fear and tactics

[Delta]

A common problem when starting is that fear plays a huge factor in movement. If you ever noticed for yourself or others that when newbs start out they hesitate to move with the fear of getting shot because its going to hurt. Even some experienced players I have noticed this is a factor. While caution to move for good reason is smart but to let fear not allow you you to move you need to consider why this can be more painful. When you don't move you take a huge chance of being flanked or being discovered where you may get shot even quicker and sometimes at even closer ranges. The best way to overcome your fear of this is to face it straight out. When you get together with your group, do everybody on just you. While you may not win you will soon learn that moving is a very key thing. And you get used to it. Also a zombie game where its all on you but if you shoot them, they then have to join you, but if you the zombie or others are shot you are dead. This helps a lot since you know that by moving and taking out the enemy, you increase your numbers now so you will be more apt to engage. You basically just have to crack that shell because once you do you will learn that you can get a lot better more rapidly once fear isn't a handicap. And one more thing to think about too is that while you may be afraid to look around that corner or move somewhere, the enemy is probably thinking the exact same thing. You aren't the only one afraid or being a little shaking with making the move so know the feeling is a mutual deal. Use caution and tactics and trust them, not fear.

[Andree]

Yea, Ive been playin for a bit, and ive noticed that too! But if you let urself get caught up in the adrenalin(sp) you wont be afraid...
I normally am not afraid to move in open areas, just in the Close range, where you are walking around the corner and dont kno if I'm too lazy to spell a full word out. Please mock me. gonna get lit up with that gun that shoots 400fps! But just move quickly and quietly! Thats my advice

[luke213]

One thing I thought I would add. When I played/play paintball or airsoft with someone who has never played before. I always tell them to walk out and get shot once so they won't fear being hit. It seems to help allot since many new kids/adaults to this sport have this idea that it hurts really bad. Or they have seen welts and bruises on some website somewhere. None the less shooting someone so they know what to expect seems to go a long ways to getting over that fear. Just for referance if I don't move in a game it's probably because I'm to tired to go for it ;D

Luke

[nocfed]

Don't be afraid.

[xaos]

Another variation on Luke's technique works just as well. Have them shoot the heck outta *you*. Once they realize yer not afraid of getting shot (at like 30') repeatedly, their confidence tends to go up a ways.

It's awful fun using someone's fear against them though...someone wants to sit in one place...I charge em! Seems they never know what to do, and I get to light 'em up while cackling madly. Much fun

[Delta]

I don't think that shooting them to give em a taste will help. You see not only could it hurt and they would be even more scared but also the general fear is not knowing when you will be shot. You have to learn to not be afraid by learning that you must move and use tactics to avoid it. That whole concept is lost in just shooting them. You learn to overcome it with tactics and movement so you may lose some fear but you will more importantly learn to replace fear with caution which is something greatly needed.

[luke213]

Well this is a game for fun. And in that regaurd you want the players to have fun not be scared of being hit. I don't find airsoft hurts enough to worry about even point blank(stock guns for reference) and you shouldn't be taking hit like that anyways. So I would say yeah it's no worse than paintball, so I don't worry about being hit. And I can't say that anyone I play with complains about hits.


Luke

[Dawg Bait]

I do the same sometime, but i am getting more daring.. Right now the only thing i fear is snipers.. I have nothing else to say... and would ya look at that.. i am getting my M24 this comming Feb prolly..


Ross
Punisher

[Munin]

Delta raises a good point, and it's one we used to see all the time when I used to play paintball. A lot of times, new (or young) players are really timid. They won't move up, won't expose themselves to fire to get a better position, and don't really have any grasp of teamwork. As a result, they all tend to go off on their own separate tracks, get comfy behind a bunker, and hunker down, essentially not moving until they (almost inevitably) get bunkered or caught in a cross-fire and have to walk off the field. It's frustrating as hell to have people like that on your team, simply because you know what needs to be done, but you are saddled with people who are unwilling to do it.

