Semi Auto Only - what is your opinion?

[Josh95]

What are peoples opinions on semi-auto only rules for airsoft?

Some times at my field they do semi-auto only rounds, and i find it much more enjoyable and find it promotes tactical play more over "spray and prey" mentality. Personally I don't see the point of High ROF guns, unless you're a sadist who just likes to hurt people.

All sites impose FPS limits, i think ROF limits should be imposed as well.

Potentially allowing designated guns such as Machine guns to have higher ROF's (like bolt actions can have higher FPS).

It would also give GBBR users more influence on the game, as they're at a level playing field. and give LMG users a reason to lug around their heavy gun, because they have some kind of merit to do so.

 

[Sacarathe]

Treat others how you would like be treated; is all that is necessary for the use of auto in airsoft.

Personally I don't see the point of High ROF guns, unless you're a sadist who just likes to hurt people.

All sites impose FPS limits, i think ROF limits should be imposed as well.

The thing about ROF restrictions is that many guns as a consequence of the higher ROF have higher trigger response. Many people have very high ROF guns but never use auto, or normally play at non auto sites. There is only one way to measure ROF, and it will either be under the limit or not.

But when fired on semi you have an artificial limit on the ROF in most cases - some electronic systems will fire as often as you can press the microswitch within the ROF. Further some of the guns, like polarstar, can have a ROF of 50, but have a trigger lockout which sets how long trigger inputs will be ignored(up to 10 seconds).

There is no way to regulate ROF without penalising players which do not use auto.

Far better would be replacing auto on guns with 2 or 3 (or more) round bursts and allowing their use at sites which ordinarily disallow the use of auto.

For me personally, I would ban hi-caps before I would ban auto.

 

[Samurai]

I believe most sites have the rule that there must be SHORT bursts maximum. I've never seen it enforced though.

I have a strong suspicion that the full auto is not working on my 345fps AEG. I tried it last year and I think it didn't feed. That's how often I use auto fire.

When the WE G39 came out, I bought one and on the first game I was so disappointed, I sold it not much later. No-one took single shot hits, and I couldn't do full auto with the 3 x 30 round mags. Ok, that was a sh*tty game but I understand your point exactly.

I play single shot only but I don't mind others shooting full auto. It's a different playstyle than mine. I don't feel that full auto make them more successful, I just play differently. Each shot must be controlled, there is no spray and pray with single shooting.

Limiting insane ROF: it's intimidating yes, but does it make them achieve more hits?

 

[Josh95]

The main issue i have, its that high ROF guns remove an element of skill from the game. Those stupid Polarstar guns are like a laser, shooting a constant stream of bb's. Meaning you don't have to actually aim, just look at your stream of bb's and point it at the enemy.

The other issue is "suppressive firing" i understand its an integral part of the sport, but full auto shooting at a doorway so the person is trapped in-side to me seems excessive and i see it every time i play.

Banning high-caps is a good point too i didn't think of, maybe they're the real culprit here. At least if people with HOF guns have lower capacity mags they will be more conservative.

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

It's simple to prevent spamming really:

Limit players to set ammo carrying capacities on their person. Keep spare ammo at a respawn or checkpoint

Bolties, 300 rounds - basically allowing them out all day with no concerns over taking risky shots. This is how snipers should be able to play, they can hunt a long way out without concern for ammo. No ROF regulations enforceable.

AEGs, 600 rounds - or 5 Mid caps. It's plenty to do an afternoon on semi, allows full auto where required, albeit breifly and those that wish to use AUTO will get knackered heading to and from a regen area when they run out of ammo

MG, Equiv. of 2 'standard' box mags, or roughly 3000 rounds (PKMs and that with 5000 round mags can have a full magazine) This allows the fairly liberal application of auto to those players wishing to put the effort in to carry an MG

Also allow 100 pistol rounds each regardless of weapon choice

Tried this (or similar) previously and it took about half an hour for people to stop autoing everything and the whole game to become more tactical and the weapons involved more diverse, we saw a few players that wanted auto returning to the car to grab SAWs and they were consequently more knackered, but that's fine, because they put effort in to the game.

