Success with Sniping

[Xiver]

Re: Success with Sniping

-Very- good question. I find that throughout the course of the game I will need to move around the battlefield quite a lot in order to follow the action or keep myself out of the middle of it.

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 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. 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!

I've found that a good method for determining where you should be is to imagine a line dividing the flags. The line determines the enemy side and the friendly side. Whenever a flag is captured the line must be redrawn. Troop movement also pushes the line. Staying about 100m - 150m away on the friendly side of the line provides a good deal of targets and is usually quite safe as the enemy is usually distracted by other friendlies advancing or guarding. Harassing enemy combatants, behind the enemy lines, is fun, but requires an experienced sniper.

[Xiver]

Re: Success with Sniping

Here is my advise in a nutshell.

NOVICE: 0 - 500 kills with a sniper rifle.
1. If you move forwards/backwards, move Left/right, or zoom in you must wait one or two seconds for your accuracy to settle. Turning left or right does not effect your accuracy.
2. Aim for the body or neck, but not the head.
3. Don't shoot at anything over 200m.
4. Don't shoot at anything moving.
5. Towers, Buildings, Cranes, and other elevated sniper points are NOT your friend, yet.
6. Claymores are you best friend and worst enemy. They are a great way to get kicked from a server and a great way to catch the guy that is coming to kill you. Don't use them where friendlies might soon be lurking.
7. 75m and less: If the first shot does not kill your target switch to your pistol and finish him off.
8. Use plants, rocks, shadows, and other environment for concealment when they are available and keep in mind that grass and such will disappear at a distance.
9. Use cover / concealment when you move and try to keep at least %50 of your sprinting stamina in reserve for an emergency.
10. Concealment is not cover, understand the difference and you'll live longer.
11. Keep moving because everyone hates snipers and they'll be comging to kill you soon. You're next position should have a good line of sight for your old position, a good rule of thumb in the beginning is to move whenever you have to load a new clip or are certain you've been spotted.
12. When you know they are coming for you leave them a claymore as a parting gift.
13. If you know they are going to kill you drop a claymore and take them with you.
14. If you have chosen a tower or such, see item 5, make sure the tip of your gun is not hanging over the edge.
15. Its great to spot stuff for your teammates, but if the enemy is anywhere near you the enemy can hear you.
16. Don't die with extra ammo, shoot at everything. (Except for tanks and APCs)
17. When you've been hit don't wait to see if they can do it again sprint to cover immediately.

AVERAGE: 500 - 2500 kills with a sniper rifle.
1. You should be good enough to get plenty of headshots now.
2. When aiming for moving targets let the target move into your sights.
3. Know where your target and bullet is going to be and aim at that position and fire. (See Bullet Travel Time & Bullet Drop in Reasonings)
4. Understand how shooting accuracy works in game. The book is wrong so check your .con files. http://wiki.bf2s.com/weapons/comparison has a great explanation of how it works. (See Accuracy in Reasonings)
5. Do what works for you and don't listen to what anyone else has to say. I've seen snipers take out whole squads.
6. Medics, squad leader, snipers, everything else. (Order in which to take out a squad)
7. Make sure you clear any remaining claymores once you cap a flag.
8. Aren't those gunners on the top of tanks and vehicles fun to shoot.
9. You should be good enough to keep engineers and special forces from blowing up armor and assets. Help your teamates.
10. You may have noticed that when you are zoomed your mouse seems to click into place when you are zoomed. Get a mouse with better resolution. The one you have is messing up your sniping.
11. It is very important for snipers to be able to get into position fast and become invisible.
12. Make your advisaries feel comfortable. Wait until they are in a vunerable position with nowhere to run before you start shooting them.

