'The gun does not make the player' is a loose term. In many respects, yes, a player can operate successfully based on skill alone to an extent...but many 'skill' based players rely on a certain piece of equipment's capabilities. If you take the rifle from a sniper, you are just left with a dude sitting in a bush throwing bb's at people. Skill is often reliant on one's familiarity with a certain piece of equipment...skill isn't developed by an inatimate object...but rather through the use of the object. Give a guy trained to use knives a sniper rifle and you will have one hella confused and ineffective dude. Maybe I should lay off the Mt. Dew and go to sleep...so here ends my endless rant...