1.) This is the number one mistake that newbies and sometimes myself get into while playing paintball. The veterans and pro's call it "TUNNEL VISION" I can't express this enough when I say, When you play paintball LOOK AROUND. Tunnel vision is the main reason why flanking and counter-flanking (Which I'll talk about in a bit) works so well. Tunnel vision is when a player is concentrated on a VERY SMALL area of the field, probably because he is getting shot from that direction or is seeing someone in that area. Well, DON'T DO THIS!!!! While playing no matter what is going on.....look around....it doesn't take that long, believe it or not, and it will save you from wiping paint off your ass. So if your getting shot at, LOOK AROUND. If your guarding a position LOOK AROUND. This is the numero uno thing a paintball player should master.

2.) Pin and Flanking is the main strategy used by paintball pros all around the world. It's the oldest and most effective way (IF done correctly) to conquer your opponent. As in before you split your team into 2 groups. I would recommend putting the people that shoot a lot of paint fast as Group A. Then I would put your marksmen as Group B. Group A goes ahead and runs into opposition, when this happens they pin the opposition down with heavy fire. After they have them pinned, group B will pull a "Flank", that is they move to either the left of right (Or even behind) the enemy that is pinned down. After that Group B moves as close and fast as they can and lay waste. BUT Group B needs to also be aware of a "Counter-Flank" which is that the pinned enemy sends some fellow members back to flank the Flankers (Group B). This is an effective way to beat back good paintball players. So during group B's flanking move they need to stay aware and not get that "Tunnel Vision".

3.) Find a good buddy. A pair of paintballers make an excellent team. Find someone you can depend on. A veteran paintballer will ALWAYS (Well SOME of them do) buddy up with a newbie if asked. Jus be reminded that he will expect a lot out of you (That means watching his ass) and will not hesitate to give some criticism. So if its your first time out, just ask and watch closely. 

4.) Don't be intimidated. I've seen a lot of newbies and even myself intimidated during a game. (Trying running into a gauntlet of Cocker fire) Just because there marker is bigger and badder than yours doesn't mean they are better physically and mentally. There's always a rule of thumb to go by which I say CONSTANTLY. Paintball is 25% marker and 75% player. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've beaten a bragging cocker or shocker in a game. It doesn't matter what marker you have, it's the tactics and player. Some of the BEST players I've seen don't own expensive markers, most of them own pumps. Most of the time if a player is bragging, he's jus a snobby little rich kid with to much hormones. Jus watch out for the guy in the corner cleaning his spyder or pump, not saying anything

5.) Don't hug trees!!! Another mistake commonly found on a paintball field is players getting right up against a barricade or tree. I guess this is a natural instinct passed on through the world war years or something, I dunno. BUT, I recommend getting about 4 to 5 feet behind the barricade and kneel on one knee. The farther away you are from the barricade the less you have to move left and right to see what the enemy is up to. The goal is to be able to lean left/right maybe 5 to 6 inches quickly and still see the enemy. This also means it only takes a quick 5 to 6 inches to get cover again.

6.) Type of movement. If your playing woodball I recommend 2 things. Either move very fast and make a lot of noise. Or move very slow and make hardly any noise. There is no such thing as moving fast and making no noise. (Of course I've seen some people move very slow and still make a lot of noise) During paintball games the sense of sound and the sense of sight is the only 2 senses used. The sense of sound comes first. First a player picks up the sound (Leaves, twigs, shots, talking, etc.) he then turns his head and uses sight. The key to this is to prevent the sound from ever taking place, thus lowering the chance of him seeing you. I recommend during play (Esp. Woodball) that you crouch as LOW as you can. (Observe S.W.A.T. Teams) Move slowly and concentrate on everything around you. If you see or hear anything you can do three things. I recommend stopping and pinpointing the sound/sight then reacting accordingly. OR you can hit the dirt or find cover. Then there's the age old way to do it.....retreat 10 to 12 yards and do whatever