EXPERT: 2500 + Kills with a sniper rifle
1. If you don't have your knife and pistol Veteran badges, you are missing out. The knife and pistol should be good friends with every sniper.
2. You should know where all of the helicopters and jets spawn.
3. If you have not done it yet, try commander hunting. It is very rewarding and can turn the tide of a round.
4. You should know the different purposes for the different sniper rifles.
OTHER:
1. The m95 is NOT for making sure your plane or helicopter is available.
2. The m95 is not a good short range weapon.
3. High mouse resolution makes a difference when using sniper rifles.
4. The m95 is loud. Use your ears to locate other snipers, they are using theirs to locate you.
5. The m95 can take out vehicles, helicopters, and aircraft shoot at everything.
6. You can take out helicopter pilots, but its more luck than skill. You're best chance is to kill them before they take off, but this usually only works until the first guy you killed respawns.
7. The ghille(sp?) suit is confusing up close. Jump into the middle of a squad and use your pistol, if they are standing, or your knife, if they are laying down. The knife tactic works great when medics are reviving someone.

Reasonsings...
Bullet drop calculations:
Bullet Travel Time (seconds): t = Distance / 1000
Bullet drop (meters): D = -5t^2

Accuracy:
M95:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.02
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25

M24:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.01
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25

SVD & Type 88:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.02
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25
Deviation = (((<Minimum Deviation> * <Stance>) + <Additional Shots>) * <Zoom Mod>) + (<Recoil> * <Recoil Zoom Mod>)
The m24 is twice as accurate, but in my experience you can hit anything you can see with the sniper rifles, if you are zoomed and prone. One thing that snipers tend to forget when they are zoomed is that forward/backward and left/right movement degrades accuracy. Unzooming the rifle and rezooming it also degrades accuracy, but recovery is much quicker. This is more obvious on guns with the dynamic crosshairs.

Rifles: m24 - The most accurate gun in the game. Use this rifle for shooting soldiers at long distances.
m95 - can shoot through cockpit glass and blow up different types of items. Use this rifle for every day use.
SVD & Type 88 - These are great squad rifles. If you follow your squad at 100 meters this will keep the enemy from sneaking up on them. They are also great for killing snipers that are guarding the points you are trying to capture.
All of the sniper rifles will shoot through wooden and chain fences.

[.damage.nl]

Re: Success with Sniping

Here is my advise in a nutshell.

nice. do you know just howlong a sniper should wait in zoomed prone to get max acc for each shot?

[G_Gear]

Re: Success with Sniping

Vewy Vewy nice gwuide!

[[WOLF]bbob]

Re: Success with Sniping

Here is my advise in a nutshell.

NOVICE: 0 - 500 kills with a sniper rifle.
1. If you move forwards/backwards, move Left/right, or zoom in you must wait one or two seconds for your accuracy to settle. Turning left or right does not effect your accuracy.
2. Aim for the body or neck, but not the head.
3. Don't shoot at anything over 200m.
4. Don't shoot at anything moving.
5. Towers, Buildings, Cranes, and other elevated sniper points are NOT your friend, yet.
6. Claymores are you best friend and worst enemy. They are a great way to get kicked from a server and a great way to catch the guy that is coming to kill you. Don't use them where friendlies might soon be lurking.
7. 75m and less: If the first shot does not kill your target switch to your pistol and finish him off.
8. Use plants, rocks, shadows, and other environment for concealment when they are available and keep in mind that grass and such will disappear at a distance.
9. Use cover / concealment when you move and try to keep at least %50 of your sprinting stamina in reserve for an emergency.
10. Concealment is not cover, understand the difference and you'll live longer.
11. Keep moving because everyone hates snipers and they'll be comging to kill you soon. You're next position should have a good line of sight for your old position, a good rule of thumb in the beginning is to move whenever you have to load a new clip or are certain you've been spotted.
12. When you know they are coming for you leave them a claymore as a parting gift.
13. If you know they are going to kill you drop a claymore and take them with you.
14. If you have chosen a tower or such, see item 5, make sure the tip of your gun is not hanging over the edge.
15. Its great to spot stuff for your teammates, but if the enemy is anywhere near you the enemy can hear you.
16. Don't die with extra ammo, shoot at everything. (Except for tanks and APCs)
17. When you've been hit don't wait to see if they can do it again sprint to cover immediately.

