On Airsoft
Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2024 4:47 pm
Yes the title is a joke with von Clausewitz's "On War".
A few days ago I went to my first airsoft game. This has given me the idea of creating a topic where after every "battle" I come here and do a short report of my results and experience, with other users also being able to do the same here of course.
I am not sure if Psychlonic would get annoyed at the use of certain words like in the Blogposting thread so I'll try to substitute some with ones that are less... bot detectable or something. Guaranteed to look kinda goofy though.
So let's begin.
First battle.
Conditions: Day. A bit wet from previous rain.
Location: Deactivated set of buildings with some green areas outside. Extremely close range inside most areas of the buildings, longer on the areas outside of the buildings.
Number of participants: I think 20 for each team.
Equipment:
Skull black balaclava (I don't like it because it has too much white but had nothing better)
Black protective goggles with battery powered fan to avoid fogging of the non dark transparent plastic
Black protective mesh for nose, teeth and cheeks
Black combat shirt
Black tactical gloves
Black tactical pants
Internal soft knee-pads (They are really nice because I can crouch really fast and it won't hurt while at the same time not making an impact noise, highly recommended!)
Black tactical belt
Black pouch for extra pew container
Black leg pew launcher holder
Thingies that keep the lower part of the pants from covering the boots and things from getting inside the pants
Black long socks
Black army boots
Electric hand pew launcher
Two 30BB pew containers (one inside launcher)
Pew container loader with about 120 extra BBs
Tactical flashlight
First round:
Objective: Get some MacGuffins to activate a static boom device, afterwards, protect the device so it isn't deactivated. Also protect some boom device deactivation MacGuffins.
Results:
Objective: Defeat. MacGuffins collected but device wasn't activated.
Times hit: Many.
Foes hit: 0.
Second round:
Objective: Protect some MacGuffins so a static boom device isn't activated while at the same time getting some other MacGuffins to deactivate the device in case it is activated.
Results:
Objective: Success! MacGuffins collected and device wasn't activated.
Times hit: Many. But a bit less this time.
Foes hit: 3!
Now comments on this battle.
I think my very poor performance can be attributed to some things.
1. Lack of sleep. I had only managed to sleep for two hours the night before the game due to too much excitement. Fortunately the game was in the morning so the little sleep I had didn't fully wane away before it. I didn't feel sleepy because I was constantly active, but it still certainly affected my cognitive abilities.
2. Wrong equipment and skills for the task. Since it was my first game I didn't know what to do or where to go very well so I followed the other guys. Infantry guys.
Those guys had very head on combat centric tasks that I'm not equipped for. My equipment is very light and tailored towards close range recon not "Go take that area" type things. My skill set is also focused on stealth, not head on combat.
Let's first talk about the equipment. Imagine you were playing a FPS video game. In that game every weapon, from the tiniest to the largest takes down the opponents in a single hit anywhere on the body or equipment. Armor, no matter how thick and resistant, will not do anything to stop you from getting downed in one hit. It seems obvious then that the most optimal kit would be the lightest one, no armor and a weapon suited for the distance you wish to fight in. This all changes when one more mechanic is introduced: Pain. Whenever you get hit directly on skin or thin clothing in game wherever you got hit on will hurt a lot in real life. With that one change it now makes sense to armor yourself up as much as possible to avoid the pain, not doing so makes you fearful of exposing yourself and that has a lot of consequences. That's how it is in airsoft.
One thing that happened a lot on that regard is getting locked in a cover fight with someone and always losing due to the psychological effects of lack of armor and pain. I am fearful of getting hit because of the pain so I'll try to quickly pop out of cover, fire one shot and get back into cover. This results in very poor accuracy, specially considering I'm using a hand pewer that has no third point of contact with the body, as well as an inability to capitalize on the effects of suppression. Ideally you will fire and spook your opponent into getting back into cover and holding your aim on him so that next time when he pops out you hit him. That requires very strong or calm nerves, something that with the fear of pain and lack of armor I can't have, leading to me being the guy who's zeroed in after trying to pop out and fire for the third time or so.