7.) Ok, newbies, I noticed that you ALWAYS, ALWAYS, (75% of newbies) will just SIT THERE, either behind the flag, or just in a bunker. And you shoot shoot shoot people from a mile away, most of the time without hitting a thing. Sure paintball is a really fun sport, it gets really fun when your hitting people. The thing is that ya need to get out of those bunkers and do a little offensive. Sure, the action is a little heavier and the odds of getting hit are a lot higher, but ITS A LOT more fun! A defense is a good thing. Ya need no more than 3 to 4 people guarding a flag (With a 12 man team, against a 12 man team) Yes, 3-4 people. A defense isn't there to stop and eliminate the other offensive team. Usually the defense is used to stop sneakers and stop the offense and hold them there. You will get a couple of eliminations but you will most likely just bunker a couple guys. The goal is to just hold them until either of two things happen. A. The time runs out the game or B. Your fellow offensive team-mates come and help you out. If the game time is unlimited and you have no more team-mates. All I can say is pray.

8.) Ok, well this my not be a tactic, but I want to put this down just for the record esp. since newbies read this page a lot. WELL, all I want to say is that it is not cool to jump out of a bush and shoot someone point blank. It's not cool. If that's the only way a newbie can knock off a veteran, well it's a shame. There are rules to paintball and one of them is called a surrender. If you are closer than 15-20 to a person, all you have to do is say you are out. If he disagrees then all ya got to do is lit him up. I recently got shot point blank by some newbie, and ya know what I did, no I didn't shoot him back, I put my barrel plug in and called myself out. After the came I confronted him and showed him the bloody circle he left me and asked him if he wanted one like it. He decided to really piss me off and say, "It's the game man." I agreed and let me say the next game I really messed him and his son up pretty bad and I really pissed them off when I said, "It's just a game huh." as he was walking off the field. You don't realize how bad something like that hurts until it happens to you. All I'm saying is that I'd much rather get a surrender any day than a simple kill. Give's you a lot more bragging rights and gives the you and the field owner some respect that you play clean. After all, the more people you hurt, the less they play. Just think about people.

Getting low on paint? Worried that you are going to get over run? SHOOT BLANKS! This trick works really well. It's very simple to do to. All you have to do is turn your marker upside down and shoot. After one shot you will start shooting air. What this does is make the other team think you are out of ammo. But to their surprise all it takes is you to turn your marker right side up once again.

 

 

   

THE WAY OF THE SPECIAL OPS TEAM
The special ops tactics involve good communication, great tactics, and specialization of Bushball or woodsball paintball players into a specialized role.  So instead of every man for himself, the team becomes a unit attacking as one.

Here's how coordinated teams spank walk-on players:

• Tight tactics such as suppressive fire, flanking and leap-frogging.

• Constant communication and leadership that laser-focuses the team's striking power.

• Slick game plans that provide each player a clear objective.

• Specialized paintball positions with specialized objectives.

SQUAD COMMANDER http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/sco.asp
·  Get your team in the habit of relaying the "add" count. Each time a team member takes someone out, he radios you and says "add one." The Commander then keeps a running tally of every elimination on the other team. Knowing how many enemy there are running around becomes crucial as the game goes on.
·  Make sure you know every time you loose a team member. When someone gets taken out, they need to give you a "down" notice, such as "Parker is down." Or the squad leader can radio back, "Squad A is down one."
·  When you arrive at a new field, give yourself time to walk the fields. Sketch a small map, complete with defensive fortifications, woods, bunkers and open areas. Your playbook will shift significantly depending on the terrain of a new field.
·  Gentle, but detailed, after-action reviews are life-and-death important to a team. When all the smack-talk is done, later at the burger joint, get the team talking about each play. What went right and what went wrong.
·  You MUST master radio communications (it's harder than it sounds.) Without perfect radio communication, you will never rock as a woodsball or a scenarioball team.
·  NEVER forget to run radio checks before beginning a game. It's a real bitch to start a game only to find out that you don't have contact with one of your squads.
·  Always appoint a second and third-in-command in case you are eliminated. 

