The Sniper
Not many people realize the value of having a sniper on the team. Some pages that I've gone to on the web that talked about paintball snipers has said in one way or the other that the sniper was useless in anything other than a senario game. This is the BIGGEST misconseption of the game. The difference between a sniper and a grunt is the fact that a sniper knows how to play.
Being a sniper does not mean that you will be wearing a full guillies suite and crawling around on the ground by yourself behind enemy lines. That's only part of it. The biggest difference is the snipers marksmenship. Along with other abilities and tactics, the sniper is far from useless...
So what is required to be a good sniper?
1. The 3 A's - Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy
This is the most important thing. You may be able to crawl all the way behind enemy lines but if you can't hit the tree your hiding behind, your only good for one thing, walking point. So Practice, Practice, Practice... Besides, You save a ton of money when you don't have to buy a ton of field paint! I know your saying, that paintballs are not accurate and they fly all over. Truth is, with the right equipment, you can achieve very good accuracy.
2. Stealth
Falling in a very close tie with 1, is the ability to move, sometimes in plain view of the enemy. (Note: I would not suggest this unless its a last resort...can be very painful...) Even if your not sniping from under cover, being able to move past or behind the enemy is a good trait for any player. If you stomp down a path making as much noise as you can possiblly make on the field, I still need a new pointman... You know your good at stealth when you can get a whole squad behind the advancing enemy. A nice crossfire makes me feel all tinglly inside.
3. Pactience
Ok. The whistle blows and you take off running so you can be the first one to score a hit. Your now well pass mid field and are heading towards the flag station, when you realize your the only one around. Guess what, your dead. When the whistle blows, travel with a group of your teammates. If your using camoflage, break off from the group after the group has coverd some groung. Ok, your out sniping by yourself, and you see someone coming 250ft out. You empty a whole hopper....and you miss every shot. Insted, stay under cover and don't move. Even more fun, wait till they pass you and shoot them from behind. Frist, make sure that the person is not on your own team and that he or she is not out. (They don't like to be shot again...) Wait until the person is close enough to be hit, which takes me to my next point...
4. Know your gun
Get to the point with your gun where you can strip it, clean it, and reassyemble it while blindfolded and hanging upside down. Ok, thats a little exterme. Knowing how the gun works and what parts do what can help you incase their is a problem. In most cases, you can fix your gun yourself. As important as knowing the parts is knowing the performance of the gun. If you can rattle off 20 balls a second, thats good. But can you keep them grouped together? And if you can, ask yourself if you need 20 balls a second flying at one person. If you have a brand new Taylon, I can almost gaurrentee that you will not come close to that player 250ft away. (Nothing against the Taylon...) Let them get close enough to where you know you can hit them. Yes, their are guns that can reach out and touch someone at 250ft, but even I don't take that kind of risk. Some barrels can throw a curve ball. A buddy of mine knew how to adjust his barrel to curve the paintball around the side of a bunker. This was bad news for me! Being able to judge distance wouldn't hurt either.
5. Teamwork
Travel with a group of your teammates. Your not here to kill the whole enemy team by yourself. Follow the group and give them cover. You could have your teammates pin down or even drive the enemy to your position. While their occupied with the rest of the team, you can get into a position where their sitting ducks. You can take out a ton of players that way. Or work with a spotter. (Usually another sniper) A spotter can cover you and spot targets. (Spotter, get it?) You could also be a spotter. I'm sure that the other sniper wants a little trigger time too. Their is no I in team, but their is an I in sniper... You could be a rogue sniper. (Like me!) But you'll still be working with the team by reducing the number of enemys. Other reasons to work with the team is so they don't shoot you. (Not realizing your on their team.)
Remember..."Freindly fire isn't!"
So, still want to be a sniper. Here are some tactics to help you on your way... Follow Me
