Check Out My Unit: A Guide to Fulda Gap
Fulda Gap is my favorite scenario of the year. If this fourth column on it from me doesn't tell you that, I'm not sure exactly what will. It can also be confusing as hell to sign up for if you don't know what you're doing, and isn't even the easiest if you do know. The unit you sign up for can also greatly change your experience there, since the field plays vastly different depending on where you sign up to play. Hopefully, I may be able to point you in the right direction with this here guide. Others might have more experience and can tell you more, but here's the basic guide.
So, you're a dirty commie bastard. Well, we have a home for you!
If you also prefer being a hammer (and sickle) than a nail, this also might be the side you want to join. Saturday is the longer day of the weekend, and the heavier day for points during play. It's also the day that Warsaw is on the attack. They start on the North side of the field, and attack the South all day long. While they do have to hold their side, the reality is they get to attack like crazy versus the more defensive side, NATO. So, if you like constant attacking, or a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs, this side is for you.
If you also prefer being a hammer (and sickle) than a nail, this also might be the side you want to join. Saturday is the longer day of the weekend, and the heavier day for points during play. It's also the day that Warsaw is on the attack. They start on the North side of the field, and attack the South all day long. While they do have to hold their side, the reality is they get to attack like crazy versus the more defensive side, NATO. So, if you like constant attacking, or a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs, this side is for you.
This here is the glorious 39th. They start at the very back, which is the northwestern part of the field near the rear tank insertion point. Like big ass hills? You're in luck. You're going to walk up one to get in there and you're also heading into the forest. There will be a clearing between your starting area and where NATO will be dug into, also in the forest, and somehow it will feel like you went uphill both to your starting zone and when heading to where you're attacking. You'll be engaging NATO very quickly, with nearby NATO units across from you having had some recent trenches dug in to help fortify their bases. But make no mistake, those guys are far from home. You hit them and they've got a haul to respawn. From there, you're likely sweeping down south and east. Again, this is a group that's going to be in forest, hills, and attacking all weekend long.
Like flat, open space? Firm bunkers? Using Rockets? This is a unit you'll love. It starts at Bravo, one of the safest bases on the entire field for it's home unit, and it gets completely unleashed to raise hell from the get-go. My team MVT'ed Fulda from this unit with me playing it a week after breaking my ankle and spraining the hell outta my ligaments, and I could still hobble my ass around the field and be very effective. The field isn't going to physically challenge your legs and lungs like the hilly units will. You're going to attack Rex, which is damn near a Warsaw base at this point (NATO base directly in front of your starting point), Sim City (city fighting---w0ohoo!), and the newly built up OP Alpha's (basically a city in the forest, in a valley). If you like bunker busting or playing anti-tank, these are your people. If you like city style fights, this is for you. If you like target-rich environments, this is a great place to start. This is one of the units that will also play with heavy armor, meaning big, big tanks, which is a whole lot of fun.
And the best part of this unit may just be the spawn point. It's right next to you. Get hit. Go tag up. Right back in. Fat guy friendly unit. It's also next to the insertion points, vendors, food, paint, and air. Plus, fuck hills.
And the best part of this unit may just be the spawn point. It's right next to you. Get hit. Go tag up. Right back in. Fat guy friendly unit. It's also next to the insertion points, vendors, food, paint, and air. Plus, fuck hills.
Like forest and city style play? You'll be going straight after OP Alpha, and then likely after Fulda itself. That means attacking areas that are combinations of both city and forest. By that I mean you'll attack areas in a forest with buildings and dug in areas as bunkers. This is a great area for good gun fights and rocket play for bunker busting, tanks will get sent through here, and you can expect heavy resistance until NATO is pounded into submission, especially when attacking Fulda/Alpha. Strategies may vary general to general, but that area is directly in front of you, and you're likely one of the units that would be expected to try and split the field in half.