DAGGER  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/dl.asp
·  You're probably the most aggressive player on the team and that can be a huge problem. You do your team absolutely no good in the dead man hut, so constantly remind yourself to play conservatively. Stay alive!
·  If you're getting taken out most games, then you're putting your butt out there too far. Tighten up and be ready to dart back in a quick retreat whenever you come under fire.
·  Every time you get taken out, take a few minutes to figure out why. Pick apart the situation and determine what you did to get your butt blown off. Then, figure out what you can do in the same situation next time to stay alive. If you're having trouble figuring it out, go ask your Squad or Team Commander what he thinks you should've done differently.
·  Remember, great Daggers aren't judged by how many people they take out. Great Daggers are judged by how many games they survive. Play quick, but stay alive. That is the Dagger motto.

SABRE  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/sm.asp
·  Don't count on any ONE player to suppress any more than ONE angle. In other words, your suppression dude can cover one small bunker or one window of a pillbox. If you're taking fire from more angles than you have suppression men, then don't make the move. This also applies to enemy shooters who are across the field. When you move in, you have no way of knowing beforehand the angles you're giving enemy players. Make reasonably sure that you've limited the number of enemy players who have a shot at you before you charge in.
·  One handy form of suppressive fire is the leapfrog. A two or three man team can trade off hammering a fixed position with suppressive fire while one guy runs past. As soon as the runner is five yards ahead of the suppressive fire guy, he drops and starts his own suppression fire thing while his buddy picks up and runs five yards past him. This routine keeps going – fire, run past, fire, run past – until cover is reached or the bunker is overrun. Leapfrogging is a great way to attack an enclosed pillbox.
·  When your pointman encounters enemy, your squad will respond by building a base of fire and sending flankers. As soon as your pointman hits resistance, you should hustle up and join him. Begin trading fire (it's not important that you make a kill at this point) with any known enemy.

BROADSWORD  http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/bh.asp
·  The use of suppressive fire is one of the greatest advantages that an organized team has over walk-on players. The militaries of the world rely on suppressive fire to advance their squads and to put enemy heads down. Paintball can work exactly the same way.
·  But, when he gets into position, he provides a hefty base of fire that carves a path for his buddies who will be assaulting. Heavy Riflemen don't always score the most kills, but they are crucial to attacks on entrenched defences – the same defences that can cause a squad to bog down in a frustrating stalemate.
Longballing: ·  Bracket your arcing shots to dial them in on the enemy. Begin shooting low and raise your aim steadily until your barrage passes over top of the clustered players. You probably won't be able to see the point of impact, but bracketing is your best way to walk in your barrage. One way or another, it will probably force them to abandon their position (giving your team the open space.)

 

