The Shootout
Avoid fair fights
Always try to avoid one-on-one shootouts where you and
someone else are sitting in cover banging away at each other. You might get them
but they could equally well get you and either way you'll shoot a bucket of
paint. This is what tends to happen in tournaments, but in recreational games
you can go after easier prey. The best targets are those that haven't got their
eye on you or better still don't even know you're there. My favourite is when
someone is the opposite side of a tree to you and crouching down firing at
roughly 90° to yourself. Often their backside will be sticking out from behind
the tree which makes a large target, and because of the tree they will generally
be unaware that you are even shooting at them until they are hit.
If you do find yourself in this head-to-head situation there a few options.
First think about retreating, so that you can then advance again somewhere else.
Can you withdraw safely? If so, will it allow the enemy to advance and
potentially jeopardise the positions of other team members? If either of these
could be a problem then you will have to sit tight. Provided the cover is big
enough to fully protect you then just sit and wait. You are quite safe and
hopefully a better target will present itself. Keep your eye on your opponent,
and if you are lucky he might start firing at someone else while you can still
see a bit of him. This is your ideal opportunity to pop out and have a go at him
while he is distracted.
Bore them out
If you find yourself in a one-to-one with no opportunity
for repositioning, don't hammer away at them, but sit tight and be patient so
that you are almost impossible to hit. Becoming restless and bored, your
opponent will try something else. This may well be moving, which will give you a
tempting target. Better still he may try to shoot at someone else and once he is
distracted it is time for you to have a go. If you can see a reasonable portion
of him then you can shoot from where you are, but if not it may well be worth
moving up on his blind side. Depending on the terrain this might be a slow
stealthy move or a bold rush that gives him no time to react.
Being ambushed
The first time I remember getting ambushed I was following
an experienced player with their own equipment. I felt safe being with someone
who obviously knew what they were doing and we cautiously advanced along the
side of a building with him in the lead. Suddenly someone started shooting at us
from bushes to one side (at about 3 o'clock where the direction we were
expecting the enemy was 12 o'clock). We had almost no cover so he was hit almost
immediately and a few seconds later they got me too because I stood looking
around for where the shots were coming from. Instead what I should have done was
to have run back the way I came as fast as possible. The only things that I knew
about the enemy's position were that I didn't know where they were and that they
knew where I was, so the chance of me returning fire and getting them first was
as close to zero as makes no difference. Trying to take cover where you are, for
example by diving to the ground, is also a bad idea because they are likely to
be able to still see at least some of you, and a stationary target is SO much
easier to hit. Your best chance of survival is to run for a safer area.
Guarding
If you are guarding the flag or defending then get in good
cover and only keep your head out. Keep watching and monitor any movements
towards you and let your neighbours know if you spot anything interesting. Don't
stand about in the open chatting. This sounds obvious but you would be amazed
how often it happens. People caught in open ground by someone they haven't
spotted will almost certainly be shot out.