See the description for 39th? Might as well copy and paste it. The same applies here, as they start right next to each other. Hills? Check. Forest? Check. Attacking dug in bases in said forest? Check. Taking out the hills then sweeping down towards the backside of NATO on the way to Fulda. Check. That's what you're getting into when you sign up for this space.
See the description for the 27th? Well, clone it and slap that one here. Same thing. Lots of tanks. Taking Rex in under 15 minutes. Attacking Sim City. Attacking OP Alpha and Fulda. Flat ground. Quick Respawns. Open areas and city-style play. Distinct lack of major hills. Fat-guy friendly play. Close to paint, food, air, vendors, and parking.
This unit starts next to the other respawn for Warsaw out in the woods, which is near the center of the field. It's near the base of the never-ending hill, and not too far from Chickenhawk, Romeo, and OP Alpha's City-in-the-Woods. Because of the location of the unit, I would expect to be playing heavily in the woods, to be going up the hill, and again trying to cut NATO's forces in half, and slide behind Fulda.
Like the idea of getting dropped in behind enemy lines to attack a base? That's exactly what you'll do with this group starting at 12PM. Until then, you're likely to play within another unit. But once 12PM hits, you're going to get dropped to attack a base on the other side of the field---think Hamburger Hill. And if you gain control of your objectives, you're rewarded with a spawn point. Not only does this help you control the area, it also helps you not need to take a long ass walk to respawn. If you like raising a little hell ambush style, this might be a good home for you.
This is a unit you're likely invited into. It's a special forces unit that's not tied down to attacking for control to get points. It's mission-focused, small, mobile, uses stealth, and their job is to be a giant thorn in NATO's side. They'll also likely be composed of teams that have played Fulda several times and been very successful there, as they're counted on to put serious points on the board.
Like shooting people from near-total protection like you're playing a first person shooter in god-mode? Love Mad Max movies? How about wreaking people who are almost powerless against you?
First off, seek counseling, you sociopath. After that, go ahead and turn a car into a paint-tank, get it registered, speak with the field organizers, and get it to North Carolina. The tanks in this unit are awesome. These A-T Units also fall into this group. A-T is the heavy defense against enemy tanks, and the tanks are mobile wrecking crews that can dominate areas of the field. I've seen one park at the bottom of the hill in Sim and lock down half of Sim City for almost an hour with NATO powerless to do anything about it. The armor on the field is seriously impressive. So if that's your thing, then contact the unit leaders and join up. Just know that you're playing for seconds on the awards stand, as the female-run tank hands everyone their ass at the end of the day.
First off, seek counseling, you sociopath. After that, go ahead and turn a car into a paint-tank, get it registered, speak with the field organizers, and get it to North Carolina. The tanks in this unit are awesome. These A-T Units also fall into this group. A-T is the heavy defense against enemy tanks, and the tanks are mobile wrecking crews that can dominate areas of the field. I've seen one park at the bottom of the hill in Sim and lock down half of Sim City for almost an hour with NATO powerless to do anything about it. The armor on the field is seriously impressive. So if that's your thing, then contact the unit leaders and join up. Just know that you're playing for seconds on the awards stand, as the female-run tank hands everyone their ass at the end of the day.
Hate dirty commies? Love freedom? Like shutting down waves of attackers, and mowing down people as they come to you? Then NATO might be right for you. It defends heavily on Saturday and fights it's way out on Sunday. It starts off with more bases on Saturday, and wins by holding onto more bases than WARSAW can take from them. This side is also outnumbered by design. After playing both sides, I would say this. WARSAW is a hell of a lot of fun if you're looking to just go out, shoot a lot of people, and attack like crazy. If you want a challenge that DEMANDS you be more tactical and play smarter, I would actually say NATO might be better for you. In playing both, NATO was the more difficult side, and demanded the players be playing chess instead of checkers. There's nothing at all wrong with checkers---it's fun and great to play with friends. But chess will challenge you more, and might be for you if you want to test yourself.