AVERAGE: 500 - 2500 kills with a sniper rifle.
1. You should be good enough to get plenty of headshots now.
2. When aiming for moving targets let the target move into your sights.
3. Know where your target and bullet is going to be and aim at that position and fire. (See Bullet Travel Time & Bullet Drop in Reasonings)
4. Understand how shooting accuracy works in game. The book is wrong so check your .con files. http://wiki.bf2s.com/weapons/comparison has a great explanation of how it works. (See Accuracy in Reasonings)
5. Do what works for you and don't listen to what anyone else has to say. I've seen snipers take out whole squads.
6. Medics, squad leader, snipers, everything else. (Order in which to take out a squad)
7. Make sure you clear any remaining claymores once you cap a flag.
8. Aren't those gunners on the top of tanks and vehicles fun to shoot.
9. You should be good enough to keep engineers and special forces from blowing up armor and assets. Help your teamates.
10. You may have noticed that when you are zoomed your mouse seems to click into place when you are zoomed. Get a mouse with better resolution. The one you have is messing up your sniping.
11. It is very important for snipers to be able to get into position fast and become invisible.
12. Make your advisaries feel comfortable. Wait until they are in a vunerable position with nowhere to run before you start shooting them.

EXPERT: 2500 + Kills with a sniper rifle
1. If you don't have your knife and pistol Veteran badges, you are missing out. The knife and pistol should be good friends with every sniper.
2. You should know where all of the helicopters and jets spawn.
3. If you have not done it yet, try commander hunting. It is very rewarding and can turn the tide of a round.
4. You should know the different purposes for the different sniper rifles.
OTHER:
1. The m95 is NOT for making sure your plane or helicopter is available.
2. The m95 is not a good short range weapon.
3. High mouse resolution makes a difference when using sniper rifles.
4. The m95 is loud. Use your ears to locate other snipers, they are using theirs to locate you.
5. The m95 can take out vehicles, helicopters, and aircraft shoot at everything.
6. You can take out helicopter pilots, but its more luck than skill. You're best chance is to kill them before they take off, but this usually only works until the first guy you killed respawns.
7. The ghille(sp?) suit is confusing up close. Jump into the middle of a squad and use your pistol, if they are standing, or your knife, if they are laying down. The knife tactic works great when medics are reviving someone.

Reasonsings...
Bullet drop calculations:
Bullet Travel Time (seconds): t = Distance / 1000
Bullet drop (meters): D = -5t^2

Accuracy:
M95:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.02
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25

M24:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.01
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25

SVD & Type 88:
Minimum Deviation: 5
Standing / Couching / Prone Modifier: 2/1.5/0.8
Zoom Modifier: 0.02
Recoil: 4
Recoil Zoom Modifier: 0.25
Deviation = (((<Minimum Deviation> * <Stance>) + <Additional Shots>) * <Zoom Mod>) + (<Recoil> * <Recoil Zoom Mod>)
The m24 is twice as accurate, but in my experience you can hit anything you can see with the sniper rifles, if you are zoomed and prone. One thing that snipers tend to forget when they are zoomed is that forward/backward and left/right movement degrades accuracy. Unzooming the rifle and rezooming it also degrades accuracy, but recovery is much quicker. This is more obvious on guns with the dynamic crosshairs.

Rifles: m24 - The most accurate gun in the game. Use this rifle for shooting soldiers at long distances.
m95 - can shoot through cockpit glass and blow up different types of items. Use this rifle for every day use.
SVD & Type 88 - These are great squad rifles. If you follow your squad at 100 meters this will keep the enemy from sneaking up on them. They are also great for killing snipers that are guarding the points you are trying to capture.
All of the sniper rifles will shoot through wooden and chain fences.

You are my hero, very nice guide!

[Xiver]

Re: Success with Sniping

[quote=.damage.nl]

Here is my advise in a nutshell.QUOTE]

nice. do you know just howlong a sniper should wait in zoomed prone to get max acc for each shot?

It depends on what you were doing before. If you were running and you dove to the prone position I would wait two seconds. If you were prone, but moving in a direction I would wait one second. If you fired a shot and had to reload I would wait one second. On most of the other weapons there are dynamic crosshairs that widen and constrict depending on what you are doing. Use them as a guide for determining how your favorite sniper rifle's accuracy works.

