Sniper Tip

[Jaged]

Even though this seems kind of obvious, I never see any of my fellow snipers using it. You need a rexo suit, two bolt drivers, and a range mag implant. Switching between rifles is significantly faster then reloading. The range mag implant keeps your zoom from reseting when you switch guns so you can keep a constant bead on your prey. Just make sure you always have both guns loaded and ready to go so you can quickly switch and get that fatal shot in before the guy has a chance to move.

[Veteran]

If I get killed once a week by a sniper, I take note of it.

I guess it's just not for everyone.

[JakeLogan]

I used it for a time then I got tired of sniping...thinking about getting it again

[EVILoHOMER]

how about we say fuck off to snipers? y wud u snipe when u cud be in the action!! if u wanna camp go to cs or raven shield ( but rvs is gd)

[Majik]

I tip my hat to anyone that actually does sniping well. I could never get the right combination of distance (So I could see them and they not see me) and field of vision to multiple targets. Everyplace I tried to snipe from always ended up being great for concealment but lousy on LOS. If I had LOS on them, they had it on me. What I wouldn't have given for a prone key. :)

[Liquidtide]

Sniping has its times, you can't snipe all the time. I recently dumped sniping for rexo. I don't think I am paying for it but there have been some situations where I say, "Damn wish I had sniping now" but when I get BR19 I'll have the certs free again and pick it up with rexo.

~Tide

[Mudflap]

Sniping is part of the game. If you have a problem with it, maybe YOU need to go play another game. That said, sniping isn't too terribly difficult. I used it for a bit, in combo with AV as VS. It was a great combo, as long as nothing got too close. If a person closed on me, and was at full health and not in Inf suit, I would almost certainly die. I don't like being useless in tons of situations though, so I gave up sniper. I like being able to fight inside bases and towers. Snipage is kinda worthless for that.

[Riyu]

I'm not sure I agree with the Rexo/2 rifle loadout...

One of the main dangers of sniping is getting sniped back. And we all know that armor does very little in terms of protecting you from sniper fire, so the Rexo really isn't "needed" per say...

As for the "quickly switch and get that fatal shot in before the guy has a chance to move.", I'm not sure how relevant that is... From my experience sniping, either 1) the guy moves right after you shoot him (twitch reflex), or 2) The guy hardly moves at all...

My usual sniping loadout is:

Agile:

Back: Bolt Driver
Hip 1: Medical applicator
Hip 2: Repair kit

Inv: MCG, 35 sniper ammo

[Otherick]

meh but as a close friend of a sniper, we debated this very topic and I even talked with a outfit member and I say, use aircavalry because u get 2 aircraft instead of 1 armour, why aircavalry? Because u can use the mossie or reaver to get up on trees or high cliffs, that u wouldnt normaly get to and snipe from there, i mean they would least expect it right

[Incompetent]

Ex-Sniper here, IMHO the marginal benifits of using a pair of BDers doesn't compare to the benifit of having an empire MA and a spare clip on you in the vast majority of situations. Then again, the benifit of having light scout or SA far outways the benifit of have a BDer at all in my opinion.

[Queensidecastle]

If sniping upsets you, play a cloaker and get some sweet revenge. Even the ones in Rexo/Ha that setup motion detectors and spitfires arent safe from you

[1024]

Ya, except we get one shotted by snipers, so expect to get pissed a lot.

[Otherick]

ooooooooooooooor just get a reaver and frustrate them with the so called ""Rocket spam"

[Incompetent]

Infil Suit+Flanking attack+Boomer+Surge = dead sniper, the smart ones might lay a mine at there feet or something but not many have CE and even less are smart enough. Even then you could just carry a jammer and a few plasmas/frags.

[Otherick]

thats another way i guess, still i think that the reaver is the way to take care of snipers

[Queensidecastle]

If you want to go Sniper hunting then you flank at long range and come up behind them. Almost never do you get sniped doing this. Also you can have a favorite where you drop the REK and pickup a Jammer or plasma nade because you wont need a REK anyways.

