Many threads on upgrades and mods usually involve questions of "What next?" or "What should I do now?" Well, I can't answer those questions. Instead I offer general suggestions and principles to attempt to direct you to find your own answers. Personal preference and play style are unique to each player and there's no way to give a set order of upgrades or parts for everyone. Admittedly the words below will be slightly biased by my own preferences, so take them as you will. Let us begin.


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 sport itself. Try to get a feel for the field, the flow of the game, and accept the fact that you may not be that great when you start. That's ok! EVERYONE started somewhere and even the pros were horrible players at one point. So take it slow, practice as much as you can with what you have, and remember it is a sport and you're supposed to have fun. After you start getting a feel for the game, then you'll get a better idea of how you like to play and what you may want to change. At this point, don't worry about swapping out your gear, getting big upgrades, etc. You want to develop consistency in your play and that's difficult to do when you're not playing with the same stuff.


Start Big
Once you have a few days of play under your belt, start looking for ways to improve your game. This will include some tough questions because although some gear can raise your play level, more often it's you that needs to improve. If you're not hitting your targets like you want, are you using unreliable gear, or do you just need practice at aiming and shooting? If you get shot out while trying to sneak around somewhere, maybe you ought to practice your movement and fieldcraft instead of blaming your camo pattern. If you're always running out of paint, do you need to carry more or do you need to rein in your trigger finger and shoot smarter? Once you find out places your gear is holding you back it may be time to get some better stuff. 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 limit their play. You don't need a snazzy new trigger if you're still using crummy paint with a bad bore match that sends your shots everywhere. Likewise, why drop cash on marker cosmetics or custom grips if your muzzle velocity is fluctuating +/- 15 fps? Start looking at 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. Start by examining your core gear: mask, pod pack/LBE, loader/hopper, gas source, and marker. Do you have a quality, comfortable mask or are you running around in a scratched up, fogging rental? Do you have a good pod pack/vest or are you still just carrying paint and squeegees in your pants? Is you loader reliable or does it crap out, misfeed, and cause paint jams galore? Is your gas source sufficient for your game length and shooting habits? It may not be terribly glamorous using ye olde school Spyder or Automag classic, but if you're putting shots where you need them and your marker isn't breaking down, do you really need the newest fangled gun with 20 ramping modes firing at 50 bps?


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, maybe even call up some big industry players in your area. 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 either. Above all, the ergonomics of youre gear defines how you can shoot and move and is the most important part of your game. 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. Something may be a great product, it just may not be great for you. That's not to say you should never change anything. Be open to some change, try out new things. It's a big difference between something that feels wrong or uncomfortable and something that feels different.

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 played for years without a quick exhaust valve ( QEV ) or a cyclone ratchet upgrade on my A-5. Why? Because they didn't help my game. A QEV is designed to allow gas pressure to bleed off faster after a shot, allowing the cyclone to reset the piston faster in order to feed balls faster. Most aftermarket ratchets replace the standard plastic one at the base of the cyclone with more durable metal parts which can take more abuse and higher rates of fire. Well, I didn't have an E-Grip or a response trigger at the time so my rate of fire couldn't exceed my fingers. I didn't lay a lot of paint back then so my ratchet wasn't very worn and I didn't have any problems with my cyclone not keeping up. I didn't need to spend the $50 to gets those upgrades. After I got an E-Grip and started firing more, I got a new ratchet because then I needed it. But I still don't have a QEV because I don't shoot above 15 bps and bleeding gas out of my cyclone piston isn't an issue. In short, 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 saving up for a new PE Ego, buying a whole set of barrel backs for your 98C may not be the best move. 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 upper tier. 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.

__________________
You can't wipe a welt
- J

Paintball FAQ's | Asking yourself "What should I get next?" | Paint & Barrel Facts | HPA vs. CO2 | Regulator FAQ's | Remote Line: Yea or Nay? | LPK FAQ's
Complete A-5 Maintenance | Complete T-8 Maintenance | Fixing the Chop | Slide Checks 101 | Which Vest is for Me? | Secondary Sights | Rails, Sights, & Targeting
Bad Karma Paintball Team | Jaron's Realm - Paintball Commentary

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 | HPA vs. CO2 | Regulator FAQ's | Remote Line: Yea or Nay? | LPK FAQ's
Complete A-5 Maintenance | Complete T-8 Maintenance | Fixing the Chop | Slide Checks 101 | Which Vest is for Me? | Secondary Sights | Rails, Sights, & Targeting
Bad Karma Paintball Team | Jaron's Realm - Paintball Commentary

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.

__________________

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 | HPA vs. CO2 | Regulator FAQ's | Remote Line: Yea or Nay? | LPK FAQ's
Complete A-5 Maintenance | Complete T-8 Maintenance | Fixing the Chop | Slide Checks 101 | Which Vest is for Me? | Secondary Sights | Rails, Sights, & Targeting
Bad Karma Paintball Team | Jaron's Realm - Paintball Commentary

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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Awesome thread that people seem to not write in! Im sure some people would like a little bit of experienced advice. Good job at making this!

Hehe, im proud of ya

James

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very useful tips. i am torn between getting an apex and a 9 inch palmers brass for my completely stock marker