If you have been lucky enough to attend 2017’s NvS in the UK and many of the larger games overseas you may have had to deal with the mighty paintball tank, not any ordinary piece of equipment in a paintball teams ordinance, from the full replicas of Tiger Tanks to the bizarre bike and side cart or the Minions of NvS 2017, teams are very proud of what they make putting a lot of time and effort into these mobile beasts, and why wouldn’t they, the reinforcement of a tank rumbling down the road painting anything that moves can turn a battle allowing players to flood into a field or dropping of enemy players behind you.
Tanks lack speed, stealth and subtlety, usually announcing its presence by blaring out 80’s metal or the imperial march long before its seen, manned by a ‘special’ breed of paintballer. The gunner could possibly have the most fun all day, like shooting fish in a barrel he will empty hopper after hopper of paint at the fleeing players, grinning all the way.
If you are on the receiving end of a tank you will know about it, possibly the first thing you will hear is frantic players yelling ‘tank, tank!’ as they run past you, as a grunt you have few choices to deal with this metal monster, flinging paint at it is the equivalent of throwing stones at a hornets nest and most tanks will be invincible to players paint anyway, so your choices are limited, you can shoot at it (if allowed), but usually this has no effect, join the other players and run away, or hide and hope it goes away, or if you are lucky enough to be equipped with a specialist weapon or another tank you may be able to disable it! This will be down to the game rules, Sometimes a paint grenade will do the job, some players will be equipped with special laser weapons or semi auto makers called a LAW (Light Antitank Weapon) which are usually made to look like a cumbersome bazooka, a single shot with a special colour of paint in the right place will disable the tank and return it sulking to the dead box
So you think you have what it takes to be a tank killer? An anti-tank gunner will have to get up close and have a steady shot in order to eliminate a tank. Lying in wait for the perfect shot without giving themselves away, this usually calls for a distraction from other players to draw the tanks attention away from the Anti-tank gunners position, Not something every player will jump at the chance to do, above all remain calm in the presence of a tank, don’t let them rattle you, tanks on a field are a psychological boost to your enemy, for all the weaponry they have, the weaknesses can be used to your advantage, they usually have to stick to walking speed on a set course that can be fairly open, they can be slow to respond if they have only one gunner and cannot turn around easily, this allows you to sneak round the back of them and take them out. Sometimes it takes another tank to combat a tank, if this is the case, sometimes it’s better to let them fight it out and carry on with your mission.
Tanks are in your face, noisy and above all fun bits of kit, let them roll around the field, if they become a real treat to the game, stop, and think about how to lure it into a trap, letting it rumble by an anti-tank gunner or two or calling in your own tanks to push them back.
Or how about making your own team tank for NvS 2019 and try your hand at destroying the opposition?