Paintball Madness – Spray and Pray Or One Shot Mastery?
I have been playing paintball for some time now. I have seen a lot of different play styles, a lot of different markers, and a lot of different games. The biggest distinction I have seen between players that I consider good and those I believe are bad (or mediocre at best) has a lot to do with how much paint is left in their hoppers at the end of a match. You see in my opinion if a hopper contains 200 balls to start with (average size hopper) and it only has 20 balls left at the end, then there is something seriously wrong with that players paintball skills.
Why do I say this? Because I have noticed a direct correlation between the skill of the players and the amount of paint they use. It is especially noticeable when teams have a mix of new players and experienced players. Personally I pride myself I on one shot hits. Any fool can go out on the field and rapidly spray paint everywhere in the hopes that they will hit something, but it takes a much calmer player to assess a scene and time their shots in a manner that will give them the most likely chance of taking an opposing player out of the game.
Now do not get me wrong. I am not saying that there is never a time where rapidly firing paint in a continuous stream makes sense because there are some instances where this “spraying” technique can and should be used. For example if you need to pin some opposing players down in order to allow other member of your team to get into better position. In this case it makes a lot of sense to lay down suppressing fire. Also if you need to fight yourself out of a bad position it might make sense to rapidly spray paint at the enemy so you can make good on a retreat… but these are strategic decisions that fit into a larger overall plan. This is not the same as a player going out and wasting 100 balls of paint without any real plan or thought behind it.
In arena ball you see people using spray techniques quite a bit, but for the good teams they are using this technique for two reasons. First they are using it because they are trying to hold the other team back while they try to get into better position. Second they are using it because small arena games take place in close quarters and everything is moving very fast… in other words they are playing Speed Ball. If you are playing woods ball then there is very little reason to use a spray and pray technique. In fact it makes no sense at all because in woods ball one of the keys to success is stealth.
So next time you are out in the bush playing a game of paintball plan out a strategy then calmly and carefully execute. Be deliberate, be smart and be stealthy and you will find your team coming out on top more often than not.