These are essential skills which veteran players possess, and which newbies should practice.

1. PLAN.  Before every game formulate a plan.  Paintball is won by offense, don’t let your opponents dictate the game.  Have an offensive plan of who will go where and do what.

2. BE DIFFERENT.  Do not keep doing the same thing over and over.  Doing this allows your opponent to predict your next move, and devise a strategy to counter it.

3. CHECK YOUR HITS.  See where you are getting hit.  If you are constantly getting hit in the same spot, you are obviously not covering yourself well enough there.

4. DON’T TUNNEL.  Tunnel Vision is a common habit with new players.  Tunnel Vision means concentrating so hard on one spot of the field that you don’t see anything else.  To avoid this, constantly scan the field from side to side, and frequently check behind you.

5. GO WHERE THEY AREN’T.  Go where opposing players are not likely to go.  Exploit the weakest part of a team or the field.

6. LOCATE BY THE CLOCK.  Use the clock method to pinpoint your opponents.  If your opponent is directly in front of you, say “He’s at my 12”.  If he is to your right, say “He’s at my 3”, and so on.

7. DOUBLE YOUR ODDS.  Control key positions with two players.  That way, if one player gets eliminated, you still control that position.

8. COMMUNICATE.  This is one of the keys to success.  Your floater and spotter should speak loudly and often.

9. SET UP TO SHOOT.  Get set in your shooting position BEFORE you come out from behind your cover.  This will lesser the amount of time that you are exposed to enemy fire.

10.   REACT FAST.  Not only react to situations very quickly, but anticipate your opponents’ moves BEFORE they happen.

11.   BACKDOOR.  Once you punch through your opponents’ line, quickly turn and back shoot as many of them as possible.

12.   SWEETSPOTS.  Be very vocal in calling out your opponents’ sweetspots (their cover).  Walk the field before the game and note which positions are likely sweetspots.

13.   RETREAT LOW.  When retreating, crawl away from a position if possible.  At the very least, run in a crouching position.  Standing up simply gives your opponents’ a bigger target.

14.   LINE OF FIRE.  Never have two players lined up behind each other.  Paint which misses the first player can easily hit the second.

15.   MARKING SPOTS.  Use a reference point to mark your opponents’ positions.  Use physical characteristics like a knot on a tree, or mark their position with paint.  This way when you have to look around or fire on someone else, you can easily come back to your first opponent’s position.

16.   CONCENTRATE PAINT.  Whenever possible, get as many players throwing paint at one position as possible.  When it’s 3 on 1, your odds are greatly increased.

17.   FLOATERS.  Remember to have floaters on your team.  These players should be able to see the entire field, and they are vital in communicating the positions of your opponents, as well as keeping track of eliminations.

18.   CREATE DIVERSIONS.  The key here is to confuse your opponents.  Maybe start the game strong to one side, then shift players to the opposite flank.

19.   KEEP ON THE MOVE.  It is much harder to hit a moving player, and moving players are harder to outflank.  Moving also makes it harder for your opponents to concentrate fire on your position.  If you are in a position and don’t have anyone to shoot at, MOVE!

20.   SPEED COUNTS.  Act with decisiveness.  Commit to your actions.  Initiating an action, then deciding it wasn’t a good idea leaves you open for a greater period of time.

21.   PRACTICE.  Practice is key to improving your skills.  When practicing against someone else, they should be better than you.  Playing against opponents who are better than you is one of the fastest ways to improve your game.

22.  SHOOT WITH YOUR OFF HAND.  Players who are effective shooting their marker with either hand have an advantage over those who can’t.  Right handed players usually shoot from the right side of their bunker.  Knowing this allows other players to concentrate their fire there.

23.  LEARN HOW TO GAUGE DISTANCES.  Being able to give a distance along with your opponents' positions ("I've got one at my 1:00, 40 feet out!") greatly improves communication and your ability to coordinate fire.

24.  SHOOT WHEN YOU MOVE.  When you are moving between cover, don't just put your head down and run.  Learn how to fire your marker ACCURATELY while running.  In this case accurately doesn't necessarily mean being able to hit a 6 inch square piece of paper, but certainly a 3 foot square piece of paper.

25.  KEEP IN SHAPE.  For the most part, paintball is an ACTIVE sport.  While it is true you can get involved in "sneak and peek" games, a lot of paintball involves quick sprints and snappy actions.  The better shape your body is in, the faster you will be at these.  For those of us, <ahem>, older players, drinking beer and smoking while playing also just slows you down and lengthens your reaction time.