Then there's the skill issue. My basic training program only has very basic combat skills, I'll only train CQB stuff on the intermediary training program that'll only happen some time after I'm done with the basic. The skills I have so far are mostly related to stealth, this leads to situations like having my ability to walk without making a sound completely nullified because I'm following loud infantry guys who walk loudly and whose gear rattles a lot, meaning my one advantage is lost.
3. Team. As much as I don't like blaming others for my own perils I think it's undeniable that I may have committed a mistake by choosing what team I wanted to play as too early, leading to me being with the team that's equipped like a rag tag guerrilla instead of the team with a bunch of guys who look like soldiers, special forces and shadow government death squads. You may say that equipment doesn't equal skill, and you'd be right, putting on Delta Force's kit won't improve your skill, but it's way more probable that the guy who has invested a whole lot of money into his kit puts more effort and time into training than the guy with a chest rig, boonie hat and basic long pewer because the guy with Gucci kit has a greater incentive into making that money be worth it as well as probably having more interest for tactics and stuff. That without mentioning that rarely one goes all in into something so he probably built his kit as time passed and thus has more experience due to playing more games.
Now let's talk about some changes to be made that will hopefully improve my situation.
1. Try to sleep well the night before the game lol.
2. Here I have two options, change my gear or change my behavior. For now I chose the former. My family didn't like that I came back from the game with skin wounds that last for days and offered to buy me a plate carrier but I denied it for now as those tend to be noisy. I will instead try to do more of the little successes I had last game, all 3 foe hits I had were when I used stealth and clever positioning to my advantage. 2 when I did an ambush at a ramp aiming from an angle where I could see their legs but they couldn't see me, then getting into a cover fight and losing. The last one when I got into a cover fight but realized that I'd probably lose so I just waited, then heard some fighting coming from that direction and with that probable distraction shifting my position and spotting the head of one, aiming and hitting it, unfortunately another heard it, appeared and hit me one second later. These little successes as well as hearing about how that same game a guy hid in a room until 7 people passed him then hit them all from behind show that stealth is in fact a viable tactic, thus I'll try to lean more into it. I think I'll stalk around the less populated second floor trying to lay ambushes, if spotted retreating and laying another ambush, repeating until pursuers worn out or given up, if forced to fight try to avoid getting bogged down and instead maneuver around, if bogged down waiting or just try to accept that I'm probably gonna get hit anyway and fully committing to the cover fight. A very dodgy fighting style.
I will still make some alterations on my kit however. The balaclava, goggle and mask combo make it really hard to breathe so I bought a balaclava with integrated nose and teeth protection, no cheek protection though but hopefully it won't hurt a lot. Overpriced but I hope it will be worth it. The tactical pants make quite a lot of noise when a leg scrapes into another but for now I'll just try to put up with it because I enjoy the environmental protection it gives me. I have given up on the tactical flashlight because it's just not powerful enough to give me an advantage during the day. The Pew container loader unfortunately rattles when I run after some of it is emptied but I'm not aware of any fix for it besides getting more pew containers instead but that's kind of expensive and I also can't get rid of the loader because still, I NEED MORE BOOLITS!!!
I feel like my kit will hit full maturity when I get an radio and an electronic ear protection headset that integrates with said radio. That would allow me to hide somewhere where I can see and transmit information about the other team's movements to the guys on my team who have radios and they relay that information to the others, helping the team as a whole a lot. The protection part of the electronic ear pro isn't all that necessary since this field doesn't allow loud hand boom devices but they also amplify noises like steps, talking and other stuff that's pretty useful for stealth. Another thing would be nocturnal capabilities with good night vision and an IR laser since this field hosts night games. Getting a suppressor for my hand pew would also be nice just to complete the look.
3. Just wait until the game is about to start before choosing the team I feel more confidence in.
And I guess this is it for now, next game soon and also a report on that. I also need to stop procrastinating and write up the report on crouch walking, hopefully I haven't forgotten anything yet.
