Patience

[Ricochet]

One of the best tools, but one of the hardest to learn in airsoft is patience. The ability to think objectively and avoid jumping the gun on a situation can be a tough nut to crack for players.


Ambush:
We've all been in that situation where your waiting for a target to walk into your ambush. The main trouble here is not shooting too early due to excitement, or the jitters giving you doubts that they might see you. A good tool to use here is to carefully watch your targets mannerisms. Their eyes won't always give you a good answer.

How many times have you seen a player at close range look range look right at you, but then walk away. A few things to look for like hesitation. When their eyes passed by your location did the stop abruptly? If this happens watch for them to randomly change direction or do something else out of the ordinary. They may be trying to flank. If not their demeanor should relax, and they'll keep on with their designated path.

Always keep one eye on their weapon. Is your target bringing his gun into a ready position? Shifting their hands, tighter grip, or fingering the trigger are indications they are readying to fire.

Avoid movement if at all possible. Even the best camo in the right terrain won't protect you from movement. The human eye easily detects movement, especially if they are looking for it. When setting an ambush try to be semi comfortable, and avoid making yourself an obvious shape. Cover your face with a glove, or the butt of your gun. Unless of course you have face paint, or a mask on.

Let your target get into reliable range. If you miss your shot because you couldn't wait, you'll give away your position. This will level the playing field for your opponent. If you've put yourself in a tough to move in spot, your in trouble. If your target has a better weapon, and is already on their feet they can now move in on you more quickly. Not to mention if they have a superior weapon they may be able to brush cut you.

Storming:
Got a target that's through a door, around a corner, in a building, or up some stairs? Wouldn't it be great if you always had enough people to properly clear a room? If you find yourself alone or outnumbered patience will be your best friend. That and hopefully they don't know your there yet. Kicking in the front door won't usually turn out well in either case.

If your enemy is around a corner, then use the corner to minimize your profile. Do things like keep your elbows tucked in, and don't step right out. If your in a back and forth battle. Pop out up high, then low. Avoid predictability. If the enemy already knows your there use the "pie the corner" method. Basically shoot a round as you slowly cut off your angle coming around the corner. This will tighten the space he has to hide in. A pot shot competition is 50/50.

Enemy above you, and the only way up is stairs? This is a tricky one, unless you have grenades. An upper floor may not net you any cover other than the stair well itself. The one in the elevated position always has the advantage in a gun fight. Be patient here. You can't move up stairs as quick as you think you can. A great tool is sound. Listen to your targets movements. Footsteps and the like can tell you which way they are moving, facing, ...ect. That way you can move up the stairs quietly while they are looking away. If they know your there, it's a difficult situation. You can try reverse pie the corner method by shooting at an upwards angle, and systematically bring your shots down. Remember the first thing they will see is your head. In this instance it's often better to out wait them. The person who can stay the quietest has a good shot at coming out on top here. Make you opponent look to see if your still there.

Through a doorway? Hopefully the door isn't shut, as this multiplies the difficulty. We aren't always lucky enough to have more than one entrance. And we don't always know how loud a door will be. I personally don't carry WD40 around to grease the hinges, and it's not cost effective to use silicone oil. If the door is shut it must be opened. Once again patience will win the day. Listen for movement to get a good idea of their twenty. And open the door slowly with your gun ready in your other hand. Remember to use the door as cover if it opens outward. Wether the door is opened or closed being on the outside has a long term advantage. If he's the one in the room he may have cover advantage, but he's trapped. Someone who is cornered may try something drastic to escape once they feel compromised. Be ready to capitalize on this. You can enter the room poring the corner if you know where they are standing. If not patiently and quietly out wait them. Your relatively safe on the outside, and their options are now limited.

Cover:
Nothing like aggressively moving cover under a hail of BB's. An experienced player with a reliable gun will take your "speedball skills", chew them up and spit them out. Closing the gap can even the playing field. Instead of popping up and exchanging fire, control the situation. Take a moment to get a feel for your targets mannerisms. Their timing, their mobility...ect.

If your at a disadvantage your best bet is to change your situation instead of going for the kill. Always change the location of where you pop up from, and the timing. If your target is consistently using the same spot and popping out every few seconds, you can kill them with pre-fire. Basically shooting where you expect them to be.

If you must move don't wait until their heads down, keep it down. Unless you can hear them reloading they may pop up while your on the run. A stationary player will have shooting advantage over a moving one, due to stability. Put their head down with controlled bursts with a few more after you begin to move. You can maximize the amount of time you have to move this way.

Once your target is in reliable range, be the aggressor without losing focus. Don't get impatient and try to charge their position, or get into a spray and pray match. Running out of ammo here is bad. Get their head down same as if you where going to move. But this time stay posted on your target. They are disadvantaged popping up from cover. Slim your profile and wait. If you miss, shimmy over so you aren't in exactly the same spot, but keep yours eyes and your gun on target. Wait for them to make the mistake.


I always promote playing as a team, but sometimes you find yourself alone, or out gunned.

Feel free to add. Different fields and experiences create knowledge. Dont post if you want to tell everyone how you captured a building because you carry a thousand grenades, or how you did the stupid hero move and got lucky. Thanks.