The defensive team can end up trapped in a small area, seriously limiting their options.
Spread out, it can be tempting for everyone to run for the best cover/vantage point. The trouble with doing this is that you will attract a lot of fire from the other team when they see you all. You can also end up getting pinned in one spot if the other team has spread out around you. By spreading out in small groups you will get more angles and opportunities to shoot the other team. You might even find a side of the field that is undefended allowing you to get to the enemies flank or even right behind them.
Try and stay as close to cover or barricades as possible, it’s known as playing tight. If you are sitting a long way back from cover you are giving more angles and opportunities for the opposing team to shoot you. Try and keep yourself as compact as possible, if your elbows or feet are sticking out from cover you might get taken out early. If you are behind cover and paintballs are still being shot at you it’s probably because the other player can see a part of you.
If you start trading shots with another player, try and be unpredictable. If you keep popping out of the right hand side of a barricade for example the other player might get an easy shot on you. Mix it up by popping out on the left, high and low sometimes. Generally it’s better to come out of the sides of barricades as you expose less of yourself to getting shot. If you come out of the top of cover you will expose a lot more of yourself but sometimes you may need to do it. If you come out of the left side of a barricade with your gun in your right hand you will expose a lot of your body, head and arms. Try and switch your gun to your left hand instead, it will feel odd but you are less likely to get shot. Another technique to use is called snap shooting, the idea is to pop out and take a shot and get back into cover again as quickly as possible.
You need to be able to see what is going on, but try not to just stick your head out until someone starts shooting at you. Keep popping your head out for a split second as it’s very hard to hit a fast moving target that you only see very briefly. Don’t get tunnel vision and focus on one tiny part of the field, keep looking around so you get the bigger picture of what is going on. It’s very easy to be focused on someone who is trying to shoot you and suddenly get flanked by his friend who you didn’t see moving up on you. Another good habit to get into is to bring up your gun when you look around the field. You might get the opportunity to get a shot off on another player that you would otherwise miss.