Define "spray"

[The Epic Guy]

Everybody seems to know what spray is. But peoples oppinions on the topic are different as is their definition of spraying. So what is your personal definition of spraying?

Yes Ive read the wiki and it even it is unclear about what spraying is.

Personally, I think its when you fire at a player offscreen in his general direction with an auto. But I dont really care if people spray, because it doesnt seem to be effective at all. Its probably just an excuse for a barretard to bitch about getting owned.

Discuss.

[p0ppin]

1. water or other liquid broken up into minute droplets and blown, ejected into, or falling through the air.
2. a jet of fine particles of liquid, as medicine, insecticide, paint, perfume, etc., discharged from an atomizer or other device for direct application to a surface.
3. a liquid to be discharged or applied in such a jet.
4. an apparatus or device for discharging such a liquid.
5. a quantity of small objects, flying or discharged through the air: a spray of shattered glass.

Well, there are several innuendos I could come up with concerning 1-4... but otherwise dictionary.com wasnt much help.

I consider it spraying when your bullets begin to spread out from holding the trigger down too long, and also when you're firing at someone with no particular attention to aim or their location (like if they're off-screen).

[Rai-Dei]

Firing in the enemy's general direction (like a base), I don't mind it if you were already shooting someone, but there is no reason to spray a general direction randomly.

I find it annoying, it slows down the gameplay.

[~Niko~]

Spraying is shooting offscreen with an auto.

[demoniac93]

I agree with it being random bullets shots at a certain direction off screen, yet i also define it as shooting the whole clip off at once at random enemies without certain prey discrimination.

[The Epic Guy]

See? The definition of spray is already blurring.

How does spray slow down gameplay Rai?

[Furai]

I won't vote here. For me spraying is everything mentioned in poll. However, I'm not dissing sprayers.

[Sir Jeremy]

Im proud to call myself a sprayer.  When I see an enemy going in a certain direction, and he is weak I will just fire in his general direction and try to weaken him or kill him.  Spraying is also usefull I find when you're playing against snipers, because it binks them nicely.

I think pretty much all of the items on your poll are in a way spraying.  Sometimes I use a whole clip sometimes, it only takes a few bullets. 

For example you're playing CTF 3v3 on Ash, and your enemy has just captured your flag, and he is going low with it.  You just died and are anxiusly waiting to respawn.  You see that the EFC has low health, so as soon as you respawn, you try to fly and boost to their flag base as soon as possible while at the same time firing widly at their base spot, were you know he is going to go and cap.  If you're lucky, and fast enough you will be able to kill him. 

Spraying:  Shooting wildly at a general direction were you think your opponent is, hoping to bink him, weaken him, or kill him.

That, I find is one way of defining spraying.

[The Epic Guy]

Added all of the above option for poll.

[croat1gamer]

spraying is a pretty newb tactic that is based on shooting randomly one, or more bullets in the direction where is possibly an enemy stationed BUT you have no clues that he is there

BUT spraying ISNT when you see an enemy an then he gets off screen to heal/wait for backup and then shoot bullets in the direction where he is (whilst holding your ground to become backup)
that is called suppressive fire, which is on the border of being called spraying

[Rai-Dei]

See? The definition of spray is already blurring.

How does spray slow down gameplay Rai?

The push, and most people will not go straight into a hail of bullets, also while spraying most people aren't rushing.

[Sir Jeremy]

also while spraying most people aren't rushing.

I usually rush while spraying.  It depends on the situation I'd have to say.  If you have to go fast to catch your enemy and he's weak, and you boost, and spray him before he caps.  Other times you can just be defending in your base/cap spot and spray into the general direction of the enemies.

[Dusty]

spraying is a pretty newb tactic

It's funny how the top games are all about spraying.

[demoniac93]

I can pretty much call myself rushing the mp5 down the bravo base on inf spraying, i do.

[~Niko~]

I only "spray", shooting with my Barrett usually, in direction the enemy went, not the direction I suppose the enemy is without having seen him before.

[croat1gamer]

I only "spray", shooting with my Barrett usually, in direction the enemy went, not the direction I suppose the enemy is without having seen him before.

after you spot an enemy it isnt spraying, it is suppressive fire

[STM1993]

In English, "spraying" is what p0ppin has described:

1. water or other liquid broken up into minute droplets and blown, ejected into, or falling through the air.
2. a jet of fine particles of liquid, as medicine, insecticide, paint, perfume, etc., discharged from an atomizer or other device for direct application to a surface.
3. a liquid to be discharged or applied in such a jet.
4. an apparatus or device for discharging such a liquid.
5. a quantity of small objects, flying or discharged through the air: a spray of shattered glass.

