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Success with Sniping
Sniping Technique
Alright, here it is, your new way of sniping. Learn it, use it, enjoy it.Aiming and Shooting
Aim Technique
There are a number of ways of aiming at an opponent.
The first and most common is to draw a bead on your target and follow it around untill you take a shot.
Another is by aiming at the one spot and waiting for your target to run into your sights.
Another, and again less popular is snap-aiming - relying on reflex and firing quickly without spending time drawing a bead on the target.
Whichever method you prefer to use is your choice. Experiment and decide what is most effective for you.
Bullet Travel
Bullet travel does exist for all weaponry. This is particularly important to note for snipers, as a lot of your shots will be made at long range, increasing the influence of bullet travel.
Basically bullet travel is the time it takes between the shot being fired and the bullet arriving at it's destination.
This means that you will not hit your target by shooting directly at them (unless you are at close range). Subsequently, you will have to shoot ahead of your target so that it moves into the path of your bullet.
Judging how much to aim ahead of your opponent depends on how fast he is travelling and the range of the shot range.
Knowing how much to lead your target by is an important element of sniping, and is a measure of his/her overall level of skill.
Bullet Drop
Bullet drop does exist in BF2, and is mainly noticable when sniping.
Bullet drop is how much a bullet will fall while flying.
The extent of the effect of bullet drop depends on range. The longer the range, the greater the drop. Judging how much to compensate for bullet drop is, again, a matter of practice and skill.
A lot of inexperienced snipers will ignore bullet drop all together, and simply shoot directly at the target, whatever the range. Compensating for bullet drop can mean the difference between an instant-kill headshot and an average wound, a hit or a miss in a sniper battle, either of which can mean life or death in certain situations.
For those who doubt or deny the existence of bullet drop, look here for proof.http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35977
Equipment
Weapon of Choice
M24:
- The staple sniper weapon of the USMC.
- Bolt action.
- One of the most accurate sniper rifles in the game.
- Normal wound reduces light infantry's health to two bars. Reduces heavy infantry's health to around 6 bars.
The M24 is considered to be one of the best sniper rifle in the game. It features pinpoint accuracy, high damage, good crosshairs and doesn't have to be unlocked. My personal favourite, even over the L96A1.
Type 88:
- Basic Chinese sniper rifle.
- Semi-automatic.
- Lower overall accuracy than the M24 and M95.
- Three body-hits to kill an opponent. (4 on heavy infantry in Infantry only mode)
- Excellent crosshairs. Very fine.
SVD:
- Standard MEC sniper rifle.
- Semi-automatic.
- Lower overall accuracy than the M24 and M95.
- Three body-hits to kill an opponent. (4 on heavy infantry in Infantry only mode)
- Poor crosshairs. Harder to pinpoint the centre of the crosshairs.
The Type 88 and SVD are considered inferior by most players in the game. Advantages over the M24 and M95 include increased close combat ability, and the ability to make hit after hit, which can be useful when aiming at the head, especially at medium ranges. Another benefit is a chance of having your opponent not suspect being sniped when hit.
Disadvantages include reduced damage and accuracy, leading to the reduced ability to effectively kill anything at long ranges.
These weapons are useful in some situations, though they are boycotted by most players.
M95:
- First unlockable sniper rifle.
- Bolt action.
- Marginally lower accuracy than the M24.
- Normal wound reduces victim's health to two bars regardless of light/heavy infantry.
- Poor crosshairs. Too thick. Makes aiming diffucult at extreme ranges.
- Capable of firing through helicopter/plane/vehicle windshields.
The M95 is, in short, an M24 with reduced accuracy, chunky sights, and the ability to shoot through armoured glass. It deals the same amount of damage to light and heavy infantry, and features thick crosshairs (which make aiming harder) and an overall reduction to accuracy. Often used as a replacement for the SVD or Type 88.
The advantage of the M95 is its ability to fire through armoured glass. This enables you to take out crew members in vehicles with a neat headshot through their windshield. Doing this can effectively render a helicopter or plane useless by depriving it of its pilot, or hindering it with the removal of the copilots/gunner.
Shooting at pilots is often best done when the helicopter or plane is stationary, or moving directly toward you. If you manage to somehow take out the pilot/gunner in any other situation, you are either very skilled or very lucky. Accuracy of the shot is reduced when shooting through armoured glass, making the magic headshot increasingly difficult.
L96A1
- Tier two unlockable sniper rifle.
- Bolt action.
- Extreme accuracy (on par with the M24).
