A little advice for a newbie

[cjsoftuk]

I think I'm nearly kitted out for my first walk on (whenever that might happen, later this year I suspect). However, knowing me, I'm not, and your comments on this will be most appreciated.

Please give a list of stuff you'd consider ABSOLUTELY essential for a new player? It'd be much appreciated. I'm not expecting to beat or equal the best, all I want is to be able to turn up, play and have fun.

I've already got an "entry level" marker, a Spyder Victor '07 (can't find the serial number to register it, mind you) with barrel stopper, a 200 shot hopper, a Proto Switch EL mask, six 140 shot pots, a 48cu 3000psi air system, remote hose, battle pack/"harness" will be on the way soon from BZ, and a load of paint left over from last time I played at a local site. But that's it. I'd like to know what I'm missing in terms of essentials, and what I ought to have, but isn't 100% essential.

 

[Dave284]

marker, hopper, air, goggles, pots and pack. sounds all good!

now get out and play xD

 

[Robbo]

The best advice I think for anybody starting out is much the same as I would give any pro player, and that's because it provides a bedrock of attitude that will serve you well no matter how far you go in this sport.

When playing, you must always try and be acutely aware of your own target profile, in other words, how much of your body and marker is being presented to your opponents.
Some people might tell you different but remember this, you might practice being the fastest shot in the world, you may even practice being the most accurate shot in the world ............. but .....how much good are those acquired skills gonna be ..... if you got your ass parked in the dead-box?

I hope I have made my point!

And just one more very important thing to do when playing, never, ever forget to have fun

PS Welcome to our sport mate and welcome to our site.

 

[cjsoftuk]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm pleased to know that I'm just about on track.

Robbo, Thanks for your comment, used to play laser tag, and have played paintball enough times to know that though. Nonetheless, wise words and something you can never tell people enough. Thank you.

Dave284, your checklist goes about the same distance mine did! Sounds like I've got my head on straight and haven't missed anything.

OK, so I've got my kit now, would I be right in thinking I need to register with the UKPSF before thinking about attending an event? (Easy enough to do, just needs doing)

And as for attending a walk-on, I guess I just find a place locally, book in, and turn up. If not, tell me what I've got wrong!

I notice a lot of people having playing jerseys etc, I take it that you can still borrow coveralls from the site (for a small fee) at a walk on. I don't know, I'm just guessing, so tell me if I'm wrong.

I think, as Dave284 pointed out, I need to get out there and get at it now, but I just want to make sure I'm not being stupid.

To put this into perspective for people: I used to play laser tag (Megazone), the arena closed, and I went elsewhere. I came to the conclusion about mid last year that Paintball might actually be more fun, and so I went once, and found it so much fun, I've played a fair bit since. The bug had got me. Being a student, on a limited budget, meant that high end markers were out of the picture for the moment, and I figured that if I was going with friends, most of them don't have their own markers, so we'd be playing at the usual site which won't cater for walk-on players. Thus I wanted something cheap-ish, reliable, and easy to maintain. The Spyder '07 seemed to fit the bill, sorted the rest out, and I'm hooked now.

 

[niallist]

As a relative newbie myself, I've found that it's very easy just to rock up on your own and people are quite friendly. Saves all the hassle of having to organise all your mates when you fancy a bit of a blast. However most walk on games will quite happily rent your mates kit for a small extra fee. Some include it in the green fee. It's in their interest to get new people into the sport after all.

You don't have to join the UKPSF to go to walk ons. I did though, you're covered from the moment you fill out the membership form and pay the fee. You don't need to wait for the card.

i mainly play scenario, but went to tower paintball and mixed it up with some tourney guys and found them just as easy to get on with.

Any site will lend you a pair of overalls most won't charge you, even those that do won't charge you much. Always best to check in advance though.

Enjoy.

 

[Raffles]

Welcome to the land of the empty wallet .

One piece of advice I'll give is not to get carried away and just buy kit for buyings sake. I've seen it too often. People (who can) go out and spend a fortune on high end kit - and get shot to ship every game by someone with a spyder or a tippman etc.

To quote the old cliche - "it's not the car - it's the driver".

I've noticed your in Essex. Give 'Oli HPG' a shout. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you in to the tournament scene.

 

[cjsoftuk]

Welcome to the land of the empty wallet .

One piece of advice I'll give is not to get carried away and just buy kit for buyings sake. I've seen it too often. People (who can) go out and spend a fortune on high end kit - and get shot to ship every game by someone with a spyder or a tippman etc.

I wasn't planning to do that! I don't have a big budget, so cheaper suits me better. Of course, once I've managed to decorate everyone else in paint, I won't need to upgrade, but ought to be able to.

In my opinion, low-end kit, with a good marksman behind it should be just as good as high-end with a good marksman behind it. I.E. Shove the same person behind two markers, and they'll perform just about the same. I'm sure this isn't 100% true, but I don't think it's too bad an approximation to make.

So you can have a quick look: here's a pic of the setup I've got. Sorry about the load time. It's running from my home server.

I guess I'll get out there in the field at some point, when academic work doesn't pressure me too much.