Advanced Guide to Sniping

[marqos=PL=]

What i've found very useful being a sniper, its getting rid of all shadows in option menu; helps especially while playing all Chinese maps, with guys hidin' in trees, what makes a bit of problems... Without shadows everything looks pretty clearly, though it works for me only for sniper against sniper.

It also helps to find machine gunner hidden in Karkand Map.

If u can't find him by gun glance :P


Sometimes its good though to leave shadows option High, to know where they are (well, trees are not troubles), so you know where to hide;but if u sitting in few particular spots in karkand you should propably know, where are they anyway.


Having shadows high or off i leave your opinion though.

[Nadokings]

RACISTS. jp

[friguy0]

what exactly is a muzzle flash?

[[Expletive Deleted]]

what exactly is a muzzle flash?

Muzzle flash is the bling of light given off when a weapon fires. You'll know it when you see it.

[pxr5]

its funny when the commander gets wind of you and hits you with arty, then you respawn and listen for their arty coming and keep moving, pisses them off and distracts them from wiping out the rest of your team who take flags and hes busy fixing his arty and btyring to bomb me and getting nowhere, thats happened a couple of times and it gets quite brutal. you can feel their anger lol

coming away from a snipe with about 20 kills and zero deaths is better than killing 100+ people in a tank imo, its just pure skill all the way.

[Kreepy Kitteh =^o.O^=]

my BIGGEST tip for sniping..is when shooting from a distance ALWAYS aim about an 8th of an inch above ur targets head..works everytime (if done correctly) also ALWAYS try to hit the helmet..i have found a shot to the actual face can sometimes not register although that could be my ping...

when shooting a moving target aim about a foot infront of ur target if tyhey are running and about an 8th of an inch if walking... this also depends on ur ping and net speed which determines ur lag.. my ping is normaly arouns 200-250 on the good servers.. as i am from Australia so sniping for me is somewhat difficult but not too bad :P

after hitting someone..if they have spotted u..chances are he will spawn as a sniper and come after u, so if u have taken someone out that saw u try and find a new place to hide as soon as possible.

when on a roof i find this is the area where i excel.. always get low and look down ur scope then VERY slowly edge urself around and scan very carefuly taking ur time..if u do it correctly u will find roof sniping to be very sucessfull!

whenever u go roof bound or prone somwhere always plant claymores at places of potential e.g. top of ladders,top of stairs entrances ect

Listen! always listen to ur surroundings and keep an eye on ur radar

P.S. when u do get a few good shots and start to become more experienced PLEASE dont brag! PLEASE!! lol i was having a snipe out with a guy the other day..i handed him a flogging and he seemed pretty cool until for the rest of the game everysingle tiime he got a kill he would brag about it...got very annoying and not very modest :)

[Irish Freedom]

thats pretty cool, maybe next time you should try killing yourself.

[groundedzero]

i think its a great guide! it helped me realise so much more than the basics of sniping, keep it up!

[twoblacklines]

Hello everyone. This is an advanced guide to sniping. There's lots in here that isn't covered elsewhere, so read on.



Introduction (skip if you have an attention span of three seconds):
First of all, this guide only applies to Vanilla BF2. I'm sure mods are great, but I don't use any; so some of this info won't be useful if you use a mod like Project Reality or something. Secondly, this guide is for the real snipers. It doesn't cover how to use grenades, claymores, or knives. Sorry to any of the Karkand sniper whores out there in advance. Finally, I know BF2 is pretty old by now and most people reading this are vets. That's why this is an in-depth guide, not a guide telling you how to go prone or how to lead a target. This guide will also bust sniper rumors, such as muzzle flash, where to hide, and what rifles are best at certain ranges. This guide only covers BF2 and the Special Forces expansion.

In-game Settings (HUD Settings, Controls, Graphics, Audio).

Game Settings (Voting, HUD, ect)
First of all, opt out of voting. Secondly, change the crosshair to 100% green or 100% red. The 100% green is a lime green, and isn't found anywhere in the game, the 100% red isn't either. The crosshair needs to be 100% visible, not the 25% default setting. While snipers don't have crosshairs like other weapons, it's important to see the hit indicator when in scoped mode. Other colors will blend in with the surroundings, making it hard to tell if your shot connected with the enemy. The rest of the HUD should be a mix of visible and transparent, around 25%.

