BattleCat Sports — Local services in Anderson

I found myself at Battle Cat Sports after a number of coworkers had found a buy-one-get one coupon for a 4 hour session. It seemed like a great deal, so we reserved 6 spots for a Saturday afternoon.

We arrived, signed our wavers, and headed down into a "briefing" area to get the rundown on the equipment and rules. This was down just outside the arena area, and music was being played so loudly, it was difficult to understand the soft-spoken employee. We asked a few clarification questions, and then headed into the arena area to get our equipment.

The equipment itself was both good and bad... The guns themselves seemed well maintained, and fired consistently after we had some practice with the feeding mechanism of the magazine. However, the masks were well worn, and the lenses were pretty scratched/foggy. While wearing them, it was difficult to see the BBs that you were shooting, and you had to rely on the sound of the impact to confirm that you weren't misfiring. Also, one team was asked to wear bandanas... I'm pretty sure my bandana had not been washed recently, and it reeked of sweat and body odor.

Despite the equipment issues, the gameplay was quite a lot of fun. The teams were split evenly out of the total group of 30 (our group of 6 was split up, and we were fine with that), and we played a number of different game types- team deathmatch, team deathmatch vitals (only torso/head hits count), capture the flag (which was actually "assault" with the flag in the middle), capture the briefcase, and VIP game types.

The variety of game types was nice, and our referees made it a point to scramble the teams every few rounds. It was nice to exchange out teammates occasionally, especially since you sometimes would get stuck with a team full of 14 year old kids who just hid in the corner covered in layer upon layer of clothing. Scrambling the teams allowed for the chance to partner up wit more adventurous players who weren't afraid to get hit.

Overall, it was worth every penny for the 4 hours. I could go on critiquing how it could have been better, but the reality is that what it was for what we paid was fantastic.

I left my email address and number with the employee at the storefront, requesting private party rates, and I'm interested to get a response.

ALL OF THAT SAID- One major issue I have to note here is the referee's use of green lasers instead of flaslights to indicate their position. During our gameplay, I was hit twice in the eyes with the referee's green laser, which upset me quite a bit. Green lasers are often higher powered and can cause more damage quicker than a red laser. I indicated my concern to one referee, and he was unaware that green lasers were any different than red, nor was he able to identify what power the laser was. A 5mW green laser can instantly (faster than your blinking reflex) cause eye damage (and can cause damage if the light is viewed from less than a meter away from a wall that it is being projected upon), and I was worried that they did not realize this. I asked if I could contact the owner, just to express me concern. The next game, the second referee was again using the laser, and again I was caught in the eye by him waving it around, as was one of my coworkers. I realize he may not have intended to do so, but given his lack of knowledge as to the safety of his laser, I was not comfortable with just letting it go. I again asked to get a card to contact the owner, and he told me I'd have to ask the front counter. I did so, and left my information. I am still waiting to be contacted back regarding the safety of referees using lasers instead of flashlights, and I would strongly caution parents to inquire into the necessity of this before allowing their children to attend Battle...

I started playing here when i was 11 (i will be 20 in november) For the first time here, it was fine and as the first field i've been to, it was pretty fun. Then as i started posting footage and becoming more well known in the community, battlecat just went downhill from there. The staff started to stalk my social medias trying to find something to ban me for because they didn't like the content i was posting. They would do a briefing and make rules for me specifically such as no spawn sweeping, giving me boundaries on how far up i'm able to move up the field, and telling me to surrender players instead of shooting them point blank. This field has no minimum engagement distance so surrendering is an option and not a requirement. As of December 18th, 2022 my entire team (Leviathan Development Group) has been permanently banned from Battlecat sports because of our playstyle and the content we post. This field is tailored toward children and newer players. If you have your own gear and don't mind outdoors, there are plenty of fields in upstate south carolina that offer a better experience than this field. Another issue is pricing. If you want to play all day, it'll be around $35 for 4 hours. Every other field i've been to charges me $20-$30 for the hours 8:30am to 5pm. This price is only for the players that have all of their own equipment. If you're renting, i believe the price is $45-$50 if i'm not mistaken. As far as buying equipment from them, i wouldn't recommend it. They charge about $20 more than retail for a rifle and that's before tax. I'm the only person on my team that hasn't been permanently banned. The only reason they can't ban me is because i haven't played there in over 5 months. I would never go back to this field. i'd rather go to georgia or north carolina to play for cheaper than what this field charges. If you'd like to see the kind of content i was posting from this field, my YouTube is Locus2x Airsoft and my Instagram is...

Pros:

1. the only airsoft field nearby in the Anderson area. RedFoxGames and Fort 13 are over one hour away
2. staff members are mostly polite

Cons:

1. Music is played way too loud during games. Not only is it annoying, it takes away from the MilSim aspect, makes you feel like you're in a laser tag arena, and make it very difficult to communicate with your team. Just seems totally un-necessary.
2. The arena is near pitch-dark, making it very difficult to see things. Sure it could be fun to simulate some night-fighting scenarios, but darkness 100% of the time is not realistic nor desirable.
3. The way they "test" your mask is absurd. They forcefully bend your mask and press a BB as hard as they could against an air vent in the mask until it goes through, partially damaging the mask material, then they tell you that your mask doesn't pass their test and you have to rent one from them. This "test" is not an appropriate method for properly assessing the risk from a BB carrying 1.2J of kinetic energy. 95% of airsoft masks on the market would not pass their test. If insurance is imposing unreasonable criteria on the business, I would recommend getting a different insurance. None of the other airsoft fields in the area have this problem so there must be a solution if one cares to look.
4. Most of the games hosted seem like they are designed solely for 12 year olds-- just go around and shoot the other team. There is so much potential that you can explore with an airsoft field and a group of players that goes un-realized.

In summary, this is a place I would still go occasionally just because it is close. But there is a lot leaves to be desired, I feel it is worth driving the extra distance to a better...