- Sexy sights. Extremely thin, much like the Type 88.
- Damage equivalent to that of the M24.
The L96A1 is the latest addition to the sniper's selection as of the 1.2 patch. In short, it is an M24 with better sights (and hence, potentially slightly better accuracy) and a much quieter report, creating a sound that could easily be mistaken for a distant explosion. An excellent choice, and marginally better than the M24 overall.
Pistol
Pistols are a good friend of the sniper. They can be used as a close-combat replacement for the sniper rifle, as a backup for when the rifle runs out of ammo, or as a tool for finishing off light infanty (Spec Ops, Snipers, Medics, Engineers) after you've wounded them with an M24 or M95 shot.
Take advantage of the accuracy and the firing rate of the pistol. Altough the single bullet does very little damage, it can be very deadly when fired with high accuracy and in quick succession. Also note that it maintains much of its accuracy when the user is moving.
One use of the pistol involves hitting an opponent with the pistol, then finishing with the rifle. The pistol shot has nowhere near the panic-causing effect of the rifle, and allows for a clean, simple body-shot kill. Note that heavy infantry will take more than one pistol shot before being susceptible to a rifle finish.
Knife
A great, and often underestimated tool. Your knife should not just be a last resort. Quite apart from being the thing that stabs the camper in the back, it can be useful for attacking prone, unmoving or cornered opponents. A sudden rush toward an enemy may catch him unawares, allowing you to deliver a fatal stab to the kneecap.
Do not underestimate its potential in close combat. Consider it before automatically switching to your pistol as your last resort.
A useful hit for knife combat is to dive and stab at the target's feet and legs.
Below is a helpful, valid, usable guide to knifing. I recommend it.
Claymores
Both the friend and enemy of the sniper. Anything that moves in front of a claymore will set it off, with devestating effect. The problem with this is that it includes allies, who seem to believe claymores are filled with yummy candy, and will simply run into them, regardless of the large, red, ominous, hard-to-miss skull and crossbones icon of doom. Strongly consider removing any claymores that aren't triggered by an enemy soon after placement with a grenade. People have a habit of never forgiving a sniper for claymore-related teamkills.
Apart from that, claymores find use both covering ladders and in close combat. If being attacked by a more close-combat able enemy (any other kit), run behind the nearest cover and place a claymore facing their position in the hope that they'll charge headlong into it. Also be wary of them expecting this, and don't be afraid to place your second claymore at any other available points of attack.
Positioning
The ideal position for most snipers is somewhere out of sight and out of mind. Alternatively, some snipers prefer to remain in the line of fire, where they can easily score hits and provide support for other players. You will want to position yourself wherever best suits your method of sniping.
My personal choice of positions are always those just near the battle, but off to the side, often flanking main areas. From here, I know I can easily prey on those with there attention on the main action, and help my comrades as the go about their buisness.
Try to avoid obvious locations such as rooftops and cranes, where you are likely to have your face removed by the enemies' own sharpshooters.
Skylines
A basic idea. To avoid being spotted, be concious of the horizon. No amount of camofluage will prevent an opponent from spotting you when you're making a nice little silhouette up on top of that hill.
Camofluage
Think about what your player model looks like, and think about what you will be seen against. Camofluage is what you make it. It's no good being an MEC sniper and lying down in the middle of a beach and expecting to be mistaken for a rock. If you wish to utilize camofluage, think about your surroundings and how much you actually look like them.
Note that USMC sniper camoflauge (desert) can be very useful when you are surrounded with grass and vegetation. I have had enemies literally walking on top of me without noticing my prescence. Camofluage for most other sniper kits (Including the woodland version of the USMC sniper camofluage) is fairly useless for the purpose of camofluage a lot of the time.
Moving
Know whether or not you need to move.
Basically, snipers will be inclined to move as little as possible. When you move, you risk being detected. A lone sniper has three levels of effectiveness.
1- Noone knows he exists. This is your goal. If there's no snipers around, why not stand here and look absently into the distance? At my map? Why not sit on this IGLA here with my face sticking out the top?
If noone suspects you exist, you're in a good state. People aren't looking for you, and they will only find you if you're careless or unlucky. You have a lot more freedom to move around, and a lot more oppertunities to take down unsuspecting victims.
2- You're known about generally. People will look around, and won't stand still for long at all. Your options are decreased.
3- You've been spotted. This is often followed by scenario 4, in which you have been owned.
In situation 1, the only times you should have to move is to keep yourself out of places where you would be spotted by the enemy you've seen coming. Less moving, the only thing you have to do is take care.