Controls (Sensitivity, keyboard layout, ect)

Sensitivity has a major effect on accuracy. The default sensitivity level is at 1.00. Snipers ideally want very low sensitivity, as higher sensitivity decreases accuracy. However, setting your sensitivity low is a very bad idea, as it will make other classes pretty much useless, and you won't be able to use your pistol in defense. More expensive and advanced mouses, like those from Logitec, have sensitivity adjusters built in, which fixes this problem. However, for most snipers anything from .7 to 1.00 is fine. If you think you wont have to worry about close quarters fights (such as sniping on Wake Island) you can set your accuracy to very low settings like .5

Yaw and Pitch settings are for vehicles, and don't affect snipers in any way.

The only thing I'd change to keyboard layout would be the parachute button. As snipers are often in high places, a parachute is useful for when you're spotted and need to get away quickly. Reaching for the 9 key is a pain, and I died many times from falls before changing it.

Graphics (Lighting, Textures, Shadows, View Distance) [skip this if you have the game maxed, with a frames per second of 80+]

Here's a guide to how certain settings affect snipers. Settings that obviously have no effect on snipers (such as Anti-Aliasing) haven't been included.

Terrain- The higher the setting, the more detailed the ground looks. (pebbles, more detailed grass, ect.) You would think lowering the terrain detail would help find targets easier, but this is not the case. If possible, leave at High or Medium.
Effects- Does not relate to snipers at all. Lowering effects only removes things like bullet holes in the terrain. Smoke, dust, explosions, and other effects that often block a snipers view are rendered the same in all effects settings. So lowering this setting gives no advantage to a sniper.
Lighting - The lighting setting is the only setting besides view distance that actually has a huge impact on sniping. The lighting setting controls how static objects such as buildings make shadows. Shadows make enemies harder to hit, so disabling this setting gives you the advantage. However, I consider this cheap, and it looks terrible, so I left it on High.
Geometry- Setting Geometry to high gives the sniper the advantage. Higher geometry makes vehicles appear sooner, letting snipers avoid and spot them more easily.

Audio

Not very important. Put the audio setting on high, the rifles sound cooler. Even on medium-low settings, you can still hear approaching enemies.

Performance and Ping (Very important)

As a sniper, lag and framerate (FPS) are the two MOST important factors to consider. The greatest sniper in the game can't hit anything with a ping of 200, or a FPS of 20. Your ping is displayed by pressing tab. To monitor your framerate, use a program like FRAPS. (Google it) As a sniper, you NEED to have a ping below 150, and a framerate of ATLEAST 30. A low ping and a high framerate will give you a substantial advantage over your enemies, especially when shooting moving targets. If you are lagging, and shoot a target in the head, there is a good chance your hit won't even register. If you have a FPS of under 30, lower your graphics settings. Personally, anyone getting a FPS of under 60 should lower their settings in my opinion.

The rifles, and when to use them.

Short Range (Karkand, Warlord, Ghost Town, ect)
You might have heard that at short range, the Type 88 or SVD is best. This isn't always true. If you are in close quarters combat, such as in Karkand, it's best to use the M95. Think about it. Enemies are going to be running in and out of cover, giving you a limited oppurtunity window to kill them. The SVD takes up to 4 shots to kill an enemy. You're not going to have enough time. Also, the M95 does 95% damage to all enemies, even the armored ones. So if your enemy has just finished a fight with someone, or was slightly damaged by your teammate or a grenade, he becomes a one shot kill, without needing to aim for the head. In Warlord, always use the M95 as the Insurgents. When the SAS parachutes into battle, they will take small arms fire on the way in, usually being slightly damaged by it. The M95 can then pick them off in one shot.