If you think about it in this manner, then the shotgun is a "spray" weapon =P



In game-terms, spraying is: "Shooting in the general estimated direction of a target, usually off-screen or when firing against an unseen enemy". Not to be mistaken with random spray and leading. Therefore, in this definition, spraying is not limited to autos - you can spray a Barrett, just that it would be more effective with faster-firing weapons. For example, suppose there is a predator. He shot you, but you noticed that the bullet came from your right. So, you aim your gun towards your right and begin to shoot there. Another example would be having an escaping EFC.  He is too fast for you and has gone off-screen, but he's severely injured. According to clues around you and where you last saw him, you spray (shooting in a general direction), hoping to hit him.

Random Spray is "Spamming (shots) in all directions without regard for proper aiming or where the enemy is." This can only be performed with relatively fast-firing weapons. A good example seen in Soldat: When you have a MP5 and get hit by a predator once, but you are not sure where he is at all and you panick as a result, you would shoot in all directions with the MP5 or start spamming nades everywhere.

Leading is "Aiming at a predicted spot where the enemy will be moving towards." This is the most important aspect of Soldat when it comes to aiming, because your bullets take time to travel, and so you need to estimate where your opponent is moving towards so that the bullet may hit him.

[Platehead]

I reckon, it'd be randomly shooting bullets at an unseen offscreen enemy when you're guessing he'll be there.  Example - I always 'spray' when playing low on laos.  I know they'll send one low too, so I shoot down the tunnel in hope for some hits.  Don't think it's a newb tactic, just gotta know when to do it.  There's consequences - you don't wanna get into a fight with no ammo.  I don't think offscreen barrett is 'spraying', it is either sighting enemy campers using scoped sight shots, or when you see someone just off screen and you go for a predict shot.

[Keldorn]

I reckon, it'd be randomly shooting bullets at an unseen offscreen enemy when you're guessing he'll be there. 

You don't have to be randomly shooting bullets at an unseen offscreen enemy for it to be spray.

Randomly - You'd probably be  thinking that the enemy would be in the general area.

Bullets - LAW spray is extremely common on maps such as Laos, because if you hit that rock as Alpha team, you may be able to take out some Bravo Mid Incomers.

Unseen - So shooting at a predator is spraying?

Also, about 50% of spraying occurs when the enemy is onscreen. (well the enemy has to be either onscreen or offscreen if you get my point...)

Also, shooting offscreen (further than scope) with Barrett is spraying. Just really ineffective spraying.

P.S. STM1993, being the pro player he is, is quite correct.

[Platehead]

Randomly - You'd probably be  thinking that the enemy would be in the general area.

Well yeah ok I guess it's not random but you don't know exactly where they are.

Bullets - LAW spray is extremely common on maps such as Laos, because if you hit that rock as Alpha team, you may be able to take out some Bravo Mid Incomers.

Yeah the thing is that my definition of spray doesn't include this, except it probably is too I guess.  The term 'spraying' just doesn't seem right for that situation.  It's more of a let's-do-this-and-pray-I-hit thing, I reckon spraying is more of a let's-shoot-and-at-least-one-projectile-will-hit thing.

Unseen - So shooting at a predator is spraying?

I'd say so.  You don't know where exactly they are, you're basically shooting blind apart from maybe a general idea of where they are.

Also, about 50% of spraying occurs when the enemy is onscreen. (well the enemy has to be either onscreen or offscreen if you get my point...)

Maybe this is where you define just shooting an auto is spraying?  I reckon spraying basically only occurs when you can't really see them, but you got a vague hint of where they might be and you shoot, with a good chance at least one projectile you fire will hit.

Also, shooting offscreen (further than scope) with Barrett is spraying. Just really ineffective spraying.

I guess it could be.  I see spraying as more of a thing that autos and possibly deagles can do.  But you're right, technically it could be called spraying.  It's got a sorta different purpose usually, like I said above.

Oh, and don't take my quote edit thingy personally, just having some fun with ya, like the way you pull apart my sentence word for word and argue every word I use :]