Risky Territory Ahead

 by Archie

When you show up at Zephyr, try counting the seconds until you hear the paintballs whizzing past your head.  If you don’t have your forcefield on, you only have one other choice – get out the ol’ paint blaster!  

Of course you know the trick about clicking “aim” to get the gun out, right into your greedy hand-  Don’t let ‘em catch you when you “drop” gun because you’ll be pummeled and doing the “dirt slide” before you know it. 

Now I’m no master at this sport, but I have felt it’s addictive draw.  Yes, your gonna take a few hits, and “wake up” a block and a half away from where you were hit. Ok, now ya got me goin… (and here’s a strategy I’ve come to learn –) 

Come straight at ‘em. 

Aim and run right at the avie your gonna nail.  BAP BAP…BAP BAP BAP!!  Then if you end up passing the person, then it’s not good.  Turn to come back again, right away.  Forget about “serpentine” zig zag dodging or you’ll be eatin dirt again like a dust devil…BAP – SPLAT! … Oh!  Here I go sliding across town again. Dang! 

One of my fav’s is to steer a Hoverpack by aiming the paint gun.  You are a very hard target when floating several feet off the ground, although this isn’t foolproof, the expert shooters will still pepper you where ever you are.  Steering a Hoverboat is also a blast. Like the Hoverpack, where you aim the gun, is where the vehicle will go.  This is hard to do, it really takes a lot of practice, but it is crazy fun. 

Quite often, you may find a willing boat captain to fly and steer while you sit and empty paint on the opposition.  Sometimes you might even get a group of passengers to work together in the boat, and before you know it, your “outfit” has become a deadly pirate team.  

Now if you get another group to do battle with, you can stir up some real trouble.  You might agree on some boundaries.  In Zephyr, a classic boundary area is set by the height of the Balloon Ship that’s tethered to the tower, and the perimeter is basically outlined by the circular row of “shops” surrounding the tower.  The center tower makes a great obstacle and there is plenty of room to navigate a Hoverboat in this area.  Okay, you’ll probably crash into the tower a bunch of times, hopefully you’ll be able to lift off again without having to regroup if the boat gets irretrievably stuck in the Tower beams. 

Visitors Beware. 

So this place is not set up for “relaxation” but is ready for wild fun. The place is also filled with crazy PAZ and music is pumping continually.  Every once in a while, I just gotta put on my eye patch, charge up paintball supply and head over to Zephyr.  There is always something going on!