Fieldcraft

[Artekus]

I'm pretty pants at sneaking about, but ideally I'd like to improve at it. My target for the NAE is to get some 'lone wolf' pistol kills, and for that it looks like I'll need to brush up on my fieldcraft/untutored thrashing about in the undergrowth :p

So, my question to to those who know of such things is:

How do you remain undetected when sniping, setting an ambush or using guerilla tactics? In theory, is good fieldcraft better than good camo alone?

Finally, are there any good training exercises to help me along the way?


Thanks a lot

Artekus

[Philshot]

Re: Fieldcraft

One thing that shows you are awesome at sneaking. If you have a dog or a cat or anything and you can sneak up to it without the pet seeing you.

YOU=WIN

[HunterAndy]

Re: Fieldcraft

Sound and speed of movement are two of the easiest things to detect in an airsoft game. If you cut these out in an airsoft game, you'll notice that your game will improve alot. The amount of times you see people popping heads out, dipping quickly or trudging through leaves / speaking loudly- They don't realise how well it can give away your position if you are out of sight.

Whilst there is the whole 7's and full fieldcraft guides that people will inevitabley give you I feel you probably want something that is best to focus on. For the time being those two are a good place to start.

I'd suggest you also start by asking your team mates, some of them are pretty good at getting around unnoticed (I'm not going to start ego inflating any of them in particular haha but you probably know from stories which ones get stealthy kills)...

[Millzy]

Re: Fieldcraft

I used to like to play it sneaky.
Three main things to remember (IMHO):

Observation: Stop occasionally & just look out at the ground in front of you. Look for things that shouldn't be there. Some inexperienced players get bored when trying to be sneaky & start shifting about. Same goes when looking for snipers, their range isn't infinite. undoubtedly they'd of already seen you & 'tracked' you along your route (I don't mean tasting the mud or looking for broken ferns, I just mean followed your progress), so try & find them before you wander into their range.

Patience: Pretty much Ronseal this. Unless you're getting shot at or under a time restraint, take it easy. Moving slowly's more difficult to see than something fast moving. You'll also make less noise & will be able to see more. If it takes you an hour to slowly patrol round where the enemy's expecting you to attack from, so be it. It'll be so much more worth it when you get the drop on them from behind!

Weapon: A bit like your manhood this. Get to know it! Know the length, weight & what parts make noise (That last one may not be so 'manhood-ish' Or maybe it will, if so, I'd advise seeking out medical help). Reason being if you know the general size of your gat, you're less likely to need to keep looking at it when moving through the undergrowth. If you subconsciously know the dimensions, then you can concentrate on looking for opposition players (I refuse to say something gay like "tango's"!) instead of trying to stop it banging into logs/branches.

[Caveira]

Re: Fieldcraft

One advantage of NAE for this is you can predict where the action will be going due to the timed objectives.

Get ahead of the game, find a big bush (!) or load of ferns and dig yourself in. With just a very little luck the enemy will come to you.

Last year I managed to get in the bushes ahead of an others rush and got a few kills with my pistol before my own team lit me up because I was in a bush among the enemy team.

[LtPurcy]

Re: Fieldcraft

Ghillie suit makes you invisibles!!!!

[acheekymonkeyuk]

Re: Fieldcraft

always move towards target, not paralell to it as your eye is drawn to sideways movement

[Artekus]

Re: Fieldcraft

Ahh some great stuff here lads! Makes me want to skirmish now haha

Definitely be putting this advice to good use :D

[Teufelhunden]

Re: Fieldcraft

find a big bush (!)

I Love Bush...Oh you mean overgrowth?!

[Andy8746]

Re: Fieldcraft

have your mouth open when listening! ...if its closed all you here is your breathing when the adrenalin is flowing
try and sneak up on people around the house then after a while it becomes 2nd nature

[murta369]

Re: Fieldcraft

Good tip i told my clumsy footed mate to try , get loads of twigs and foliage and stuff and lay them on your lawn or patio and try to walk between them making as little noise as possible. its helped him quiet down his sneaky movements because you used to hear him coming from about 20m away

so my tip is learn to be lightfooted , take it easy and keep observant of your surroundings , if you have 5 minutes left in a game take 3 to get to the target being sneaky, is better than taking one and ending up in a stalemate for 4 minutes , compaired to the 2 minutes that you have a steath and suprise advantage you could wipe out the enemys at the objective

[Bukkerz]

Re: Fieldcraft

If you want to be really sneaky, you're going to need lot of patience. Take a few minutes to move like half a metre than observe. Use the kitten crawl if you want to be really hardcore about it. If not, the monkey run or similar.

Hope this helps,
Bukkerz

[B.E.N.]

Re: Fieldcraft

the only things I take much notice of in your average airsoft situation is watching your silhouette, and staying still.

Don't stand or crouch on a ridge where you are backlit, you can be wearing all the camo in the world but once you get a backlight, you're up the creek.

As is always mentioned, your eye is drawn to movement. You'll be shocked at what you don't see if it's not moving.

Also a favourite tactic of mine is to act as a kind of sweeper. Stick with the gang, when you get locked into a firefight, don't trade fire with an enemy from a position they know you are at. By doing this, it's a 50/50 chance that it's you that will get hit when you poke your head out of cover and fire. Let the rest of your team get locked in and trade fire... Sneak out the back while the enemy are distracted, sweep round and pop 'em from the side. Take a couple of shots and fall back into your squad, if the enemy are still out there, sneak out again via another route.

[LtPurcy]

Re: Fieldcraft

Being sneaky 101.

Know your lighting - know where the sun is, what the time is and where your shadow is, kill your shadow

Ninja walk - try and avoid paths with twigs breaking leaves etc, if you cant very slowly go in with your heel and clear a path and step.

Be one with nature - stuff those branches in your shirt! a few bugs will be extra brownie points

Keep your mouth open - not to eat flies but to hear better, adrenaline makes you breath heavy

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast - dont move faster than you need to, couple of steps every so often, speed it up a little if the guy is moving away from you, keep a distance of 10 meters at least (for airsoft anyway)

George of the jungle - get into those bush lines and trees, youll be surprised that a lot of these lines have undisturbed ground other than branches to hit you.

One shot one kill - dont fire your gun miss and then start full autoing the guy still missing, you may as well have a metal gear ! on your head.

And finally

STFU! - turn comms to a minimum, try to be alone or with someone who knows also how to be sneaky and dont talk!

And theres my retarded way on how to be sneaky

[Artekus]

Re: Fieldcraft

Haha nothing retarded about that lot mate :D I reckon it will get me well on my way to being 'am l33t snipor'.

Loving the mouth open trick as put forward by N3AD and Lt. Purcy.