[RustyAnkles]

Re: Success with Sniping

I dont experience much bullet drop. Also I find that aiming in front of someone running doesnt work either.

Yes it does...you just miss.

[RustyAnkles]

Re: Success with Sniping

Everything here is good info. I would add one thing, however.

RELAX YOUR HAND. Yes, your physical hand holding the mouse. When you go to shoot, press gently on the left mouse button and hold it down (if you are using the m-94/95) which will allow you to see if you hit the target or not. Learning to not tense up when you shoot can be difficult but it will make you a much better sniper. Not only will your shots be more accurate but it will help you get into a groove.

Also, don't use just your wrist to move the mouse around. I will lift my arm slightly off of the desk (elbow touching) and use my whole forearm to move the crosshairs. Do what is comfortable but you will be more precise if you are relaxed.

[shooterz]

Re: Success with Sniping

nice guide dood
last time took me bout whole clip to kill a guy >.<

[ACE4U]

Re: Success with Sniping

Good overall post. There was alot of infomation to cosume. I've just started using the sniper rifle and I am hooked on it. The USMC does have the best one, two shots and down they go. I've found some great spots by watching other snipers, which is a great way to learn by watching others. The best place to put claymores is at the top of the rung, which I did not know you could do until one blew me up. I did not know you could put them on ladders. I've also got alot of kill with the claymore and sniping, 30 in a row. One important thing if you have a hard time getting your snipers spot, use another kit and try a different route and when you are killed go back to the sniper and the same postion it easy to obtain.




]

[Grafisk]

Re: Success with Sniping

Didn't read it all, but that bulletdrop-thing. I have to disgree there, even if it has been "proven", I can prove the opposite, just that I don't make movies :P There's no bulletdrop, at least, not everytime, everyday. I have and still do hit targets at 300 m (more than that and the fog of war comes in) while having the crosshair on the enemy. I have also shot enemies at less distance while compensating for "bulletdrop".

Point is, you should've noted that. It's random, or not even that :]]


Note: I'm no. 1 in the world (brag fe' sho' :P with the kit at least) so I know what I'm talking about, if some noob just gotta have to flame me.

[Chubnik]

Re: Success with Sniping

Great guide to OP and on the "ranking" thing. Just for my 2c:

To anyone that says that a sniper rifle cannot be effective for "storming the base"...

It CAN be done.

While it tends not to be the most effective way to do things it can be done in a pinch. Also as a side note to all of the new urban snipers learn how to "joust" with the bolt action rifles. Go prone behind a building or some other convenient cover, strafe out, take your shot then strafe back to safety. If done correctly noone will know where you shot from and you're perfectly safe. (Works well with hills and whatnot if you are actively engaged in a sniper duel. )

[.damage.nl]

Re: Success with Sniping

Didn't read it all, but that bulletdrop-thing. I have to disgree there, even if it has been "proven", I can prove the opposite, just that I don't make movies :P There's no bulletdrop, at least, not everytime, everyday. I have and still do hit targets at 300 m (more than that and the fog of war comes in) while having the crosshair on the enemy. I have also shot enemies at less distance while compensating for "bulletdrop".

Point is, you should've noted that. It's random, or not even that :]]


Note: I'm no. 1 in the world (brag fe' sho' :P with the kit at least) so I know what I'm talking about, if some noob just gotta have to flame me.

there is no bullet drop? yeah right, look here http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showt...ht=bullet+drop

[Grafisk]

Re: Success with Sniping

there is no bullet drop? yeah right, look here http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showt...ht=bullet+drop

Did you even read my post? I can prove that I can hit someone at 300m without adjusting my crosshair above the target.
It's RANDOM, or something.

[.damage.nl]

Re: Success with Sniping

Did you even read my post? I can prove that I can hit someone at 300m without adjusting my crosshair above the target.
It's RANDOM, or something.

this is because u will most likely hit the lower part of the target.