In 2, it might be a good idea to relocate. Find a good oppertunity (ie. After you've just capped the person who knows about you again) and then relocate. This way, you can put yourself back up to stage 1.
In 3, you have your two basic choices. Flight or fight. I suggest getting the hell out of there. Sure you can fight, but don't forget that your opponent has unlimited lives, and people tend not to forgive snipers for shooting them when they really don't want to be shot.
It is more often than not your best option to wait for an oppertunity and go hide someplace else. A good idea would be to go somewhere in sight of your previous location, so that you can renew your adversarie's frustration when he come looking for you.
The only times you would stay and fight is if you see the threat being removed (ie. A flag being captured, your team coming up behind you, etc.).
The trick to actually moving is simply wait untill noone's looking, or at least untill they're unlikely to be. Look for places where people could see you from, and make sure they're mostly distracted. You don't want to be sprinting away all of a sudden when your position is being watched by an apc (who's drivers also seem to be willing to put the greater good aside in order to harass a sniper).
Keep an eye on your map, and mostly at the flags that are being captured and lost. Predict troop and vehicle movement. For example, you are playing a map. Every control point has been captured by the enemy, and you're left alone in your hiding spot. Suddenly an enemy flags turns to a nuetral one. Where's the entire enemy team's next destination? Securing that flag, and smacking down whatever is threatening to give your allies a foothold. So you know to either move off and capture a different flag while the enemy is distracted and gain a foothold, or go and help your buddies gain theirs.
Basically just use your brain and use your resources. Most of the time you will have no problems with avoiding detection, and if you do, be tricky! You're a sniper after all, being deceptive and annoying is your job!
General Tips
- Expect artillery strikes. Keep a wary eye on the location of large masses of troops, and expect artillery to fall there soon. If you see your teammates massing around your location, move, or at least be prepared to do so at a moment's notice.
- Support your allies. Be on the lookout for anything you can do to help your buddies. Look for hazards, and try to remove or weaken them. This may include enemy Special Ops trying to plant C4 on your tanks, infantry conflicts, etc. You can help your guys by spotting the threat, or by putting shots into it. Look for inventive ways of helping.
- If you are shot, and you don't know where from, move. It was most likely not a fluke shot, and standing in the one spot looking for the origin of the attack is by no means a good way to survive.
- For increased visibility through distance-based fog, look through the edges and corners of your screen. You'll find that the fogging effect is greatly diminished, and you can therefore see further, giving you an edge in the battle of who-sees-who-first.
- Sniper battles. Common occurences. Do not stay in the one spot and hope that you don't get hit first. Move about, make it hard for them. Your chances of winning will be greatly increased. Don't spend too long aiming. It's better to miss and be able to take another shot than trade hit for hit. (also note that shuffling around in a prone position is not a valid way of dodging a sniper's bullet).
- Predict troop movement. Take note of what flags are captured and lost, and predict where conflict will arise. This can be useful for positioning yourself before the fighting starts, which can give you a strong advantage.
Originally posted by Mackman17
- When trying to remain hidden, aim for the head. One hit kills prevent the enemy from learning your location via the use of damage direction (the red curve that shows up when you take damage).
- Hold down the 'Enter Vehicle' (defualt 'E') key when staying in an uncovered area to automatically enter cars that a commander tries to drop on your head
- When you defeat an opponent who has learned your location, the best idea is to move. Your chances of defeating them a second time will most likely be small. In this situation, it is a viable tactic to leave a claymore where you were in the hope that your hunter will stumble into it, thinking to find a helpless sniper.
- If you find yourself being fired at while climbing a ladder, slide down (hold shift + move down), rather than continue trying to climb. Obviously this doesn't apply if you're already at the top, or if there's enemies waiting directly below.
- Don't be afraid to drop your kit and use others if the situation calls for it. (eg. You're hurt. Go grab that old medic kit lying on the ground over there and heal yourself. You're not going to be able to defend yourself with a rifle. Pick up the dropped kit of the assualt player you just claymored, and use it to take down his buddies)
Also, my favourite sniping positions in Karkand.
And my favourite spots in Wake Island.
http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89172
I greatly recommend watching this video. It demonstrates effective, developed sniping techniques in a variety of situations, with a variety of equipment. This guy/girl snipes the same way I do. Please note that this is not my video, so give credit where credit is due.
That's all folks. Hope the guide helped all those aspiring champions of sniping out there. Oh... and for credability's sake, http://bf2s.com/player/TehFlyinEgg/
Go forth and remove faces!
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