[Ricochet]

These threads always annoy me. When a new player asks for advice, or really when anyone asks for BEST, I automatically think performance, functionality, overall reliability and potential. For example, I don't recommend GBBRs not just because of the cost or the FPS swings, etc, but because they don't make a whole lot of sense to me. Realism in airsoft is cool, but not at the cost of effectiveness. GBBRs to me are like Gucci-flage. They don't make sense in an endurance game because you'd have to carry a butt-load of gas around to still fall retardedly short of what a single lipo can do, they only like medium temperatures and can suddenly go way over FPS restrictions without warning, not to mention all of their maintenance quirks. I can't trade all around everything for a little kick and bang. Polar-Stars with tanks and hoses, etc, etc, etc. budget is what it is, we can recommend something, but the player needs to have enough money for the gun, batteries, a charger, magazines, ammo, possibly upgrades, etc. there's no escaping that. So when someone asks what's the best, first and foremost I think performance. Performance to me is how far it shoots, how consistently, how accurately, etc, period, done, full stop, over. So I personally only recommend the best bang for your buck, in AEGs, that's usually the highest quality one, such as VFC with appropriate upgrades. If your gun is competitive, who cares about gimmicks? Second is quality and reliability. You want your gun to be there for you and not end up being a waste of time or a money pit. For these reasons I will never recommend a sub par brand, even a mediocre one, or one with a hit and miss history, and if it's a clone, forget about it. If a player can't afford a decent G&G, plus all it will need to run properly and competitively, I'd recommend they save up their money and come back to airsoft when they're ready. Guns that have limited amount of parts, magazines, accessories available, etc are also big no no's for me, as well as not being able to be compatible with real steel or high end airsoft parts and accessories. Third is functionality. I have no idea if you're playing with a few kids on private property, going to regular weekend games with a full spectrum of different players, wanting to get into endurance games, or even trying to delve into competitive, organized, squad based modern military style of airsoft. I'm always going to assume the latter, because why recommend guns, gear and equipment that can't carry you through a game from hell, whilst making you as dangerous out there as possible? There's a million other reasons, but this perspective is probably the benchmark. So when someone asks what's the BEST? Well, it's the one that shoots the furthest, straightest, most consistently, reliably, most adaptive, functionally and upgradable within your budget. It's probably electric, in fact I'll damn well guarantee it and no there's no way to make cheap crap or shitty clones all around as good as the opposite.