Many threads on upgrades and mods usually involve questions of "What next?" or "What should I do now?" Well, this one isn't going to answer those questions per se. Instead it will offer general suggestions and principles to attempt to direct you to find your own answers. Personal preference and play style are unique to each individual and there's no way to give a set order of upgrades or parts for everyone. Aside from performance parts many people also add cosmetics and mil-sim looks to a marker, so how do those figure in? Admittedly the words below will be slightly biased by my own preferences, take them as you will. Let us begin.


Start Big
My philosophy on upgrading is this: find what will grant the biggest performance boost for your play style and then start working down from there. Too often people end up getting things that really only have marginal effects while neglecting core things that really hold them back. For example, getting a new double trigger looks cool and may make it easier to walk or fan your trigger, but if you don't already have some type advanced trigger system like an E-Grip or similar to use with the double trigger, putting that $30 toward a good barrel or quality paint would've helped your accuracy and overall performance much more. Likewise, is it particularly useful to drop a cool shroud over your marker when your muzzle velocity is fluctuating +/- 15 fps? These are only two of a myriad of ways to look at what you have, so use them only as very basic examples. Get the big things first and then come back for the little bits and pieces. Find the area in your game that's suffering the most and start finding ways to fix it.


Familiarity
For the novice player the worst part of your game is most often just inexperience and inconsistent play. Take some time first to get familiar with the gear you have and just practice as much as you can with it. You can't hope to build any type of consistent play if you're continually making big mods and upgrades to your gear. ( I'm talking about big changes here, not little things like hauling some extra paint on the field or getting some different clothes to play in. ) After a bit you'll find out if those weaknesses in your game stem from equipment issues or operator error. And when I say equipment issues, I'm not talking about bigger and better, but inconsistent and inadequate. A marker limited to 5 bps that's a little bulky may not have all the performance you'll eventually want, but if it does perform reliably to what it says it will do, then it's something you can keep working with. However having one that chews through multiple gas tanks in a single day on minimal firing, or that suffers constant velocity spikes, or using a barrel that's always putting bad spin on your shots is a different matter entirely. That's having unreliable gear and is something that should be dealt with. But it may take a few games or more to figure some things out. Start asking yourself things like, "Am I a bad shot, or is my marker not putting balls where I aim it?" "Am I getting shot because my camo is horrible in this area or because I haven't learned to move and conceal myself properly?" Then you can find places where your gear is holding you back, not yourself. So, start looking for equipment to fix it.


Research
Now, this means some effort on your part because you're going to have to do some research. Hit the forums and boards, make some searches, go through the Wikipedia, go to your local shop, call maybe even call up some big industry players ( I know I bother SpecOps quite a bit, ) just get some reliable info. Don't buy into posts and reviews of people who just say, "Get this, it ROCKS!" or any other hype. Find reliable sources where they can explain the why and how of something. Ask questions, even if they seem stupid. Any experienced player should remember the time they were in your situation and should be able to help you out. When at a game, check out other players' gear and see if they have something you're considering getting. Ask if you can try it out. Every player likes to brag about their gear a bit, no matter how hashed it is. I've never had anyone say no to me and can't recall ever denying another player myself either. This is possibly the most important part. No matter how many reviews you read, no matter what kind of recommendations you get, if something doesn't feel right to you, don't get it. I used to think the longbow stocks were just the coolest thing, all the tubular aluminum and everything. But then I tried it out and didn't like it. It was too short for me and I had to tuck my arms in too far to my liking. That's not to say it's a bad product, just that it's not for me.

After you get your facts straight, go back to asking questions of yourself if will really impact the way you play and if it will help you. Be brutally honest and answer whether it's something you actually need. For example, I don't have a quick exhaust valve ( QEV ) or a vortex mod on my A-5. Why you may ask? Well, they simply won't improve my play style. A QEV is designed to allow blowback to bleed off faster after a shot, allowing the cyclone to reset the piston faster in order to feed balls faster. A vortex replaces the standard plastic ratchet at the base of the cyclone with more durable metal parts which can take more abuse and higher rates of fire. Well, I don't have an E-Grip or a response trigger so my rate of fire can't exceed my fingers. I don't lay a lot of paint when I play so my ratchet isn't very worn and I don't have any problems with back pressure in the cyclone so I didn't need to spend the $50 to gets those upgrades. Truth be told, I was ready to get them, but after talking to the boys at SpecOps about it, I found it wasn't something that I needed at the time. Now, if my ratchet finally wears out, then yes I'll probably get a Vortex or JetClick to fix it. But even if I get an E-Grip or RT I probably won't get a QEV simply because I don't care to shoot above 10 bps. I was able to save money because I did my research and asked questions first.


