Comment awayThe true difficulty and skill in sniping is:
- Anticipating the battle. Because you move slower and carefully aim at your targets, you have a better view of the "course" of the battle. You need to anticipate where your enemy will attach from general knowledge of the map and from previous rounds. You need to mentally note all exposed locations. Whenever a location is exposed for too long, you will need to make sure no one got through.
- Covering important targets, usually outside of the main battle. These are usually areas on the outskirts of the map. Infantry frequently try to get around these areas. Claymores are a good tool here.
- Being quick. You have to be quick. Opponents are generally either slow witted or aren't paying enough attention to the game. You need to utilize this to your advantage and think through every step -- but do so at a VERY fast pace. If you are on the run, you need to plan your route as you go and lay traps on the way.
- If on the run, force your opponents into "corridor" type locations. Do not try to contend with anyone while you are in the open. Either run around a corner and wait for them to come around, or run inside of a building and go behind a door. Ideally, you should keep running until you gain a significant distance from the target (you usually run faster than everyone else) and pop them out at a distance. You can also run in circles to confuse the enemy.
- There is no such thing as an obvious spot. All obvious sniper spots are still very advantegous as long as you use them right. Never hang over a ledge. Always barely peek out of the ledge, scan the terrain and duck back in. If you start taking fire, duck back so that you are out of view and sit for a while. Try to determine where your target is and make sure every one of your shots come from a different location so that they cannot aim where you were just shooting and take you out as soon as you jump up to aim.
There's more, but I cherish my fingers enough to stop here.
Sniping is extremely tactical and you need to understand that it is more than sitting and aiming. On every infantry map, I dominate (unless I'm having a bad game--not being able to hit any shots, tired, make stupid decisions). I defeat snipers on a regular basis because they think they can just sit there and shoot at me.
Whenever I get into a sniper dual, I never shoot from the same location. You take a shot, take cover and move somewhere else. In any situation/location there are always a minimum of 6 places you can take your shot from, so there is no point to give them an advantage by staying in the same place.
If you are going to practice sniping, please dont give snipers a bad name by sitting uselessly at a safe location waiting for people to run by.
As a sniper you need to be as active as everyone else... just slower and more tactical. You still need to cap flags, just don't do so when you won't stand a chance. Instead, cover the flag at a distance and draw infantry to your location (they will usually come for revenge), thereby allowing your teammates to encounter less opposition when trying to cap the flag.
On a final note, learn how to utilize claymores properly. If you have any friendlies in your vicinity, claymores are not the answer. At first I was frustrated at how people run over claymores left and right, but then I realized, when in the thick of battle and using rushing tactics (like assault/medic/support/at should use) it's difficult to keep track of that.
Use claymores when overwhelmed and on your own. They are invaluable to cover entrances to a flag when you are capping it (again, as long as there are no infantry in your location).
