What is Magfed Paintball? Paintball is a sport that has been around for decades and there are many variations of the game. One type of paintball that’s been growing in popularity is magfed paintball, which uses magazines that can be reloaded quickly and easily.
If this sounds interesting, keep reading for more information on magfed paintball and what makes it different from other types of paintball.
What is Magfed Paintball and What makes it different?
Magfed paintball has been around for several years, but it’s only recently that the industry has seen growth in popularity.
Magfed is technically a limited paint style of paintball that uses dedicated paintball markers and differs from standard paintball in many ways.
Players don’t use a hopper that can hold 100+ rounds like in standard paintball play, they use pre-loaded magazines that hold around 20 rounds.
When the magazine is empty it has to be removed and replaced with a loaded magazine to simulate real-life firearms and make it more realistic for milsim gameplay.
This means players focus on hitting their targets and being tactical rather than shooting 1000’s of rounds to hit their targets.
Magfed games use realistic-looking guns, tactical gear, smoke and paint grenades and in-game props to provide immersive MilSim gameplay to achieve objectives or dominate locations.
The team that achieves the most objectives, holds the most locations or eliminates the most players wins the game.
Magfed paintball is like playing a real-world version of call of duty. you have similar game types such as capture the flag and search and destroy. When you are hit you have to return to a spawn location and work your way back into the action.
Event organisers and players are becoming more and more creative, providing an evolving form of paintball for new and experienced players.
Why play magfed paintball?
There are a few reasons magfed paintball is becoming more popular with players. The magfed format makes you focus on your accuracy, use cover and play as a team; the mags put an emphasis on tactical gameplay rather than firing large amounts of rounds to hit targets.
In recent years event organisers have used locations such as former military bases or abandoned commercial buildings to create challenging scenarios and tactical magfed games.
It’s a great alternative to the traditional game of paintball, which can be chaotic with large numbers of players running around trying to hit each other.
magfed works well because it offers a great balance between realism and action. In magfed paintball, you have to work hard as a team to capture or defend an objective, rather than running around shooting at anything that moves.
While magfed is more tactical, it still offers lots of excitement and adrenaline for players. When playing magfed paintball you’ll get more than just the satisfaction of hitting targets and winning.
Magfed gives players a different kind of rush as they’re focusing on achieving objectives whilst being as stealthy as possible. This can be very intense especially in buildings moving from room to room where the enemy could be around every corner!
Magfed paintball doesn’t always have to be realistic or tactical. But if you want a game that replicates real-life scenarios and milsim gameplay, magfed paintball is the way to go.
What equipment do I need to play magfed paintball?
If you like the sound of magfed paintball and want to experience it for yourself you’re going to need some additional kit compared to regular paintball.
In magfed paintball, you need a marker that can be loaded with magazines rather than paintballs, as well as all the gear you would expect from regular paintball such as a mask, gloves and protective clothing.
If you want to be competitive, you will need to carry as many 20 round magazines as possible. most players tend to use military-style plate carriers, chest rigs or belts with pouches to carry their magazines.
There are lots of dedicated magfed markers on the market including models from Tippmann, Milsig, Valken, First Strike, Planet Eclipse, Modern Combat Sports.
This can all seem very overwhelming and expensive to new players. Don’t worry it is not necessary to go out and buy all of the equipment before playing. As magfed paintball increased in popularity many paintball sites have started hosting magfed only games.
This has evolved into a magfed rental market. Increasing numbers of paintball fields have magfed equipment available that can be rented for new players to try.
If you want to experience the more realistic scenario gameplay then search for “magfed only” or “only Magfed” events. These events are usually held in more realistic and challenging locations, often in abandoned buildings or military sites.
Organised magfed events will usually have better rental equipment which can also improve your experience on the day.
How do I find magfed paintball fields near me?
You can search online for magfed fields in your area by entering “magfed” or “magfed paintball near me”.
If you are struggling to find a location one of the best places to get information is Facebook. Search for “magfed only” or “magfed paintball” in the group search and you will find some great groups to join. Some of these groups and pages include:
- Magfed Global
- Magfed Scene
- Magfed Brotherhood
The magfed community is a great place to get information so you can find paintball fields near you.
How does a magfed paintball gun work?
There are many technologies deployed by the leading manufacturers that produce paintball guns. These manufacturers essentially use the same or similar technologies in their magfed variants as they do in regular paintball guns.
Almost all paintball markers are powered by compressed air (HPA), which puts internal components under pressure to engage some form of bolt system.
The bolt is released when the trigger is pulled and collects a paintball which loads it into the breach\barrel. The compressed air is then released and the paintball is propelled out of the barrel.
The biggest difference between magfed markers and regular paintballs is how paintballs are loaded into the gun.
Regular paintball markers have a hopper on the top which paintballs can be loaded into by pouring them from a pod. 100’s of paintballs can be easily loaded, even while the marker is being continuously fired.
Hoppers can be purely gravity fed or they can have battery-powered motors that can feed the paintballs much faster to keep up with modern marker designs. Achieving high rates of fire (skilled players with electronic markers can exceed 20 balls per second!).
Magfed markers are the complete opposite with spring-loaded magazines that feed paintballs vertically up into the gun. The magazines have to be pre-loaded before use and rates of fire are limited due to mechanical, semi-auto triggers.
Unlike hopper fed paintball markers, magfed markers can’t be topped up with paintballs whilst they are being fired. This creates a much more tactical style of gameplay where players take work together, ensuring they have cover to change magazines to stay in the fight.
What are the pros and cons of playing with a magfed gun vs a conventional paintball marker?
Pros:
- Limited paint creates better gameplay, especially suited to scenario and milsim style events.
- Magfed markers look and operate much like real guns, which makes for a very tense and challenging experience.
- Reloading magazines requires far more skill, especially when under fire from opposing players.
Cons:
- Magazine capacity reduces the number of paintballs that can be continuously fired.
- magfed markers usually have slower rates of fire which can be a big disadvantage when playing against recreational paintball or speedball players in mixed games.
Summary
Magfed paintball is a type of paintball that uses magazines instead of hoppers to load the balls.
Magfed markers have slower rates of fire, and can’t be topped up with more ammo while they’re being fired like other types of guns.
The tactical gameplay and the limited number of rounds make magfed-only games much different than traditional paintball, woodsball or speedball matches.
If you want to try something new in your next game, check out dedicated magfed paintball groups on Facebook and search for magfed paintball near me on Google Maps and see what pops up!