Medium Range (Jalalabad, Dragon Valley, ect)
At medium range, the SVD or Type 88 is very effective. If you are on the USMC, use the L96A1. At medium range, targets are usually sprinting to the next flag or to the fight. Using a bolt-action rifle with sprinting targets is very hard to do. This is where the SVD/Type 88 comes in. If you miss, you can just keep firing and you will eventually kill him.

Long Range (Wake Island, Gulf of Oman, ect)
At long range, the L96A1 is always the best. The scope is very easy to use, and the weapon is very accurate. The SVD/Type 88 is usually useless at long range. The M95 is only good if you are spawncamping an aircraft carrier or uncap base, such as in Dragon Valley.

Rumor Control

"Never snipe from buildings, use grass for cover instead". I'm not sure who's idea this was, but it's terrible advice. First of all, grass isn't even visible at ranges over 30 feet. Snipers who hide in grass are completely exposed, yet the grass will still obstruct their view. In addition, buildings are a great place to snipe from. Especially in Special Forces, where have access to almost every roof in the game. The argument made is that your silhoutte will stand out against the sky. This is true. That's why you snipe from behind a water tower or satellite dish, so that you blend in with the building.

[removed this part about muzzle flash, inaccurate info]

"Always move after taking a shot" [edited] This depends on the type of map. In I/O maps like Warlord or Karkand, moving after every shot is completely unnecessary and will just get you killed. However, in maps with artillery and vehicles, some would recommend moving after a few kills or a few clips to avoid artillery.

"Use claymores at the tops of ladders, or around where you are hiding" Terrible advice on servers with FF on. Claymores are a magnet for your teammates for some reason, and you'll end up killing them.

Misc Tips/Tricks

Never shoot a black man! The racist sniper is the most effective!
When facing the USMC, the heavily armored soldiers (support, assualt, anti-tank) happen to be black/African American (whichever you think is politically correct). Always aim for white people, as they are unarmored. If using the M95, race has no affect on how much damage you will do. This is the most effective way of identifying which targets are easy to kill. When facing the other factions, aim for people who aren't wearing a helmet. The Insurgents give the heavily armored targets a red cloak on their head (except for the special ops class, which also wears the head dress)

Watch your target a few seconds after he dies.
If he dies in a crowded area, chances are a medic will try and revive him. Keep your scope on his head, and when he is revived, take him out again. The medic will try again, and you can kill the medic that time, since medics love to go prone when reviving.

K/D ratio is always more important than accuracy. But stats are decieving.
If you're the type that loves your stats, always put the K/D ratio above your accuracy percentage. A good K/D ratio helps the team, high accuracy but only a few kills is a waste, and you're not helping your team at all. Also, remember stats are deceiving. The most accurate sniper in the game has 80% accuracy. The catch? He's only used the rifle to kill 15 or so people.

Hope this guide helps, good luck. :salute:

A few things.

1. I can hit people fine with a 300 ping.

2. "never hit a black man" surely if your a sniper, a headshot will kill anyone wether with bodyarmour or not.

3. Accuracy, i normally shoot to kill ive finished 80-0 in some games firing only 90 shots.

4. sensitivity, i get on fine with 2.30 sensitivity. Goodluck dragshotting with 0.7.

[DontKnockIt225]

coming away from a snipe with about 20 kills and zero deaths is better than killing 100+ people in a tank imo, its just pure skill all the way.

Sniper kit on infrantry only is a waste of space. Unless your playing just for enjoyment. Only worth having on vehical server.

Sniper 20kills 0 deaths on infantry only is no better than a medic with 20 revives no deaths, skill has nothing to do with it.

[pxr5]

sure does but snipers must spot, if not they are no help to team :p

ive given up doing that since i installed the latest patch and now when i spot a tank all i get is "enemy units on the move" and end up pissing off everyone on your team cos you are constantly spotting trying to get it to register, at which point you are shot, have your kit stolen and can see your medics a few feet away doing f'all to help you. i love this game lol

Sniper 20kills 0 deaths on infantry only is no better than a medic with 20 revives no deaths, skill has nothing to do with it.

i dont know what you mean, but if you mean what i think you mean im confused lol
healing people is kids play surely, picking a good spot and moving on when the times right and being able to judge bullet drop is about skill in my book.