Also much like how snipers are an indirect form of suppression fire (because people have to move erratically and be parinoid) Infils that keep the pressure on Snipers effectivly shut them down. They cannot do thier business constantly worrying about getting an AMP in the back

[Krinsath]

I have a couple sniper characters, and they are quite effective at what they do. Sniping is definately a skill profession, especially as there are not one shot kills except on infiltrators.

That being said, here's my tips on how you succeed as a sniper:

1) Pick your spot well. You're looking for three things: line of sight, cover, and escape. The first is kind of obvious, you want someplace where you can see a great number of enemies. This does NOT always mean a hill, you can snipe at walls just as effectively from a gully. Try to avoid hilltops unless there's some sort of distorting cover...you will stand out like a sore thumb against the horizon.

For cover, you want something hard that's going to absorb bullet impacts. Good candidates here are the obvious ones of trees, boulders and walls. It's not mandatory to have cover at all times, but not having something that can catch bullets while you're trying to get things together can be the difference between a lengthy respawn and escape.

Speaking of, the most ignored of things snipers should do is have an escape planned in the event of another sniper drawing a bead on you (which they will, sooner or later). Remember that you'll be under fire as you're withdrawing, so again, a route with lots of cover is a good idea.

2) Sniping is only to be done at arm's length. This is a weapon for the early stages of an assault, since as soon as the fighting moves indoors the sniper rifle is useless. If you need to get involved, go to a tower/AMS and change out the weapon (or get RExo).

3) You are a support soldier, don't forget your role. It's not your job to win the battle, but to make it easier for someone else. While a sniper can break the back of an assault in defense single-handedly, it's not very likely (unless you're fighting the NC who don't understand that you can't get a sniper at range with a JH ;)).

4) Choose your supporting certs wisely. My most successful sniper has RExo, Engineering, and Medic in addition to the basic Medium Assault and sniping. AV is also not a bad cert to pick up either. Why? Here's the breakdown (in order of importance):

RExo - More ammo, you can also carry a secondary weapon that is good for defending close in or, in the case of a good assault, allow you to go into a fight and not be useless. I generally carry around the MA rifle. If push comes to shove, destroy all the sniper gear and loot out some new weapons and ammo on the way in if that's more convenient than a resupply run. Keep in mind while sniping, you only need to carry one or two boxes for the secondary weapon, you're probably not going to be using it heavily without a chance to relaod from the fallen.

Medic - This should be kind of obvious, but those sniper shells do 65 damage in one shot...that's three medpacks worth of damage (sure, you can skate by on two, but I don't recommend it). The medical application is worth it's weight in gold in that regard. So few snipers actually cert medical that it's sad, it's one of most useful sniper certs by far.

Engineering - One overlooked facet of the rifle is that in addition to doing 65 health damage, it does 35 armor. If there's no armor, like most weapons as far as I recall, it takes the excess damage out of health (which is why cloakers get one-shotted...65+35=100). Now, if your armor gets stripped away over time by these shots, you'll end up with none left and then you're as bad off as an infiltrator. Take steps to ensure that you always have some armor.

AV - For those times when you want to be a dedicated support soldier. That configuration completely rules out you helping out in an assault, but is a great way to get BEP during a wall battle. The VS and NC especially can cause havoc as regardless of what is on the walls, you can take it down. The TR would also be in this category if they ever fix lock-ons. The only downside is you need to take some sort of pistol as a close defense weapon and the large AV ammo restricts what else you can carry. As I said, this is for when you have no intentions of ever getting near the active combat zone. The AV is also of marginal use in chasing off Reavers...if you see them coming.

The implants you should get are Range Magnifier (first) and then Darklight or Adv. Targeting in some order. The Range Magnifier is self-evident, but you also lock crosshairs faster the further out you go. For the VS especially, switching from the Bolt Driver to the Lancer to quickly engage MAX units/Turrets is incredibly simple when using this implant.

The other two are a matter of preference, and I have both combinations on different characters. Adv. Targeting is useful for picking out already wounded soldiers for easy kills. I'm off the opinion that it's easier to simply shoot them twice than worrying about who's hurt and who's not...but that's not the path for everyone. If you're going to drive a vehicle or cert AV, then I'd go with this cert first as it's useful beyond sniping.

