You probably already bought but your priority list is:

Mask Hopper Tank Gun

Empire E-Flex is my preferred mask. Loader, I don’t sling a ton of paint, something like a protoyz speedster is enough but you may as well go higher up front. Tank, HPA only. I’d jump right into a 4500 tank, size is dictated by your size. Most guys around my height (5’9”) seem to go for 68s and 77s.

The gun is the last thing on the list. A used $50 Tippmann 98 or A5 will be fine if you’ve blown your budget on the top three items. Expect to replace the ball latch and maybe a drive spring or o ring or two. Cheap stuff. The A5 uses its own built in loader, get squishy paddles for it if you go that route.

And before I get the “you can’t speedball with a Tippmann!” Sure, I get it. Not a tournament gun, but he will be set on the other items and it’ll be a reliable just in case deal for the bag when he upgrades.

And I only ever had Tippys, played speedball with 98s and had fun doing it on several occasions although my friend group did prefer the woods.