 

[Alex34]

It's all preference. I use semi only at least 85% of the time because it makes more sense for me. It only takes one round to take someone out, it preserves ammo, it improves your skill base, you have a better chance of picking off your targets (believe it or not) and you tend to have more fun.

However, full auto definitely has its place. Covering fire is when I use full auto. Opponents tend to keep their heads down when faced with the sound of full auto fire vs semi and there are definitely times when you need covering fire. Also it just feels good to unleash tens of rounds at a time down range every now and then.

HROF? I don't own any HROF guns but I could care less what ROF someone else is running. I care far more about hot guns and overkill as these two tend to cause more common issues and injuries than anything else gun related.

 

[mintsauce5]

my home site had a semi/single shot only morning when I played yesterday and it was a great mornings play , I really enjoyed it and so did the majority of the other players so it may become a regular thing hopefully

 

[Josh95]

It's simple to prevent spamming really:

Limit players to set ammo carrying capacities on their person. Keep spare ammo at a respawn or checkpoint

Bolties, 300 rounds - basically allowing them out all day with no concerns over taking risky shots. This is how snipers should be able to play, they can hunt a long way out without concern for ammo. No ROF regulations enforceable.

AEGs, 600 rounds - or 5 Mid caps. It's plenty to do an afternoon on semi, allows full auto where required, albeit breifly and those that wish to use AUTO will get knackered heading to and from a regen area when they run out of ammo

MG, Equiv. of 2 'standard' box mags, or roughly 3000 rounds (PKMs and that with 5000 round mags can have a full magazine) This allows the fairly liberal application of auto to those players wishing to put the effort in to carry an MG

Also allow 100 pistol rounds each regardless of weapon choice

Tried this (or similar) previously and it took about half an hour for people to stop autoing everything and the whole game to become more tactical and the weapons involved more diverse, we saw a few players that wanted auto returning to the car to grab SAWs and they were consequently more knackered, but that's fine, because they put effort in to the game.

Thats a great idea, the only thing is i guess its very hard to enforce?

 

[Alex34]

Ammo limits or mag limits are equalisers.

Airsoft is supposed to mimic real battle to some extent. In real battle you will be hit with all sorts of fire. Having everyone firing at the same rate is rather unrealistic and does take away from game play me thinks. Learn how to deal with all types of opposition otherwise we might as well all be using the same weapon... and that would be laser tag.

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

Thats a great idea, the only thing is i guess its very hard to enforce?

Why? Airsoft is a game of trust.

One person who has a few more BBs isn't an issue, one person obviously carrying more will be spotted.

 

[Sitting Duck]

Actually I used to be more a spray n pray but since semi only at Mall I've gone 85-90% semi like yesterday...

I carry 1 high cap and that is it just like back in Feb....

End of the day - it is down to player not to be a dick

one shot etc....

but f*ck me I got 4+ at 4ft yesterday and at time it stung with 2 bleeders - oh man up ffs

but yeah 2 would of been plenty from the rental chap even though his gun was hit a few times as I moved in

(they do include gun hits as disable weapon - some agree some don't to this but hey rental not exactly aware of it I guess)

But after sting subsides I calm down and resist the urge to go back and show him some real semi spam

(truth be told he got taken out before I respawned but I'm going with the more sportsman attitude - little $hit but hey I'm honest)

Anyway - it is really down to players rather than the guns

it is only when real dick-heads (like moi), start playing it gets silly

it is all how the player uhm ergh plays to be honest and the site's rules and/or play style

my local is really just a mess about in the woods - a few stressy times non-hit takers but wtf I take my local for what is and I'm not perfect either

(I'm nigh on but I'm my own worse critic and I'm fully aware of all my own faults & problems - yeah that is quite a few I know)

I'm liking the semi only and hopefully the urge to spam will reduce as me & my gun gets better making the shots actually count more I guess

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

I mainly go semi auto but do believe full auto has its place.

