What newbies want.

In the last few times I've played, I've seen a lot of new players at the fields. And on one hand, that's cool. On the other, it's more than a little annoying. A lot of opportunity is lost because I am forced to hesitate and check if the guy opposite of me is wearing his goggles before I pull the trigger. Don't laugh. I've already saved 4 people from going blind this year by having basic trigger control.

But one thing I've noticed, and this is across the board here. New guys all have a few things in common. So I thought I'd share them with you all, and hopefully make some kind of understanding between the guys who have a clue, and those who are clueless.

First of all, a lot of the new players are weaned on "1st person shooters", so they're expecting a bolt rifle at worst, a laser gun at best. They expect to run around the map and just "pwn" everyone. Either that or this is a fantasy camp for them. They want to put their "gat" to their hip, and one-handed shoot it and mow down the opfor. Just like Rambo did, or like in every "gang fight" on TV.

Speaking of gats, they want one of two paintguns. They want the "automatic" that shoots 700 rounds a minute and hits harder than anyone else's and can shoot through walls. Or they want the "sniper gun" that can pick a guy off at 300 yards, which is actually 250 yards longer than the field of play they're on. But whatever you give them, they don't want to really get hit a lot by anyone else. Even though they want to shoot the snot out of everyone else, they don't want it back at them.

The goggles are ALWAYS uncomfortable. "Do we really need these?" is a common complaint. Even after multiple warnings, they still won't keep them on. Why? Well my theories are varied, but it comes down to two things. One is that since they don't think they'll get shot in the face because they're so naturally good, they see little need for a face mask. Second is that when they do get shot in the face, they figure nobody will shoot at them anymore and so they're safe to take the goggles off.

When they want gear, they want a "Bag of bullets". Get over this fact, they're newbies. They also have nothing else to play the game, so they're gonna look for rental coveralls, buy a pair of gloves that really won't protect them from more than a mosquito bite, and probably try to scam a pod pack out of somewhere when they realize that 200 bullets does not equal 200 kills.

On the field, they're gonna be Rambo. At least until they start getting shot at and they get that "rabbit in the headlights" look. The ones who've had some combat training will do the smart thing, get behind cover. The rest will do what they've seen in the movies, if they even think about it. This is assuming, naturally, they don't cower behind the first big bunker they can find, set out the firewood and camp.

You've seen it all before, you know what these guys are like. But this isn't just about poking fun at them, because just remember Ollie Lang was a newbie once too. No, this is about how you deal with them. And what you do can actually have a lot of impact on what kind of a day they have, and if they come back.

Taking a little time to coach a new guy is really easy. Even if it's just good advice or a quick plan of attack. "Ok, see that bunker there? Get to it off the start and shoot that way. I'll cover ya." You've just given them a plan, and they'll really enjoy themselves once they see you've put them into a place to shoot a lot of people. OR just a minute long shooting lesson can go a LONG way to improving their day. Even just telling them that they can't 1-hand a gun while running sideways and expect to hit anything can help!

Saying that, there comes a time when you have to realize when you're wasting your time. Some new guys are strong-headed, and they absolutely have to learn things the hard way. In those cases, I just tend to go do my own thing, and try not to get caught in the fallout of their learning curve. I can recall one field I played at where my teammates plan was to "hang back". They never saw any action all night, because that's what the other team did too. I ended up being the only one actually making moves up the field.

Then again, my "Teammates" were a boyfriend/girlfriend, and they wanted to hang back and sit in a bunker together on a darkened field. All I can say is that as long as they were wearing protective gear, I really don't care what they were doing.

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