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Commander_Cool wrote: ... a long distant shot (which is the entire purpose of an apex or flatline barrel)

Not at all.

I have and love a Flatline (two, actually) and an Apex, and I play fairly aggressively.  I hardly ever longball.

that is your personal style... it does nothing to negate the fact that the major selling point of the flatline is its increased range over other barrels.

The main REAL benefit of the Flatline is not the added distance, but the flat trajectory.  Point and shoot.  No vertical adjustment.  No worrying about whether your trajectory has a clean path through the trees.  If you can see it, you can shoot it.

This is HUGE in the woods, due to shrubbery and trees.  With a straight barrel you always have to pray that your balls will somehow curve between the leaves.  With the Flatline you don't have that worry.  With the Flatline you can also shoot UNDER bushes along the ground - impossible with a straight barrel.

Even for speedball this is an advantage.  When engaging multiple targets at different ranges with a Flatline, you don't have to adjust for the distance difference.  This makes it easier to hit your targets when your snap-shooting skills are not good enough to immediately make the adjustment (which is most of us).

I have played with Flatlines in the woods and in up-close speedball, and it works well in both cases.  True - if you clamp down your gun next to a Freak, the Freak will usually have better groupings, but I don't shoot my guns clamped down.

Same goes for the Apex.  Its main purpose is not distance, but versatility.  It suffers against the Flatline in terms of flat trajectory, but gains the advantage of intentionally curving shots.  This takes some practice to do well, but can be truly devastating both in the woods and on the speedball field.

To write off the Flatline and Apex as longball barrels is incorrect.

Most people who buy a flatline think that is is a highly accurate barrel that offers long range shots.

Oh just go ahead and say it; given the discussion topic everyone would probably let it slide.  Many new players who purchase Flatlines think they are buying a super-accurate uber-sniper barrel.

Many people long ball with a flatline because they feel they can make shots farther away, however longer shots are more difficult to make, and with many people firing near, to outside the effective range of the flatline barrel the hits they do have, are likely to bounce.

All very true.  This is why the best long range utilization of a Flatline is not single-shot eliminations, but accuracy by volume suppressive fire.  An experienced Flatline user who chooses his field of fire correctly can create a lot of disruption to the opposing teams progress and potentially turn the tide of a game without even making any eliminations.

While that is true with every barrel, the selling point of the flatline barrel is its "amazing range", . . .

Based on the advertising, I agree.  However, Rambino is right, the flat trajectory is an equally important advantage.

. . . but if it is harder to eliminate players at greater ranges,

It's not harder, it just takes more paint.  But, the same statement can apply to normal barrels as well.  Shots fired from non-backspin barrels lose velocity throughout their trajectory, are affected by various environmental factors and strike at a glancing angle (unlike Flatline-fired paint) which disperses contact energy making breaks even less likely.

it is a better investment to buy an accurate barrel or barrel kit, and play agressively,... garunteeing you eliminations at much closer rangers.

Close range eliminations are pretty much guaranteed anyway.  The barrel doesn't really matter that much.

I personally do not feel the infrequent opportunities to use its increased range justify the price, . . .

Then you shouldn't get one.

. . . and that the reasoning of buying the marker (increasing your range) encourages players to longball, and camp during gameplay.

True to a certain extent.  But many of those people would camp/longball anyway because they are super-uber-tactical-ninja-stealth-snipers.

As stated previously I feel that the increased range of the flatline barrel is a gimmick, . . .

Have to disagree there.  If it didn't work as advertised it would be a gimmick; since it works, it is a feature.  I've used the Flatline in both roles, close engagement and long-range suppression, and have been quite pleased. 

. . . as the increased range is rarely an asset on fields where players start within range of one another, . . .

Those must be really boring fields.  I'm glad I don't normally play woods games like that.

. . . or shrubs, trees, and structures prevent people from firing outside the effective range of a standard paintball barrel; let alone have open space in which the flatline barrel is an asset.

That is the situation where the flat trajectory is truly useful.  I've played in brush where any shot requiring arc had no chance of making it to the target.  The Flatline rules in those situations.  It is very amusing/rewarding to observe the frustration of opponents who have just watched a stream of their paint break on overhead foliage when the Flatline shots fly under the same obstacles and hit them.

For those situations in which it might be useful, using cover and playing aggressively . . .

Aggressive play = elimination when neither the charging players or their supporting fire can threaten the individual with the Flatline who is unloading into their midst as they approach.

. . . are much more effective at eliminating players than the increased range the flatline barrel offers.

It's not just the range; although the range can be quite nice.  I like to watch people do the "Flatline dance" when I open up on them at longer ranges.  This is what I call the scramble for cover that occurs when the opposition suddenly realizes that they actually are in range.  When some victims are foolish enough to stay in position/push forward because they figure the paint won't break at the range in question all that is required is to put enough paint on them to eventually hit a hard surface.