I actually like people who have high rof guns, I look for them in the chrono line showing off and going on about how much they are going to rinse people and then do my best during the games to find them and shoot them as often as possible.

High rof can be fun but in most cases its compensating for lack of skill, unless its a support gun then game on.

 

[Josh95]

I actually like people who have high rof guns, I look for them in the chrono line showing off and going on about how much they are going to rinse people

I really don't understand people like that (want to rinse people) when i hurt someone i feel awful about it even for a couple days after (maybe I'm just a pussy) people like that are cancer to the sport IMO

 

[Comicbook hero]

I think no one thing can make games more tactical. But combined together they can.

A couple of weeks ago I played at AirsoftGB and they ran a limited ammo day. It wasn't a milsim, just a game with four opposing teams with a list of missions that needed completing to gain points towards a win. Each player carried a 'hit' card which was handed to or collected by the shooter and the hit player then went to resporn to get another. Each card added points towards the win.

You could only carry a maximum of 300 BBs on you. It didn't matter if it was in a high cap, mid caps or low caps. There was no reloading in the field. At your 'HQ' you could keep your supply of other BBs and kit and could load there. This area was in the game zone. There was only a return to the safe zone for a break for lunch.

It was a real game changer. The game became more tactical even without the various missions and the field sounded realistic. And by that I mean there wasn't a constant rattle of full auto. There was sporadic bursts, a few tap taps of semi followed by silence. Teams strived to plan ambushes ran to out flank areas of defence and worked together to suppress the other teams. I ran semi all day using mid caps, only switching to full auto once ot twice to suppress and I only needed to relaod my mags at HQ once during the game.

The limited ammo idea was a game changer and really put a fresh perspective on airsoft for me. Don't fancy doing the normal airsoft anymore, just this kind of game now.

CBH

 

[Alex34]

I really don't understand people like that (want to rinse people) when i hurt someone i feel awful about it even for a couple days after (maybe I'm just a pussy) people like that are cancer to the sport IMO

There should be room left for injuries within the sport to a degree... we are afterall running around in the dark or in woodlands shooting eachother. I do, however, agree that no one should be intentionally trying to hurt other players and that is what makes HROF potentially a problem... not the HROF itself.

 

[Josh95]

There should be room left for injuries within the sport to a degree...

no i really disagree with that, i don't like getting pelted in the face by a guy running a high ROF gun and then having lumps (even scars) on my face for the next week.

 

[Alex34]

no i really disagree with that, i don't like getting pelted in the face by a guy running a high ROF gun and then having lumps (even scars) on my face for the next week.

Do you seriously think the odds of this happening several times in your airsoft career, merely by chnace, isn't likely to happen?

No one will like it but it will happen... by chance mostly... more than once.

I suggest you protect your face. Is HROF even an issue if you're not adaquately protecting your face?

 

[Sacarathe]

no i really disagree with that, i don't like getting pelted in the face by a guy running a high ROF gun and then having lumps (even scars) on my face for the next week.

Doesn't that fall to an entirely separate argument though; how is a shooter responsible for the negligence of other players?

 

[AK47frizzle]

I'm building a 28-ish rps gun and I can tell you it's not for mowing people down or slicing their ears' off; it's for intimidation and fear.

The sound of 28 bbs every second racing towards you is very distinct and not something you want to be hit by - this induces you to take cover and not advance any further, unless you have unlimited respawns - even worse if you're hiding behind metallic cover as the reverberating sound trembles within you... unless you realise i'm not actually trying to shoot at you and you could actually belt it before I notice.

I suspect i'll be using semi auto a lot more though.

Also great for cheaters. Not taking hits? Slice their dignity in half.

 

[proffrink]

I've always thought there should be an RoF limit as it's yet another thing that gives HPA a bad name. 30/s is enough for anything.