Woodsball Tip/Tactics
Lets start with before you even play…
Camouflage
-Buy camo. It actually really does help. Make sure you get some good camo though. If you buy just some cheap stuff from Wal-Mart don’t be surprised that after a couple washes it will be faded and not near as a good. Look for maybe some hunting camo or some actual military camo. Should be able to find it at any army surplus store. Be warned though the actual military stuff is really thick and damn hot. Also get camo that matches where you are. If you are playing in the summer or spring get some camo with a lot of green in it. In winter get the one with white and grey shades, and then in fall get the brown and orange ones. (Orange as in tree leave orange)
-Don’t just buy camo pants and shirt.. Try and camo up your marker, a brightly coloured speedball marker is going to get you spotted. Get some camo tape or camo fabric to put over. If you gun is black, it should be fine. Except in winter. In the winter I would just rig up some old white socks into some thing I can slip onto the gun. Works fine.
-Don’t forget about shoes. A pair of white sneakers kind of defeats the point of wearing camo.. Get some long pants and maybe put them over, make sure you won’t trip though.
-Mask, most masks are black. Not bad, you can get camo things to put on your mask though. And keep your visor on. Not only does it keep the sun out of your eyes but also it helps prevent sun from hitting you lens and reflecting. (reflecting goggles is a good way to find people)
Clothes
-get long pants for sure. The woods are unforgiving. If you wear shorts, you will bleed and get many cuts and scratches. So wear long pants. Not only does it prevent cuts but also prevents bug bites and helps prevent getting things like poison ivy.
-long shirt. Same reasons. Cuts, bites, rashes. Also if you bought camo, a skin coloured arm is easy to notice and ruins the point of getting camo.
- rubber boots are great. You don’t need to worry about anything with them.. run through puddles, mud, everything. Because soakers are not fun.
-gloves, help prevent bites, poison ivy and scratches. Also in the winter they are very nice to have. And once again for the reasons of camouflage.
-hat, or something like it. Bandana, sock hat, whatever. Especially if you have blonde or light hair. I use a bandana but use it Rambo style to keep my sweat out of my eyes.
Equipment
-around a 12-14” barrel. Anything longer will get in the way. You have to remember there are branches and bushes and stuff, something long will get in the way.
-Research different markers and equipment. Make your decisions wisely.
When at the Field
Bunkers
-do they have bunkers set up, or is it strictly the woods. If they have bunkers; check them out. When guys make fields they usually set them up so you can have a good shot at another bunker but at the same time be at risk. Find this out. Go to each bunker and look around. Find some escape routes you might be able to remember. Check if there is some places that you want to avoid, open areas, swampy, really thick, so that you don’t accidentally run into them while playing.
-make sure you know your way around. You’d hate to get lost. It would be embarrassing and would waste time.
-if you get poison ivy easy or are allergic to some things. Double check that there is none of that in the area.
-make sure there is nothing else in the area. So you don’t come running out of the woods onto a street or fall down something.
Other Players
-talk to your team mates, think of a plan before you play. Pick a buddy to go with. I almost always do this. I’ll explain later.
- check out your opponents. Watch when they do their field check too, try and notice what they look for.
Game Time
Start
-follow through with your teams plan. Get in positions so you can be prepared. Get some guys to go wide, for potential flanking, cover and reinforcement. Get one guy to go up the middle. Have him be the one with good reaction speed and able to make good cover out of bad spots. He will mostly likely be the one that stirs up the enemy. The rest follow at sides and back a bit but close enough to quickly help out the front guy.
-if you were planning on being on the defensive; get guys in excellent spots. Make sure they know only shoot when they can actually make the tag. Also, make sure they can get out of their hiding spots quickly and easily to help out other players. Set up an ambush, try to predict the other teams movement. Have guys at the sides again, just in case. And then just wait, it’ll seem like forever but just stay there and wait it out. Eventually they will come. Unless they also are playing defensive. Games like that can last a long time. Eventually one team will crack and move up.
-the main part of the start should be getting yourselves prepared for the rest of the game. Take advantage of this, its a lot easier to move around when you aren’t getting shot at.
Movement
- quiet. Stealth is your friend in the woods.. Watch where you step. Leaves, twigs, water, are loud when stepped on.. And can easily give away your location. In the winter its not as bad.. Snow is pretty quiet, but so is the woods. Sound travels very easily in the winter woods, be warned of this.
-crawling, get down and dirty. You may risk getting poison ivy though. But crawling is a great way to get around. Especially during encounters, they probably won’t be able to find you, crawling is usually quieter too. And the obvious advantage, a lot harder to see and hit.. Some one flat on the ground is a hard target. And since they probably don’t know exactly where you are, it doesn’t help.
-which is another point. Always stay low. Whether you are crawling or walking, stay low. You are much harder to see then some guy just standing tall cruising around.
-Be swift when you need to be and sloth when you need to be. If you are out numbered and have other team mates back then get back, hopefully your team could set up an ambush using this event also. If you are out numbered but no one is left. Be very slow and cautious. If they see you and they are firing, run, but get a good spot ASAP. When running like that its easy to forget and end up getting pinned some where. Or you are so caught up about getting away you trip, that’s definitely not good.
-another, be careful. The woods are full of tripping hazards; roots, branches, fallen trees, vines, holes, everything. And falling is not only painful, you can get noticed by the other team, or worse, damage your equipment.
The Buddy System
-remember when I said get a buddy, this is where he comes in.
-now if your buddy is a good player then really take advantage of that. Cover each other. Do the leapfrog tactic. (one guy goes forward, the other covers, then the other guy goes forward and the other guy covers.) decide if you want to stick together or split but still be kind of close. Find what you are comfortable with. And cover each other, play as if the rules were if your buddy gets out so do you. Two guys really working together can take on 4 that aren’t.
-if your buddy isn’t the greatest player then you can use this trick.. It’s a little nasty but it works. Get your buddy to follow you say, 20-25 feet behind you work your way behind the enemy, keeping very quiet and hidden.. Now get set up to get some guys out.. But still be invisible.. Now take some shots so they know some one is there.. By now your buddy should be following and assuming he isn’t a great player like you thought, he would not be hiding as well and they will get him out.. Then wait a while to do anything. They will think there was only one guy there and that they got him out, leaving you completely forgotten and keeping your presence not known. And they will probably figure it was the one guy that they sent out to flank on that side, so they will probably become sloppy when it comes to covering themselves from there, so even easier for you to make a move. Now I know you lost one player, but if you play it right that one player can help in the process of the other team losing 2-3 players.