AMBUSH SNIPER    http://www.specialopspaintball.com/positions/asn.asp
Oh yes, there is most certainly snipers in paintball. Those that don't think so are destined to be shot by a mysterious shooter, who's stealth and cunning allows them to sneak within easy shooting distance and never be spotted. Next time you find yourself out and never find out who shot you. You too, will believe.
Really the idea of paintball sniper started way back in the beginning of paintball in the mid 1980s, and nobody would argue the position of sniper didn't exist when faced with an opponent with a long barrel and a SILENCER on the end. Yep back then everybody started building silencers for their marker, and they worked really well. Shooting undetected the sniper stalked the woods with their silenced markers. The position of sniper is not about shooting further than other players, that doesn't work. What does work is the undetected movement of a sniper, the one shot elimination, and the ghillie suits. Unfortunately for all of us the A.T.F. put an end to the silencers in the early 1990s saying that they could be used to silence a real firearm. But the position of sniper is not gone!
·  Your gear kit needs to be tuned for just one thing: stealth and concealment. If you can't make one-shot kills consistently at thirty yards, you've got no business being a sniper. So, you can get away with carrying very little paint and few other pieces of gear. A ghillie suit is a great idea and you'll probably need at least a partial ghillie before you can call yourself an expert sniper.
·  You'll need an ultra-light sniping gun. Heavy guns make it too hard to low-crawl so you will want to stay away from the heavier guns. Remember, you won't be taking a lot of super long shots. Rather, you're an ace at one-shot kills within the normal range of paintballs (thirty to fifty yards.)
·  Again, paintball snipers don't take very long shots because paintball guns don't shoot very far (regardless of your barrel, gun, etc..) Paintball sniping is the art of ambush, concealment and stealthy movement. You take few shots and you do it from a hidden position.
·  Use a sight or scope. Nothing will give you more accuracy on first-shot kills than a decent sight or scope. No barrel comes close to giving that kind of advantage. As a Sniper, "instinct shooting" or "walking the shot in" are not an option. Buy a sight and practice with it often.
·  Buy premium paint. Paint quality makes a big difference to a sharpshooter. Save money by shooting less and plough those savings into the best paint you can find.
·  Become a master of estimating range. All paintballs arc drastically over distance and that makes range estimation one of the keys to one-shot accuracy. Buy a range finder and practice guessing ranges between sixty and twenty yards. You can even find small range finders that can mount to a paintball gun (they're made for bow hunting and they will add a little weight to your gun.) Learn your gun's drop at 280 fps (or at your field's maximum fps) and hold over to get your shot to drop right into target. Click here for a more complete discussion of range estimation and hold.
·  Keep your barrel impeccably clean. Carry a squeegee and a swab and if you break a ball, clean the barrel until it's spotlessly clean. Even a small amount of moisture in your barrel will blow your accuracy all to hell.
·  Use compressed air (nitro) instead of CO2. This sucks because CO2 can be used in lighter packages than air. However, air is way, way more consistent than CO2 and it's worth it to shoot air, even if you have to carry your air tank remote on your hip (recommended.)
·  Dial your gun in to EXACTLY your field maximum fps. The faster you shoot, the flatter your shots will be. Flatter shots equal more accurate, longer shots. Set your range estimation, your sights and your drop estimates to this maximum fps.
·  Build up a light paintball gun. A light gun will be easier to aim and easier to tote around the field on your belly. Think hard before you add heavy accessories to your paintgun.
·  Buy a good barrel. Okay, fine. We know you want to do it, so buy a fourteen to eighteen-inch barrel. Tests do show that barrels over fourteen-inches long out-perform shorter barrels.

SPECIAL OPS TACTICS MANUAL
INDIVIDUAL
Newbie Tips
Never look over an obstacle when you can look around it.
Never stick you head out the same place twice in a row
Take Quick Peeks, Not long Gazes
Tuck your body in,
If they are still shooting, they probably have an angle on you. Tuck or Duck, If they’re still shooting, back off a little.
Try Crawling, it’s not normally expected. You’ll kick some butt

INDIVIDUAL ANGLES
Don’t get sucked into a one on one paintball fight, It’s called 50/50, because no matter how good you think you are, you’ll get taken out 50% of the time. Instead back up and sneak around to a different angle and attack again. If it becomes another 50/50 fight, back up and keep working the angles, this is the basics of flanking.

SQUAD
AMBUSH
Don’t move up the field in a single file, it takes away most of the shooting angles of the rest of the squad. Instead spread out left and right in a wedge formation and move down the field like that. If the pointman encounters the enemy, the squads outside of the wedge flare out to get killer angles on the opponent.

SPOOKING THE AMBUSH
There’s not much you can do to defend yourself from a sniper willing to hide perfectly still and wait for their target, but most snipers get excited and try and engage the enemy before the target is really within the trap range. You can use this to your advantage by moving from one piece of safe cover, and using it to examine the next piece of cover to confirm it’s also safe. Working from cover to cover you ‘spook’ the ambush into shooting a marginal shot where you have an established safe escape route so your squad can then flank the spook snipers position.

TEAM
STRONG SIDE
Most walk-ons play the field by dividing into 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 and move up the field to engage the other team in a similar tactic 50/50 gunfight. Dumb!!
Instead leave three players on defence and the rest go on one side, and vastly outnumber the 1/3 of the opposite squad, and then while your heavy gunner defence holds off the attack, the squad moves in for the flag for the win.

LAZY D
When vastly outnumbered, or just to whittle down the enemy, place 25% of the team on permanent defence. The rest choose a side to be your strong side and set up a trap, snipers up field and the rest further in, as the opponent moves up the field the snipers call the trigger, waiting until the opposition is well within the kill area. Once eliminated. The 75% moves up the now cleared side and captures the flag, then swings around behind the other flank for the cleanup.