hey not every1 has a lot of $$ to put down into a high end marker.. but i guess then again paintball isn't necessarily a cheap sport until you get sponsored
but stranger think about this..
low end markers usually need a lot of upgrades to keep up with high end markers but with high end markers you can pretty much rape on the field with plain stock
i did the math on another post about how my friend put a lot of $$ in buying an m3 black dragun basic and diff upgrades but how he could have went straight to a high end marker for about the same price or +/- a few dollars
as for mask, you can get a vforce rental or vforce conquest, they're pretty durable, easy to clean, and the vision on them are extremely clear.. for under $20 you can't afford to not get one