Tactical acumen solves some of the problem (knowing that in most cases mobility is life, understanding the essentials of crossfire and flanking, etc), but in reality the biggest determining factor is teamwork. This is something that newbie players often don't get exposed to, and part of that is our fault as experienced players - because we know the value of teamwork and we want to continue working with people we know and trust and work well with. Which is to say, not newbies. And it's worsened by the fact that many times newbies come in packs and all get stuck on the same side. I used to see it all the time at Colors and Hell Survivors. One team is comprised of fairly serious players, and the other team has a core of experienced players and a pack of newbies. So the core of experienced players go off and do their thing, trying to make the best of a bad situation (i.e. being drastically outnumbered in terms of experienced players), and the newbies sort of get left to their own devices (i.e. they hunker behind cover and get gunned down one by one).

I've been guilty of running off with my team and letting newbies fend for themselves on many occasions. But every so often, we would take one or two new players with us and try to incorporate them into our more experienced group. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but looking back, it's something that I wish we had done more often.

[Ice]

sadly i rember when i was timid my first m-40 game. It wasnt my first time playing but it was like my first m-40 event. Everbody showing up decked out in gear. and then i rember this one dude with a m16a2 with a m203. First game i had no idea what the field was like or where to go. Then my entire team got killed. Tracer fire started coming at my face. I was amazed at the glowing bbs more then living. Then he comes around the corner and hits me with the m203. Next game i did want to die like that again so i moved up with people.

[Delta]

I find that lots of these people die since they don't make the move forward since they hesitate and are uncertain. You see after the game they relize hey if we had moved then we would have jumoed them from behind or we could have defended ourselves better. Basically study up on tactics, talk to experienced players and when it comes game time, don't think about it ,just do what you know you have to do without thiking of consequences so you can operate much smoother with a lot less hesitation and error. Now with that don't just bum rush either. Use smart tactics and just move and do what you got to do, only think about the situation not the possibly getting hit in the back of your mind crap. As your balls grow so will your brains.

[humanshield]

I'm not necessarily afraid of getting hit, although it can hurt if you don't have sufficient protection on. I am a little afraid of moving forward though because I don't want to die. I play with two or three other people only, and if one person dies it makes it harder for your partner to win. Although it's been done ;D

[xaos]

If you're not moving, you're just as much use to your team as you would be dead.

[famasforever]

Sometimes it helps to share some tactics w/ the new players before you start playing. When we play w/ new people we always split the two best players up and they will usually lead the squad. Having a plan and a leader before you go into a game usually helps the 'im a nervous wreck about getting shot' factor. New players seem to do what they're told when they know the main objective and someone is yelling at them to move. Works for us, we usually play w/ people between 12 and 19 years old.

on a side note. This kid i play w/ loves to get shot. But he's a really good player so it doesnt happen as often. At the end of a day if he feels he doesnt have enough welts, he'll make me shoot him w/ my 350+ gun. kinda weird i think, but whatever.

[Munin]

The whole fear of advance thing was very prevalent at OP: Pegasus Wind. So many of the games saw the attacking team reach the barn, then just mill around in confusion and hesitation on the outside, until they got picked off one by one. In one game in particular Viking and I (who had been killed while providing covering fire for the advance of our team) stood by and watched with frustration as four of our team milled about aimlessly at the wall of the barn. Vern finally gave them direction and got them into the building, but after he got shot in the face going through a doorway, the other three players followed him out as he left the building to exit the field as a casualty.

This was really frustrating to watch, because we knew that we had vast numerical superiority, and that once we got to the building, we could exploit crossfires and numbers to aid in clearing the building. And I think a lot of the hesitation simply had to do with the fact that some of the less experienced players have never had the opportunity to engage in room-clearing or dynamic entry drills.

Next time that Team SOCOM is kind enough to host a large event at their facility, I would propose that you try an entry-based scenario. Rather than forcing the attacking team to advance across all that open ground under fire (something else that newbies hate doing), concentrate on the CQB aspect of the game. Start the attacking team out at the barn and let them form into stack teams and let them focus on the actual CQB portion of the scenario. Teach them how to clear rooms properly and let them practice it against a prepared, resisting opposition (something that is quite difficult to do in and of itself). That way they'll know what to do in the larger scenarios once they actually get to the barn. They won't hesitate and get picked off one by one, and the end result will be better, more challenging games for both attacker and defender alike.