NATO has units that are actually set up a bit differently, in that they are divided into thirds. This is one of them, and this group is operating as the front line. They are the 1st starting in Rex/Camp Lee, 2nd in OP Alpha, and 3rd in OP Romeo. All three of these units will be getting action right off the bat, facing immediate attacks. Should/when you lose your area, you'll fall back and reinforce units dug in behind you, then try to retake them. Those in these units are going to be heavily outnumbered and getting a huge amount of paint flung at you within the opening seconds. The bases do have solid bunkers, but are tough defenses just because of the volume that you're facing. Just know that these areas are going to be heavily, heavily attacked, then fought over constantly the entire day.
The 3rd also consists of 3 divisions, and really hold the strongholds for NATO. By that I mean they hold three incredibly important strategic areas, and should NATO lose them, their chances of winning go down drastically. Should they somehow lose all three, they'd be, as the Brits say, proper fucked. They are need to hold Sim/Frankfurt, Alpha/Fulda, and Duckett. These areas not only score a good amount of points, but keep WARSAW from blowing through their lines and stop NATO from the dreaded spawn trap. Duckett holds the flank on the hill. Alpha keeps NATO from getting cut in half and allows for free movement through their half of the field. And Sim locks down the respawn nearest to closest insertion point, and keeps that side of the field from getting steamrolled and the entire team from getting trapped. All three of these areas are incredibly important for both sides, and will see a TON of action at different points in the day. If you like forest, hilly areas, and trenched areas, then you might like 3-23. If you like trenches, fighting tanks, forest, and heavy firefights, you might like 3-22. If you like urban areas with city-style bunkers, tanks, A-T, and defending from all sides, you might love the 3-17. I've commanded the 3-17 twice, and it's been some of my favorite paintball ever. All three will pretty much guarantee you fighting tooth and nail for long stretches in the day (and light skirmishes during the quieter periods), should you hold your own. And you can with a strong willpower, giant swinging stones, and good head on your shoulders.
This group owns two bases in the back of NATO in the forest hills that are important for a couple of reasons. First off, they own the back door for the rest of the team. Should you lose them, the rest of the team can expect to get shot right in the ass. That's not good, unless you're into that sort of thing. Hey, not judging. You do you. Secondly, they are also areas that you need to hold in order to actually keep a respawn point. So they're important areas to hold. If you like hilly forests with dug-in bases that you absolutely can't lose, this might be a good place to be.
This unit is basically locked down by one team who fills it up, the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force (CEF). These guys hold down the west flank, and the same base as the 3-23rd. Losing this side makes everything for NATO go to shit. This unit helps stop that from happening. And WARSAW really, really wants that to happen. So you're going to get a bunch of action. You'll be up in the hills in the forest with these units, protecting the entire team from getting rolled up on. Again, incredibly important task for NATO, which puts a bullseye on it for WARSAW. Should be lots and lots of shooting.
This is the NATO equivalent of the Paratroopers for WARSAW. They play with normal units until 12, and then are transported through the magic of imagination to go grow up and be a giant pain in the ass for WARSAW on their own turf. Should they take out the base that they're targeting, they get a nice little spawn point on the WARSAW side of the field. Again, this unit is for people who like the idea of being behind enemy lines, and like the idea of a guerrilla attack.
This is the invite-only unit that's focused on missions instead of turf for NATO. It runs difficult missions to score as many points as possible, is composed entirely of Fulda vets, and relies on stealth and the sheer ability to both kick ass and take names (inability to do either/or is a disqualifier for the unit). If you're looking at this group, you should have good credentials and get asked to play it by the commander, and be dedicated to being on the field at all times. If you want to spend time in the parking lot and you found yourself on the unit, know that you might have dick punches coming your way.
This is the armored unit for NATO, and includes their tanks and A-T. Tanks launch from Sim to start their wrecking sprees, do exactly what you'd think. If you can build yourself a nice commie-killing tank, bringing it to North Carolina might just satisfy it's bloodlust. This is the unit you'll need to sign up for, and you'll need to get it approved by the field. Once you do, sign up for this group, be ready to travel the field, and unleash the fury.