A few days ago I went to my first airsoft game. This has given me the idea of creating a topic where after every "battle" I come here and do a short report of my results and experience, with other users also being able to do the same here of course.
I am not sure if Psychlonic would get annoyed at the use of certain words like in the Blogposting thread so I'll try to substitute some with ones that are less... bot detectable or something. Guaranteed to look kinda goofy though.
So let's begin.
First battle.
Conditions: Day. A bit wet from previous rain.
Location: Deactivated set of buildings with some green areas outside. Extremely close range inside most areas of the buildings, longer on the areas outside of the buildings.
Number of participants: I think 20 for each team.
Equipment:
Skull black balaclava (I don't like it because it has too much white but had nothing better)
Black protective goggles with battery powered fan to avoid fogging of the non dark transparent plastic
Black protective mesh for nose, teeth and cheeks
Black combat shirt
Black tactical gloves
Black tactical pants
Internal soft knee-pads (They are really nice because I can crouch really fast and it won't hurt while at the same time not making an impact noise, highly recommended!)
Black tactical belt
Black pouch for extra pew container
Black leg pew launcher holder
Thingies that keep the lower part of the pants from covering the boots and things from getting inside the pants
Black long socks
Black army boots
Electric hand pew launcher
Two 30BB pew containers (one inside launcher)
Pew container loader with about 120 extra BBs
Tactical flashlight
First round:
Objective: Get some MacGuffins to activate a static boom device, afterwards, protect the device so it isn't deactivated. Also protect some boom device deactivation MacGuffins.
Results:
Objective: Defeat. MacGuffins collected but device wasn't activated.
Times hit: Many.
Foes hit: 0.
Second round:
Objective: Protect some MacGuffins so a static boom device isn't activated while at the same time getting some other MacGuffins to deactivate the device in case it is activated.
Results:
Objective: Success! MacGuffins collected and device wasn't activated.
Times hit: Many. But a bit less this time.
Foes hit: 3!
Now comments on this battle.
I think my very poor performance can be attributed to some things.
1. Lack of sleep. I had only managed to sleep for two hours the night before the game due to too much excitement. Fortunately the game was in the morning so the little sleep I had didn't fully wane away before it. I didn't feel sleepy because I was constantly active, but it still certainly affected my cognitive abilities.
2. Wrong equipment and skills for the task. Since it was my first game I didn't know what to do or where to go very well so I followed the other guys. Infantry guys.
Those guys had very head on combat centric tasks that I'm not equipped for. My equipment is very light and tailored towards close range recon not "Go take that area" type things. My skill set is also focused on stealth, not head on combat.
Let's first talk about the equipment. Imagine you were playing a FPS video game. In that game every weapon, from the tiniest to the largest takes down the opponents in a single hit anywhere on the body or equipment. Armor, no matter how thick and resistant, will not do anything to stop you from getting downed in one hit. It seems obvious then that the most optimal kit would be the lightest one, no armor and a weapon suited for the distance you wish to fight in. This all changes when one more mechanic is introduced: Pain. Whenever you get hit directly on skin or thin clothing in game wherever you got hit on will hurt a lot in real life. With that one change it now makes sense to armor yourself up as much as possible to avoid the pain, not doing so makes you fearful of exposing yourself and that has a lot of consequences. That's how it is in airsoft.
One thing that happened a lot on that regard is getting locked in a cover fight with someone and always losing due to the psychological effects of lack of armor and pain. I am fearful of getting hit because of the pain so I'll try to quickly pop out of cover, fire one shot and get back into cover. This results in very poor accuracy, specially considering I'm using a hand pewer that has no third point of contact with the body, as well as an inability to capitalize on the effects of suppression. Ideally you will fire and spook your opponent into getting back into cover and holding your aim on him so that next time when he pops out you hit him. That requires very strong or calm nerves, something that with the fear of pain and lack of armor I can't have, leading to me being the guy who's zeroed in after trying to pop out and fire for the third time or so.