If you're a ground-pounder the whole way, then I'd recommend the Darklight. As has been posted several times here, Infiltrators are your worst enemies. The solution? The AMP has a severely short range, one that you stand a good chance of hitting at with a BD at short range. Problem is that you have to be spot on to do it. DLV gets you what you need to be spot on and a medpack will give you just enough time to get rid of the nuisance. Won't stop boomer boy, but you have to give them some sort of way to beat you....right? ;)

The most important rule of sniping is the one most overlooked: DO NOT STAY IN THE SAME PLACE IF YOU'VE BEEN SPOTTED. If you kill an infiltrator who was trying to kill you, chances are after he respawns he's going to head right back there. If you were in a duel with a sniper and win, chances are he's going to be looking for you when he comes back. Sure, sometimes you have no choice on places to be (towers, walls, etc.) but if you do have the option, for goodness sake MOVE.

Mentioning sniper duels, if you're hit by a sniper do *not* try and find them to fire back, they obviously already have you sighted and by the time you lock and fire, they will have reloaded and killed you. So many snipers make that mistake that it just makes me shake my head...as I rack up BEP from them.

The most devastating tactic is to get two snipers that have some form of voice communication. Get them in the same general area shooting at the same people, instant death. Very nasty.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on PS sniping...sorry that took so long.

[Fenrys]

The BoltDriver can be used effectivly indoors, but you have to be smart about it.


I snipe in agile with an AMP in holster 1. When that surgile comes racing up the tower, he gets pluged for 75 damage with the first shot, and then I only need to hit him 3 more times with the AMP to finish him.

There are plenty of hiding spots among the crates downstairs in bases. Find one that leaves you totaly covered with just a narrow slit to shoot out of, aiming toward a door that nme are pouring out of (such as the spawn room doors).

[xmodum]

how about we say fuck off to snipers? y wud u snipe when u cud be in the action!! if u wanna camp go to cs or raven shield ( but rvs is gd)
maybe thatis how people like to play... its not camping.Its getting rid of the enemy ur troops cant see from their pos.. or either for long range kills , nothing wrong with that

[Jagd]

Thanks for the tips Krinsath, I've decided to give sniping another shot.

[Rbstr]

See i prefer to have my guass in the other slot, so i can defend myself, and i can get close to provide more of a tactical position.
Its not that much longer, and over all its' not much more effective, because you have to reload both before you can do it again.

[JFPhoenix]

A good tip, I didn't think it would actually work that way but that shows me for not trying it. Long live the snipers!

[Jaged]

Snipers pwn :rock:

And I agree with all of the tips Krinsath posted except one. If win a sniper duel, I never move. I am always up for a rematch ;). Even if they go to a different place and get a bead on me first, I just duck behind my cover and heal up. Sniper duels are my favorite part of this game. I have been known to track down enemies that kill me while I am dueling. :D

[Rbstr]

i always win sniper duels that are at longer ranges do to Pshield, its great, i never move unless i need to get a different shooting ange becasue they wised up and stoped going there

[Krinsath]

The reason I say move is after a few times of beating up on enemy snipers, they get smart and double shot you using those tactics...really sucks when they get smart that way, which they eventually do...

I did love yesterday when I was my VS sniper self on Esamir (which I almost never fight on) and was just hammering TR soldiers into the dirt. Think there was one stretch where I downed four TR soldiers in the amount of time it takes to reload that many times. Words of wisdom:

If you're hit by a sniper, try to avoid running in a straight line and/or get healed up above 65 health...otherwise you're a dead duck.

[Acaila]

Good trick, increase your ping to 2000, then you can hit 2 shots before your hit packets even reach the server.

Exploiting CSHD = win.

[Veteran]

Acaila,

You mean that people might have bots that throttle their ping?

Heaven forbid!

/sick, sad world

[Acaila]

I know, it is fucking pathetic what people will do to gain an edge.

I was being sardonic before anyone says "BUT ACAILA EXOPLITNG IS RONG IDIOT LOLOLOLO".

[Otherick]

:stupid: :banplz: :banplz:

[Jaged]

I barely ever loose a sniper duel. I will have to try personal shield though. I never thought to use it. How much does it really help?

[Acaila]

Personal Shield allows you to take an additional hit.