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[cxwq]

I have recently had a chat with my friend (the indubitable Ryan WitherSPOON) that reminded me of something that I really have never discussed online before. So I've decided discuss a subject that, in my opinion, has been heavily neglected in recent days. That is the subject of Hardware vs. Challenge. The idea of Nerf vs. Nerfer. It seems that as long as I've been talking to fellow nerfers online the focus has almost always been on the weapons themselves. The maximum obtainable power for each gun has been the goal of every Nerfer, as far as I can tell, who has ever opened up one of their guns (there are exceptions, but not many). Everyone assumes that better Nerf weapons invariably make for better nerf wars.

Why are we so sure of that? Have we ever thought that maybe we'd be better off perfecting the systems of our wars, and improving our techniques. Maybe if we could hit a moving target nine out of ten times at 30 feet, then we wouldn't need guns with the power and velocity to shoot 120 feet. Or maybe, just maybe, it would be more interesting and a whole lot more fun to play with weapons that wouldn't spell instant death for our enemies. Maybe we'd rather have to hunt and outplay our opponents as opposed to killing them from a stationary position. Why is it, do you think, that pistol wars are so much fun? Why do you think that guns like the blastfire are so interesting to war with? These weapons rely on attribute aside from range. When we can fight up close and personal, new avenues of attack are opened and new styles of play are available to us. And yes, maybe it is more difficult to win when you have to get closer to your opponent, but isn't that the point? Why would we nerf if we didn't want to be competitive, if we didn't want a challenge? Don't you think it would be interesting, if only for a battle, to bring the game back down to a level where your skill and pure abilities are not only helpful, but also essential?

Now, I'm not trying to convince you to throw away your Big Bad Bows and other long range weaponry, hell, I'm still going to use my highly modified crossbow whenever I have the chance. However, what I am asking you to try something different. If you're playing indoors, limit the weapon use to lower velocity guns. If you have small teams outdoors, try a pistol only war. In the battle between the gun and the game, the gun will probably always gain the attention of most nerfers, but it is our duty, as competitors of any kind, and as nerfers, to make sure that we pay some attention to the game we play. If you do that at least once, I guarantee you'll have more fun and you'll be a better nerfer for it.

Vacc