Then there's the skill issue. My basic training program only has very basic combat skills, I'll only train CQB stuff on the intermediary training program that'll only happen some time after I'm done with the basic. The skills I have so far are mostly related to stealth, this leads to situations like having my ability to walk without making a sound completely nullified because I'm following loud infantry guys who walk loudly and whose gear rattles a lot, meaning my one advantage is lost.
3. Team. As much as I don't like blaming others for my own perils I think it's undeniable that I may have committed a mistake by choosing what team I wanted to play as too early, leading to me being with the team that's equipped like a rag tag guerrilla instead of the team with a bunch of guys who look like soldiers, special forces and shadow government death squads. You may say that equipment doesn't equal skill, and you'd be right, putting on Delta Force's kit won't improve your skill, but it's way more probable that the guy who has invested a whole lot of money into his kit puts more effort and time into training than the guy with a chest rig, boonie hat and basic long pewer because the guy with Gucci kit has a greater incentive into making that money be worth it as well as probably having more interest for tactics and stuff. That without mentioning that rarely one goes all in into something so he probably built his kit as time passed and thus has more experience due to playing more games.
Now let's talk about some changes to be made that will hopefully improve my situation.
1. Try to sleep well the night before the game lol.
2. Here I have two options, change my gear or change my behavior. For now I chose the former. My family didn't like that I came back from the game with skin wounds that last for days and offered to buy me a plate carrier but I denied it for now as those tend to be noisy. I will instead try to do more of the little successes I had last game, all 3 foe hits I had were when I used stealth and clever positioning to my advantage. 2 when I did an ambush at a ramp aiming from an angle where I could see their legs but they couldn't see me, then getting into a cover fight and losing. The last one when I got into a cover fight but realized that I'd probably lose so I just waited, then heard some fighting coming from that direction and with that probable distraction shifting my position and spotting the head of one, aiming and hitting it, unfortunately another heard it, appeared and hit me one second later. These little successes as well as hearing about how that same game a guy hid in a room until 7 people passed him then hit them all from behind show that stealth is in fact a viable tactic, thus I'll try to lean more into it. I think I'll stalk around the less populated second floor trying to lay ambushes, if spotted retreating and laying another ambush, repeating until pursuers worn out or given up, if forced to fight try to avoid getting bogged down and instead maneuver around, if bogged down waiting or just try to accept that I'm probably gonna get hit anyway and fully committing to the cover fight. A very dodgy fighting style.
I will still make some alterations on my kit however. The balaclava, goggle and mask combo make it really hard to breathe so I bought a balaclava with integrated nose and teeth protection, no cheek protection though but hopefully it won't hurt a lot. Overpriced but I hope it will be worth it. The tactical pants make quite a lot of noise when a leg scrapes into another but for now I'll just try to put up with it because I enjoy the environmental protection it gives me. I have given up on the tactical flashlight because it's just not powerful enough to give me an advantage during the day. The Pew container loader unfortunately rattles when I run after some of it is emptied but I'm not aware of any fix for it besides getting more pew containers instead but that's kind of expensive and I also can't get rid of the loader because still, I NEED MORE BOOLITS!!!
I feel like my kit will hit full maturity when I get an radio and an electronic ear protection headset that integrates with said radio. That would allow me to hide somewhere where I can see and transmit information about the other team's movements to the guys on my team who have radios and they relay that information to the others, helping the team as a whole a lot. The protection part of the electronic ear pro isn't all that necessary since this field doesn't allow loud hand boom devices but they also amplify noises like steps, talking and other stuff that's pretty useful for stealth. Another thing would be nocturnal capabilities with good night vision and an IR laser since this field hosts night games. Getting a suppressor for my hand pew would also be nice just to complete the look.
3. Just wait until the game is about to start before choosing the team I feel more confidence in.
And I guess this is it for now, next game soon and also a report on that. I also need to stop procrastinating and write up the report on crouch walking, hopefully I haven't forgotten anything yet.