To those of you who keep playing the Sniper class - stop. Just let it go. You're not Tom Berenger or Barry Pepper or Bill Paxton's character from "Navy SEALS". In BF 2 you're a near-waste of a ticket running around in a fuzzy suit with neither the will nor the way to help the team. You're knife bait, the butts of jokes, and the source of much laughter when people kill you in entertaining, humiliating ways. You're often the last guy to be killed on the map, and every one of your teammates groans when it happens - they all know that you have no chance of saving the game.
I'll preface the rest of this with a fact: I rarely get killed by snipers. I'd say 1 death every 5-8 rounds is due to sniper fire. I spend most of my time on foot, so that's coming from a diehard infantryman and not a tanker or aviator.
I've never agreed with the Sniper as a playable class, honestly - it has no place in a "squad-based" action game. Further, anything the Sniper can do in BF 2, other classes can do better - much better. Most of us can outgun a sniper rifle with a carbine, AT rocket, or even a pistol.
The claymores are kinda okay, but you only get two. They have weird activation characteristics, and they often don't kill an enemy - just maim them. Oh, and I can disarm them as an Engie if I see em ahead of time (which can be done rather handily, if you're careful). Teammates set them off all the time too, so your well-laid defensive plan is often ruined.
I know many of you value your skill shooting people with the sniper rifle, but it's not really helping your team. Most snipers I've seen, even the good shots, are almost always unwilling to do much more than sit, watch, and shoot. I've seen friendly and enemy snipers alike parked at a flag, watch it turn to the other team, and still sit. And sit. And probably get smeared with artillery or a SRAW soon thereafter.
I guess I'm asking, or just suggesting, two things:
1) Stop playing the sniper kit and start using another class. Hell, play like you would a sniper, but revel in the chance to, when enemy armor shows up, actually help your teammates with some C4 or an AT rocket. Or hey, take a flag - it's a good thing.
2) Stop playing the sniper kit
Before you inevitably reply with your retort, I'll say this - I know there are exceptions. Wonderful exceptions, I am sure. Some of you may be the best, most selfless, pinpoint accurate, team player snipers out there. But if that's your playstyle, could you be doing an even better job and having even more fun with another class? My hunch is, yes. I'm not trying to preach that you ought to play the game a certain way (some of you are going to become VERY defensive of your right to play however you want) - I just want you to rethink how you fulfill your self-proclaimed role.
Finally, I'll mention that I absolutely don't want a homogeneous game where everyone plays the exact same class and does the exact same thing (some Karkand servers with pandemic noobtubery approach that scenario, unfortunately), but I also believe that you should have a real and significant chance to contribute - and I don't think that the sniper class, even IF the rifles killed in one shot, can ever provide that in BF 2 (henceforth known as the "6-kit" game).
(oh, and keep the discussion light - draft your responses with the same candor at the heart of this post)
I'll preface the rest of this with a fact: I rarely get killed by snipers. I'd say 1 death every 5-8 rounds is due to sniper fire. I spend most of my time on foot, so that's coming from a diehard infantryman and not a tanker or aviator.
I've never agreed with the Sniper as a playable class, honestly - it has no place in a "squad-based" action game. Further, anything the Sniper can do in BF 2, other classes can do better - much better. Most of us can outgun a sniper rifle with a carbine, AT rocket, or even a pistol.
The claymores are kinda okay, but you only get two. They have weird activation characteristics, and they often don't kill an enemy - just maim them. Oh, and I can disarm them as an Engie if I see em ahead of time (which can be done rather handily, if you're careful). Teammates set them off all the time too, so your well-laid defensive plan is often ruined.
I know many of you value your skill shooting people with the sniper rifle, but it's not really helping your team. Most snipers I've seen, even the good shots, are almost always unwilling to do much more than sit, watch, and shoot. I've seen friendly and enemy snipers alike parked at a flag, watch it turn to the other team, and still sit. And sit. And probably get smeared with artillery or a SRAW soon thereafter.
I guess I'm asking, or just suggesting, two things:
1) Stop playing the sniper kit and start using another class. Hell, play like you would a sniper, but revel in the chance to, when enemy armor shows up, actually help your teammates with some C4 or an AT rocket. Or hey, take a flag - it's a good thing.
2) Stop playing the sniper kit
Before you inevitably reply with your retort, I'll say this - I know there are exceptions. Wonderful exceptions, I am sure. Some of you may be the best, most selfless, pinpoint accurate, team player snipers out there. But if that's your playstyle, could you be doing an even better job and having even more fun with another class? My hunch is, yes. I'm not trying to preach that you ought to play the game a certain way (some of you are going to become VERY defensive of your right to play however you want) - I just want you to rethink how you fulfill your self-proclaimed role.
Finally, I'll mention that I absolutely don't want a homogeneous game where everyone plays the exact same class and does the exact same thing (some Karkand servers with pandemic noobtubery approach that scenario, unfortunately), but I also believe that you should have a real and significant chance to contribute - and I don't think that the sniper class, even IF the rifles killed in one shot, can ever provide that in BF 2 (henceforth known as the "6-kit" game).
(oh, and keep the discussion light - draft your responses with the same candor at the heart of this post)
Comment