How do YOU play airsoft?

[signal319]

The best way to lead is from the front

[Murta369]

Id say i played more 'dynamic' , i usually like to get one up on the enemy tricking them or attacking from their own lines

[AirsoftBuyer1234]

The way I see it, this poll is a "what weapon do you use" question than a "how do you play" question.

 

I'd define the main roles as such

 

Assault - specialises in taking ground, fast. Usually seen sprinting directly at the enemy the moment the game starts. Death or glory type thing - either catches the enemies off guard or runs into a bunkered down enemy and gets gunned down. Works best in a team, using covering fire to move up. Tries to take the main objectives / tactical positions, so usually encounters heavy resistance.

 

Support (basic)- the ones right behind the assaulters. Characterised by an AEG and a heavy trigger finger. Enjoys spraying at anything that moves. Gives the assaulters enough fire to move up, but isn't too keen on making the daring dashes himself, so hangs about 10-20m back from the front line, but enjoys large firefights.

 

Support (tactical) - only really seen in larger games, or those with regular teams. Generally a sniper or a very good shot with an AEG. Hangs a little back from the front line, and takes out key opponents who are causing problems for the assaulters. Rely on having a few teammates between them and the enemy, so they can't be charged at and don't come under fire (enemies too busy with assaulters).

 

Skirmishers - less keen on the big firefights, and not too concerned about taking the key objectives within the first 5 minutes. More content to engage the enemy in small numbers. Less of the death or glory type. Far higher life expectancy. Will occasionally get round behind enemy. Value stealth above speed.

 

Ghillies - the super stealthy players who lie in wait for enemies, and remain completely invisible. Only fire if they're sure they'll hit, and never have to change mags. Always the last man to die (if they die at all). Found lurking in the quiet spots waiting for lost enemies, or those who have had the genius idea of sneaking round.

 

Defender - the guy who hangs about 100m back from the action, clearly a bit of a wuss, but pretends he's acting as a last resort and without him the team would collapse as it gets flanked. Ironically, the one time the enemy does flank round, he's looking the wrong way and gets dropped without firing a shot. Most likely person to be on the radio calling out targets and giving other orders.

[33lima]

I'm afraid I don't much buy the whole concept of distinct specialised roles in airsoft, this whole scout-assault-assassin thing especially. Much as in real life, I think most people should see themselves simply as riflemen/infantrymen, ready and able to do whatever the tactical situation demands, whether that is advancing to contact, attacking, defending, withdrawing, patrolling, stalking, all the while using fieldcraft, teamwork and marksmanship/application of fire. You have to be able to put down fire on an enemy one moment, then the next moment close with and 'kill' him while your oppo covers your move. Also to camouflage and conceal yourself and make good use of cover when static and covered routes while on the move. And to give and understand hand signals and target indications.

 

All of these are basic infantry skills, which any airsoft player who takes the sport reasonably seriously can, with a little effort, acquire and apply in game, to good effect.

 

I find myself leading a team most games and I don't want specialists who see themselves as such, I want people who can all do whatever the situations needs, whenever it needs it. OK if you happen to have someone in your team who's particularly observant or quick-reacting [or whom you don't especially like ], well put him on point, but that doesn't make them a [capital S] Scout.

 

If commanding a side I'll divide it into sections with a sect comd each, and if just commanding a section I'll divide it into two fire teams, usually numbering everyone off and having them work in one of about 4 basic formations [file, single file, arrowhead, extended line] with odd numbers on the L and even on the R. That way, people won't have the option of deciding to hang back, rush ahead or wander off [yes Colm and Bob I mean you], even if that may be their playing style. I'll pick the formations and the lines of advance and when the shooting starts make and execute a plan, and when that goes belly-up make another one etc [like the man said, a bad plan is better than no plan at all]. All that may seem liable to cramp the style of the free spirits out there who want to be scouting, assaulting, sniping or otherwise doing their specialised thing, but that's the way we tend to work at Foxtrot 58, where we emphasise teamwork and try to give players a feel for what it's like to operate the way soldiers do; players seem to understand and value it rather than finding it restrictive. Each to his own but having started off in airsoft playing in a less organised, more individualistic way I have seem both approaches and have come to prefer the above one whether I'm commanding or being commanded; it's certainly an awful lot more realistic.

 

Even if you find yourself most often operating in Special Forces-sized patrols of 4 men or so [and 'bricks' of 4 men were also the basis for normal patrols in NI, plus that's also about the size of a normal recce patrol in general warfare, so this is not just an SF thing], the sort of specialisation you find there [or in Ghost Recon] isn't particularly relevant to airsoft. I for one certainly don't find myself in many games where paramedical, demolition, comms or linguistic skills would have come in particularly handy

 

Granted, snipers and gunners do have some place in airsoft but much less so than in real life because of weapon and gameplay/gamesite limitations.

 

I have found the support gunner comes into their own, if you organise a section/squad-sized team into a 4-6 man rifle group allowed to fire semi only, and a 2-3 man gun group with one support wpn [or 1 full-auto-permitted AEG]. In other situations, the fact that just about everyone has a full-auto wpn with hi-caps means specialised support gunners have a limited advantage, whatever wet dreams they may have of unique prowess and battlefield domination

[AirsoftBuyer1234]

I have found the support gunner comes into their own, if you organise a section/squad-sized team into a 4-6 man rifle group allowed to fire semi only, and a 2-3 man gun group with one support wpn [or 1 full-auto-permitted AEG]. In other situations, the fact that just about everyone has a full-auto wpn with hi-caps means specialised support gunners have a limited advantage, whatever wet dreams they may have of unique prowess and battlefield domination

 

It is a shame, I think, that support weapons have no discernible advantage over assault rifles. However, the only solutions I see are real cap battles or increasing FPS limits for support weapons, neither of which are likely to be very popular =/

[vorgaphe]

The best way to lead is from the front

 

Try telling that to Haig!

[signal319]

Try telling that to Haig!

 

 

As a cavalry officer we might have expected him to do that with a sword!

[33lima]

It is a shame, I think, that support weapons have no discernible advantage over assault rifles.

 

Agree entirely - that's why I limited everyone but the 'no.1 on the gun' to semi. That worked quite well in several respects. One, it gave the support weapon a realistic firepower advantage over the other wpns. Two, it encouraged more realistic use of fire & manouevre tactics, with the sect comd having to think about which flank he put his gun group on for the advance, and then after coming under effective enemy fire, where to put it to suppress the en so he could put in an assault with the rifle group. Third, it discouraged "pray and spray" by the riflemen, without having to ban hi-caps. The enemy were pairs armed with AKs, who WERE allowed to fire full auto but with only one hicap mag to last them thru each phase. The attackers were organised as a Cold War-era infantry section - rifle group and gun group - tasked with with clearing an area of dispesed Red Army saboteurs, a typical battle picture used in section battle drills. The teams swapped roles mid-way, with the winner being the attacker who killed all the en the fastest, after time penalties for casualties incurred.

 

But I digress - main point is, allowing only the gunner to fire full auto certainly gave the support wpn a much more realistic role, and indirectly helped make the whole game more realistic.

[p.a.n.i.c.s]

I prefer to play assault i like the fast paced action of it and it always gives you some good trigger time.

[pugwash]

I usually play enemy finder, "Steve bimble down there til you get shot then we'll know where they are." and I usually oblige

[SinfulSaint]

Part assault, part Team Leader