Plan Ahead
Finally, take the future into account when getting something. A certain amount of obsolescence, incompatibilities, and deprecation will happen throughout your paintball career without fail. But, with proper planning you can minimize it. If you're considering moving to HPA in the near future, then don't go blow cash on an expansion chamber, regulator, and anti-siphon kit ( granted regulators can still be helpful for HPA too. ) If you're thinking of buying a new AGD, don't go buy a whole set of barrel backs for your 98C unless you're also willing to get some thread adapters. A little forethought can save a lot of money.

Now there's going to be times where you just go on a splurge to get something because it's cool or you just felt like working on your marker; hey I've done it too and I'm sure everyone will continue to have some of those moments. I mean, what fun is owning a fine piece of equipment if you can't personalize it and make it truly yours? ( I think I finally understand how some of my motorhead friends feel about their cars. ) Just take care that any work you do on your marker has a specific purpose. And remember, often times it's worthwhile to put off an upgrade while you save up to get a really high quality one. That way you don't waste money continually replacing parts trying to ramp up to that high quality. Also, you may just get lucky while waiting and saving. Maybe something else gets released in the meantime that will work even better, maybe a big clearance sale happens, or any number of things.


Strokes & Folks
It's said many times in many ways but it still holds true. Everyone one has their own personal preference and chances are no two people have the exact play style. Yes, it's nice to ask a question and get a clean, direct answer. But don't get upset with people answering your questions with more questions. These are usually the best responses because they're trying to help you the most. Instead of simply recommending some equipment or upgrade, which may or may not end up working well for you, they're trying to help you find the best answer for your particular situation, which might not be the same as for them. And don't feel like you have to follow the mainstream. I'm not saying you need to rebel against everything, but there's no need to conform for conformity's sake alone. The fact that I still don't own or have plans to own a Palmer brass barrel is likely borderline heresy to some of my online friends. That's part of the fun of the sport, developing your own system and style of play.

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You can't wipe a welt
-J

Paintball FAQ's | Asking yourself "What should I get next?" | Paint & Barrel Facts | Fixing the Chop
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Sale - Custom Vests, MOLLE Gear, Dogleg Stock, & More

Reformatted a few things, it should read a little easier now.

__________________
You can't wipe a welt
-J

Paintball FAQ's | Asking yourself "What should I get next?" | Paint & Barrel Facts | Fixing the Chop
HPA vs. CO2 | Regulator FAQ's | To Remote or Not To Remote | Slide Checks 101 | LPK FAQ's
Complete A-5 Maintenance | Complete T-8 Maintenance | Which Vest is for Me? | Secondary Sights | Rails, Sights, & Targeting
Sale - Custom Vests, MOLLE Gear, Dogleg Stock, & More

I smell a stickie. Good post man. This will help many who are new to this game make smarter choices about what to add tot heir marker.

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Confirms what I always thought- the first upgrade should always be a nice palmers brass

I think I'm going to boycott those on the sole principle of not following the crowd . . .

__________________
You can't wipe a welt
-J

Paintball FAQ's | Asking yourself "What should I get next?" | Paint & Barrel Facts | Fixing the Chop
HPA vs. CO2 | Regulator FAQ's | To Remote or Not To Remote | Slide Checks 101 | LPK FAQ's
Complete A-5 Maintenance | Complete T-8 Maintenance | Which Vest is for Me? | Secondary Sights | Rails, Sights, & Targeting
Sale - Custom Vests, MOLLE Gear, Dogleg Stock, & More

The brass may be quite popular on this forum, but most people in the paintball world don't like it. I believe PGi put a brass barrel down in the Top 10 Worst Paintball Ideas article (for stupid, unresearched reasons).

Oh, by the way, nice write-up!

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